Daily Fantasy Hockey Picks for DraftKings & FanDuel - 4/19/16

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Welcome back for another night of playoff hockey with Daily Fantasy Sports Rankings. Tonight we have another four game slate as the first round series' are starting to take shape. The Penguins and the Rangers are tied at one game a piece as their series shifts to New York. The Red Wings are at home to the Lightning as they are down 2-1  in their series. The Blackhawks also get a home matchup as they look to even up their series at two with the Blues. The Predators will look to take a commanding 3-0 lead on home ice as they took the first two games from the Ducks in Anaheim. Get ready for some exciting hockey and another great opportunity for DFS tonight.

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

Ben Bishop
Opponent - DET
FD - 9700 DK - 8300

Bishop played another solid game on Saturday making 28 saves on 30 shots he faced but Petr Mrazek and the Red Wings defense was better. They only allowed the Lightning to tally 16 shots on goal and that wasn't enough to get one past Mrazek. The Bolts still hold a 2-1 series lead and will have to break the home team momentum if they want to grab commanding 3-1 lead in the series heading back to Tampa Bay. The home team has won eight straight games between these two teams. Look for another strong game from Bishop as his offense attempts to get back on track.

Corey Crawford
Opponent - STL
FD - 8800 DK - 8200

The Hawks will need a huge performance from Crawford tonight as they attempt to even up the series with the Blues at home on Tuesday night. It's not that Crawford has been bad in the first three games(six goals on 85 shots for a .932 save %) but Brian Elliott has been much better allowing only four goals and recording a .962 save %. If Crawford can keep the Hawks in the game long enough for his offense to get the first couple goals this series should be tied by nights end before heading back to St. Louis for Game #5.

CENTER

Evgeni Malkin
Opponent - NYR
FD - 9200 DK - 7200

He returned to the Penguins lineup in game two and picked up just under 20 minutes of ice time. He picked up an assist and floated around between the third line and the first line in his return. He will most likely center the third line of Rust and Sheary to start the game but should also see some time with Sidney Crosby, especailly on the powerplay. If he coems out at full strength tonight he could be just what the Pens need to kick start their offense that was mostly shut down in game two. Pay close attention to the morning skate to confirm who he will be paired with to start the game. If you can't afford Crosby tonight, Malkin is close to $1,000 cheaper on both sites.

Stack with - Sidney Crosby(PP), Connor Sheary, Chris Kunitz, Patric Hornqvist

Derek Stepan
Opponent - PIT
FD - 7700 DK - 6500

In the same game there is a very affordable center option on the opposite bench who has been consistent for the Rangers in the first two games. Stepan has scored two goals in the first two games and added 11 shots on goal for a very stable floor, especially for cash games. No word yet if Marc-Andre Fleury will return to the Pens net on Tuesday and if he doesn't it will increase the value of the Rangers forwards as they seemed to have solved Jeff Zatkoff.

Stack with - Mats Zuccarello, Chris Kreider

Also Consider - Tyler Johnson - Tampa Bay Lightning @ DET

WINGERS

Patrick Kane
Opponent - STL
FD - 9000 DK - 8800

The NHL leader in points during the regular season has been somewhat shut down in the first three games of this series. After being held pointless in a 1 -0 loss in game one, he has tallied three points in the next two games but still sees his team down a game to the St. Louis Blues. The issue hasn't been the effort for the Hawks who have fired 109 shots on goal in the first three games. The problem has been that Brian Elliott is playing amazing right now and has stolen two games for the Blues. After a day off, look for the Hawks to come out flying with an adjusted strategy to shake Elliott's confidence and get back even in this series.

Stack with - Artem Anisimov, Artemi Panarin

David Backes
Opponent - CHI
FD - 6300 DK - 5300

As mentioned above the leader of the Blues so far has been their goalie Brian Elliott. They haven't needed the big offensive explosion to stay in the game with the Hawks. They could moving forward as the Hawks should be playing desperate and if they can start scoring on Elliott the Blues are going to need an answer. Backes has been the Blues top offensive threat so far with three points(one in each game) so far in the series while adding six shots on goal and four blocks(DraftKings bonus). He makes a solid, consistent cash game option with upside for GPP's if this game becomes high scoring.

Stack with - Alexander Steen, Patrik Berglund

Also Consider - Jakob Silfverberg - Anaheim Ducks @ NSH

DEFENSE

Duncan Keith
Opponent - STL
FD - 5600 DK - 6100

In the two games since returning from suspension, Keith has skated 25+ minutes and has already added two points for the Blackhawks. He is also a solid choice with his shot volume(nine shots in his first two playoff games) and gets most of the PP time giving him upside for GPP's if the Hawks can figure out how to beat Brian Elliott on a consistent basis.

Niklas Kronwall
Opponent - TB
FD - 3300 DK - 4100

The veteran blue liner for the Red Wings has been skated 20+ minutes in each of the first three games of this series. He has picked up an assist and added eight shots on goal while also adding six blocks. He is extremely cheap on both sites and with the amount of star power at the forward position, you are going to need one or two punt plays to fit them all in tonight.

Also Consider - Mattias Ekholm - Nashville Predators vs. ANH

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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