NHL DFS Playbook April 26: Top DraftKings and FanDuel Picks
Published: Apr 26, 2023
Wednesday’s 2-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 26th
DFS Lineup Construction Thoughts
Tonight is the smallest slate we have had so far in these Stanley Cup playoffs so many lineups will look the same! That doesn't mean there won't be a few pivot plays and values to be had though as Boston/Florida sits at 6.5 goals for the total and the Colorado/Seattle series has seen its fair share of scoring. Make no mistake I like the favorites tonight though to win so they will make up the bulk of my lineups.
Recommended DFS Starting Goalies
Top Options for Saves
Philipp Grubauer vs Colorado Avalanche
Sergei Bobrovsky vs Boston Bruins
Linus Ullmark vs Florida Panthers
Best Odds for a Win
Linus Ullmark vs Florida Panthers
Alexandar Georgiev vs Seattle Kraken
Philipp Grubauer vs Colorado Avalanche
Favorite Goalies to Use for DFS Lineups
Alexandar Georgiev, G, Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche have had their hands full with the Kraken through 4 games in this series and Georgiev hasn't looked elite in large part either. He has allowed 2.99 goals per game so far but maintains a SV% of .908. Those numbers need to improve if the Avs want to end this series and win this game tonight but the Kraken will be tough. I like the upside with a motivated Colorado team and Makar suspended, they should focus heavily on defense tonight.
Linus Ullmark, G, Boston Bruins
The eventual Vezina trophy winner has held up his end of the bargain so far for the Bruins despite having illness issues early on the series. He has allowed just 10 goals through 4 games and has been peppered by the opposition. He has 20+ DFS points in 3 of the 4 games of this series too, the outlier being the bad Game 2 where Florida ran wild. The floor is safe and the Panthers shooting 43 times last time out gives a massive ceiling.
Recommended DFS Skaters
Highest Expected Goal Totals
1st Boston Bruins vs Sergei Bobrovsky
2nd Colorado Avalanche vs Philipp Grubauer
3rd Seattle Kraken vs Alexandar Georgiev
4th Florida Panthers vs Linus Ullmark
Favorite Skaters to Use for DFS Lineups
Nathan MacKinnon, C, Colorado Avalanche
Got to have Mac up front here tonight in basically a must win game at home in a 2-2 series. He has returned some value in 3 of 4 games so far but only has 2 goals so far, I think he for sure scores tonight. If not, he has the shots on goal to fall back on as he has 20 thus far over 4 games in the series.
Patrice Bergeron, C, Boston Bruins
Not official yet as I am writing this but it looks like the Boston captain will give it a go tonight. He has a great postseason track record and we be yearning to make his mark in this series as soon as possible. I also think the Panthers spirit broke after Game 4 so this one could get ugly in a hurry.
Jaden Schwartz, W, Seattle Kraken
Looks like Jared McCann will be out for Game 5 so Schwartz stands to see a big increase in usage tonight and he deserves it after the last 2 outings. He has 3 points over those pair of games to add along with 15 shots on goal, yes you read that correctly. He has 11 shots in Game 4 and it was beautiful good luck to Schwartz tonight.
Bowen Byram, D, Colorado Avalanche
Cale Makar got suspended and that was kind of stupid but I'm not here to officiate! Looks like Devon Toews will get the top powerplay but Byram is much more equipped with tools to produce points in the offensive zone. He had two big games to start the series with 21.3 and 16.8 DFS points and is cheap at just 4.9k so sign me up with the kid tonight.
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Player Pool
| $ Tier | C | W | D |
|---|---|---|---|
| High |  Nathan MacKinnon  $9,900 |  David Pastrnak $9,400 | |
 Mikko Rantanen $7,300 | |||
| Medium | Patrice Bergeron $5,600 |  Brad Marchand $6,200 | Devon Toews $5,300 |
 Jake DeBrusk $5,600 | Charlie McAvoy $5,100 | ||
| Artturi Lehkonen $5,200 | |||
| Low |  J.T. Compher $4,800 |  Tyler Bertuzzi $4,700 |  Bowen Byram $4,900 |
| Pavel Zacha $4,600 |  Jaden Schwartz $4,100 |
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.