FanDuel NHL: Tuesday Targets

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Published on May 3, 2022

SLATE PREVIEW

It's Day 2 of the first round and if it was anything like Day 1, we're in for a surprise — the three matchups that were supposed to be close were not close at all, and one that many thought would be a potential blowout ended up being an upset.

It could be the same again with Day 2 featuring two matchups expected to be lopsided — Capitals at Panthers, Predators at Avalanche, Stars at Flames — and another expected to be tight in the Penguins at Rangers.

GOALIES

Darcy Kuemper, COL vs. NSH ($8,100): Facing David Rittich instead of Juuse Saros should make things a lot easier for the Avs, and that means good goal support for Kuemper. Though Kuemper enters the postseason with 16 goals allowed in his past four starts and his playoff experience is rather thin, a Pred win would represent a huge upset.

Jacob Markstrom, CGY vs. DAL ($7,500): Markstrom has the lowest salary among the three teams heavily favored to win, and that alone is pretty good value. Though Markstrom's numbers against the Stars during the season were not good, the Flames really only have to worry about one line on the Stars.

VALUE PLAYS

Alexis Lafreniere, NYR vs. PIT ($3,800): Lafreniere's game really picked up at the end of the season with four points in five games and came one goal shy of hitting 20 on the season. Though he'll likely get third-line minutes on a veteran lineup, his offensive upside is tough to ignore and he will be also be playing opposite Kaapo Kakko, another talented young player. The Pens are expected to start Casey DeSmith, making Lafreniere's job scoring goals much easier.

Tanner Jeannot, NSH at COL ($4,500): Jeannot's style is tailor made for the playoffs and he brings a lot of jam to a lineup that has really emphasized skill over brawn. The Avs are a tough opponent but Jeannot has also fared quite well against them this season with three points in four games.

LINE STACKS

Flames vs. Stars

Elias Lindholm (C - $7,200), Matthew Tkachuk (W - $8,500), Johnny Gaudreau (W - $8,800)

They're the only line to have played all 82 games together, according to moneypuck.com, and they've also arguably been the league's best. Note Gaudreau scored the most even-strength points this season, so even if power play opportunities are sparse – as they tend to be in the postseason – their production is unlikely to be affected by any significant amount.

DEFENSEMEN

Kris Letang, PIT at NYR ($6,500): Letang had an outstanding season with 68 points and flies under the radar relative to his peers, even though he has the most playoff experience. Note some oddsmakers have the Pens as the favorites in this series. Letang has scored 43 points in 59 games against the Rangers during the season in his career, including two helpers in four games this season.

MacKenzie Weegar, FLA vs. WSH ($5,700): Aaron Ekblad's status is questionable which leaves Weegar as the top dog – err, cat – on the team. Weegar had and outstanding season with 44 points, and even if Ekblad comes back, it will only make Weegar better because they play on the same pairing. The Caps might have the worst goaltending tandem among all playoff teams.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire.