NHL Best Bets & DFS Cheat Sheet, 4/21: Picks, Predictions & Player Props

Welcome to the NHL Playoffs! Like we did throughout the regular season, the Fantasy Alarm will have you covered in the playoffs. You’ll find our daily NHL Best Bets along with which players you should be targeting in DFS.

We’ve conveniently put it all in one article, just to make life simple. If you have more questions, make sure to hit up the Fantasy Alarm NHL Discord. Let’s dive into the action and build a winning lineup!

NHL Picks, Predictions & Best Bets Today, 4/21

I’ll give you one Moneyline, one Total and one Player Prop to target for this slate. 

The postseason is a completely different animal, so let’s start off slow and work our way up. No need to go nuts right out of the game.

Oilers vs. Kings Prediction: Monday, April 21st

If there is ever a time for the Los Angeles Kings to get past the Edmonton Oilers, it’s now. Edmonton may have the two best players in the world, but they don’t have a ton of depth and their blueline is fragile. Mattias Ekholm will not play in the first round, so that leaves them with a massive hole.

The Kings finish the regular season with the best home ice record. Darcy Kuemper led the way with a 20-3-2 record at home, so I don’t see why that would fall apart now. He is the key to this team making it out of the first round. We’ll give Los Angeles the edge tonight and take them to cover the Money Line.

• Kings ML (-130 on DraftKings)

Canadiens vs. Capitals Prediction: Monday, April 21st

The Montreal Canadiens have made their return to the postseason and the city is ready to embrace every moment of this journey. The Capitals finished the regular season with the best record in the Eastern Conference, so it’s not surprising to see them come into tonight as heavy favourites. 

The total at DK is still sitting at 6.5, so we will jump all over that. The Capitals can score goals, but the Canadiens can’t. They struggled all year to generate shots, and in their last five games, it was a serious issue. Logan Thompson is expected to be ready for Game One, so that should push the total even lower. 

• Under 6.5 (-135 on DraftKings)

Canadiens vs. Capitals Prediction: Monday, April 21st

Ivan Demidov is elite and it’s only a matter of time before the rest of the league figures it out. The kid was electric in his first regular-season game--scoring one goal and adding an assist-- but was a lot quieter in his second game against Carolina. He played just over 10 minutes in that game, which isn’t surprising considering how important that game was.

Now that the rookie has had some time to get up to speed and more practice time with his teammates, Martin St. Louis needs to give his most gifted forward a chance to showcase his skillset. I know it’s the playoffs and defence wins championships, but you still need to generate shots on goal and score goals, something Demidov is very good at. If the Habs are trailing in the third, look for the bench to get extra short and for Demidov to see a bump in minutes.

• Ivan Demidov 1+ points (+125 on DraftKings)

Today's NHL DFS Cheat Sheet & Stacks

Goalie Of The Day: Darcy Kuemper - LAK

I know I sound like a broken record, but maybe it’s because some of you aren’t listening. Darcy Kuemper is beyond elite on home ice, and yet, DraftKings is giving him to us at just $7,800. The Oilers have two generational players on their team, and that’s it. If the Kings can find a way to contain them, they should be able to come away with the win. Kuemper needs the win to hit value, and I think he gets there tonight.

Player Of The Day: Nathan MacKinnon - COL

The Dallas Stars did not look good in Game One against Colorado, and I don’t know how much better they will be tonight. Nathan MacKinnon finished with one goal, two assists and six shots on goal in that game and I expect him to put together another strong performance. He’s expensive, but that might help keep his ownership low.

Value Play Of The Day: Gabriel Landeskog - COL

We don’t know yet if Gabriel Landeskog will play tonight, but if he does, he is a name to consider. He looked pretty good in his AHL stint, but this is a whole different level. The Colorado captain hasn’t played an NHL game since 2022, but if he’s capable of playing, you know he’s going to find the scoresheet and give it his all. If he isn’t able to play, the next-best option would be Ivan Demidov.

Player Pool

• FanDuel
• DraftKings

$ Tier	C	W	D	G
High	Leon Draisaitl $8,800	Alex Ovechkin $7,800	Cale Makar $8,000	Logan Thompson $8,400
	Nathan MacKinnon $9,500	Kyle Connor $7,700		Connor Hellebuyck $8,200
Medium	Wyatt Johnston $5,700	Adrian Kempe $6,200	Thomas Harley $5,300	Darcy Kuemper $7,800
	Quinton Byfield $5,300	Valeri Nichushkin $6,000	Jakob Chychrun $5,200
		Tom Wilson $5,500
Low	Brock Nelson $5,000	Evgenii Dadonov $3,000	Jake Walman $4,700	Sam Montembeault $7,000
	Christian Dvorak $3,900	Ivan Demidov $3,700	David Savard $2,800	Jake Oettinger $7,400
		Artturi Lehkonen $4,900	Rasmus Sandin $3,500

Stacks

Capitals	Alex Ovechkin	Dylan Strome	Tom Wilson
DraftKings	7800	5600	5500
Fanduel	8300	7200	6900

Avalanche	Cale Makar	Martin Necas	Nathan MacKinnon
DraftKings	8000	6400	9500
Fanduel	7000	4300	9000

Kings	Quinton Byfield	Adrian Kempe	Kevin Fiala
DraftKings	5300	6200	5800
Fanduel	6000	7400	6700

Capitals	Alex Ovechkin	Dylan Strome	Tom Wilson
DraftKings	7800	5600	5500
Fanduel	8300	7200	6900

Avalanche	Cale Makar	Martin Necas	Nathan MacKinnon
DraftKings	8000	6400	9500
Fanduel	7000	4300	9000

Kings	Quinton Byfield	Adrian Kempe	Kevin Fiala
DraftKings	5300	6200	5800
Fanduel	6000	7400	6700