NHL Best Bets & DFS Cheat Sheet, 4/23: 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, 4/23

I’ll give you one Puck Line, 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 gate.

Oilers vs. Kings Prediction: Wednesday, April 23rd 

The Los Angeles Kings almost blew a 4-1 lead, but thanks to Philipp Danault, that didn’t happen. The Oilers are a good offensive team because of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but after that, it’s #NotGood. Stuart Skinner was pretty bad, and the defense did him no favors. 

Not only are we going to back the Kings again on home ice tonight, but we are taking the Puck Line. Evander Kane is back in the lineup, and he hasn’t played hockey in almost a year, while John Klingberg makes his return to the blue line. Neither player will make this team better. They probably make them worse. We may need an empty net goal to cover, but we are still going to take our chances.

• Kings Puck Line (+195 on DraftKings)

Stars vs. Avalanche Prediction: Wednesday, April 23rd 

With the series tied 1-1 and shifting to Colorado, we should be in for a real scoring explosion. The Avalanche are dominant on home ice and there’s a good chance Gabriel Landeskog makes his return to the lineup. We were teased last game, but he took warmup and has been at practice, so all signs point to him being back and that would be a massive boost.

Dallas was able to score four goals last game, and they should be able to generate scoring chances tonight. The problem is going to be keeping the puck out of their net. Jake Oettinger is a very good goalie, but his numbers in the regular season were below-average. The number seems pretty high at 6.5, but it would shock me to see it hit before the third period even starts.

• Over 6.5 (-102 on DraftKings)

Canadiens vs. Capitals Prediction: Wednesday, April 23rd 

The Montreal Canadiens may have lost Game 1, but they reminded the Capitals that they won’t go down without a fight. They scored two in the third period, forcing the game to overtime, only to have Alex Ovechkin score his first career OT goal. This game will be another tight-checking affair, but we need to take the Canadiens seriously. 

The Habs averaged just over 25 shots on goal per game on the road during the regular season, but in Game 1, they had 35, and before anyone says anything, they had ZERO in overtime. Montreal isn’t a team that will generate a ton of scoring chances, but there seems to be a willingness to shoot the puck more against a Capitals defense that is decent. 

Logan Thompson’s save total is sitting at 22.5, and that is too low. That number should be higher after what we saw in Game 1, so we’ll take the over and move on to better things. 

• Logan Thompson O/22.5 SVs (-105 on DraftKings)

Today's NHL DFS Cheat Sheet & Stacks

Goalie Of The Day: Darcy Kuemper - LAK

I refuse to not play Darcy Kuemper when he is playing on home ice. I know he gave up five goals last game, but that doesn’t scare me off. The Oilers are a two-player team with a below-average goalie and a terrible defense. Kuemper’s price tag is still at $7,800, so maybe that scares others off, but not us. We are going right back to him with confidence.

Player Of The Day: Cole Caufield - MTL

Some of you are going to call this a ‘’homer’’ pick and that couldn’t be further from the truth. Cole Caufield scored 38 goals this season, 25 of which came on the road. He scored in Game 1 and racked up five shots on goal. For the Canadiens to have any hope of winning this game, their top line will need to do damage, and they will. Caufield’s price tag actually dropped by $300 on DK, so plug him in and move on.

Value Play Of The Day: Gabriel Landeskog - COL

Like I said earlier, we were teased with Landeskog’s return last game, but tonight, he’s going to be in the lineup. It’s too early to tell what kind of impact he will have, but at $3,000, I’ll take my chances with the Colorado captain, and so should you.

Player Pool

• FanDuel
• DraftKings

$ Tier	C	W	D	G
High	Nathan MacKinnon $9,300	Alex Ovechkin $8,000	Cale Makar $7,800	Logan Thompson $8,200
	Leon Draisaitl $8,500			Mackenzie Blackwood $8,000
Medium	Nick Suzuki $6,600	Adrian Kempe $6,200	Thomas Harley $5,200	Darcy Kuemper $7,800
	Dylan Strome $5,900	Martin Necas $6,100	Jakob Chychrun $5,400
		Tom Wilson $5,600
		Andrei Kuzmenko $5,300
Low	Pierre-Luc Dubois $5,000	Ivan Demidov $3,400	Lane Hutson $4,600	Sam Montembeault $7,200
	Brock Nelson $4,800	Anthony Beauvillier $3,600	David Savard $2,700
	Quinton Byfield $5,300		Jake Walman $4,500

Stacks

Canadiens	Lane Hutson	Cole Caufield	Nick Suzuki
DraftKings	4600	6500	6600
Fanduel	5800	7200	7700

Avalanche	Cale Makar	Martin Necas	Nathan MacKinnon
DraftKings	7800	6100	9300
Fanduel	7000	6300	9000

Kings	Quinton Byfield	Adrian Kempe	Kevin Fiala
DraftKings	5300	6200	6000
Fanduel	6000	7300	6700

Capitals	Alex Ovechkin	Dylan Strome	Tom Wilson
DraftKings	8000	5900	5600
Fanduel	8300	7200	6900

Canadiens	Lane Hutson	Cole Caufield	Nick Suzuki
DraftKings	4600	6500	6600
Fanduel	5800	7200	7700

Avalanche	Cale Makar	Martin Necas	Nathan MacKinnon
DraftKings	7800	6100	9300
Fanduel	7000	6300	9000

Kings	Quinton Byfield	Adrian Kempe	Kevin Fiala
DraftKings	5300	6200	6000
Fanduel	6000	7300	6700

Capitals	Alex Ovechkin	Dylan Strome	Tom Wilson
DraftKings	8000	5900	5600
Fanduel	8300	7200	6900