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NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs: Conference Finals Series Breakdown

Hello everyone! My name is Matt and I’m a content writer for the DFS Army. If you are on Twitter, give me a follow “mdellagnese14“. As we head into the full swing of the final two rounds of the NHL playoffs, I will be giving you a brief overview of the teams in each series and write down my predictions! The NHL playoffs have been a good one. If you are not currently a DFS Army member, what are you waiting for?! Use the promo code “MDELL” to save 20% off your membership for life! Check out some of our wins from the past!

As you can see, we have tons of winners across all different sports! Check out our Wall of Wins for more winners and exclusive interviews from the winners themselves!

Every slate, we have a wonderful Research Station that gives you key stats for lines, players, goalies, and more! Give it a look and dominate these last two rounds!

Along with the Research Station and Domination Station, I will be providing showdown slates and any NHL slates we have for the last two rounds of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Without further ado, here are the break downs of the two series!

Western Conference Finals: Vegas Golden Knights vs Dallas Stars

Both teams played amazing series in the last round, getting pushed to 7 games each. They should be able to ride high momentum for the Conference Finals! I will break down stats for key players of the two teams, give goalie stats in the playoffs, and my final prediction!

Dallas Stars

Dallas comes into this game with a 9-7 record in the playoffs. They definitely did not have the best playoffs but came out big in the last series against the Avalanche to win in a tough 7 games. They were helped a ton by their big offensive defensemen. Surprisingly, their 2nd line has been very productive, but they did pair up Jamie Benn, Alexander Radulov, and Tyler Seguin again.

KEY PLAYERS/STATS

Miro Heiskanen: 5 goals, 16 assists, 21 points. 8 powerplay points, 37 SOG, and 21 blocks. He showed a really solid floor and great upside in the series.

Denis Gurianov: One staple for me for value in a lot of my lineups last series. Gurianov had 8 goals, 7 assists, good for 15 points. He also added 5 powerplay points and had 36 SOG.

Jamie Benn: Benn picked it up a ton in the playoffs for the Stars. He had a ton of SOG and was effective despite a -2 plus/minus rating. He had 5 goals, 8 assists, and 44 SOG these playoffs.

Joe Pavelski: Pavs picked it up huge last series. He has scored 8 goals these playoffs and added 4 assists. Another guy with high SOG volume with 46 so far these playoffs.

Esa Lindell: The guy that will get a ton of blocks for Dallas, which helps a ton over on DraftKings. In the series against COL he had 23 blocks in 7 games. These playoffs, he has 42 blocks, 5 points, and 27 SOG.

Alexander Radulov: The teams 2nd leading scorer in the playoffs with 7. He added 4 assists with 31 SOG. I love him back up on the top line.

Other players who make DFS value plays: Radek Faksa, John Klingberg

Vegas Golden Knights

Vegas had a strong start to the last series but then ended up getting stopped a ton against Thatcher Demko. They were able to score on him late in Game 7 and then added 2 more empty-net goals. They have been shooting the puck a ton and owned the puck possession in Game 7. With Dallas goalies not playing the best, this should be a fairly high scoring series for the Knights. They ended the last round with a record of 11-4 these playoffs scoring 49 goals and averaging 37 SOG per game.

KEY PLAYERS/STATS

Shea Theodore: Lead the team in points with 16. He added 6 goals and 10 assists. Theodore has been a monster on D and added 64 SOG. He was always on the ice it seemed, averaging 22 minutes on ice per game. I love his upside this series.

Max Pacioretty: Patches was another stud for the Knights. He struggled late scoring, but still had 5 goals and 2 assists. he has 44 SOG in the playoffs so far and is normally a high volume SOG guy.

Jonathan Marchessault: March is frustrating. He can go off one game for a ton of SOG, then follow it up with 1-2 SOG. So far he has 9 points in the playoffs, 3 goals and 6 assists, with 45 SOG.

