Saturday's four-game NHL slate is loaded with top-tier scorers. We should expect lots of tight games with some great matchups out there, but expect some of the top scorers to shine through still. So, be sure to check in with our NHL DFS Tools, with the daily NHL projections, and our NHL lineup generator when building those lineups today to help you decide which players you should be targeting!

NHL DFS Playbook April 17

 

DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts

Welcome back to the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs! We have some really interesting matchups with each of these teams playing two games and the series shifting to new host cities. The Vegas numbers point towards the usage of Colorado, Toronto and Tampa Bay, and I tend to agree. I think those three teams are capable of putting up more than five goals tonight, particularly with Tampa Bay hosting Toronto. We are yet to see either team's goalies play well, so we could see another game with 10 goals. Colorado is really yet to have a big game, but Nathan MacKinnon's floor is too high with his shot totals to avoid. The off-the-radar team that I would want to consider in my DFS games is the New Jersey Devils. I think most people are going to be off of them after losing the first two at home to the Rangers, but the Devils were a top-five team in both shots and goals during the regular season so it is hard for me to see that well going completely dry so I wouldn't hesitate to do a Devils stack today, especially when you consider how desperate they should be playing with their playoff lives essentially being on the line.

 

Recommended DFS Starting Goalies

Top Options for Saves

Philipp Grubauer vs Colorado Avalanche

Andrei Vasilevskiy vs Toronto Maple Leafs

Laurent Brossoit vs Winnipeg Jets

Best Odds for a Win

Alexandar Georgiev vs Seattle Kraken

Igor Shesterkin vs New Jersey Devils

Andrei Vasilevskiy vs Toronto Maple Leafs

See More

Favorite Goalies to Use for DFS Lineups

Andrei Vasilevskiy G Tampa Bay Lightning

Vasilevskiy hasn't played all that well in the first two games of this series, but I would look for him to be more effective at home. This series so far feels like it will be back and forth, but Vasilevskiy is the X Factor for the Lightning who will continue to grind Toronto out, which should only help Vasilevskiy's performances as well.

Igor Shesterkin G New York Rangers

After having a bit of a sub-par regular season, Shesterkin has been fantastic for the Rangers in the first two games, showing off why he won the Vezina trophy last season. The Rangers have been able to limit the Devils to just 26 shots on average in the first two games of the series, but I am not sure I would expect that to last forever. The Devils should come out firing in the game as it is a must-win game for them. If Shesterkin can weather that storm he has the potential to put up big totals today.

Alexandar Georgiev G Colorado Avalanche

I found it hard to look past Georgiev with how he is priced, especially on DK. He has been fine, and even with the Avs being on the road they are still a heavy favorite to win this game. I don't think he will see 30 shots though, so if he has an off game his totals will be pretty rough. If you want to chase the win, however, he should be your goalie.

 

Recommended DFS Skaters

Highest Expected Goal Totals 

Colorado Avalanche vs Philipp Grubauer

Toronto Maple Leafs vs Andrei Vasilevskiy

Tampa Bay Lightning vs Ilya Samsonov

Favorite Skaters to Use for DFS Lineups

Nathan MacKinnon C Colorado Avalanche

With MacKinnon having 15 shots in the first two games,  you would have to imagine that those shots will translate to goals at some point in this series and MacKinnon will have a monster game. Also, to be honest, even if he doesn't, his floor is simply too high to pass up especially facing Seattle goalies that haven't been really good for any extended period of time during the season.

Chris Kreider W New York Rangers

I would guess that if you asked someone who the Rangers' all-time leading goal scorer was in the playoffs over the 100+-year-old history few people would have guessed Chris Kreider, but here we are. He has two goals in each of the first two games, and a five-shot game as well. If he continues to play like this the Rangers will be hard to beat, and his price will quickly start to go through the roof, but for now, take him at this mid-range price and hope for the best.

Calle Jarnkrok W Toronto Maple Leafs

The value of Jarkrok is going to be tough to beat. He is under 4k on DK, and he will be playing 5 on 5 with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. If everything breaks right for him he could be a top performer today and at a fraction of the cost of many of your other options.

Adam Fox D New York Rangers

Typically I don't love Fox in DFS. He is a point-dependent player, but at the same time it is hard for me to look at how well he has played, and his six points in the first two games and think that his production couldn't continue to be top-notch. Could he be outperformed by someone like Cale Makar? Sure, but also keep in mind that Fox is nearly $2,000 less.,

Stacks

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