FanDuel NHL: Friday Targets

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Published on June 18, 2021

SLATE PREVIEW

Since Montreal allowed fans back in the stands, the Canadiens have gone 2-0 with Carey Price stopping 40 of 43 shots for a .930 Sv% and 1.48 GAA. The Golden Knights have to score more goals because Price doesn't need much offense to win. And perhaps home ice officiating will be different as only two power plays were handed out in Game 2 - both to Vegas.

Note the Golden Knights have never won in Montreal with a 0-2-1 record, with all ending as one-goal defeats.

Puck drop is at 8 p.m. EDT.

As with all FanDuel showdown formats, no goalies are available for selection and a Captain can be designated for 1.5x fantasy points. The remaining roster spots are not restricted by position.

VALUE PLAYS

Corey Perry, MON vs. VGK ($8,500): Cole Caufield ($9,000) has quickly climbed up and is now the fourth-most expensive Habs forward, making him a slightly less attractive value play but still a solid selection based on how much offense he can generate. Perry, on the other hand, skates in the bottom-six, but his presence has been invaluable by playing a key role against the Leafs and has registered an assist in two straight against Vegas. Of note, his line with Joel Armia and Eric Staal led all Habs lines with 11 shot attempts in only 8:03 of 5v5 TOI, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Artturi Lehkonen, MON vs. VGK ($8,500): Lehkonen is playing on the top line and making the most of it having logged 18 minutes in Game 2 with two shots while blocking three. This unit doesn't offer a lot of offensive upside, but there's always a chance as long as Lehkonen gets to see plenty of ice time.

Keegan Kolesar, VGK at MON ($7,500): Chandler Stephenson was a late scratch, and much to everyone's surprise it was Kolesar who saw time in between Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone. He was surprisingly effective and won a faceoff that led to an assist (much like Stephenson in Game 1), but didn't manage a single shot. Kolesar will presumably leave that to his wingers, but he has as much of a chance as any Vegas forward to pick up a point as long as he stays on the first group.

LINE STACKS

Keegan Kolesar (C - $7,500), Max Pacioretty (W - $14,000), Mark Stone (W - $11,000)

Kolesar on this line considerably brings down the cost of this stack, especially when compared to William Karlsson's trio ($35,500). It should be a popular line stack if Stephenson remains unavailable, and the Golden Knights have generally been better at generating offense. However, beating Price is another story.

DEFENSEMEN

Alex Pietrangelo, VGK at MON ($13,500): It's hard to justify picking any Habs defender, especially when Shea Weber is probably playing hurt and Jeff Petry is definitely in pain and also suffering from vampire eyes (officially, subconjunctival hemorrhage). Shea Theodore hasn't been as effective as he was last season, so that leaves Pietrangelo who has arguably been Vegas's MVP. He plays all situations and stuffs the stat sheet, so he seems like to only blueliner worth taking in showdown formats.

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