Steven Stamkos is a top fantasy pick for Thursday’s NHL playoff action while Corey Perry is the top fantasy pick for Friday’s games. There are two games on Thursday as the Montreal Canadiens visit the Tampa Bay Lightning while the Chicago Blackhawks visit the Minnesota Wild. There are also two games on Friday as the Washington Capitals visit the New York Rangers while the Anaheim Ducks visit the Calgary Flames. All four games can be seen on NBCSN.
–Thursday’s NHL Fantasy Picks–
C – Steven Stamkos – Tampa Bay
Stamkos finally got the monkey off his back in Game 2 of this series as he scored a goal. He may now be ready for a huge breakout game and it could come at home where the Lightning had the best record in the NHL this season. Stamkos has a high price of $9,000 at FanDuel but he is worth it as he leads a high-powered Tampa Bay offense.
LW – Thomas Plekanec – Montreal
If the Canadiens are to get back into this series they need some of their top players to start scoring. One of those players is Thomas Plekanec. He had 26 goals and 34 assists this season. He is way overdue to make his mark in this series and has some value for Thursday night. He is listed at $6,400 at FanDuel.
RW – Ryan Callahan – Tampa Bay
The Lightning have really started to excel on the power play and Callahan gets his fair share of time on the power play. He scored 10 power play goals this season for Tampa Bay which was second on the team behind Stamkos. The price on Callahan is $5,300.
D – Jonas Brodin and Matthew Dumba – Minnesota
The Wild have to open things up on Thursday and that should mean a good game for their defense. Both Brodin and Dumba will be cheap options to add to your Thursday lineup.
G – Devan Dubynk – Minnesota
It is all or nothing now for the Wild as they have to win at home on Thursday or get eliminated. I will go with Dubynk as the top goaltender choice for Thursday.
–Friday NHL Fantasy Picks–
RW – Corey Perry – Washington
It is hard to argue with what Perry has done in the playoffs as he has been fantastic. He is averaging two points per game through the first seven games with 6 goals and 8 assists.
LW – Jason Chimera – Washington
Chimera is my cheap option for Friday’s fantasy hockey at FanDuel. Chimera has shown a lot of speed and he has shown he can score in the playoffs as he has two goals and three assists in ten games.
C – Ryan Kesler – Anaheim
Much of the attention will be on Getzlaf and Perry but Kesler has more than held his own and we get him at a much cheaper price at FanDuel.
D – Dennis Wideman – Calgary
The Flames have finally figured out how to score on Anaheim goaltender Frederik Andersen and Wideman is their top scoring defensemen with Giordano out of the lineup.
D – Simon Despres – Anaheim
The Ducks have been scoring a lot of goals and Despres is getting plenty of ice time. He could be good for a couple of points on Friday at a cheap price.
G – Braden Holtby – Washington
Of the four goaltenders for Friday I will go with Holtby as it seems every game between the Capitals and Rangers is tight and low scoring.
