There are limited options on these playoff slates, but we still have some individual players that we like targeting tonight. Awesemo will start with a note on each player, then I (Tommienation1) will follow up with additional analysis.
Top-Tier
David Pastrnak ($7,100 DK/$7,900 FD)
“Pastrnak was one of the highest volume shooters in round 1 and that should be no different in what should be a high-event series against the Lightning.”
Pastrnak (“A” points grade) led his team with 60 shot attempts in round 1, which was 12 more than the next most (Torey Krug with 48) and he should be able to fire at will. The Bruins top line was ridiculously good against the Maple Leafs, posting a Corsi For Percentage near 65% with over 42 Scoring Chances For per 60 minutes at even-strength. Pastrnak being the highest volume shooter on the line gives him a great chance to succeed as a one-off if you can’t fit in the entire BOS1 stack.
Victor Hedman ($5,300 DK/$5,800 FD)
“Hedman regularly leads the Lightning in minutes and gets all the top power-play minutes with the stacked first unit.”
We don’t have to worry about Hedman (“A” points grade) getting big minutes in Game-1 as he will likely flirt with 25. In 5 first-round games, Hedman attempted 26 shots (most for any TB defensemen) and led the team in minutes by over 3 per game. When you’re getting exposure to guys like Stamkos and Kucherov at both even-strength and the power-play, it’s hard to pass up Hedman at this price even if we don’t love the matchup in general.
Value
Tomas Hertl ($4,200 DK/$5,100 FD)
“Hertl was one of the lone bright spots in Game-1 for the Knights despite their embarrassing loss and he will avoid the Vegas top line.”
There’s no getting around it — the Sharks were absolutely fleeced in Game-1 in Vegas. However, Hertl had 6 shot attempts, 5 Scoring Chances, and 5 High-Danger Chances in that game but zero points to show for it. Playing with Logan Couture at even-strength and getting top power-play time, Hertl (“B” Value) makes for a nice contrarian play in tournaments for cheap.
Colin Miller ($3,700 DK/$4,200 FD)
“Miller played over 23 minutes in Game-1, and while we don’t expect him to reach that threshold again, 20+ minutes with power-play time is a nice bargain on both sites.”
Miller’s minutes total is a bit misleading in Game-1 because the Golden Knights were blowing out the Sharks, but he should see near 20 minutes in Game-2 if this one stays close even as a 3rd-pairing defenseman. He hasn’t been afraid to shoot this year, racking up another 7 shot attempts on Thursday night with 4 Scoring Chances to go along with the shots. If you want a low-owned defenseman with some offensive upside, Miller is a solid option.
