NHL DFS Strategy and Core Plays for June 15

The puck drops on the Stanley Cup Final Wednesday evening, and the NHL DFS Showdown slate gets underway at 8 p.m. ET. The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning check in as +160 dogs to win it again. The Colorado Avalanche will host Game 1 at Ball Arena, and they’re -180 favorites to hoist Lord Stanley.

The Avs haven’t played since June 6th, but they’re -154 favorites to win Game 1. The Lightning are +140 and the total sits at 6. What can we expect from a team after eight days of rest? Will there be rust or will they be fresh after a lengthy layoff? It’s a question many in the NHL DFS and NHL Betting community wonder but there’s really no way of knowing.

Colorado had seven days of rest between Round 1 and Round 2, and they looked fantastic against the St. Louis Blues in Game 1 of the second round. I’m sure most teams will tell you they’d like to get back at it, especially when they’re playing well but rest can certainly be a positive if you have a couple of injured players. Nazem Kadri won’t play due to a thumb injury, but we could see him at some point in the series. We will see Darcy Kuemper , though, as he returns from an upper-body injury which cost him three games in Round 3.

We’ll also see the return of Tampa Bay center Brayden Point (leg). He’s been sidelined since Round 1 against the Maple Leafs (May 14). Point racked up two goals and four points in parts of seven games in the opening round before missing the last 10 games. To say he’ll provide a boost is an understatement.

The Lightning lost three of their first five games in the playoffs but have rattled off wins in 10 of their past 12 games, including four straight against the Florida Panthers in Round 2 and four straight against the New York Rangers in the third round after falling behind 2-0 in the series. They enter with a 5-4 record on the road.

Tampa Bay has allowed two or fewer goals in four straight games and nine straight wins. It’s not all Andrei Vasilevskiy but they usually win when he’s rock solid. The Lightning have a playoff-best 1.81 GA/60 at 5v5.

Meanwhile, the Avs lead the playoffs with a 3.84 GF/60 at 5v5, according to Natural Stat Trick. They’re also averaging the most shots per 60 minutes (39). They’re 12-2 in these playoffs and enter on a five-game winning streak. They’re 5-2 on home ice and they’ve outscored their opponents 28-20 in those games.

If you’re playing catchup on DFS hockey, check out our Basics of DFS Fantasy Hockey and our Hockey Draft Kit , which has divisional and positional breakdowns to help with your research.

I recorded Dangle, Bet, Celly with Eric Young Tuesday if you’re looking for a larger breakdown. We’ll have Greg Wyshynski of ESPN for Thursday’s episode as we’ll break down Game 1 and preview Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

It’s important to stay on top of the news, and we’ll help you do that in our NHL Discord . A last-minute scratch can ruin your lineup if you’re not on top of it, but it can also create a ton of value and opportunity. Everyone inside the NHL DFS chat is on the ball, so keep a close eye.

Captain Andrei Vasilevskiy Nathan MacKinnon Nikita Kucherov Cale Makar I like MacKinnon and Makar just as much as anyone, and I’ll have shares of both, but I feel like the moment may be too big for them in Game 1. The Lightning have the experience and they have the advantage in goal. Vasilsvkiy has allowed three goals in his past three games and has amazing numbers at 5v5: 1.81 GAA, .939 SV%, 7.27 GSAA & .917 HDSV%.

Darcy Kuemper has a .908 SV%, 2.38 GAA, -2.49 GSAA and .800 HDSV%. The Lightning have been strong at 5v5 in these playoffs, but Colorado will put plenty of pucks on the net because that’s what they do (number one in the playoffs). The save bonus is in play and I think the Lightning will steal Game 1, so I like the Lightning netminder. Colorado can score just like Florida could score, but the Bolts found a way to tighten things up against the Panthers and the Avs haven’t seen a goalie this good during their playoff run.

I could see Kucherov and Point creating offense in this series. I considered Point as a Captain option but there’s a bit of risk in playing him in that spot. There’s also a high reward considering his playoff resume (77 points in 74 games). He also looks good in this video of him playing on the number one power play.

MacKinnon leads all skaters in the playoffs with 54 shots at 5v5 (13/60). He also has a league-high 125 attempts in the playoffs, and he’s only played 14 games. Mika Zibanejad is second with 118 and he played six more games and 120 more minutes than MacKinnon. Nate loves to shoot, and he has the highest ceiling among forwards in the series, but he’ll have to deal with Hedman and Vasilevskiy. The contrarian approach would be to play TB in that captain spot.

Flex Brayden Point Gabriel Landeskog Ondrej Palat Steven Stamkos Valeri Nichushkin Victor Hedman Mikko Rantanen Artturi Lehkonen Andre Burakovsky Palat is also someone I’m interested in, and I love the cheap price tag. He has three goals and seven points over a current four-game point streak, and he’s racked up points in 12 of his past 15 games. He should skate alongside Kucherov and Point.

Lehkonen is also very affordable and has been red hot of late. The winger has two goals, six points and 13 shots in his last four games. He could jump up on the first line at any moment and he should skate on the first PP with Kadri out.

I’m not crazy about Burakovsky, but if you’re looking for a punt and you’re not playing Vasilevskiy consider the winger. He’s been a healthy scratch at times during the Stanley Cup Playoffs but he’s slated to skate on the second line with Rantanen and Lehkonen. He has points in two of his last three games and his 14 minutes in his last game was the most he’s played in the last five.

Don’t ignore the game’s two best defensmen in Makar and Hedman. Both like to drive offense from the back end. I’m slightly concerned about Hedman as he suffered an injury in the last series, but all signs point to a full workload. Game 1 will be telling in terms of matchups, but I expect him to see a lot of MacKinnon, which caps his upside.

PrizePicks Play of the Day Nathan MacKinnon O 4.5 SOG Artturi Lehkonen O 2.5 SOG Ondrej Palat O 0.5 Points Andrei Vasilevskiy O 32.5 Saves Use this link to sign up for PrizePicks to get started of use promo code FTN for $100 match on first $100 deposit.

NHL DFS Strategy and Core Plays for June 15

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