This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
I am so hyped for the Stanley Cup Final. The Edmonton Oilers versus the Florida Panthers? Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl trying to pick apart Florida's formidable defense? Will McDavid get his first title and bring the Stanley Cup to Canada for the first time since 1993? Or will the Panthers win their first title in franchise history? Either way, it's awesome.
Game 1 of the final starts at 8 pm. ET Saturday. Our NHL DFS chances for the season are dwindling, so let's make the most of it. At DraftKings, you get $50,000 in salary for a six-player lineup. One player is your Captain, who will earn you 1.5 times the points. The Captain's salary is also elevated, though. Looking for some Game 1 insight? Here is the lineup I landed on.
CAPTAIN
Sam Bennett, FLA vs. EDM ($10,800): The Oilers have the top penalty kill in the postseason, and the Panthers are second. Edmonton has only given up 25.0 shots on net per game, but Florida has allowed a mere 24.5 shots on goal per contest. Only the Predators, who got bounced in six games, have allowed fewer in the playoffs. Both of these teams are defensively astute. However, Sergei Bobrovsky had a .915 save percentage this season. In the playoffs, he has a 2.20 GAA and a .908 save percentage. Stuart Skinner had a .905 save percentage this year, but his postseason numbers are a 2.50 GAA and a .897 save percentage. He did get pulled briefly in the playoffs.
That's a lot of preambles, but it's setting the stage for all my picks. I won't be going over those details again as I go through my lineup. With the Panthers at home and having a slight advantage in terms of goaltending opponent, I'm leaning their way, and that includes my Captain. By going with Bennett, I can save money to dish out elsewhere. Since returning from injury, Florida's second-line center has been red hot. He has eight points in 10 games, including a goal in each of his last three games.
FLEX
Connor McDavid, EDM at FLA ($10,600): May I suggest the best player of his generation, the new millennium's answer to Mario Lemieux? The Oilers are here because McDavid ripped up the Stars in the Western Conference Finals. His 31 points are the most in the playoffs, and no non-Oiler has more than 20. Plus, after struggling to score goals early in the postseason, he lit the lamp three times against Dallas.
Carter Verhaeghe, FLA vs. EDM ($8,400): Does Verhaeghe come up big in key moments? That's his reputation. He was not involved much in the final two games of the Eastern Conference Finals, but don't let that overshadow what he did prior to that. Verhaeghe had nine goals on 59 shots on net and eight assists over the first 15 playoff games. He has tallied over 30 goals in each of the last two campaigns. The 28-year-old knows how to light the lamp.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, EDM at FLA ($7,600): As with real estate, success in the NHL is built upon location. Nugent-Hopkins skates on McDavid's wing. He's on the top power-play unit for the Oilers, which is also the best power-play unit in the league. His 20 postseason points are not merely about his proximity to two future Hall of Famers in McDavid and Draisaitl. Let's not forget that Nugenty-Hopkins was a first-overall pick himself. It's just that his teammates have turned a good player into a great point producer.
Gustav Forsling, FLA vs. EDM ($6,800): Forsling has gotten a lot of love this postseason. He plays a ton of minutes, though not on the power play, and brings a litany of skills to the table. This season he had 10 goals and 29 assists, a nice complementary offense from the blue line, but he had over 100 hits, over 100 blocked shots and was a staggering plus-59. In the playoffs, Forsling has thrown his body in front of pucks and into opposing players, as usual, but with an uptick in offense. The Swede has 11 points and 43 shots on net in 17 playoff games. There's a reason why everybody from the media to Matthew Tkachuk is showering him with praise this spring.
Anton Lundell, FLA vs. EDM ($5,600): The benefits of making Bennett my Captain are evident in my ability to roster McDavid, but also have my lowest-salary player be Lundell, who is no afterthought. While he's the third-line center, the Panthers have three lines worth rolling out there (and the fourth line isn't bad, either), plus Lundell is also on the second power-play unit. The Finn has chipped in 12 points during this postseason. To get him at home against Edmonton's biggest question mark, goaltender Skinner, is a nice way to round out a roster.
