As I write this (Monday evening), the playoff picture is being whittled down to 4 teams. The Western Conference final is set, now apparently called the McSeries or the McMatchup. Only one game per night makes the daily fantasy bettor choose a very limited lineup – on DraftKings this means a "Showdown" setting where one player is chosen to have their statistics (and cost) magnified to 150%, then 5 others…, and still fit under the assigned salary. So. you can't have your cookies AND the banana split too – gotta make decisions!
Personally. I feel the western series won't come down to McDavid vs. MacKinnon, or Draisaitl vs. Rantanen. And the goaltender matchup
Is certainly close, if not fully even. No, I feel that the defensive corps of the Avalanche is far superior to the Oilers' "D," such that only one of these two teams CAN win a game by 2-1, instead of always 5-3 or 6-4. And as the stakes continue to rise, that difference is crucial. Devon Toews may be the most important player on the ice.
BUT – that's not going to win in fantasy. You have to take a chance on the guy who'll score 2 goals, take 5 shots, and have that as your "champion" for the 150% play. If you believed in Edmonton, that sniper might be Evander Kane, but I'm going to take the Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog ($11,800), then pair him with Nathan MacKinnon ($10,400) and Cale Makar ($9000). A goalkeeper, Darcy Kuemper ($9800), and I've already priced myself to needing site-minimum Alex Newhook ($2000), and my one obligatory Oiler – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ($7200).
At this point in the "second season," I find myself watching the games and hoping both teams show their best. I can't say that was always the case for round two, so here's hoping we get 100% vs 100% tonight and every night up to the Cup presentation.
Comments @dokhockey.
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