Welcome to Tuesday’s two-game NHL Slate. The second round is getting underway and we have a nice small slate with a lot of different avenues to explore. We know that Nathan MacKinnon and Artemi Panarin are going to be popular, but we need to find value elsewhere to help offset their cost. You can build daily fantasy hockey lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel for Tuesday, May 7th, but before you build those NHL daily fantasy lineups, don’t forget to check out our NHL DFS projections, the NHL Value Finder, and the NHL DFS lineup generator. Let's now take a closer look at the daily fantasy hockey top plays for tonight's NHL DFS slate.


 

Highest Expected Goal Totals 

Carolina Hurricanes Vs Igor Shesterkin (2.9)

New York Rangers Vs. Frederik Andersen (2.7)

Colorado Avalanche Vs. Jake Oettinger (3.2)

Dallas Stars Vs. Alexandar Georgiev (3.2)


Carolina Hurricanes Vs. New York Rangers


Players to target: Vincent Trockeck, Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider, Alexis Lafreniere, Adam Fox, Igor Shesterkin, Jordan Staal, Jake Guentzel, Seth Jarvis, 



We saw seven goals scored in Game 1 between these two teams, but if you’re hoping to see just as many goals tonight, you may be disappointed. It was a tough start for the Hurricanes last game, but I expect them to come out and play a lot better right from the start. They are a good defensive team and just need to stay out of the penalty box.

If you do want a piece of the Hurricanes, Jake Guentzel and Seth Jarvis would be two names to consider. Jarvis has been really good in the playoffs, so if you want just a single-bullet he is the way to go. If you need a value play, Jordan Staal is the best bang for your buck.

On the New York side, there is a lot to be excited about. They found the back of the net early and often, but again, I don’t think they come out tonight and do the same. Vincent Trockech, Artemi Panarin and Chris Kreider are all players worth considering. I probably won’t go with all three, but any combination of the two works for me. If you want some added value, Alexis Lafreniere is who I would choose.

With this game having a total of 5.5, it would be wise to pick a goal from this matchup. Igor Shesterkin is who I would invest in. If the Hurricanes get off to another rough start, Frederik Andersen may not finish the game. We need certainty in goal on a two-game slate and Shesterkin provides us with that. The upside might be limited, but I’m willing to take the risk.

 

Colorado Avalanche vs Dallas Stars


Players to target: Wyatt Johnston, Jason Robertson, Joe Pavelski, Logan Stankoven, Miro Heiskanen, Chris Tanev, Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko 
Rantanen, Valeri Nichushkin, Zach Parise, Cale Makar, Devon Toews.


This is the matchup I’ll be tuning into tonight. Colorado scored the most goals in the first round and made Connor Hellebuyck look like a San Jose Sharks starter. They got bodies to the net and made life difficult for Hellebuyck and I can see them doing the same tonight. There is no question that Dallas is a very good hockey team, but they are on short rest and weren’t very good on home ice last round.

Dallas will score goals tonight because we can’t completely trust Alexandar Georgiev to be good. Wyatt Johnston was really good against Vegas and his confidence is at an all-time high. He’s playing his best hockey and will continue to see ice time. I would probably pair him with two defencemen: Miro Heiskanen and Chris Tanev. Heiskanen has some upside offensively to his game but his overall floor is high. Tanev is there to block shots and he should be able to get at least three. He did it in six of the seven games last round, so he is a bargain on DraftKings at just $3800.

For Colorado, it’s all about their top line. Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Valeri Nichushkin are once again going to be asked to carry the team and they are going to see a ton of ice time. They’ve had a lot of time off, so they should be fresh for the start of this series. We saw them torture Winnipeg when they were on the power play and they could do the same to Dallas. If I had to pick just two players, it would be MacKinnon/Nichushkin. On the back end, it’s all about Cale Makar. His floor is just so high and that won’t change tonight. He joins the other four on the top power play unit and is a threat to finish with multiple points. 

When it comes to goalies, I will just ignore both from this game. Alexandar Georgiev got better as the playoffs went on, but that’s not enough for me to trust him in this spot. Jake Oettinger was exceptional in the first round, but after witnessing what the Avalanche did to Hellebuyck, I can’t imagine him coming out and having a strong game. There will be a ton of scoring chances on both sides and the over is likely to hit. I’ll pass.