RADIO
Welcome, RotoBallers! If you do not know me, my name is Brandon and I write both The First-Serve and The Kick-Off for Tennis and Soccer respectively. If you have not checked those out, make sure you do! It is the return of the NHL season which means it's time to sharpen our MLB skills and partake in NHL DFS! As always, I'll give you the best tools to succeed and the info you need to build the best lineups possible for your GPP and cash game NHL contests on both DraftKings and FanDuel.
Today I'll be bringing you my NHL lineup picks, analysis, and advice for NHL DFS contests on DraftKings and FanDuel Thursday, 20th, 2023 at 7:00 PM EST. Be sure to also check out our awesome NHL tools including our Lineup Optimizer, Research Station, Projections, and DFS Cheat Sheets!
If you have any questions on today's slate, bankroll management, GPP strategy, Cash game strategy, or anything else don’t hesitate to email me at [email protected] or via Twitter @df_solutions or in our premium slack chat. Good luck, RotoBallers!
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NHL DFS Analysis and Picks for 4/20/23
The 2022-2023 National Hockey League regular season has come and gone. We had our fair share of surprise teams failing and succeeding, as well as, a few big trade splashes throughout the season. With the closure of the regular season, we welcome another run of postseason play and content. During the playoffs, it is much more common to find low-scoring and heavy-hitting games. Keep in mind that teams that showcase a high aptitude to score goals, will play much tighter and be a bit pickier with their shots. Tonight we have a 4-game slate with no teams playing on a back-to-back. The currently live top-3 highest implied team totals are: Toronto with 3.8, Colorado with 3.7 and New Jersey with 3. I will do my best to guide you through this four-game slate on DraftKings and FanDuel starting at 7:00 p.m. EST.
DISCLOSURE: Make sure to monitor the news feed and play at your own risk
Playoff Series Standings:
Tampa Bay Lightning 1 at Toronto Maple Leafs 0
New York Rangers 1 at New Jersey Devils 0
Seattle Kraken 1 at Colorado Avalanche 0
Winnipeg Jets 1 at Vegas Golden Knights 0
Goalies
Igor Shesterkin - DK $7.6K || FD $7.4K
Opponent - New Jersey Devils
Somehow Shesterkin is remarkably ‘cheap’ after a tremendous effort in Game 1, stopping 27 of 28 shots en route to a 5-1 victory and a 0.964 Save Percentage. The Devils have played around start center Jack Hughes all season and the playoffs have not changed that strategy. Add in the lack of playoff experience and this makes it ‘too simple’ for Shesterkin and the Rangers to head to the Big Apple with a 2-0 series lead.
Others To Consider (Cash/GPP): Samsonov (DK $7.9K || FD $7.8K), Vasilevskiy (DK $7.5K || FD $7.6K)
Centers
Mika Zibanejad - DK $6.7K || FD $7.4K
Opponent - New Jersey Devils
While many focus on the likes of Nathan MacKinnon, Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel, Mika Zibanejad is flying under the radar at a very manageable salary. In Game 1 he did very little, taking 1 shot and blocking 1 shot. However, over the season in 4 games against the Devils, Zibanejad has 1 goal, 3 assists and 9 shots. With other areas to spend salary on and the Devils giving up 5 goals in Game 1, it is worth spending on a lesser-owned center in hopes of an explosive Game 2.
Nathan MacKinnon - DK $9.9K || FD $9.6K
Opponent - Seattle Kraken
MacKinnon and the Avalanche were skating in circles in Game 1 as the Kraken upset the reigning Stanley Cup Champions in their postseason debut. In that game, MacKinnon was unsurprisingly one of the main producers for the Avalanche with 1 assist, 7 shots and 1 blocked shot. The hosts are desperate to tie the series as they head to Seattle this weekend and MacKinnon will be at the forefront of any and all production. In 3 games versus the Kraken in the regular season, MacKinnon had 1 goal and 10 shots.
Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): O'Reilly (DK $4.7K || FD $4.5K), Namestnikov (DK $2.7K || FD $3.5K)
Wings
Alex Killorn - DK $4.3K || FD $4.4K
Opponent - Toronto Maple Leafs
Depending on which way you look at things, Killorn disappointed in Game 1 on Tuesday with just one assist in the game. After being praised for his big body and peripheral play, he did very little with either in the 7-3 thumping of the Maple Leafs. We are going right back at it and running Killorn again. It is only a matter of time until he takes advantage of the gritty style of hockey that is played in the playoffs. It is also a possibility that if Tampa goes up early in Game 2 other players like Killorn could see increased ice time.
Evan Rodrigues - DK $4.6K || FD $4.6K
Opponent - Seattle Kraken
Despite Artturi Lehkonen returning to the lineup, Rodrigues has stayed on the top line with teammate Nathan MacKinnon in an effort to balance the offense between the top nine. Somehow, Rodrigues’s salary is still under $5K on DraftKings for Game 2, after a solid performance in Game 1 – took six shots –. As mentioned time and time again throughout the article, the Avalanche will do everything in their power to tie the series before they hit the road and Rodrigues will benefit greatly from playing alongside MacKinnon and Rantanen at even-strength. In his last five games in the regular season, he had 1 goal, 2 assists, 8 shots and 5 blocked shots.
Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Tavares (DK $6.8K || FD $7.6K), Kane (DK $5.1K || FD $5.4K)
Defense
Vince Dunn - DK $4.4K || FD $4.8K
Opponent - Colorado Avalanche
Vince Dunn was part of a night to remember for the Kraken franchise and fan base as Seattle washed down the Avalanche in a 3-1 upset in their postseason debut. In that game, Dunn had 3 shots and 3 blocked shots, hitting the blocked shot bonus and just missing the shot bonus, both on DraftKings. In his final five games of the regular season, he had 1 goal, 7 shots and 6 blocked shots. With the Avalanche desperate to tie up the series heading to Seattle this weekend, they will be firing shots from left, right and center, leaving plenty of opportunity for Dunn to rack up peripherals.
Nick Perbix - DK $3.1K || FD $3.6K
Opponent - Toronto Maple Leafs
Despite Victor Hedman having a few injury issues in the regular season, the league has an unusual amount of injuries in the First Round of the playoffs this year. Hedman is questionable coming into Game 2 and throughout the season when he would miss time, teammate Nick Perbix took over his responsibilities, including quarterbacking the second power-play unit. In Game 1, he had 1 assist and 2 blocked shots. In a combined effort, the Maple Leafs and Lighting took 65+ shots during that game. Similar to Colorado, Toronto’s back is up against the wall before heading down south this weekend to Tampa and they will take every chance they can to score. Perbix is more of a defensive player with a hint of offensive upside playing perfectly into the narrative.
Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Girard (DK $4.1K || FD $4.1K), Miller (DK $3.8K || FD $4.3K)
NHL DFS Top Power Plays and Stacks
- COL1
- TB1
Brandon's Stack of the Day
- WPG: Ehlers-Namestnikov-Pionk
Chalk Stack
- COL: Rodriguez-MacKinnon-Rantanen
Sneaky Stack
- NJ: Mercer-Hughes-Bratt
