Wednesday’s NHL contest starts at 8:00 p.m. ET and features Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens. In this article, you can find DFS advice for DraftKings plus some DraftKings Sportsbook bets to target as well.
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DraftKings Sportsbook
Tampa Bay Puck Line -1.5 (+120)
The Lightning carried the play for much of Game 4 but ran into a very motivated Carey Price. Price is capable of a repeat performance here in Game 5 but Tampa at home has been extremely hard to beat of late. The Lightning’s stars all have great home splits and they’ll be in front of a packed house with rabid fans who missed out on last year’s cup celebration. With the possibility of a late game empty net scenario, the puck lines here (available at plus-money) look too tempting on Tampa to pass up for me.
Josh Anderson over 2.5 SOG +115
The Canadiens made some lineup moves and Anderson saw a big move up the top-6. He’s now landed eight SOG in his last three games and is playing alongside a very motivated Nick Suzuki, who is creating lots of opportunities for his line. The plus-money here for the SOG over on a player who has seen a shift upwards in the depth chart looks like a nice target for prop purposes.
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DraftKings DFS Showdown
Captain’s Picks
Nikita Kucherov, ($15,600 CP)
Kucherov has been the best Tampa forward in this series and for most of the playoffs. He’s fired 10 SOG in the last two games alone and has already collected five points in four games. Some of his best games in these playoffs have come after losses too and he’s dominated at home with 22 of his 32 points in these playoffs coming in Tampa. We could get another low scoring game here but I also wouldn’t be shocked to see a big third period from Tampa to salt this game away. Either way, Kucherov is the stud I’d be most apt to captain here, especially with the series moving back to Florida.
Carey Price, ($14,700 CP)
If the Lightning studs don’t work out for fantasy purposes tonight it’s likely going to be because Carey Price stands on his head again. The veteran stopped 32 of 34 SOG in Game 4 and has posted better splits on the road this year, averaging 13.8 DKFP in road games, vs. 12.9 DKFP at home. From a strategy standpoint, Price should still be lower-owned than the Tampa studs here, especially with the series moving back to Tampa. Montreal remains without a clear stud like Kucherov, so if you’re building lineups around a Canadiens upset, Price should remain the Montreal player you pay up for.
Value Options
Josh Anderson, ($5,000)
As mentioned above, Anderson moved lines in Game 4 and it ended up paying off as he ended the game with two goals and three SOG. Playing alongside Nick Suzuki ($8,200) in these playoffs has paid off for several Montreal wingers thus far and Anderson certainly seems likely to hold his spot on the depth chart for Game 5. With his price barely having moved after his big Game 4, I’d not shy away form him here and perhaps even look to stack multiple members of the Montreal second-line.
Blake Coleman, ($4,800)
Coleman has really picked up the pace for fantasy purposes ever since Alex Killorn went down with injury. The former Devil has nine SOG in his last three games and has points in three straight games. Even if Killorn returns for Game 5, the Tampa Bay third-line has been dominant at times against Montreal and Coleman’s solid SOG rate and cheap salary make him a good value target here again.
Barclay Goodrow, ($2,800)
Goodrow has made this section of the article in the last three games and he’s paid off for us each time. The former Shark now has points in four straight games and scored for the first time in over 10 games in Game 4. Goodrow is far from a reliable offensive producer, but he’s clearly playing with confidence right now and is averaging well over 15 minutes per game in this series. His role seems locked in and he remains the optimal pay down target for me.
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Contrarian Stack
Tampa Bay L1/PP1 stack
Ondrej Palat ($11,700 CP) — Victor Hedman ($9,000) — Nikita Kucherov ($10,400)
With Tampa on the verge of winning the Cup at home in Game 5, really loading up on the Tampa studs feels key in this spot. One way to go about achieving that goal is to go with the cheapest player possible in the Captain’s spot, but one that still gives you exposure to the first-line of the Bolts. Winger Ondrej Palat put up a big goose egg on the scoresheet for us in Game 4 but he remains a great upside option to target for those who want to save some salary. He remains locked into a role on the L1 beside Nikita Kucherov, has already grabbed four points in this series and has posted multiple 20+ DKFP games in these playoffs already as well.
Palat plays with the aforementioned Kucherov (see above) at regular strength but with the savings we’re getting from employing him in the Captain’s spot we can also get the Tampa power-play QB in Victor Hedman into our lineups here. Hedman should push for over 25 minutes of ice time in this game and has come alive after a slow start to this series, grabbing over 12 DKFP in each of his last two outings. This stack gives you good exposure to the top-line, but also provides you with the ability to grab cheap blocked shot points and power-play assists from Hedman, who should lead the Bolts in ice-time today.
Set your DraftKings fantasy hockey lineups here: NHL Showdown $60K Playoff Mullet [$20K to 1st]
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