We have one match ahead of us tonight: Game 2 of the Minnesota-Colorado series. The Avalanche earned a 9-6 victory over the Wild in the series opener, and Colorado (minus-192) is also favored to take this game over Minnesota (plus-158), based on FanDuel's moneyline.
Try our FanDuel NHL Lineup Optimizer to discover more expert recommendations, customize the player pool, set exposure percentage and mass-enter DFS lineups.
SLATE PREVIEW
With just one game on the docket, the rules are different tonight. You get a salary of $60,000 to spend among six players. Five of them will be Utility players, while one is your MVP, who comes with a salary 1.5 times higher than it would normally be, but he'll also have his point total increased by 1.5 times.
MVP
Nathan MacKinnon, COL vs. MIN ($21,300): MacKinnon is expensive, but he works within the budget of the team I'm recommending, and he's red hot. MacKinnon is up to three goals and six points across his past two outings. He was superb during the 2025-26 regular season with 53 goals and 127 points in 80 appearances.
UTIL
Kirill Kaprizov, MIN at COL ($12,400): Kaprizov has been strong in the playoffs with two goals and 10 points in seven playoff outings this year, though he's capable of picking up the pace in terms of goals scored. He had 45 goals and 89 points in 78 regular-season appearances in 2025-26.
Quinn Hughes, MIN at COL ($9,800): Hughes has been fantastic in the playoffs with three goals and 11 points in seven appearances this year. He was similarly strong during the 2025-26 regular season, finishing with seven goals and 76 points in 74 outings.
Artturi Lehkonen, COL vs. MIN ($6,800): Lehkonen is providing good value recently, supplying two goals and five points across his active three-game scoring streak. It helps that he's set to play alongside MacKinnon, so taking both of them should provide you with some synergy.
Devon Toews, COL vs. MIN ($6,000): I'm a bit reluctant to suggest a second defenseman when you don't need to do so in this format. However, Toews is on a four-game scoring streak in which he's supplied two goals and seven points, so he's a great pick while he's hot.
Marcus Foligno, MIN at COL ($3,600): Foligno is a really cheap value play to balance out the more expensive players. Although you shouldn't expect too much, he has done well recently, contributing two goals and three points across his past four outings.
