First, congratulations to the Colorado Avalanche for advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals.    It was just a year ago that we heard Nathan MacKinnon voice his frustration about having won nothing in his NHL career, and now he's led his team to the precipice of the ultimate team prize.   

Prognosticators come and go, but strategy for decent bets are really fairly constant. Bet safe things, and you can win a little. Bet what others aren't, and you can get a payday, or just lose it all. There's a reason that the 40-1 horse EARNED those odds in a race, but the 2-1 favorite wins far less than half the time, or the racetrack would go broke. The "Danger Zone," sorry I couldn't resist mentioning the Top Gun song, is when betting is done for any reason except very simply, fun.  

All that said, the one thing that hasn't happened in the NYR/TBL series is the serious shut-down game. The 1-0, 2-0, or 2-1 game that we all expected a week ago. So sure, I'll go for that and expect to reap…. well, maybe.  

Again, with one game to play, the DraftKings "Showdown" lineup rule is to choose one captain and 5 flex players, with both teams needing to be represented. Here goes:

My superstar is ANDREI VASILEVSKIY ($16,200), and right behind him I'm taking Igor Shesterkin ($10,600). Add in the obvious Nikita Kucherov ($9800), who I like over Steven Stamkos, and then Chris Kreider ($8400) over Mika Zibanejad, and I'm desperately searching for value. But I land on the very depth players that I'll predict to be the difference tonight (!!), those being Brandon Hagel ($2000) and K'Andre Miller ($2000). Hagel has been very much the pest that Corey Perry models for him, and only one chance from a scrum seems not too much to ask. Miller has been 2nd best on the Rangers' blue line, and in a low-scoring game his shots and blocks will be there.  

Last week, game 1 of the Avs/Oilers series, my lineup yielded 4 goals, 6 assists, 14 shots, 8 blocks, and the goalie "win" even if Kuemper didn't finish the game.   Nice profit.  

Enjoy the game tonight, have an adult beverage (if appropriate), and tell your partner that you really, REALLY, REALLY can't explain what goalie interference is.  

Comments @dokhockey