Daily Fantasy Hockey Picks for DraftKings & FanDuel - 4/16/16

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Welcome back for another exciting day of daily fantasy hockey, playoff edition. If you jumped on board with my picks last night you probably fared as well as I did. The Lightning exploded again, this time with five goals. The Panthers came back in a big way and beat the Islanders and as I write this the Hawks and Blues are tied at one going to the 3rd period with Duncan Keith scoring in his first game back.

Today we get our first taste of afternoon, playoff hockey with the New York Rangers in Pittsburgh for game two of their series. It is still uncertain whether either Lundqvist or Fleury will be back between the pipes so stay tuned to your favorite injury outlet prior to the 1:00 pm et start time.

There are three more games starting at 7:00 pm et with no series playing on back to back days. Zach Parise will be out once again for the Wild while the Stars will get Tyler Seguin back in the lineup. The Flyers suffered a huge loss in game one of their series with the Capitals as Sean Couturier will be out for two weeks with an upper body injury.

If you have any questions throughout the day be sure to join the conversation in the comments section below. Also, be sure to check LeftWingLock to get confirmation on all of the starting goalies for Tuesday. Now onto the picks.

Goaltenders

Kari Lehtonen
Opponent - MIN
FD - 8800 DK - 7500

He was impressive in game one stopping all 22 shots in a shutout win vs. the Wild to take a 1-0 lead in the series. It should have been more than enough to earn him another start on Saturday in game two. He will again have a great shot at a win with the Wild still without star forward Zach Parise for at least another game. Look for the Stars to again take advantage and take a strangle hold on the series. Safe in all formats.

Braden Holtby
Opponent - PHI
FD - 10200 DK - 8500

Another goalie who was impressive in game one and finished with a shutout win. He only faced 19 shots but many of them were quality chances that he turned away. The Caps look dominant all around and look poised for a deep run in the playoffs. Their chances for a win got a boost after the Flyers announced Sean Couturier would miss up to two weeks with an upper body injury. He is one of the Flyers best two way players and was responsible for shutting down the Caps offensive stars. I am a Flyer fan but also a realist and can clearly see that the Caps are the better team. Expect a better effort from Philly today but it just won't be enough to get past the Caps.

Also Consider - Jonathan Quick - Los Angeles Kings vs. SJ

CENTER

Jeff Carter
Opponent - SJ
FD - 7500 DK - 6400

The projection system has put Carter at the top of the PTS/$ list today and I tend to agree. Game one between the Sharks and Kings saw a higher scoring game than I think anyone expected. Carter scored but was a -2 overall in the loss. The Kings did not play well defensively leaving their goalie vulnerable all game. Look for a much stronger game on Saturday from Carter and the entire Kings team. Carter provides a stable floor and can be trusted in cash games with his shot volume and has multi point upside needed for GPP's.

Stack with - Tyler Toffoli, Dustin Brown

Evgeny Kuznetsov
Opponent - PHI
FD - 6100 DK - 6600

The Flyers loss of Sean Couturier is going to mean they are going to have to pick their poison on who to shut down in this one. My bet is they first try and stop the NHL leader in goals, Alex Ovechkin. This could leave Kuznetsov with some space to operate on Saturday and he oculd very easily pick up his first ponts of the 2016 playoffs. While he didn't score in game one he recorded seven shots on goal in 15 minutes of ice time. If it wasn't for Steve Mason game one coudl have got out of hand and been much higher scoring. Expect another strong game from the Caps emerging star.

Stack with - Justin Williams, Andre Burakovsky

Also Consider - Sidney Crosby - Pittsburgh Penguins vs. NYR

WINGERS

Tyler Seguin
Opponent - MIN
FD - 7800 DK - 7900
Jamie Benn
Opponent - MIN
FD - 8900 DK - 8300

Tyler Seguin will make his return to the ice on Saturday night for game two of the series with the Wild. This is an added boost to a team that dominated game one against a short handed Wild team without their star player. Benn and Seguin tore up Minnesota during the regular season with 16 combined points in five games played. Benn added three more points in game one and now with Seguin back they can again form the top scoring duo of any team in playoffs. I kind of feel bad for the Wild defense and goaltender today!

Stack with - Patrick Sharp, Jason Spezza

Patric Hornqvist
Opponent - NYR
FD - 7800 DK - 7200

It was an impressive debut to the 2016 playoffs for Hornqvist who picked up a hat trick and added an assist in a Penguins dominating game one win vs. the Rangers. It was a fast paced game that saw both teams eclipse 30 shots on goal but it was the Pens third stringer Jef Zatkoff shutting down the Rangers while Hornqvist and the top line for the Pens took advantage when Henrik Lundqvist was forced out of the game after the first period. Word is that Lundqvist will be back for game two as he was spotted practicing Friday. This doesn't change my opinion on Hornqvist who is affordable on both sites and plays alongside the best player in the world(tough to spit out as a Flyers fan), Sidney Crosby.

Stack with - Sidney Crosby, Chris Kunitz

Also Consider - Tomas Hertl - San Jose Sharks @ LAK

DEFENSE

Brent Burns
Opponent - LA
FD - 7600 DK - 8700
Kris Letang
Opponent - NYR
FD - 8300 DK - 7400

Both are elite options, especially in a playoff atmosphere. Both can provide multi point upside and provide a safe floor with shot volume and play over 25 minutes of ice time a game. I list them both due to the price differences on the two sites. Play Burns on FanDuel and Letang on DraftKings if you are looking for the best value. If not go contrarian and play both of them with some cheap line stacks.

Jake Muzzin
Opponent - SJ
FD - 4500 DK - 5700

Terrific mid range option safe in all formats as he contributes in many categories for fantasy. I listed Muzzin all year in my articles and he paid the bills and rarely let me down. In game one he picked up a goal for the Kings on four shots and added three blocks(DraftKings bonus) in over 25 minutes of ice time. He skates on the second unit even strength but gets time on the top powerplay alongside Drew Doughty.

Also Consider - Matt Niskanen - Washington Capitals vs. PHI

Daily Updates Below:

***All advanced stats in this article are sourced from www. puckalytics.com***

***All goaltender and team line combination information is provided by www.leftwinglock.com***

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