The Capitals can put this season to bed tonight on the road in Vegas against what should be a tough environment to play in. Based on the way the puck is bouncing this series, this could just very well be the Capitals’ season, but The Golden Knights will have something to say about that in Game-5. This could be our last chance to play NHL DFS for four long months, so let’s make it count! Here are the plays we’re most excited about.
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
VGK2: Neal-Haula-Tuch ($21,900 DK/$26,200 FD)
This line was fantastic at even-strength all throughout Game-4, but failed to score at 5v5 despite outshooting opponents 12-3 and outchancing them 7-0. They have been fantastic all postseason-long at creating High-Danger Chances and they’ll get a good matchup against the 2nd and 3rd lines for the Capitals. I’ve got VGK1 and VGK2 neck and neck tonight, but with William Karlsson possibly nursing an injury, I’ll take the savings with VGK2 at lower ownership.
Skaters
Shea Theodore ($5,900 DK/$8,500 FD)
Theodore fired 11 shot attempts in Game-4 as the Golden Knights furiously tried to come back from a 4-0 deficit. We shouldn’t expect that kind of shot volume here, but he’s attempted the 2nd-most shots on the team in this series behind Jonathan Marchessault, and should be in line for a huge workload assuming this game stays somewhat close. For $5,900 on DraftKings, Theodore is one of my favorite bargains of the night.
Alex Ovechkin ($12,500 DK/$12,200 FD)
Ovechkin was one of the few players that didn’t get in on the 6-goal party in Game-4 for the Capitals, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. He lead the team in shot attempts, and it’s fair to assume he does that again tonight in a closeout game for his first Stanley Cup. He will also be one of, if not the most, owned player on the slate, but as always, is also the scariest fade on the slate because of the upside he possesses.
Colin Miller ($5,700 DK/$7,300 FD)
Broken nose and all, Colin Miller provides some value on this slate on DraftKings at only $5,700. He’s averaging 5 shot attempts per game in this series as well as 18 minutes of total ice time, which includes time on the power-play with the 2nd unit. If you’re playing the stack listed above, Miller makes a solid-add on for cheap since he’s on the power-play with Neal and Haula.
