NHL DFS Showdown Playbook June 7: Tampa Bay Lightning vs New York Rangers
We have an NHL DFS showdown slate for today’s game four in the Eastern Conference Finals between Steven Stamkos and the Tampa Bay Lightning facing Mika Zibanejad and the New York Rangers. You can build daily fantasy hockey lineups on DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo Fantasy for Tuesday, June 7th NHL playoffs action. Before you build those NHL daily fantasy lineups, don’t forget to check out our NHL DFS projections, the NHL Value Finder, and the NHL DFS lineup generator. Let's now take a closer look at the daily fantasy hockey top plays for tonight's NHL DFS Showdown slate.
The Captain
We have some solid options on both teams for the captain spot.
The Rangers are not putting a lot of shots on Andrei Vasilevskiy, but he is a goalie who is capable of putting up big games, but his usage should be based on if you believe he will get the win as his value will be strongly tied to him getting the win.
Nikita Kucherov has the ability to take over the game offensively as displayed by his five points in the last two games. We have also had two games in this series where he has had five shots or more which gives him a nice floor.
If Igor Shesterkin continues to see such a high volume of shots he will be a must-play whether it be in your captain spot or otherwise, but if the Rangers can get the win, then you will see a very high total from Shesterkin which is why he is a great candidate for the captain spot.
Mika Zibanejad has been the Rangers' best player in these playoffs, he has five points in this series, and he has scored in all three games so far as well.
The Rest
We have seen Adam Fox be among the top point producers on defence in these playoffs. He has had multi-point games in four of his last five games, and he has five points in this series so far.
While we haven’t seen big shot totals from Chris Kreider, the production has been there with two goals and four points so far in this series.
Artemi Panarin is another productive option for the Rangers. He has either had multiple points or put up five shots in each of the three games so far.
We have gotten two multi-point games where Steven Stamkos has had six shots or more. When we get those performances from Stammer he is great, we just don’t always see them, but with this game in Tampa, he should be put in more situations where he can shoot.
Corey Perry continues to be a nice option with him getting time on the top power-play. He isn’t as inexpensive as I might like with him only playing 12 minutes a night, but that has been enough for him to be effective on many nights.
We should continue to look at Victor Hedman as an upside play with his ability to affect all of the DFS scoring categories in bulk as we saw in game two where he had two points and five shots on goal, and he blocked three shots. With another point and blocked shot he could have been the highest-scoring player.
Brandon Hagel is a nice low-cost option who is playing second-line minutes(15 plus per game), and he is coming off a five-shot game as well. He is very capable of getting to value and helping you get other top players into your lineup.
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Player News
Dolphins signed No. 13 overall pick DT Kenneth Grant to a four-year contract.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that Grant will sign his contract today. The former Michigan defensive tackle is expected to fill a major void left by Christian Wilkins, who left for the Raiders in the 2024 offseason. Grant totaled 32 tackles, three sacks, and seven TFLs in his final season at Michigan and excelled at stopping the run while also generating 27 pressures in his final season, per PFF.
Daulton Varsho picked up three hits, three RBI and a homer in a win over the Angels on Thursday.
Varsho has only played in seven games this year, but they’ve been seven good ones. He’s homered three times already, and his slugging percentage is a remarkable — and entirely unsustainable — .727 over 22 at-bats. Varsho has been a mediocre offensive player in his two seasons with the Blue Jays, but it’s possible at the age of 28 he’s having a breakout campaign. Far from a guarantee, but possible.
Taylor Ward hit a two-run homer in a loss to the Blue Jays on Thursday.
Ward, 31, gave the Angels a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer off Chris Bassitt in the first inning. He’s now gone deep in two of his last three games, and it ‘improves’ his slash to .181/.224/.391. Ward has been one of the most hot/cold players players in the sport over the last few years, so fantasy managers who can afford to make some roster moves may want to look at Ward while the going is good.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. picked up three hits and scored twice in an 8-5 win over the Angels on Thursday.
Guerrero also drew a walk. It gives the first baseman multiple hits in back-to-back games, and it’s the third time in May that he’s reached that mark. That’s helped raise his average from .268 to .295, and the only thing fantasy managers can be disappointed with is his .432 slugging percentage. That number should continue to climb as the season unfolds, but Vladdy Jr. has had some inconsistent seasons when it comes to power production.
Chad Green picked up his first save of 2025 with a scoreless ninth against the Angels on Thursday.
Green got the save after Jeff Hoffman worked in back-to-back games — and struggled — in the first two contests against the Angels. He struck out two and looked the part while needing just nine pitches to get through the inning. Hoffman should remain the closer, but Green is on his tail if the struggles were to continue.
Chris Bassitt allowed five runs — four earned — while working six-plus innings against the Angels on Thursday while picking up a win.
Bassitt allowed three runs over the first two innings on a pair of homers, but settled down over his next four frames. He came out to work the seventh, but ended up being charged for two more runs after leaving the contest. The 36-year-old veteran has forged a 3.35 ERA and outstanding 49/8 K/BB ratio over the first quarter of the season, but this wasn’t him at his best. He’ll get the Rays next week if the rotation order stays the same for Toronto.