Nate Schmidt: Schmidt played a ton of minutes for the Knights. He added 8 points and 50 SOG so far. He also has added 22 blocked shots. As one of the team captains, he will be leaned on heavily this series.

Alec Martinez: Martinez has been a stud for the Knights. So far, he’s lead the team in blocked shots with 38 and has 31 SOG so far. Martinez has added 7 points and is leading the team in plus/minus at 12.

Alex Tuch: Really went off at times these playoffs so far and leads the team with 8 goals through 15 games since the playoffs started. He has added 44 SOG too. He’s a low floor DFS player but has a very high ceiling.

Others that make DFS impact: Reilly Smith, Mark Stone, William Karlsson, Zach Whitecloud

DALLAS STARS VS. VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS GOALIE COMPARISON 

Robin Lehner: Main starter to VGK this postseason. He went 8-4-0 with a 1.99 GAA and a .918 save %. He was a stud late when he needed to and will get the majority of the starts this series.

Marc-Andre Fleury: Only has played in 3 games this postseason, but went 3-0-0 with a 2.67 GAA and a .893 sv%. He was a bit shaky at times but his team was able to back him up. Likely will only start if there is a back to back or if Lehner gets lit up in a game.

Anton Khudobin: Stars goalies have struggled these playoffs. Khudobin got the bulk of the starts and likely will this series too. He went 8-5-0 with a .294 GAA and .909 save%.

Ben Bishop: Won’t start much and was deemed unfit to play most of the playoffs so far. He didn’t take any advantage in the time he got though going 1-2-0 with a 5.43 GAA and .844 save %.

Prediction: With the strong goaltending from VGK, I don’t expect Dallas to be able to do much against them. Dallas has had their struggles in net too and that doesn’t bode well for Dallas goalies since the Knights have been shooting 37 SOG/game. My prediction in this series is… VEGAS WINS 4-1

Eastern Conference Finals: Tampa Bay Lightning vs New York Islanders

I think this series will be a solid one, but the Lightning have a clear advantage. The Islanders do play some pretty good defense, but if they stick a lot with Varlamov, they could struggle if his struggles continue. The Lightning have had some time off to after beating the Bruins pretty easy, BUT the Islanders could have momentum after the 4-0 win in Game 7 against the Flyers.

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

Tampa Bay played very well agains the Bruins winning that series 4-1. Now they have had some time off to really study the Islanders. They have only played 13 games this postseason and have had a bunch of key contributers. Lets break them down.

KEY PLAYERS/STATS

Brayden Point: Point was a beast this playoffs. He racked up 6 goals and 12 assists centering Kucherov and Palat. Point has racked up 43 SOG in the playoffs so far. He added 2 game winning goals and 2 points on the power play. He’s going to be a key guy for the Lightning this series.

Nikia Kucherov: Always expensive in the DFS world. So far, Kucherov has 4 goals and 12 assists this postseason. Adding 45 SOG and he’s been a beast on the power play with 4 assists. He won’t block many shots, but man does he have some high upside. He’s the key to their offense.

Victor Hedman: Hedman is the top D-man for the Bolts. He added 5 goals and 4 assists in 13 games with 44 SOG and 24 blocked shots. Thats pretty solid for ust 13 games. He’s a big man on the PP and really has upside.

Ondrej Palat: The forgotten man on the top line. Palat really came up strong against Boston too. So far, he’s tallied 5 goals and 4 assists in these playoffs. Not normally a high SOG guy, but with Point and Kucherov he’s been able to get 43 SOG with 16 blocks. He won’t be the top guy for them, but with the top line he should see some open shots.

Blake Coleman: Down in the bottom 6 of TB, Coleman won’t get a ton of ownership in the single games for DFS. He has been really good though. Through 13 games, he’s added 3 goals and 4 assists on 23 SOG.

Erik Cernak: No one will play him in single game contests, but he peaks my interest with the block shot ability he has. In 13 games, Cernak has racked up 35 blocks (2.69/game). He has a shot at getting that 3+ blocks bonus over on DraftKings.

