Daily Fantasy Hockey Picks for DraftKings & FanDuel - 4/21/16

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Welcome back for another night of NHL playoff hockey with Daily Fantasy Sports Rankings. Another four game slate on Thursday with two teams facing elimination on the road. The Red Wings travel to Tampa Bay down 3-1 while the Blackhawks travel to St. Louis also down 3-1 and desperate to stay alive.

If you have any questions throughout the day be sure to join the conversation in the comments section below. Also, be sure to check LeftWingLock to get confirmation on all of the starting goalies for Tuesday. Now onto the picks.

Goaltenders

Ben Bishop
Opponent - DET
FD - 9800 DK - 8300

He hasn't has to be perfect to this point allowing two goals in each of the first four games but has been sharp as he has faced 28 or more shots in every game. I mentioned early in the series that the home team has dominated the matchups between these teams and it continued up until game four where the Bolts won in Detroit. That's now eight of the last nine games won by the home team. I am expecting a tight game with the Lightning closing out the series and earning a few days off.

Brian Elliott
Opponent - CHI
FD - 9600 DK - 8600

At the start of this series I had the Blackhawks experience and success in recent years playing a huge role in 2016. So far I was dead wrong. The Blues have relied heavily on their goaltending as they have given up 151 shots in the first four games of this series. Elliott has stopped 144 of those shots for an impressive .954 save % and one shutout(game one). The Blues get a shot to eliminate the Hawks back on home ice tonight which would be huge for the franchise who has seen an early first round exit in each of the past two years.
Also Consider for GPP - Matt Murray - Pittsburgh Penguins @ NYR

CENTER

Sidney Crosby
Opponent - NYR
FD - 10000 DK - 8400

It will be a tough task for the Penguins to win back to back games in Madison Square Garden but they have won three straight games in New York dating back to the regular season. Crosby has been up and down in the series with a three point effort in game one, pointless in game two, and getting a lucky goal off his ankle in game three. If the Pens are to take control of this series, Crosby will have to step up an have another all world game tonight. If you are paying up for a forward in GPP tonight don't overlook the best player in the game.

Stack with - Patric Hornqvist, Chris Kunitz, Evgeni Malkin(PP)

Tyler Johnson
Opponent - DET
FD - 6600 DK - 6000

If you aren't wanting to pay up for Crosby in a tough environment tonight take the discount and roll with Tyler Johnson who has been red hot in the playoffs. While he has only picked up one point in his last two games on the road in Detroit he has seven points overall in the series. He returns home where he exploded for six points in the first two games while the lightning jumped out to a 2-0 series lead on the Red Wings. The Bolts can close out the series tonight on home ice and should get another elite performance from their top line that has scored the majority of the goals for the Bolts.

Stack with - Nikita Kucherov, Alex Killorn

Also Consider - Jori Lehtera - St. Louis Blues vs. CHI

WINGERS

Nikita Kucherov
Opponent - DET
FD - 8400 DK - 7400

After being shut down in game three in Detroit, Kucherov got back to being a dominant force in game four with two goals and an assist in a Tampa Bay win. He now has three multi point games and  eight total points in the first four games. As mentioned above with Johnson, the Bolts have a chance to close out the Red Wings on home ice and should get another terrific effort from their high flying top line.

Stack with - Tyler Johnson, Alex Killorn, Jonathan Drouin(PP)

Andreas Athanasiou
Opponent - TB
FD - 3500 DK - 3100

He makes a low end punt play tonight if you are trying to fit in a top goalie and forward stack. The 21 year old got a boost form his 8:00 average and skated over 12:00 in the last game. He carries a terrific skill set of speed and hands  that should translate into becoming a solid player in the NHL. In an elimination game he is probably only going to get that 8-10 minutes of ice time but could be very sneaky on a GPP lineup.

Stack with - Joakim Anderson, Tomas Tatar

Also Consider - Vladimir Tarasenko - St. Louis Blues vs. CHI

DEFENSE

Kevin Shattenkirk
Opponent - CHI
FD - 5700 DK - 7000

He has been skating over 20 minutes a game in the series and after a pointless game one has delivered points  in three straight games. The Blues have one of the top defensive units in the league with Shattenkirk as their top offensive option, especially on the powerplay. During the regular season he tallied 26 points with the man advantage which tied him for third in the league among D men.

Hampus Lindholm
Opponent - NAS
FD - 4900 DK - 4200
Cam Fowler
Opponent - NAS
FD - 3300 DK - 4800
Sami Vatanen
Opponent - NAS
FD - 4900 DK - 4600

All three of the Ducks top D men(Lindholm, Fowler, Vatanen) offer offensive upside and make great options in a game where they will try to even up the series with the Preds. Lindholm makes the best choice on DraftKings where he comes in as the cheapest but take Fowler on FanDuel where he is substantially cheaper. All three get close to equal time on the powerplay.

Also Consider - Duncan Keith - Chicago Blackhawks @ STL

Daily Updates Below:

***All advanced stats in this article are sourced from www. puckalytics.com***

***All goaltender and team line combination information is provided by www.leftwinglock.com***

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