Welcome, RotoBallers! If you do not know me, my name is Brandon and I write both The First-Serve and The Kick-Off for Tennis and Soccer respectively. If you have not checked those out, make sure you do! It is the return of the NHL season which means it's time to sharpen our MLB skills and partake in NHL DFS! As always, I'll give you the best tools to succeed and the info you need to build the best lineups possible for your GPP and cash game NHL contests on both DraftKings and FanDuel.
Today I'll be bringing you my NHL lineup picks, analysis, and advice for NHL DFS contests on DraftKings and FanDuel Tuesday, May, 2nd, 2023 at 7:00 PM EST. Be sure to also check out our awesome NHL tools including our Lineup Optimizer, Research Station, Projections, and DFS Cheat Sheets!
If you have any questions on today's slate, bankroll management, GPP strategy, Cash game strategy, or anything else don’t hesitate to email me at [email protected] or via Twitter @df_solutions or in our premium slack chat. Good luck, RotoBallers!
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NHL DFS Analysis and Picks for 5/2/23
The National Hockey League playoffs have yet to disappoint this season – depending on who your team is – as it flaunts its competitive parity with multiple upsets in the First Round, notably Presidents’ Trophy winners Boston Bruins and reigning champions Colorado Avalanche. During the playoffs, it is much more common to find low-scoring and heavy-hitting games. Keep in mind that teams that showcase a high aptitude to score goals, will play much tighter and be a bit pickier with their shots. Tonight we have a 2-game slate as we start Round 2 of the NHL Playoffs. I will do my best to guide you through this two-game slate on DraftKings and FanDuel starting at 7:00 p.m. EST.
DISCLOSURE: Make sure to monitor the news feed and play at your own risk
Playoff Series Standings:
Florida Panthers at Toronto Maple Leafs
Seattle Kraken at Dallas Stars
Goalies
Sergei Bobrovsky - DK $7.5K || FD $7.8K
Opponent - Toronto Maple Leafs
With the slates tricking down to 2-3 games, selections get much harder and more critical. Bobrovsky is coming off a massive performance that helped backstop the Panthers to a big Game 7 upset over the Presidents’ Trophy winners Boston Bruins, making 33 saves out of 36 shots in a 4-3 overtime win. The netminder is now on a three-game win streak posting north of 0.900 Save Percentage twice in that window. This series will be another back-and-forth matchup similar to the series versus the Bruins. This will lead to a plethora of chances for Bobrovsky to save. As the second-cheapest goalie, he is in store for a big floor if he can find his groove early.
Others To Consider (Cash/GPP): Oettinger (DK $8.2K || FD $8.1K), Grubauer (DK $7.2K || FD $7.4K)
Centers
Sam Bennett - DK $5.3K || FD $6.3K
Opponent - Toronto Maple Leafs
This will be the matchup to exploit in a massive series for both the Florida Panthers and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs dominated the Tampa Bay Lightning’s second line due to being small in nature with a lack of skill. However, Florida’s second line is a complete 180 in that they are very physical and possess high skill, namely, Matthew Tkachuk. Bennett centers Tkachuk in even-strength and he is the least-expensive center out of the top six for both teams by $1.1K on DraftKings. In his six games in the series versus the Bruins, Bennett had 3 goals, 2 assists, 20 shots and 2 blocked shots.
Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Matthews (DK $9.3K || FD $9.7K), Hintz (DK $6.9K || FD $7.8K)
Wings
Tyler Seguin - DK $5.7K || FD $5.1K
Opponent - Seattle Kraken
The Kraken will surely be coming into Dallas on a high note after creating history by winning their first-ever playoff series in the franchise’s history by upsetting reigning champs Colorado Avalanche. Seguin will also be coming into this series on a similar note with 4 goals, 2 assists, 20 shots and 2 blocked shots. The Kraken is averaging 3 goals against per game right now and don’t be surprised if Seguin is at the forefront of the Stars’ attack.
Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Tkachuk (DK $8K || FD $9.6K), Marner (DK $6.7K || FD $7.4K)
Defense
Morgan Rielly - DK $5K || FD $5.9K
Opponent - Florida Panthers
Rielly has finally hit the $5K mark on DraftKings and his production has not slowed down. If anything he is even more of a MUST now than he was earlier in the Lightning series. In 7 games, he had 3 goals, 9 assists, 14 shots and 19 blocked shots. As mentioned, this series will be a back-and-forth series giving plenty of chances for both teams to score. Rielly remains on the third pairing, but his role as the quarterback on the top power-play unit gives him one of the highest ceilings out of all remaining defensemen in the playoffs. Rielly and his partner Luke Schenn have one of the best Expected Goals For Difference out of all defensive pairings in the playoffs – 60.6 Percent –.
Others To Consider (CASH/GPP): Heiskanen (DK $5.7K || FD $6.3K), Dunn (DK $4.1K || FD $4.2K)
NHL DFS Top Power Plays and Stacks
- FLA1
- DAL1
Brandon's Stack of the Day
- FLA: Luostarinen-Bennett-Tkachuk
Chalk Stack
- DAL: Robertson-Hintz-Seguin
Sneaky Stack
- SEA: Tolvanen-Gourde-Bjorkstrand