NHL Building Blocks – April 22
The first round of the playoffs is officially fully underway, and we’ve got four more games tonight. Let’s dive in!
The premise of each article in this series is to feature starting spots (building blocks) for your lines. These are plays that are cash-viable as well as GPP-worthy and can be considered in all contest formats.
Starting Lineup – April 22
The Goalie: Andrei Vasilevskiy
The Battle of Florida starts tonight, and while both teams have depth and talent all over, this series could come down to the goaltending. Vas has been one of the best goalies in the league for quite some time and he does have the Cup-winning resume, and with home-ice advantage in this series, I’m leaning with him in the opener tonight.
The Center: Aleksander Barkov
The Panthers’ do-it-all captain had a lovely regular season, and now he’ll be tasked not only with continuing his level of offensive production but also helping to shut down the Lightning offense, which is one of the best in the league. He’s more than capable (having won multiple Selkes), and a Cup defense starts with his leadership.
The Wing: Mitch Marner
The Leafs couldn’t have asked for a better Game 1, outperforming Ottawa in virtually every phase of the game, and their Big Four all contributed mightily, something that’s been a knock on them for many postseasons. Marner had a goal and two helpers in the first game, and he’ll look to build on that performance and take the series to Ottawa with his team up 2-0.
The Defenseman: Jared Spurgeon
Spurgeon had a typically effficient Game 1 (three shots, two blocks, and three hits) taking on the Golden Knights’ offensive stars, and he’ll need to keep that level and build on it for Minnesota to avoid a 2-0 hole going back home.
The Value: Zeev Buium
Buium looked comfortable in his NHL debut, playing just 13:27 and registering a shot and a couple of hits. His ice time and opportunity will go up as he gets more accustomed to the game, and the Wild will need him to step up.
The Stack: TB (Kucherov-Point-Guentzel)
The Bolts are ready, deep, talented, and hungry, and facing their in-state rival in the first round sets up to be an epic battle. This trio might be the highest-upside group in the league as all three (four, if you include Hagel, and you should mix him in) had at least 35 goals each. Florida’s gritty and physical, but Tampa Bay has Cup-winning pedigree as well, and with home ice, I think they get off to a good start.
DFS ARMY VIP MEMBERSHIP
Do you want access to the most advanced Daily Fantasy NHL content in the industry? How about the chance to talk player picks and lineups with our NHL DFS Pros and like-minded players? DFS Army VIP Members get all of that PLUS access to our best in the industry projections and optimization tools. Go to DFS Army VIP membership and use promo code DARTH to lock in at 10% off the monthly membership fee. You won’t find a better deal or a better DFS team.
Nov 3, 2024; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point (21) celebrates his first period goal with Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) against the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre. Mandatory Credit: James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images