The Spotlight plays of the Day are individual skaters we want to take a closer look at. Tonight, there are 4 skaters in different price ranges that we’ll discuss for this 2-game playoff slate. Awesemo will weigh in first, then I (Tommienation1) will follow up with additional analysis.
David Pastrnak ($7,300 DK/$7,900 FD)
“Pastrnak may be without some of his teammates tonight, but he is still shooting as much as anyone and playing with Patrice Bergeron.”
Pastrnak (“A” points grade) is one of the best spend-up options on the night as he is on home ice with the highest implied total on the night. He leads the Bruins in shot attempts with 71 in 10 playoff games and will be given big minutes tonight in a huge game that Boston will need to win. We should see BOS1 spend more time against the Stamkos line at even-strength in Game-4 which bodes well for Pastrnak and his linemates.
James Neal ($5,300 DK/$7,400 FD)
“Neal has found himself around the net a lot this series and should thrive once again tonight in Game-5.”
Neal (“A” points grade) is averaging over 9 shot attempts and 5 Scoring Chances in the first 4 games of the series including a team-leading 9 High-Danger Chances. He’s playing some of his best hockey of the season right now and even though we like the Vegas top line, Neal is a nice consolation if you can’t pay up in tournaments. He’s still underpriced on DraftKings so it’s hard not to take advantage when he’s posting these kinds of numbers.
Tyler Johnson ($4,500 DK/$5,200 FD)
“The 2nd-line winger has been pretty consistent in the playoffs getting 16+ minutes in all but one game so far as well as power-play time.”
Johnson’s line impressively produced 2 even-strength goals in Game-3 on the road carrying the team to a convincing win. Johnson himself is 3rd on the team in shot attempts (16) and Scoring Chances (9) in this series while recording an assist in each of the last 2 games. While I prefer Neal as a one-off in this range, Johnson isn’t a bad 2nd option and will likely have lower ownership.
Nate Schmidt ($3,500 DK/$3,800 FD)
“Schmidt leads the Golden Knights in minutes this series while getting power-play time as well.”
Schmidt (“A” DK and FD value) doesn’t provide the most offensive upside, but for punt prices on both sites, he’s got a pretty good situation. He will be in the shutdown role against SJ1 tonight who plays at very high pace and is allowing over 30 Scoring Chances Against per 60 minutes at even-strength. Add in some power-play time for Schmidt and you’ve got yourself a pretty nice value on either site.
