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NHL DFS: Stanley Cup Final Game 3 picks

Chris Morgan
·2 min read

It's not necessarily a surprise that the Avalanche won the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final. They were at home, after all. However, I definitely did not see Colorado winning Game 2 by a score of 7-0. With this series headed to Tampa, I don't expect that to happen again. For your DFS lineup, you have $135 for five players. Your Superstar is going to earn you 1.5 times the points. Here are my recommendations.

SUPERSTAR

Mikko Rantanen, COL at TAM ($32): Will the Lightning look better at home? I'd count on it, especially Andrei Vasilevskiy. Having said that, the Avalanche have torn through the playoffs and just scored seven goals. Rantanen has also been on an absolute tear since the start of the second round. Over his last 12 games he has 17 points, including five in this series thus far.

FLEX

Nikita Kucherov, TAM vs. COL ($34): If the Lightning are going to get goals – and don't forget they scored three times in Game 1 – Kucherov is a strong bet to lead the way. Kucherov just had his worst game of the playoffs, but that ended a six-game point streak. The Russian had 69 points in only 47 regular-season games, and I trust him to get back on the score sheet.

Nikita Kucherov #86 of the Tampa Bay Lightning skates against the New York Rangers during the third period in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amalie Arena on June 11, 2022 in Tampa, Florida.
Consider Nikita Kucherov in your Stanley Cup Final DFS lineups. (Photo by Mark LoMoglio/NHLI via Getty Images)

Andrei Vasilevskiy, TAM vs. COL ($32): Betting on a goalie who just gave up seven goals? I see it as an opportunity to get Vasilevskiy at a salary that you otherwise might not have gotten served up to you. Remember when the Rangers scored six goals on Vasilevskiy in Game 1 of the last round? After that he posted an 1.61 GAA and .942 save percentage in five games. On the season, including the playoffs, the Russian goalie has a 2.12 GAA and .926 save percentage at home.

Ondrej Palat, TAM vs. COL ($19): Clearly I'm bullish on the Lightning in Game 3. Everything that has happened in this postseason justifies believing in them at home. Palat gets to skate with Kucherov and Steven Stamkos, and that certainly has helped him tally 17 points in the playoffs. However, his three-straight seasons with over 40 points speaks to him having some real talent in his own right. Palat is not merely a product of his linemates.

Artturi Lehkonen, COL at TAM ($18): Lehkonen has picked up five goals and five assists in his last 10 games. In a lot of that time, he was skating on the second line, and admittedly he's been down on the third line since Andre Burakovsky got healthy. There is an avenue to success available to Lehkonen, though. The Finn has averaged 3:53 per game on the power play in this series.