NHL Showdown Playbook May 6: Top DraftKings & FanDuel NHL DFS Picks

We have one game today that features two teams with a ton of elite talent. Vegas was able to overcome a 4 goal performance from Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl, but can they do it again today? The Edmonton Oilers will be looking to even the series before heading back home for game three. You can build daily fantasy hockey lineups on DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo Fantasy for Saturday, May 6th, 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 Showdown slate.
Highest Expected Goal Totals
Edmonton Oilers: 3.7
Vegas Golden Knights: 3.5
Edmonton Oilers vs Vegas Golden Knights
Players to target: Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard, Mark Stone, Chandler Stephenson, Jack Eichel
Game one was a wild affair, with ten total goals scored, and with the forwards who are in this series there is a good chance that many of these games will have high scores. The Oilers forwards while expensive, are predictable. You can be fairly certain that if the Oilers score goals McDavid and/or Draisaitl are involved. It’s really just a matter of how much you want to invest in the surrounding cast of players. We see Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman, and to a lesser extent, Evander Kane produce, we just don’t always see it on the same night. Vegas is much less consistent. They have been getting points from Mark Stone, Chandler Stephenson, and Jack Eichel, but outside of that you could see almost anyone get goals, and that is exactly what we saw in game one with Michael Amadio getting a goal and Ivan Barbashev scoring two. There is certainly value to be had there if you can guess the right players, but the wrong ones will likely net you a zero.
When we look at these two defensive groups they are nearly the opposite of the forwards. Vegas has consistent sources of DFS production, as they will block a lot of shots, and with that, you can look to players like Zach Whitecloud, and Brayden McNabb for value. If you want to go to the top end, you can certainly get a lot of production from Alex Pietrangelo who will get points, block shots and put shots on goal. When we look at the Oilers, Evan Bouchard has been productive in these playoffs, and he continues to get time on the top powerplay unit. You can also look at Darnel Nurse, who had seven shots in game one and will also block some shots.
For the purposes of a showdown contest tonight, I wouldn’t risk using either team's goalies. It is possible that we could see a good performance from either Stuart Skinner or Laurent Brossoit, but there is also a chance that these goalies get pulled and neither gets the win.
When I’m building lineups today I would give some consideration to using either McDavid or Draisaitl in your captain spot, but ultimately I preferred the flexibility I got from using them both in flex spots and then building from there. I also wouldn’t discount using Pietrangelo in your captain spot with his mix of floor and ceiling, and then looking to find value elsewhere in your lineups,
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.