NHL Best Bets & DFS Cheat Sheet, 4/29: Picks, Predictions & Player Props
Published: Apr 29, 2025
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, 4/29
Oilers vs. Kings Prediction: Tuesday, April 29th
I realize that in the Stanley Cup Playoffs you should expect the unexpected but what went down in this series in Games 3 and 4 in Edmonton was bonkers. The Oilers twice came from behind in the 3rd period and in the process evened the series at 2 games a piece. While I am impressed by it its not sustainable even with Connor McDavid on the ice.
The Kings are a well built collective team that plays like a group and they have learned how not to play against this Oilers team. I believe they are better coached and are a deeper unit as well plus they were one of the best home teams in the NHL this season and are 2-0 to start the playoffs. They are a slight favorite to win tonight as they should be and I agree with the books, the Oilers magic of pulling the rabbit out of the hat just can't continue so give me the Kings on the Money Line.
- Kings Money Line (-130 on DraftKings Sportsbook)
Senators vs Maple Leafs Prediction: Tuesday, April 29th
I rode with the Senators in Game 4 mainly on the basis that its hard to sweep a team and its even harder to do it on the road, that sentiment rung true as the Sens took home the win but now they face a Game 5 in Toronto and I think it just may be the end of the road.
Its no secret that the Maple Leafs have been the better team for large stretches of the series as they've allowed just 10 goals and Anthony Stolarz has been lockdown in net. The Leafs could do a bit more on offense moving forward but they've done just enough this series for me to believe they close it out in 5. Look for the Senators to play desperate hockey as they should and that'll open up chances for the skilled Leafs forwards, they are very interesting to me in DFS tonight but for this spot give me the Leafs on the Money Line.
- Leafs Money Line (-155 on DraftKings Sportsbook)
Today's NHL DFS Cheat Sheet & Stacks
Goalie Of The Day: Pyotr Kochetkov - CAR
The Carolina Hurricanes are the most heavily favored team tonight in this 4-game slate as they return home to try and end this series against the Devils in Game 5. Its easy to see why they could close out tonight as the Devils offense has disappeared for large parts of the series and they rank 12th this postseason in expected goals for.
The Hurricanes also do an excellent job on the their own end defending the net allowing just 7 goals through the opening 4 games of the series. Kochetkov may not have the highest ceiling on the slate but he does have the best matchup and he's going to be my goalie tonight.
Player Of The Day: Adrian Kempe - LAK
I wouldn't fault anyone for putting McDavid or Matthews here but since I spent up at goalie I will go a little cheaper for the play of the day here. Kempe and the Kings have been having a field day against the Oilers defense and goaltending in this series so far with 19 goals, the most in the postseason of any team. Kempe has done some heavy lifting for that stat as he has 4 goals and 5 assists through 4 games. Hard to see him slowing down now, let's lock him in.
Value Play Of The Day: Matthew Knies - TOR
Value plays tonight should come from either the Maple Leafs or Golden Knight in my opinion as they're both great teams at home and they have cheaper players going big minutes. That's Knies for me tonight as he's averaged around 20 mins of total ice time in this series and he has 3 goals in the series so far. The shots on goal floor could be higher but for a guy that plays the top line with Matthews at this price point he's a must play for me.
Player Pool
| $ Tier | C | G | W | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Connor McDavid  $9,000 |  Pyotr Kochetkov $8,400 | ||
 Auston Matthews $8,700 | ||||
| Medium |  Jack Eichel $7,500 | Anthony Stolarz $8,000 |  Adrian Kempe $7,200 | Evan Bouchard $6,800 |
| Anze Kopitar $5,500 | Mitch Marner $6,900 | Morgan Rielly $5,100 | ||
| Kevin Fiala $6,200 | ||||
| Pavel Dorofeyev $5,700 | ||||
| Low | Phillip Danault $4,100 | Darcy Kuemper $7,800 | Matthew Knies $5,300 | Drew Doughty $4,600 |
 Marco Rossi $3,100 | Jackson Blake $4,300 | Alex Pietrangelo $4,800 | ||
| Ivan Barbashev $4,100 | Jared Spurgeon $3,800 |
Stacks
| Maple Leafs | Auston Matthews | Mitch Marner | Matthew Knies |
| DraftKings | 8700 | 6900 | 5300 |
 Fanduel | - | - | - |
| Kings | Anze Kopitar | Adrian Kempe | Kevin Fiala |
| DraftKings | 5500 | 7200 | 6200 |
| Fanduel | - | - | - |
Player News
Masyn Winn went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored in the Cardinals’ 2-0 win over the Rangers on Saturday.
Winn led off the fourth inning with a double and scored on a hit by Willson Contreras. He later added a base hit in the eighth for his third multi-hit game in his last four contests. The 23-year-old shortstop is hitting .304 with five home runs since moving to the second spot in the batting order on April 30.
Ryan Helsley struck out two batters in a scoreless ninth inning to record the save against the Rangers on Saturday.
Helsley got the save chance in the ninth with a two-run lead over the Rangers. He worked a perfect frame, striking out two batters for his 13th save of the season to go with a 3.00 ERA and 23 strikeouts over 21 innings.
Sonny Gray tossed seven scoreless innings with ten strikeouts in a win over the Rangers on Saturday.
Gray was outstanding on Saturday, shutting down the Rangers over seven scoreless frames. He scattered four hits and walked one batter while collecting ten strikeouts on 19 whiffs. The 35-year-old right-hander ends the day with a 3.65 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and a 76/14 K/BB ratio across 69 innings. Gray will take on the Dodgers in St. Louis on Friday.
Patrick Corbin allowed two runs with three strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings in a loss against the Cardinals on Saturday.
After a scoreless first inning, the Cardinals scored a run in the second without recording a hit with a walk, wild pitch, and sacrifice fly. A pair of doubles plated a second run in the fourth inning. Corbin would pitch into the sixth, recording one out and leaving with a runner on base at 83 pitches. The 35-year-old left-hander has been surprisingly solid for the Rangers as he’s yet to allow more than three runs in any outing. He’ll take a 3.71 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, and a 41/18 K/BB ratio across 53 1/3 innings into a start against the Rays in Tampa on Thursday.
Spencer Schwellenbach fanned 11 over 6 1/3 innings in the Braves’ 5-0 shutout of the Red Sox on Saturday.
The Red Sox were the only team that hadn’t been shut out this season, but that’s over now. Schwellenbach and Walker Buehler were both about 1.5 mph over their typical velocities in this one, which had us wondering if there was some sort of calibration issue. However, the relievers that followed in the contest were at their norms or below. Schwellenbach was recorded hitting 100 mph twice and averaged 98.1 mph with his 49 fastballs. It’s the second straight outing in which he’s tied his career high of 11 strikeouts, and he went without allowing a run for the first time since doing so in each of his first two outings of the year. Schwellenbach will take a 4-4 record and a 3.13 ERA into his next start against the Giants.
Walker Buehler surrendered five runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings Saturday in a loss to the Braves.
Buehler had good velocity and struck out six today, but he gave up 10 hits and 11 hard-hit balls, two of them homers. The loss leaves him 4-3 with a 4.44 ERA. He’s a mediocre mixed-league play most weeks and a bad one with his next start coming at Yankee Stadium.