The Capitals will try to force a Game-7 in Tampa Bay tonight at home after being outplayed in Games 3, 4, and 5. I’m assuming we see heavy ownership on Tampa tonight as many have soured on the Capitals after losing 3 straight. Here are the stacks/players we’re excited about for the single-game/showdown slate tonight.
Scoring
The scoring system on FanDuel will essentially be the same outside of no goalie, but you will want (what you think will be) your top scorer to be in your “Captain” spot where you’ll get all of his scoring times 1.5. On DraftKings, Goals (8) and Shots on Goal (2) are weighted more than they are in the traditional scoring, but the face-off bonus (0.2) is a little bit of a game-changer, making centers and guys who take face-offs a little bit more valuable. Winning goalies will (in general) also score very well, which is similar to traditional scoring.
Stack
WSH2: Backstrom-Oshie-Carlson ($26,700 DK/$29,200 FD)
Backstrom will almost certainly being going up against TB1 for the majority of their ice time tonight, which should allow them to get offensive opportunities as they did in Game-4 in his return. They are much cheaper than Kuznetsov and Ovechkin, and this way you get 3/5ths of the stacked top power-play for the Caps. TB1 is prone to allowing chances in their own end, and I expect Backstrom and Oshie to cause problems for them at even-strength.
Skaters
Alex Ovechkin ($12,200 DK/$11,700 FD)
Ovechkin is almost always the scariest fade in these showdown slates because of the amount of times he shoots (over 10 attempts per game), which creates a ton of chances to rack up points because of his shots on goal and rebounds his shots cause. I’m not comfortable fading him in a must-win game so I’ll be trying to jam him in wherever I can. If this game stays close, he’ll get another 20+ minutes and will be put in every favorable position possible as the Capitals try to save their season.
J.T. Miller ($5,800 DK/$9,200 FD)
Miller is no longer on the top line with Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos, but he does still play on the power-play with them on the top unit and is super cheap on DK. If you’re going with the Capitals onslaught or a Tampa top power-play stack, Miller makes a lot of sense. He should come at low ownership, but the Lightning power-play has been on fire, so getting cheap exposure (on DK) to it is a good idea, plus Miller has taken double-digit face-offs each of the last 2 games.
Anton Stralman ($4,100 DK/$6,800 FD)
Stralman is strictly a price play for me as I don’t think he has much offensive upside, but he does have a couple things going for him. The Lightning usually rotate defensemen on the 2nd power-play but Stralman sees some time there, plus he has played over 20 minutes in 3 straight games. It’s not the most exciting play, but I don’t mind him as a one-off if you’re going with 4-5 Capitals on DK.