Welcome back to the NHL Playbook! 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 and which players you should target in DFS. We’ve conveniently put it all in one article to simplify life. 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, 5/9

There may only be two games today, but that doesn’t mean we can’t find some good value. We’ll look at one Total and one Player Prop. Let’s dive right into the action and add some dollar bills (or loonies) to your wallet!

Stars vs Jets Prediction:  Friday, May 9th

The Winnipeg Jets played well in Game 1, but it still wasn’t enough to defeat the Dallas Stars. Mikko Rantanen continues to be the most dominant player over the last week, and it doesn’t look like he’s going to stop anytime soon. The Jets are going to have their hands full again with the entire offense, and we still don’t know if Josh Morrissey is going to play.

We forget that Rantanen is a complete player. Considering how dominant he’s been, it would be wise for the Jets to pay extra attention to him when he’s on the ice. This should open up space for everyone. There are only so many you can watch at once. The three goals in back-to-back games are impressive, but the former Avalanche also has six assists in the last four games. He’s very much capable of making everyone on the ice better. We’ll take him to finish with at least one assist before the night ends.

 

 

 

Maple Leafs vs Panthers: Friday, May 9th

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a commanding 2-0 series lead, but if you think the Florida Panthers aren’t going to fight back, you’re mistaken. They didn’t play poorly on the road, they just didn’t get the result they wanted. Now back home, they’ll get the matchup they want and show the Leafs why they are the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Joseph Woll was good in Game 2, but he’s really going to be tested tonight. The Leafs are getting support from their depth players, which is nice, but their defence is still below-average. The Panthers are lethal up front, and they are going to get some favourable matchups. We should see a healthy amount of scoring chances on each side, which hopefully, leads to a lot of goals. We’ll take the Over in this game and move on to more important things.

 

 

 

NHL DFS Slate & Game Overviews

Florida Panthers vs Toronto Maple Leafs NHL DFS Breakdown:

  • FLA Goals for: 4th TOR Goals for: 5th
  • FLA Goals against: 4th TOR Goals against: 3rd
  • FLA Power play: 5th TOR Power play: 6th
  • FLA Penalty Kill: 2nd TOR Penalty Kill: 7th

In two games, we’ve seen a combined 16 goals scored. I don’t think anyone expected this series to be so high scoring, but it’s been entertaining. With that, we need to target this game and look for some value.

On the Toronto side, there are a few names that come to mind: Max Pacioretty, William Nylander, Mitch Marner and Matthew Knies are all players to consider at different price points. Pacioretty has found a home in the top six, while Nylander sits 3rd in scoring. 

On the back end, we’ll go with the same approach as we did in Game 2. We want to target value defenseman because the upside is massive. Christopher Tanev, Simon Benoit, and Brandon Carlo are all capable of blocking shots. They’ve been doing it since the start of the playoffs, and I expect all three to be very busy tonight.

For the Panthers, it’s all about firepower. Sam Bennett, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, and Eetu Luostarinen are all great options for this slate. Tkachuk and Reinhart are obviously the more expensive players, but you know if the Panthers win tonight, they will be involved.

On the blue line, we will keep it reasonable. Seth Jones has the most offensive upside, but he has struggled to find the scoresheet in two games. Gustav Forsling is a little cheaper, so that’s a route to consider if you need to save some salary. You can consider Aaron Ekblad, but for $500 more, I’ll go with Jones.

If you're convinced that you want to play a goalie from this game, you might as well go with Sergei Bobrovsky. The Russian netminder hasn’t been good so far, yet he’s the most expensive goalie on DK. There’s a ton of risk here, but if he can pick up the win, that will go a long way in him hitting value.

Dallas Stars vs Winnipeg Jets NHL DFS Breakdown:

  • DAL Goals for: 10th WPG Goals for: 12th
  • DAL Goals against: 9th WPG Goals against: 13th
  • DAL Power play: 3rd WPG Power play: 13th
  • DAL Penalty Kill: 3rd WPG Penalty Kill: 9th

As mentioned earlier, Connor Hellebuyck and the Winnipeg Jets were betting in Game 1, but it still wasn’t enough to win. The Stars are a complete hockey team, and honestly, I don’t know how anyone is going to beat them once they are healthy. Jason Robertson made his return to the lineup, but played only 13 minutes. It’s normal to ease a player back after suffering an injury, so maybe we see more of him tonight.

As for the rest of the forward group, Wyatt Johnston and Rantanen are the two players I like the most. Johnston is playing close to 20 minutes a night despite playing on the third line. The points aren’t there just yet, but his on-ice matchup is elite. As for Mikko, well, he just can’t stop scoring. Drink the juice and don’t look back.

Miro Heiskanen has been ruled out for Game 2, so that means we should see another heavy dose of Tomas Harley. We know what he can do offensively, but he’s also pretty elite at blocking shots. Speaking of players getting in front of pucks, Esa Lindell had SEVEN blocks last game. I don’t think we see as many tonight, but he did play a playoff high 27 minutes. If the Stars are up and need to shut things down, look for Lindell to see a lot of ice time.

For the Jets, Mark Scheifele made his return and made an immediate impact. He scored a goal and added seven shots on goal. The shot volume is pretty high, but it was nice to see he was healthy enough to play 22 minutes. 

Gabriel Vilardi is skating on the top line and is just $5500. He also had a strong first game, racking up five shots on goal. Nino Niederreiter and Cole Perfetti are two more names to consider if you’re really feeling the Jets.

Josh Morrissey is a game-time decision, so we need to proceed with caution. Even if he does play, Neal Pionk is still a fantastic option. He played 25 minutes last game and should see a similar amount of ice time tonight. Dylan Samberg and Dylan DeMelo are two players to consider if Morrissey doesn’t play. If he does, we bump DeMelo down.

Goaltending for this game is a box of chocolates-- you have no idea what you’re going to get. On the surface, we should expect a low-scoring affair, but can we really trust Hellebuyck? I won’t, so I’ll lean towards Jake Oettinger. He’s allowed just four goals in the last two games and continues to hit value. His $7600 price tag also makes him very appealing. If he can’t pick up the win, let’s hope this game goes to overtime.

 

 

 

NHL DFS Core Player Pool & Lineup Picks

High

Mid

Value