Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8), from Russia, pauses on the ice in the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Dallas Stars, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Welcome back for night #2 of the NHL playoffs. I feel guilty that I am so excited about this year's playoffs yet my team is out on the golf course. Ok, enough about my misery and more about how we can cash in with daily fantasy.
Tonight we have a smaller three-game slate but it is definitely not short of offensive upside. Let's jump right in and preview each of these series and take a look at a few of my top plays from each. If you have any questions about anyone we do not mention please reach out to either me(@Jager_Bombs9) or Ryan(@curlmonster7) on Twitter.
Hockey is back and with it come our NHL projections which help inform these picks every night. When you purchase a DFSR NHL subscription to our base hockey projections you also get access to our brand new NFL DFS suite of tools including full projections, optimal NFL lineups and our Player Lab, which includes filters to help you create NFL lineups for FanDuel and DraftKings for any format. It’s a set of tools well beyond anything we’ve ever had, and something we feel will help our users *ahem* tackle the NFL season.
If you want to see the numbers behind our projections, create lineups with a single click, or research as deeply as your heart desires, click the button below to test out yourself.
TOR Offense (5th) vs. WSH Defense (1st)
WSH Offense (3rd) vs. TOR Defense (22nd)
Favorite to win series (WSH -625)
The biggest favorite in the first round puts the Presidents Trophy winners matched up against the Maple Leafs. Both teams will be looking end different kind of slumps. The Leafs are back in the playoffs after three straight years and will look to win their first opening-round series since 2004. That is a slump right there. The Montreal Expos were still a thing when the Leafs last won a playoff series. The Capitals haven't had trouble making it to the playoffs(8 of the last 9 years) but haven't past the second round in the Ovechkin era. The Caps won the season series two games to one including the final two games by a combined score of 10-6. I am expecting this to be the highest scoring game of the night so let's jump into some picks.
Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 15.97 DK - 4.72
Despite a down year(for Ovi at least), he is coming off a fairly impressive playoff run last year when he recorded a point per game over the first two rounds. For the Caps to take the leap he will have to take it to the next level and against the Leafs who allow more than 32 shots per game, the ceiling is incredibly high for the Russian sniper. If you are playing tournaments, add Nicklas Backstrom and TJ Oshie for huge upside.
Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 10.73 DK - 3.12
If you don't want to play stars and scrubs with Ovi on the small slate, get Kuznetsov into your lineups. He comes with a sub $6K price tag on both sites, skates on the second line and second powerplay unit. He also recorded four points in three games vs. the Leafs this season. He is safe in all formats.
Opponent - WAS
Proj Pts FD - 12.26 DK - 3.55
I will be targeting the Leafs in GPP's only and will look to the JVR line. Even with three points in three games this season, Matthews was held to just four shots and I feel the Caps will put their top defensive unit on him which limits his upside. The trend we saw in the regular season was that this helped JVR big time. He was able to tally four points in those three games but the big difference is that he was able to record 13 shots on goal. Take the savings and build a more balanced lineup if you are stacking Leafs.
NSH Offense (11th) vs. CHI Defense (11th)
CHI Offense (9th) vs. NSH Defense (15th)
Favorite to win series (CHI -278)
The Hawks are the clear favorites in this series with all their experience. They have not missed the playoffs since the 2008/2009 season and have won the Stanley Cup three times over those eight years. They will be looking to rebound after last season's first round exit to the St. Louis Blues in Game 7. The Predators have had a nice run of making the playoffs including two straight years and nine times in teh last 12 years but have never made it out of the second round. They will have a very tough test to kick off this year's playoff tournament as they only won one game out of five this season vs. the Blackhawks. Let's look at the top plays.
Opponent - NAS
Proj Pts FD - 14.38 DK - 4.11
Panarin finished the year off red hot with goals in six of his last seven games and topped last year's total by one goal. He plays on an elite line with Patrick Kane and Artem Anisimov and they will need all the offense they can get vs. a much improved Nashville team this season.
Opponent - NAS
Proj Pts FD - 11.66 DK - 3.47
In what seemed to be a ho-hum season for Keith turned out to be his best offensive season in three years. He broke 50 points and also tallied 183 shots, both his highest totals since the 2013/2014 season and third highest of his career. He sits in the mid $5K range on both sites and is in play in all formats.
Opponent - CHI
Proj Pts FD - 10.92 DK - 3.17
If you are looking to stack the Predator you will definitely get a bit of separation on the smaller slate. Neal is a nice play as a one off in all formats tonight as he has recorded nine shots in his two games since returning to the lineup. He skates on the second line but joins Forsberg, Arvidsson, and Johansen on the top powerplay unit.
CGY Offense (16th) vs. ANH Defense (3rd)
ANH Offense (18th) vs. CGY Defense (14th)
Odds to win series (ANH -238)
The Ducks are the favorite with home ice advantage in the series as their edge comes in their 3rd ranked defense. Bad news for Flames fans as the Ducks controlled the season series four games to one and outside of the Flames 8-3 win outscored them 14-6 in their four wins. This is the playoffs, however, and anything can happen(right Nev?) so never count out a team.
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 13.43 DK - 3.95
He is a much better play on DraftKings as the third most expensive center but is in play on both sites in all formats. He enters the playoffs with a five-game point streak and 15 points in his last 10 games and tallied six points in five games vs. the Flames during the regular season.
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 12.15 DK - 3.6
The Ducks are a team I feel really confident in targeting both top lines tonight. Kesler is cheaper than Getzlaf and hasn't been near as hot coming into the playoffs(8 points last 10 games) but absolutely destroyed the Flames this season with nine points in five games.
Opponent - ANA
Proj Pts FD - 11.98 DK - 3.56
As you can probably already tell I am not a huge fan of the Flames chances in this series although I would love to see an Oilers/Flames second round matchup. For DFS, however, I love Giordano as a top D-man for cash games especially. He provides a nice floor with a nice balance of shots and blocks and has 21 of each over his last 10 games. He has also added six points and has tallied four points in five games vs. the Ducks this season.
Hockey is back and with it comes our NHL projections which help inform these picks every night. When you purchase a DFSR NHL subscription to our base hockey projections you also get access to our brand new NFL DFS suite of tools including full projections, optimal NFL lineups and our Player Lab, which includes filters to help you create NFL lineups for FanDuel and DraftKings for any format. It’s a set of tools well beyond anything we’ve ever had, and something we feel will help our users *ahem* tackle the NFL season.
If you want to see the numbers behind our projections, create lineups with a single click, or research as deeply as your heart desires, click the button below to test out yourself.
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View Comments
I realize I didn't mention a goalie. I will be using Gibson in almost 100% of my lineups with a sprinkle of Rinne.
Good call on Ronnie. Like the Gibson call. #regrets