Boston Vs Washington
The first game of the day belongs to Washington and Boston. Both teams are playing their final game of the qualifying round, and the winner of this game will finish third in the round robin. For Boston, it would be their first win, something nobody thought they would say before this all started.
For Boston, it all comes down to David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, and Patrice Bergeron. This line has been good, but they haven’t been elite. Three goals in two games isn’t enough, but that could change today. The Capitals will be without Lars Eller (paternity leave) and John Carlson (injury). It also looks like Brayden Holtby will get the start in goal, and he hasn’t been amazing in the two games he played.
Boston’s second line also has some value, but both David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk play on separate power play units, so that’s something to remember.
On the blue line, Torey Krug is the most logical choice. You can’t go wrong with him on DK where he’s priced at $4900.
Tuukka Rask is confirmed to get the start for Boston. It’s a risk to play him against a powerful Wasington offence, but on a short three game slate, he’s not the worst option.
For the Capitals, Their top line of Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson will be popular, but we need to focus our attention on their second line. Nicklas Backstrom, Jakub Vrana and T.J. Oshie will avoid Boston’s top line, and that’s going to be a factor. Backstrom doesn’t generate a ton of shots, but he and Oshie play together on the top power play unit, so they make a nice mini-stack.
If you need a bargain bin defenceman, Dmitri Orlov is the quarterback on the top power play unit. $4200 doesn’t seem like much of a discount, but he’s the best option below $4500 on either site.
Dallas Vs. St. Louis
This is the game I'm going to be focusing on. The Stars have not looked good in two games, and I don’t expect that to change this afternoon. Like the two teams above, the winner of this game will lock up third place in the round robin.
For the Blues You’ll want to get as much exposure to Zach Sanford, Ryan O’Reilly and David Perron as possible. Sanford isn’t seeing any power play time, so that does limit his upside, but in a GPP, we can live with that. Perron has scored two goals in as many games and is still only $5200 on DK. I don’t know what this man has to do to earn some respect, but we will keep using him as long as he’s under $6K.
I’m not a fan of paying up for a defenceman, but Pietrangelo has a nice matchup on paper, and today may be the day he hits value. He has three shots in two games, but he continues to see a healthy amount of ice time, and leads the top power play unit. $6200 on DK is expensive, but $5600 on FD is fine, so that would be the best place to use him.
I origianlly had Jordan Binnington here, but it looks like Jake Allen will get the start for St.Louis. The Stars have three goals in two games, and despite them having some weapons, I don’t think they score enough goals to make me want to fade Allen. He was pretty good during the regular season, and I expect him to be good today.
For the Stars, there really isn’t much to love. John Klingberg was a late scratch in their last game, and we still don’t know if he’s going to play today. If you do want to go contrarian, the second line is where I’d invest my money. Joe Pavelski and Alexander Radulov play together five-on-five and on the top power play unit. Both players are also priced under $5K on DK, so that leaves you some flexibility to pay up elsewhere.
Columbus Blue Jackets Vs Toronto Maple Leafs
It’s been a tale of two stories in this series. We saw a total of five goals in the first two games, followed by 14 in the next two. I have no idea how things will play out today, but we need to have a small piece of this game. The Leafs have a ton of fire power up front, but Columbus has proven that they can also score some goals.
It’s never a bad idea to use Auton Matthews, but trying to fit him into your lineup is going to be a challenge, and pairing him with Marner will eat up a ton of salary. The line we should be looking at is the second line of John Tavares, William Nylander and Nicholas Robertson. It’s been a difficult qualifying round for Tavares, but the veteran centerman is still one of the best centerman in the game. Robertson scored his first goal of the playoffs, and he’s $2500 on DK. He’s not seeing any power play time, but at that price point, he doesn’t even need a point to hit value. Anytime you get from him is a bonus.
On the blue line, Tyson Barrie is the more affordable option, but he’s done absolutely nothing in four games. Morgan Rielly hasn’t been that much better, but he does have a goal and 14 shots on goal. It would make me feel better if Rielly was on the top power play unit, but we can’t have everything we want in life. If you have the extra salary, my advice is to spend up.
For Columbus, it’s all about their top line of Alex Texier, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Cam Atkinson. That line has led the way for John Tortorella’s team, and that trend should continue tonight. Dubois is coming off a hat trick, and yet, he’s $4800 on DK. He’s probably my favourite center option on this short slate. You can pair him with Atkinson for a nice power play mini-stack.
On the blue line, Zach Werenski is a true game time decision. He had an MRI on Saturday, and that’s all the information we know. We don’t know how serious the injury is, but even if he isn’t 100%, we should expect him to do everything possible to get into the lineup. That being said, Seth Jones is where we want to invest out money. With Werenski battling an injury, Tortorella may turn to Jones to eat up even more minutes. He played 33-minutes last game, and we could see him get close to 30-minutes without overtime. The volume alone is enough to convince me to get him into my line up.
In goal, we should see Merzlikins get the start, but at this point, I have no idea. Korpisalo could return to the starters net for game five, and he would be a nice option to consider. If you’re fading the Leafs, whoever starts for Columbus is the way to go. I expect whoever starts to face a ton of shots, so that shot bonus on DK is definitely in play.