NHL DFS Showdown Playbook: Winnipeg Jets vs Montreal Canadiens
Published: Apr 11, 2022
The NHL has gifted us with only one game this Monday, so it’s time to build those perfect Showdown lineups! The Winnipeg Jets take on the Montreal Canadiens at 7 pm ET tonight. It’s not easy to build a lineup with only one game on tap, but it’s not impossible. How you build your lineup is more important than the players you choose. Let’s take a look at some options.
Captain
The Captain spot is arguably the most important position. This player needs to have a high upside but doesn’t always need to be an elite player. Tonight it’s Cole Caufield who I would play in that spot. The kid has four goals in his last four games and continues to shine playing on the top line with BFF Nick Suzuki. Either player really works, but Caufield has the goal-scoring upside that you want.
If you’re looking on the Winnipeg side, Pierre-Luc Dubois is going to be a popular choice with Mark Scheifele out of the lineup, but Paul Stastny is probably the way to go. He’s skating on the second line and on the top power play unit. Montreal’s penalty kill has been terrible, so he could luck his way into a couple of points and a few shots on goal.
Utility Options
For the rest of my lineup, I’ll target Montreal’s entire top line. If you have Caufield in the Captain spot, Suzuki and Rem Pitlick are the two other players I would stack him with. The Canadiens get most of their offense from their top line and tonight will be no different.
On the back end, there are a ton of options to choose from. Jeff Petry, David Savard and Alex Romanov are all in play tonight, but if you had to pick just one, Romanov would be the player to go with, followed by Petry. Romanov saw a ton of ice time against Toronto on Saturday and was able to finish with six blocked shots. Petry is by far their most offensive defenceman, so he has the best chance at getting some points. He also sees time on the second power play unit, so that goes give him a slight boost.
On the other side, Kyle Connor is bar the best winger to choose from. He’s going to get a ton of opportunities to shoot the puck and he could find the back of the let more than once. If you need a bargain bin play, Evgeni Svechnikov and Morgan Barron and both $2000 on DraftKings and are playing in the top six. Svechnikov is skating on the top line with Connor, so there’s some correlation there to exploit. Barron will probably be lower-owned and is a good fit if you are using Stastny.
On the back end, Josh Morrissey is the best option, and it’s not really close. His price tag is a little elevated for my liking, but he’s on the top power play and works with any Winnipeg stack you choose to use.
Goalies
When it comes to goalies, I tend to just avoid them completely. The last time these two teams met, they combined to score 12 goals, and while we shouldn’t expect the same outcome tonight, we can expect a decent amount of offense. Sam Montembeault is getting the call for Montreal and I just don’t trust him to hit value. Eric Comrie could get the call for this one, and I’m just not willing to spend top dollars on him. I’ll stick with forwards/defencemen and hope to see a ton of goals.
Dominate your NHL DFS Showdown contests today using our Player Projections that you can use specifically for Showdown!
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.