NHL DFS Picks & Playbook For Today’s Games: Tuesday, May 14

Tuesday's NHL DFS lineup includes two games on the schedule. The Florida Panthers are looking to clinch their series against Boston at home, while the Edmonton Oilers are making a goalie change to spark the team and tie the series.
Even with just a couple of games, there are plenty of talented players to choose from. Our main focus will be on finding valuable picks and picking the best goalie for your lineup.
NHL DFS Picks & Playbook For Today, 5/14
Don't forget to review our NHL DFS projections, NHL Value Finder, and NHL DFS lineup generator before finalizing your NHL daily fantasy lineups for Tuesday, May 14th on DraftKings and FanDuel. Let's now explore my top NHL DFS picks for today's slate!
Highest Expected Goal Totals
- Boston Bruins vs. Sergei Bobrovsky (2.3)
- Florida Panthers vs. Jeremy Swayman (3.4)
- Vancouver Canucks vs. Calvin Pickard (2.8)
- Edmonton Oilers vs. Arturs Silovs (3.9)
Boston Bruins vs. Florida Panthers DFS
- Players to target: Sam Bennett, Matthew Tkachuk, Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Reinhart, Sergei Bobrovsky, Morgan Geekie, David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy
The Florida Panthers have a chance to close this series out and eliminate Boston for the second year in a row. The Bruins have been terrible over their last two games and are going to need to pull off a miracle without their captain, Brad Marchand. He is going to miss his second game in a row, so an impossible task gets even harder.
Let’s start with the Boston side of things because there isn’t much to love. Morgan Geekie is expected to skate on the top line and is very affordable at $4000. David Pastrnak is by far their best player, so if anyone is going to save Boston’s season, it’s him. I don’t love his price tag, but I’m willing to accept it if I’m playing him as a single bullet.
Charlie McAvoy has exactly zero shots on goal in this series, but he does have ten blocked shots. We need McAvoy to start shooting the puck more, but that is true for the entire team. I think there’s enough upside to get him into your lineup.
On the Florida side of things, we are going with offence. Sam Reinhart, Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe are three forwards you should be focusing on. Don’t worry about trying to fit all three into the same lineup, just pick two that fit and go from there. If you need to save some salary, Sam Bennett is a name to remember. He’s been a factor since returning to the lineup and we know that he can contribute offensively.
In goal, the only option we can really consider is Sergei Bobrovsky. Jeremy Swayman has been fantastic in the playoffs, but he is getting no support from his team. Bobrovsky isn’t seeing enough shots on goal, so his upside is limited, but I don’t want to rely on a goalie in the next game. He’s a safe bet, just don’t be surprised if he doesn’t hit value.
Vancouver Canucks vs. Edmonton Oilers DFS
- Players to target: J.T. Miller, Brock Boeser, Quinn Hughes, Nikita Zadorov, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Evan Bouchard
The Vancouver Canucks are going to try to add another win to their total and go up 3-1 in their series against Edmonton. They came out flying in Game 3-- taking a 3-1 lead into the second period-- and held on to win the game. The Oilers are an elite hockey team, but right now, they just aren’t very good. There is still time for them to turn this ship around, but it has to start tonight.
For Vancouver, we are going to keep it short and sweet. J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser are the only two players I really care about. Miller is just an amazing overall player, while Boeser just can’t stop scoring. Both players should have another strong night. If you want even more value, Nikita Zadorov is the way to go.
With Carson Soucy out of the lineup due to his suspension, I expect a couple of other players to see a slight bump in minutes. Quinn Hughes is always a good bet, but Zadorov is much cheaper and is finding ways to hit value. He also has four points in the series, so the offence is just the cherry on top.
For the Oilers, we all know how this story goes. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are going to be skating on separate lines to start the game, but I don’t think that will last very long. They need to score some goals tonight if they want to tie the series up, so at some point, they will end up back together. If they don’t, at least they still skate together on the power play.
If you want to really go all out, you add Zach Hyman to the mix. He finished the last game with eight shots on goal but didn’t find the back of the net. He also played a whopping 26 minutes. I don’t think he plays as much tonight, but he will see a significant amount of playing time.
On the back end, it’s all about Evan Bouchard. We know the Oilers are a great offensive team and Bouchard is part of the reason. He played 31 minutes last game and finished with two points and six shots on goal.
The Oilers bench boss did say that he doesn’t want to play his best players that much, but if Edmonton needs goals, you have to look at your best players to get the job done because they have no depth. I’m going to target every player who is seeing a ton of ice time because volume is key. This helps keep their floor extremely high, so they don’t need a point to still hit value.
I don’t know how much I trust either goalie from this game, but I will say this; sometimes you got to be bold to take it all home. Arturs Silovs has been very good in this round and has still allowed 11 goals in three games. He was very lucky last game with all the shots that went off the post, but if that luck starts to turn, he’s going to get crushed. Calvin Pickard is getting his first playoff start, so who knows how that is going to finish.
Stuart Skinner hasn’t been very good this round, but his defense has done him no favors. Pickard isn’t a long-term solution, and I don’t know if he can stand on his head and win a game for his team, but I don’t blame you if you want to go down that route. He’s going to be a popular choice because the Oilers are expected to win this game, but like Bobrovsky, I don’t think he will hit value.
Player News
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters that Zach Eflin (lat) is likely to return and start Sunday against the Angels
It was assumed that Eflin would be back this weekend, but now we have a concrete date. The 31-year-old may not be at full strength after throwing fewer than 60 pitches in his rehab start, but the Orioles feel confident enough to have the right-hander back on the bump for the series finale against the Angels.
Riley Greene is not in the lineup for the first game of a doubleheader against the Rockies on Thursday.
Greene will get a break and likely return to the lineup for the second game of the twin-billing. Zach McKinstry will get the start in left field while Greene rests.
Panthers released TE Jordan Matthews.
Matthews converted to tight end a few years ago and hasn’t made much noise at the position. The change has, however, likely kept him in the league for a few more seasons. He appeared in four games with the Panthers last year but didn’t record any stats on offense. The Panthers also released or waived WR Dax Milne, C Andrew Raym, and TE Colin Granger.
Yu Darvish (elbow) is facing live hitters on Thursday.
Darvish has been throwing bullpen sessions and traveled to the team’s complex in Arizona to face live hitters on Thursday. It will be his first time facing live batters since a spring training appearance on March 13th. He will likely need a few sessions like this before the Padres can map out a rehab appearance timeline for him.
Adael Amador is starting at second base and batting ninth for the Rockies on Thursday.
Amador has now started three of the last four games at second base for the Rockies. He’s gone just 7-for-43 this season with 15 strikeouts in 16 games. He’s just 22 years old, so there is plenty of time for him to adjust to the MLB level, but he doesn’t need to be on redraft radars right now.
Jackson Holliday is playing second base and batting second for the Orioles on Thursday against the Twins.
With Cedric Mullins sitting out on Thursday, Gunnar Henderson will bat lead off, and Holliday will jump up from sixth in the order to second. Holliday is riding a hot streak right now, and the Orioles are taking advantage. This is likely just a one-game sample with no Mullins or Adley Rutschman in the lineup, but Rutschman has been struggling, so perhaps it could become a more permanent spot in the lineup for Holliday moving forward.