The start of the Western Conference Finals hasn't gone as expected as the Golden Knights went into Denver and beat the Avs twice. If Vegas wins Game 3, this series is effectively over. Will that happen Sunday? Or will Colorado get on the board?
Sunday's puck drops at 8 p.m. EDT. For DFS purposes, you have $50,000 in salary for six players. One will be your Captain who'll earn an elevated salary, but will also notch you 1.5 times the points. I opted not to roster a goalie (or the up-in-the-air Cale Makar) while ending up with this lineup.
CAPTAIN
Nazem Kadri, COL at VGK ($11,700): I went down the list of potential players for my Captain, which allowed me to grab a couple of highly-productive players. This is a postseason where forwards like Brett Howden and Alex Newhook have emerged as key contributors. Who is to say Kadri can't come up big on Sunday? After all, he provided an assist and two shots on net during Game 2 while notching six points and 30 pucks on net through the last eight outings. Vegas has allowed an average of 30.0 shots in the playoffs, including at least 30 from each of its last four.
FLEX
Nathan MacKinnon, COL at VGK ($12,000): If I can reasonably roster MacKinnon, I will. He racked up 127 points this season while exceeding 300 shots in each of the last four campaigns. MacKinnon has also posted seven goals on 40 shots to go with seven assists through 11 playoff matchups.
Mitch Marner, VGK vs. COL ($8,800): I was a bit surprised to add the postseason's top point producer at this salary, but that'll work on my roster. Marner has registered 19 points, including one from the series opener. While he went scoreless in Game 2, the former Leaf directed four pucks on net. That's encouraging from a player who sometimes seems a bit reluctant to shoot.
Devon Toews, COL at VGK ($7,400): This is something of a bet on Makar missing out again, or at least being limited. It's not so much that Toews has received a major minute boost as he was already logging plenty of ice time as Makar's defensive partner. The change is that with Makar out, Toews has operated on the Avs' top power play. And with Makar missing this series, Toews has a PPA while combining for five shots and five blocked shots.
Ivan Barbashev, VGK vs. COL ($6,600): With Howden's salary now higher than Barbashev's, I'll roster the forward with the better track record as someone who's potted 23 goals in each of the last two seasons and coming off a performance with two goals and an assist. Maybe Barbashev doesn't get three points again on Sunday, yet he's so far provided 12 during these playoffs.
Ross Colton, COL at VGK ($3,200): As you may have guessed, I was left with limited salary for my final roster spot. Colton felt like as good of a roll of a dice as anyone having posted a point in both games this series. Beyond that, he's at five points and 13 shots through his last seven matchups. If Colton can continue to contribute offensively, that'll boost this lineup.
