NHL Slate Breakdown: 4-22-16

By: Nick Rodriguez, Updated April 22, 2016

The NHL playoffs are underway, and we have a four-game slate on our hands tonight. If you missed last night's action -- here were the final scores: Penguins 5 - Rangers 0 -- Red Wings 0 -- Lightning 1 - (Series complete) -- Blackhawks 4 - Blues 3 -- Ducks 4 - Predators 1

I will be going game-by-game to breakdown DFS targets, lines and Vegas stats.

Philadelphia Flyers (+210) @ Washington Capitals (-250)

I was wrong about the sweep for the Capitals, but I don't see this series passing game 5, especially with this game taking place in Washington. The Capitals have scored a total of 13 goals, in four games, and are one of the top stacks of tonight's slate (regardless of price). One of the many guy's to target on this Capitals' squad is Brenden Holtby. He has been dominant against the Flyers this series/season and should have another outstanding game. In eight games against the Flyers this season, Holtby is only allowing an average of 1.61 goals per game. He has been dominant against the Flyers and I see that trend continuing. Other guys to target from the Capitals include: Alex Ovechkin, John Carlson, Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Justin Williams (in that exact order). Ovechkin is a tournament only play for me. His price-tag is just way too high and he has been inconsistent throughout the series. He has two games where he puts up big fantasy points and two games where he is very quiet. If I had to guess, I say this is one of his big days! -- I recommend going Carlson, Backstrom and Holtby for cash games. They have been dominant all series and have combined for an average of 15.1 fantasy points against the Flyers this season (in eight games).

As for the Flyers, they have not shown much sign of life against the Capitals -- and I will be fading most of these guys tonight. I know they won game 4, but I just don't see them putting many points on the board against Holtby. I won't be paying up for their expensive guys, but there are a few value plays I like from this squad. One of those guys is Brandon Manning. He is listed at $2,700 on DraftKings and is an absolute steal. He is averaging 2.5 fantasy points per contest and even recorded an assist in game 4. He has taken exactly four shots per game in the last three, so look for that trend to continue and maybe one goes through the pipes tonight. Another bargain play that I like from the from the Flyers is Nick Shultz. He is listed at $3,500 on DraftKings and has put up some nice value for that price-tag. He has 16 blocked shots this series and is averaging 2.5 fantasy points per contest. It might not be all that impressive, but if you pair him up with Brandon Manning -- you could easily pay-up for some of those studs on the Capitals. I know I talked about these guys last time, but they had another great performance (reaching value and then a little some), so I will be putting them in my squads again tonight.