NHL DFS Showdown Slate: VGK vs. DAL (Game 2)

High-Priced

Max Pacioretty — VGK ($11,400 | 👑 $15,600)

Pacioretty has been held off of the score sheet in his last four games but he’s salvaged those games by averaging 4.3 shots per game. He has a pedestrian 8.2 DraftKings Points per game over that stretch but he should back in the point column tonight. He has not gone five straight games without a point since he was held scoreless in Game 3 through 8 of last year’s regular season, so he’s not accustomed to prolonged droughts. The Golden Knights were sluggish in Game 1 so expect a much better performance in Game 2, led by veterans like Pacioretty.

Shea Theodore — VGK ($10,000 | 👑 $15,000)

If the offence wakes up in Game 2, it will likely have a lot to do with Theodore. Through the first 12 games of the postseason, the Golden Knights averaged 35.8 shots per game and shot 10.5 percent. In the last four, they’ve averaged 38.0 shots but are shooting just 2.6 percent. That’s not something that will carry on for long and could end as soon as tonight. For Theodore, his price has reached such a high-level that his ownership should stay down a bit tonight. In the postseason, he has been a point-per-game player, posting 16 points (6G / 10A) in 16 games while averaging a ridiculous 4.1 shots and 1.5 blocked shots per game–that’s an 8.1 DK Point floor.

Medium-Priced

Miro Heiskanen — DAL ($7,800 | 👑 $11,700)

Heiskanen is currently tied for the playoff-lead in assists (16) and leads all defensemen in points (21). During the postseason, Heiskanen has factored in on 38.9 percent of the Stars’ goals, so if they score tonight, there’s a pretty good chance he’ll pick up a point. In addition to his terrific point-production, he’s averaging 2.3 shots and 1.3 blocks per game, for a decent floor.

Reilly Smith — VGK ($7,200 | 👑 $10,800)

Smith was pretty quiet early in the postseason, averaging just 1.7 shots per game but has picked things up recently. He has 16 shots in his last four games (4.0 SOG/gm) but his price is low in comparison to the other top Golden Knights’ forwards. In Game 1 of the Western Conference Final, Smith was moved to the top power-play unit, which boosts his upside heading into Game 2.

Value

Radek Faksa — DAL ($4,600 | 👑 $6,900)

Faksa’s offensive upside isn’t super high but he plays consistent minutes and has a decent enough floor to make him a worthwhile value play. He is averaging a point every other game with 1.3 shots and 0.7 blocks per game in the playoffs. The Stars had new-look lines in Game 1, placing Faksa with Jamie Benn, which boosts his upside if those lines stick in Game 2.

Chandler Stephenson — VGK ($4,200 | 👑 $6,300)

Stephenson is only a good play if the Golden Knights’ lines remain the same as how they started in Game 1. Stephenson has plenty of upside when playing between Pacioretty and Mark Stone but that evaporates if he’s back in the bottom-6. During the regular season, Pacioretty-Stephenson-Stone had the highest ExpectedGoalsFor% (69.3) among lines who played at least 200 minutes together (per MoneyPuck) so he could be a GPP winning play if he’s on VGK1.

Jamie Oleksiak — DAL ($3,200 | 👑 $4,800)

You might be sick of me writing about Oleksiak but he remains a terrific value play in Game 2. The 6-foot-7 defenseman is tied to Heiskanen at 5v5, which always gives him a chance to pick up a point. Even if he’s held off of the scoresheet, he is averaging 2.5 shots and 1.8 blocks in his last four games–that’s a solid 6.1 DK Point floor for a $3,200 defenseman.