NHL Friday: Daily fantasy hockey picks for Golden Knights-Stars, Game 1

The first game of the Western Conference Finals has a lot to live up to after the excitement of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. On Friday, the Vegas Golden Knights host the Dallas Stars, with the first game beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET. For single-game DFS purposes, you have $125 in salary for five players. The Superstar on your squad will earn you 1.5 times the points. Let's kick off the Western Conference Finals with gusto!

SUPERSTAR

Roope Hintz, DAL at VGK ($30): If the Stars make it to the Stanley Cup Final, Hintz will likely end up being the leading scorer in these playoffs. He's racked up 19 points in 13 games as is, with 40 shots on net as well. Adin Hill has come up big for Vegas, but can the goalie with the career .910 save percentage keep it going?

FLEX

Joe Pavelski, DAL at VGK ($27): Pavelski missed most of the first round, but returned with gusto in the second round. The veteran potted eight goals to go with one assist. He skates on Roope Hintz's wing, and that is a spot that helped him tally 77 points this season as well. Again, Hill has a career .910 save percentage, and he is the less proven of these two goalies, even if he has been better recently.

Miro Heiskanen, DAL at VGK ($24): The production from Heiskanen leaves a bit to be desired. He has nine assists in 13 games, but zero goals. However, he's playing a massive number of minutes. The Finn has averaged 28:15 in ice time in the playoffs, even though he left one game against the Kraken early. During the regular season Heiskanen had 34 power-play points, and Vegas has the 15th-ranked penalty kill this postseason. Sure, the Oilers played a part in that, but it's still concerning.

Jonathan Marchessault, VGK vs. DAL ($22): My first three players happened to be Stars, but that's not due to a lack of interest in Golden Knights. I kept talking about Marchessault's bad puck luck, and then he went and had a hat trick in the clincher against the Oilers. Even with that, Marchessault still only has a 10.9 shooting percentage this postseason, below his 12.0 number he's put up in both of his last two campaigns. He's started a whopping 66.7 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, most on Vegas, and he's put 46 shots on net. The guy is going to get his opportunities, and he comes into this one having notched three points in each of his last two games.

Mark Stone, VGK at DAL ($22): Admittedly, Stone's run out of steam after a torrid start to the playoffs. He has 11 points over his first seven games, but only one over his last four. Of course, that means he has 12 points in 11 playoff contests, which is quite good. He also had 38 points in 43 regular-season games. Notably, Jake Oettinger has really struggled on the road in the postseason, as he has a 3.79 GAA and .860 save percentage in those six starts.