NHL DFS Showdown Playbook June 4: Colorado Avalanche vs. Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers return home down 2-0 in their series with the Colorado Avalanche, but this series is still far from over. Can Mike Smith turn his game around? Will Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl find the back of the net in this contest? You can build daily fantasy hockey lineups on DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo Fantasy for Saturday, June 4th NHL playoffs action. 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 Showdown slate
The Colorado Avalanche did their job by winning both games on home ice, but that doesn’t mean that this series is far from over. It’s extremely hard for visiting teams to win in Colorado, so the fact that Edmonton is coming home without a win isn’t shocking. What is shocking is to see how poorly they played in game one and how ineffective Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were in game two. All that aside, game three will be much different.
Your showdown lineup will most likely feature one of Evander Kane or Nazem Kadri in the Captain spot. Edmonton shuffled their lines quite a bit in game two, but Kane should be back on the top line with McDavid and Draisaitl. That line has been really good on home ice, and if the Oilers are going to score tonight, that line will be involved. As for Kadri, he’s been one of the better centermen in this series. His line did all the damage in game two, and despite this game being on the road, Kadri can still matchup up against the top line but find a way to produce.
As for the rest of your lineup, you’ll need to have exposure to both sides. Artturi Lehkonen and Nathan MacKinnon are two of my favourite options. Lehkonen has been really good in this series, but as a Habs fan, it doesn’t surprise me to see him having this much success. He can score goals and go into the corners with the best of them. He continues to be a discount at $5400 on DK. MacKinnon finished with 11 shots on goal last game, and while I don’t expect him to put up that many tonight, he will find a way onto the scoresheet and has a good chance at hitting value.
On the Edmonton side of things, McDavid and Draisaitl are always good options, but Zach Hyman and Jesse Puljujarvi are two players to consider. Hyman can find the back of the net and I think he will be forgotten tonight with everyone paying up for superstars. Puljujarvi is a great high-risk/high-reward play. He’s $2K on DK and could move into the top six if Kailer Yamamoto doesn’t play. Having him in your lineup also allows you to spend up on at least another elite forward.
When it comes to defencemen, you always want to target anyone who can block shots. Cale Makar is all about the managed offence, but he still blocked four shots last game and Edmonton didn’t really generate a ton of chances. He could do even more tonight if the Oilers get out to a flying start. Devon Toews is also a good option at his $7200 price tag. On the Edmonton side, it’s going to sound crazy, but Cody Ceci is the best value. I know Darnell Nurse and Tyson Barrie are going to be popular names, but neither player has really played that well in the first two games and Ceci has seven shots on goal and six blocked shots in that span. Is $4400 for him a bit of a stretch? Maybe, but I’d rather have him let me down than Nurse at $7000.
I think this goes without saying, but don’t consider any goalie tonight in your Showdown lineup. Mike Smith is a mess and I don’t think we see a repeat of Pavel Francouz’s game two performance tonight. Just spend your money on payers who want to put the puck in the net.
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