Overview

The Stanley Cup Playoffs start tonight with four series, two from the Eastern Conference and two from the Western Conference. There is no shortage of storylines here as the best time of the NHL year is upon us. As far as DFS goes, there is a decent slate of contests highlighted by the $15.00, 141-max entry contest with $20,000 going to first place. As is usually the case, I’ll share my top skater, line stacks, skaters by position, and goalies worth considering in lineups!

Key Skaters

C Auston Matthews (TOR)

There isn’t much more that needs to be said about Matthews, the leagues leading goal scorer (60) and MVP candidate for the Maple Leafs. The 60 goals for Matthews is a career-high and he had three tallies in seven games against the Lightning. In his career, Matthews has eight goals in 16 games against the defending Cup champions. This is without a doubt a critical playoff for the Leafs who have underachieved perhaps more than any team over the last four to five seasons. Matthews has 13 goals in 32 career playoff games but the Leafs haven’t won a playoff series since 2004. AM34 will look to help fix that.

C Connor McDavid (EDM)

Speaking of having something to prove, McDavid and teammate Leon Draisaitl will be looking to do just that. While McDavid and Draisaitl have been playing together for seven years already, which is nuts, the duo has propelled Edmonton to win just one playoff series which came five years ago. McDavid is coming off a career-high 123 points and he played in all but two games this season and had six points in three games against the Kings. There’s no stopping McDavid when he’s at his best, that’s obvious and with some extended rest after getting Friday off, I expect the best from McDavid in a pivotal year for the Oilers.

W Brad Marchand (BOS)

Marchand has the talent and physicality that you need to be successful in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The winger for the Bruins has played a whopping 132 games in his playoff career and has 107 points in those games. Despite a tough opponent like the Hurricanes, Marchand and the Bruins’ experience in the playoffs overall should give them a bit of a leg up in this game and could impact this series overall.

Favorite Line Stacks

Toronto Maple Leafs

Auston Matthews, Michael Bunting, Mitch Marner, Morgan Rielly

*Confirm that Bunting is active. He missed the final two games of the regular season injured.

Minnesota Wild

Ryan Hartman, Kirill Kaprizov, Kevin Fiala, Joel Erikkson Ek

Edmonton Oilers

Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Evander Kane, Tyson Barrie

Positional Plays

*Not mentioned in “key skaters'” section. Last skater at each position is my favorite value

Center

Leon Draisaitl (EDM)
Steven Stamkos (TB)
John Tavares (TOR)
Vincent Trocheck (CAR)
Brayden Schenn (STL)
Anthony Cirelli (TB)

Wing

Mitch Marner (TOR)
Nikita Kucherov (TB)
Kirill Kaprizov (MIN)
David Pastrnak (BOS)
Pavel Buchnevich (STL)
Zach Hyman (EDM)
Taylor Hall (BOS)
Brandon Saad (STL)
Craig Smith (BOS)

Defense

Darnell Nurse (EDM)
Morgan Rielly (TOR)
Charlie McAvoy (BOS)
Mark Giordano (TOR)
Torey Krug (STL)
Ryan McDonagh (TB)
Hampus Lindholm (BOS)

Goalies

Mike Smith (EDM)
Linus Ullmark (BOS)

NOTE: All pricing references pertain to DraftKings

GOOD LUCK!!

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