FanDuel NHL: Monday Targets

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Published on June 6, 2022

SLATE PREVIEW

The Oilers are looking to avoid a sweep in the Western Conference Finals but it will be a much more difficult task than usual with Evander Kane suspended for Game 4 after taking a five-minute boarding major against Nazem Kadri. After scoring six goals in Game 1, the Oilers offense has mustered just two goals in two games against backup Pavel Francouz, and Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have combined for just two goals with a minus-9 rating.

GOALIES

Francouz, who remains unbeaten in the playoffs with five wins in five appearances, is expected to start for the Avs. Darcy Kuemper is taking shots at practice and progressing, but there's no hurry to rush him back. Mike Smith is expected to be in net for the Oilers despite his .879 Sv% and 5.39 GAA in this series. Goalies are not available for selection in showdown formats.

VALUE PLAYS

Zack Kassian, EDM vs. COL ($6,500): With Kane out of the lineup, expect Zach Hyman ($10,500) to play on a line with McDavid and Draisaitl, but when Jay Woodcroft separates his two superstars, it's Kassian who seems to be the favored option to pair with McDavid. Kane, McDavid and Kassian played 5:48 at 5-on-5 in Game 3, trailing only Kane and McDavid with Draisaitl, and three seconds ahead of Draisaitl with Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Kassian won't get a lot of playing time overall because he doesn't feature on the power play and he lacks the footspeed to keep up with McDavid on a consistent basis, but not many other players in the Oilers lineup will get as many chances with McDavid as Kassian.

J.T. Compher, COL at EDM ($9,000): Compher replaced Kadri on the second line after Kadri left the game but it didn't produce the desired result, getting outshot 13-3 at 5-on-5, according to naturalstattrick.com. However, the Avs aren't very deep down the middle and Alex Newhook has struggled, so it's likely to be Compher who steps in as the second-line center once again. Mikko Rantanen will have to do a lot of the heavy lifting offense for this line but note Compher has been surprisingly productive with three goals in three games in this series.

LINE STACKS

Nathan MacKinnon (C - $16,500), Valeri Nichushkin (W - $9,000), Gabriel Landeskog (W - $11,500)

Not having Kane will take a huge bite out of the Oilers' lineup, and McDavid and Draisaitl may not play often enough to make a worthwhile stack. The Avs' top line has been very good all playoffs and remains a shot-generating machine with MacKinnon at the forefront. He has 20 shots in the series and Nichushkin snapped a seven-game goal drought with two goals in Game 3.

DEFENSEMEN

Cale Makar, COL at EDM ($13,500): Showdown formats generally don't favor defensemen but Makar continues to be the exception. He was held without a point in Game 3 but it was also just the fourth time that's happened in the playoffs. His offensive production has dipped a little because he's too busy defending McDavid, though he's winning that battle right now.

Bowen Byram, COL at EDM ($8,000): Byram's a potential value play as an offensive defenseman with lots of upside and playing more minutes with Samuel Girard out of the lineup. He's averaging over 20 minutes per game against the Oilers with an assist and five shots on goal.

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