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DraftKings’ NHL late slate gets underway at 8:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, as the teams kick off their Round One playoff series matchups following the conclusion of the round-robin and Qualifying Series games from the previous week. Tonight’s slate features the Hurricanes-Bruins at 8:00 p.m. ET and the Blackhawks-Golden Knights at 10:30 p.m. ET.
Set your DraftKings lineups here: NHL $20K Twine [$5K to 1st]
Top Stack
Vegas Golden Knights
Max Pacioretty ($7,200), William Karlsson ($5,500), Mark Stone ($6,700)
This was a close call with the top line of the Boston Bruins, who are always a safe bet to be one of the best producing lines on any given slate, but the matchup simply wins out for the Golden Knights against a Blackhawks team that is basically known for surrendering high-quality scoring chances. The Blackhawks’ best “defense” this season was goalie Robin Lehner, but he now plays for Vegas after they acquired him from Chicago at the trade deadline.
The top line of Pacioretty, Karlsson, and Stone in particular is one of the best in hockey, routinely dominating puck possession while also having the skill players to finish chances. The biggest news here is that Pacioretty, who missed the round-robin games, is expected to play, but it’ll be worth checking in on him later in the day. Pacioretty was the team’s leading scorer in the regular season he’ll be a welcome sight for Knights fans as they take on the Blackhawks at 10:30 p.m. E.T.
Value Stacks
Vegas Golden Knights
Jonathan Marchessault ($6,000), Paul Stastny ($4,700), Reilly Smith ($4,800)
The Knights’ second line is extremely competent as well, and while the first line is made up of better players, the second line is substantially cheaper. Marchessault, Stastny, and Smith probably make up the best second line in the entire NHL, and they’ll obviously get the same benefit of playing the Blackhawks as the guys mentioned above.
Low Owned Stack
Carolina Hurricanes
Sebastian Aho ($6,900), Andrei Svechnikov ($6,400), Teuvo Teravainen ($5,400)
It’s about as bad of a matchup as you could have for the Hurricanes top line today, facing a defensive-oriented Bruins team that likes to slow the game down, and it’s going to be especially tough for the Aho line as they’re likely to be matched up against Boston’s first line (Patrice Bergeron) for large chunks of the game. That being said, the ownership figures to be low for these very reasons and the talent could win out even in a tough matchup.
The Hurricanes’ first line was dominant in their three-game sweep of the New York Rangers, tallying 15 points collectively with seven goals and eight assists. This could be a situation where some number of people chase their recent performance, but these guys are relatively expensive on a slate with several good options, so it seems likely that the ownership will stay in check.
Set your DraftKings lineups here: NHL $20K Twine [$5K to 1st]
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All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.