Others that could make DFS impacts: Brandon Goodgrow (9 points these playoffs), Anthony Cirelli, Tyler Johnson, Alex Killorn (7 points these playoffs).

New York Islanders

The Islanders played a hard fought series against the Flyers and game out with a nice 4-0 win in Game 7. The Flyers seemed to have figured out Varlamov in nets this series but were dominated by Thomas Greiss. I would think that the Islanders lean a little more on Greiss this series and even give him the game 1 nod. They are a great defensive team and will need to keep that up against the high powered offense of Tampa Bay. They are a frustrating team in terms of DFS because they get production from a ton of players.

KEY PLAYERS/STATS

Josh Bailey: Team leading 17 points in the playoffs with 15 assists and 2 goals. He’s not a big SOG guy, but was making a difference on the second line racking up assists.

Brock Nelson: 7 goals and 8 assists in the playoffs so far, racking up 46 SOG. Nelson is hit or miss, but when he’s on can make a big difference in the game for the Islanders.

Mathew Barzal: He looked a little banged up, but then came back and had some great games to end the series. He added 7 goals and 8 assists. He’s racked up 42 SOG and has been a beast with 27 hits. He will make a big difference for the Islanders.

Anthony Beauvillier: He’s been a guy that I have used plenty for the Islanders in the playoffs. He has been a SOG machine with 53, that is second on the team. He’s also added 8 goals and 4 assists so far in the playoffs.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau: The 3rd line center has made a big impact for his new team late in the season. He has added 7 goals and 2 assists on 35 SOG. He’s also a bruiser out there tallying 57 hits in the 16 games. Pageau is usually lower priced and has major upside and will have to be leaned on if TB stops their top line.

Ryan Pulock: A key defensemen for the Islanders and he’s always a threat to hit the block shot bonus over on DraftKings. He has 8 points in the playoffs and racked up a team-leading 42 block shots.

Anders Lee: Lee hasn’t scored much yet, but does have 7 points. What I really like about him is he’s shooting the puck a ton with 56 SOG. He’s added 3 powerplay goals in the playoffs and will be a key difference maker if the Islanders want to make it a series.

Other players with DFS Impact: Jordan Eberle (11 points on 39 SOG), Derek Brassard (good pair with Pageau on the 3rd line), Scott Mayfield (high block shot upside), Devin Toews (8 points to go with 31 blocks in the playoffs).

Goalie Comparison for the Lightning and Islanders

Andrei Vasilevsky: Started all 13 games for the Lightning and I don’t see that changing in this series. He’s gone 10-3-0 with a 1.91 GAA and a .931 save%. Will be key for the Lightning this series.

Seymon Varlamov: Started 14 games for the Islanders these playoffs. Was really good in the beginning then hit a rut against the Flyers and they seemed to have figured him out. I think this series will be a little more split between him and Greiss if he struggled. So far he is 9-4-0 with a 2.00 GAA and a .921 save%.

Thomas Greiss: Came out and won Game 7 for them against the Flyers and has been outstanding in the 3 games he has played. He is 2-1-0 with an amazing 1.08 GAA and .960 save %. I hope to see the Islanders give Greiss more chances this series as he has just been amazing for them in the playoffs and during the regular season.

Prediction: The Lightning are such a high powered offense, I don’t see the good defense of the Islanders to be able to stop them. They have had some time off to re-energize and the Islanders just played a very tough series against the Flyers. My concern for the Islanders is the Lightning are a much better offensive team than the Flyers are. Lightning win series 4-1

Thank you all that have made it this far in the article! Join me at the DFS Army for exclusive showdown cheat sheets during this round of the playoffs! If you are not a member, sign up using the discount code “MDELL” to save 20%. We have NFL just around the corner and you are not going to want to miss our amazing NFL content!

GOOD LUCK!