NHL

NHL Daily Fantasy Helper: Tuesday 5/18/21

Thomas Vecchio  —  @Tom_Vecchio1 May 18th, 2021
Sidney Crosby and the Penguins are looking to even up the series versus the Islanders. Who else should you build your lineups around?

NHL DFS is similar to MLB in terms of how you build lineups, view stacking, and value players.

Two main points to always focus on in NHL DFS are what lines the players are on and making sure the goalies you are rostering are confirmed as the starters. Two of the best resources for that are LeftWingLock.com or DailyFaceOff.com. That is where you can find updated forward and power-play lines for each team, along with which goalies are confirmed as the starters.

Let's jump in to take a look at today's slate and some players to consider for your lineups.

Goalie to Target

Marc-Andre Fleury ($8,300): The Vegas Golden Knights are down 0-1 to the Minnesota Wild but come in as -168 home favorites tonight. Game 1 gave us a thrilling 1-0 overtime victory for the Wild, but Fleury still played lights out. While a total of 29 saves on 30 shots wasn't enough, we should continue to trust him tonight. They are the largest home favorite on the slate and, in reality, are the better team compared to the Wild. Vegas only allowed 2.13 goals per 60 minutes in five-on-five situations this regular season -- the ninth-best in the league -- so we'll trust their defense one more time and Fleury to pick up the win.

High-Priced Skaters

Sidney Crosby ($8,400): Crosby had one goal and five shots on goal in Game 1 against the New York Islanders, but it wasn't enough. The Pittsburgh Penguins are looking to tie up this series, and they might need to lean on Crosby even more tonight because Evgeni Malkin -- who didn't play in Game 1 -- is listed as a game-time decision tonight. If the Penguins are going to be without their second-best player for another game, Crosby will have to do that much more if they want a shot at winning. He is still on the first forward line and the first power-play unit, giving him some of the best upside we can find on tonight's slate.

Jonathan Huberdeau ($7,700): If Game 1 between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers was any indication of what we are going to be seeing in this series, buckle up. Tampa Bay took Game 1 with a score of 5-4, showing it's the highest-scoring matchup in the first round. If this is where we are going to be seeing back and forth offensive action, you need to be getting exposure to this game in any way that you can. For Florida, that means paying up for Huberdeau, who is on the second forward line and the first power-play unit. The Panthers and Lightning have the two highest implied goal totals on the slate, so fading this game doesn't seem like a good idea.

Value Skaters

Alex Killorn ($4,600): The Lightning and their 3.28 implied goal total lead the slate, so you should be looking to get some exposure to their offense. It's no secret that Nikita Kucherov ($8,400) and Steven Stamkos ($7,500) are both great options, but they are very expensive. They can be tough to afford on any slate, let alone a small three-game slate where there aren't a ton of value options. This is where we turn to Killorn, who is on the second forward line alongside Stamkos and on the first power-play unit alongside not only Stamkos but Kucherov as well. He is the ideal option to get you offensive exposure to their goal-scoring units, all while under $5,000.