NHL DFS showdown strategy and core plays for July 2

Chris Meaney

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Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals is Friday as the series shifts from Tampa Bay to Montreal. The Habs find themselves down 2-0 against the defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning. Montreal probably played its best game of the playoffs in Game 2, but they ran into Andrei Vasilevskiy who has won 10 straight games against the Canadiens. Puck drop is set for 8 p.m. ET.

Below you’ll see a list of options to play in the NHL showdown. I’ve listed a few different captain options as well as a few value plays. If you’re looking for a larger breakdown, check out Fantasy Hockey Picks & Bets.

Captain options

Andrei Vasilevskiy, G, Tampa Bay Lightning

Vasilevskiy will eat a big part of your budget, but he’s extremely hard to ignore, especially at the captain spot. You can still manage a well-balanced lineup with him as your captain, or you can give yourself a bit more upside by choosing another captain below. Either way, he should be on your radar. At 5v5, Vasilesvkiy’s rocking a .944 SV%, 1.68 GAA, 7.68 GSAA and .904 HDSV%. Overall, he has a 1.89 GAA. .939 SV% and 12.38 goals saved above average. He’s also won 10 straight games against the Habs and over that span he has a 1.69 GAA, .949 SV% and two shutouts. The Canadiens have been held to one or zero goals in seven of their past 10 games against the Lightning. He turned aside 42 of the 43 shots he faced, and he may be busy again against a desperate Canadiens team on home ice.

Nicholas Suzuki, C, Montreal Canadiens

The contrarian approach would be to rock someone from Montreal as your captain. If it’s going to be anyone, make sure it’s someone from Suzuki’s line or Carey Price. Suzuki, Tyler Toffoli and Cole Caufield had a rough Game 1 as they finished -9 as a trio but they had a very strong Game 2. Suzuki had 10 of the 20 shot attempts from that line and he had nine of their 14 shots on goal. He also led Montreal in scoring chances (6) and high-danger chances (4). He scored the Habs’ only goal and he finished with a game-high 0.75 ixG. With the Canadiens getting the last change, Suzuki’s line should get softer matchups.

Others to consider: Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Carey Price

Other plays

Yanni Gourde, C, Tampa Bay Lightning

Gourde has four goals in his past seven games and scored in Game 1 of this series. He led all TB forwards in ice time in Game 2 (19:52) and he leads all forwards in ice time through two games (37:46). He’s had to go up against the Phillip Danault line, which has been a great shutdown line in these playoffs. That shouldn’t be the case this evening as Danault will have the task of trying to shutdown Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov. Gourde should match up well against the Canadiens’ third line.

Tyler Johnson, W, Tampa Bay Lightning

Rostering TJ will allow you to spend up on some of the big boys. Johnson played five more minutes in Game 2 than he did in Game 1 with Alex Killorn sidelined. Killorn remains out of the lineup so Johnson will skate on the second line with Anthony Cirelli and Steven Stamkos.

Blake Coleman, W, Tampa Bay Lightning

Coleman has a goal and two points so far in the series as he continues to show great chemistry with Gourde on Tampa’s second line, dating back to last season in the bubble. As mentioned, he should match up with Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s line in Game 3 which should be a win for Gourde, Coleman and Barclay Goodrow. Coleman has a 0.37 expected goals for rate at 5v5 in this series, which ranks second behind his centerman Gourde (0.44). Keep in mind they played most of their hockey against Danault, who limited Auston Matthews, Mitchell Marner, Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty to two goals.

Anthony Cirelli, C, Tampa Bay Lightning

Cirelli and Johnson make for a low-owned duo, which you could make work with Tampa’s big boys. Cirelli scored in Game 2 and finished second among TB forwards in ice time (19:32). He comes in with two goals and five points in his past five games.

Tyler Toffoli, W, Montreal Canadiens

Toffoli led all Habs’ forwards in ice time in Game 2 (19:52) and his 36:28 through two games trails only Suzuki up front. If Montreal wins Game 3 it’s likely because Toffoli, Suzuki or Caufield hit the score sheet. Toffoli had four shot attempts in Game 2 and put three of them on goal. I can’t stress enough the importance of last change in a must-win situation for the Habs.

Others to consider: Victor Hedman, Cole Caufield, Ondrej Palat, Jeff Petry, Josh Anderson, Corey Perry, Erik Cernak, Joel Armia, Barclay Goodrow