Tampa Bay Lightning Vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

The Columbus Blue Jackets are two wins away from eliminating the Tampa Bay Lightning. This series now shifts to Columbus, and we expect the Lightning to come out hard in game three. They have something to prove to the rest of the hockey world, that their regular season success wasn’t a fluke. They’ll have to do it without the services of Nikita Kucherov, who is serving his one game suspension tonight. Despite that, there is a ton of value to exploit on both sides, so let’s dig in!

For Tampa Bay, it looks like Mathieu Joseph is going to get a chance to play on the top line with Steven Stamkos and Yanni Gourde. He’s $3200 on FD, so the savings alone is good enough for me to plug him into my lineup. He may get demoted during the game if the Lightning need a spark, but he doesn’t have to do much to hit value.

Move down the lineup, Ondrej Palat and Brayden Point are playing on the top power play unit together, so they are a nice mini-stack option to consider. If you don’t want to pay up for any of the superstars on this team, Palat and Joseph get you exposure to a little bit of everything and provide the most value.

On the flip side, Columbus is just rolling right now. Matt Duchene is going to very popular after his 4-point performance, but he is my favourite single-bullet option on FD. As much as I’d like to pay up for Panarin or Atkinson, there is value elsewhere that I’d rather target.

In goal, Sergei Bobrovsky has been lights out. He’s been exceptional since the beginning of March and he doesn’t seem to be slowing down. He’s a cool $8400 on FD, so if you believe that the Blue Jackets can take a commanding 3-0 series lead with a win tonight, Bob is the goalie to rock.

Winnipeg Jets Vs. St. Louis Blues

Just like the Blue Jackets, the Blues went into Winnipeg and won both games. Now they head back home with a commanding series lead, and there’s a good chance that they win tonight's game too.

This series hasn’t produced a ton of goals, but St. Louis’ second line of Jaden Schwartz, Oskar Sundqvist and David Perron is the line to target in this game. Sundqvist scored two goals last game and he’s only $4300 on FD. The top line is a good option to consider in a GPP, but there’s no need to pay up for them in cash games. I don’t expect that line to go crazy tonight.

My favourite goalie is Jordan Binnington, and it’s not even close. He’s been exceptional for the Blues since his call up back in January, and so far he’s been really good in the playoffs. His $9000 price tag on FD is going to be hard to swallow, but you won’t have that problem on DK, where he’s priced at $7700. The Jets can score goals, but so far they aren’t scoring enough of them to win hockey games. Binnington is a solid option in both cash games and GPPs.

As for the Jets, there isn’t much to like outside of Patrik Laine. He’s not worth rostering on FD where his price tag is $7100, but he’s only $4700 on DK, and at that price, it’s going to be hard to fade him. He seems to have found his scoring touch of late, notching two goals in as many games, and he could find the back of the net in this game too. If you aren’t jumping on the Blues’ train, you can go with a power play stack and still have salary leftover to build a competitive lineup, but I’d reserve that strategy for a GPP.

 

San Jose Sharks Vs. Las Vegas Golden Knights

This is the game I will be targeting the most. There have been a bunch of goals scored over the last two games and that trend should continue tonight. We have no idea which Martin Jones will show up tonight, but if it’s regular season Martin Jones, look out. He was absolute garbage in his last start, and if the Knights can get to Jones early, they might just fill the net a lot tonight.

Las Vegas’ second line of Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty and Paul Stastny is where most DFS players will be starting, and that’s most likely where I’ll be starting too. Pacioretty is priced at $5800 on FD, so that would be the best place to use him. Stone has a better price on DK, but if you can still use him on FD if you want to go with a winger-winger stack. Stastny is only $5K on DK, so a Stone-Stastny stack on DK would make for the best value.

On the blue line, Shea Theodore joins all three on the second power play unit, so if you are going with a Vegas power play stack, you can add Theodore to the mix.

On the San Jose side, It’s all about San Jose’s top line ( I know, I’m breaking the golden rule, but it’s playoff hockey). Logan Couture has a soft price on DK, so that would be the best place to use him. You can roll with Couture and Joe Pavelski as a mini-stack in cash games and still have salary leftover to build a decent lineup.

If you’re a regular to the Playbook, you know I’m not one to pay up for defenceman, but tonight, that might actually be the best strategy. If you can fit both Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson into your lineup, then do it. If fact, I’d probably fade a Couture/Pavelski mini-stack and go with Bruns/Karlsson instead. Both players are offensively gifted and they are going to spend a ton of time on the ice. It’s going to be a challenge to fit both into the same lineup, but if you target some of the value plays mentioned above, you’ll be able to make it happen.