We're beginning the Western Conference Finals tonight with Colorado hosting Vegas, starting at 8 p.m. ET. For a one-game slate, FanDuel gives you a budget of $60,000 to split between six players, including the MVP who provides 1.5 times the points at 1.5 times the price. You must also include at least one player from each team in your roster. Let's dive into my recommended picks.
SLATE PREVIEW
The Avalanche are heavy favorites with minus-192 odds on the Moneyline, compared to Vegas' plus-158. While Vegas dispatched Utah and Anaheim in Game 6 of those respective series, Colorado went 8-1 while cruising past Los Angeles and Minnesota.
MVP
Nathan MacKinnon, COL vs. VGK ($20,100): MacKinnon is pricy for a reason. After scoring 53 goals and 127 points in 80 regular-season appearances, he did get off to a quiet start to the 2026 playoffs. However, that brief cold spell is well behind him, as demonstrated by his seven goals and 12 points over his active six-game goal-scoring streak. He's also collected 29 shots over that stretch to further boost his DFS value.
UTILITY
Mitch Marner, VGK at COL ($12,000): Vegas is the clear underdog tonight, but if the Golden Knights are able to pull off the upset, Marner will likely have something to do with it. He's been a huge part of their playoff run, scoring seven goals and 18 points in 12 postseason games this year. Marner has three multipoint games across his past four appearances, contributing four goals and five assists over that stretch.
Martin Necas, COL vs. VGK ($10,400): Necas is hot going into this series with a goal and nine points over his past five appearances. Taking him also provides synergy with the MacKinnon pick, as the two are likely to share the ice at even strength and on the power play.
Tomas Hertl, VGK at COL ($6,800): The final picks need to be of the budget variety to afford the stars listed above, and Hertl is the first member of that group. Although he's averaged a modest 12:54 of ice time in the playoffs, he has been leaned on with the man advantage, averaging 3:01. Hertl has also been doing well recently, collecting two goals and four points, including two with the man advantage, over his last three outings.
Brett Howden, VGK at COL ($6,600): Howden has punched above his weight in the 2026 playoffs, scoring eight goals and 10 points over his past nine outings. It's hard to see this lasting -- he had just 12 goals during the 2025-26 regular season -- but he's worth grabbing for as long as he continues to find the back of the net.
Jack Drury, COL vs. VGK ($3,800): Finally, here's a really cheap option to make the budget work. Drury has chipped in a point over each of Colorado's last two appearances with a goal and an assist over that stretch. You could alternatively consider Ross Colton ($3,800). Colton has a goal and three points across his past five appearances, and he's projected to play alongside Nazem Kadri ($7,200) and Valeri Nichushkin ($6,400) at even strength, which has some appeal. You can't expect much from Drury or Colton, but each is at least capable of making some contribution, which is all you can really hope for at this price point.
