This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
The Western Conference Finals open tomorrow when Dallas hosts Edmonton, starting at 8:00 p.m. ET. When there's a one-game slate, FanDuel gives you a budget of $60,000 to select six players: Five utility players and an MVP, who gives you 1.5 times the points with the drawback of commanding a salary 1.5 times the player's normal rate. Here are my recommendations for Wednesday's contest.
SLATE PREVIEW
Dallas is regarded as a slight favorite with a -128 on FanDuel's Moneyline. The game has an Over/Under of 6.5 with the over being +108.
MVP
Mikko Rantanen, DAL vs. EDM ($19,200): I'm going with a top-heavy lineup, and it's hard to resist starting with Rantanen as the MVP. He's expensive, especially in that role, but Rantanen is worth it. He's leading the league with nine goals and 19 points through 13 playoff appearances this year.
UTIL
Connor McDavid, EDM at DAL ($14,200): McDavid has three goals and 17 points over 11 outings in the 2025 playoffs. He's one of the best playoff performers of this era with 40 goals and 134 points across 85 career games.
Leon Draisaitl, EDM at DAL ($13,800): Rounding out the top-heavy lineup, Draisaitl has collected five goals and 16 points across 11 playoff outings this year. Between Rantanen, McDavid and Draisaitl, this roster consists of the top three scoring leaders among players still active in the postseason. McDavid, Draisaitl and Rantanen also rank third, fifth and seventh, respectively, on the all-time list of career playoff points per game.
Vasily Podkolzin, EDM at DAL ($4,600): Assembling a lineup with three elite forwards comes at a cost, so we need some discount players to balance things out. Podkolzin has been doing pretty well, relative to his price point, supplying a goal and six points over his past 10 appearances. He's averaged just 10:19 of ice time over that span, but he is projected to play on the second line alongside Draisaitl in Game 1, so Podkolzin might see some opportune minutes Wednesday.
Sam Steel, DAL vs. EDM ($4,400): Steel has a goal and three points across his past four appearances, which is a solid output for him. He's projected to play on the third line, which isn't an ideal assignment, but Dallas is deep enough for that assignment to still leave him alongside two talented wingers in Mason Marchment and Tyler Seguin.
Kasperi Kapanen, EDM at DAL ($3,600): Kapanen is projected to play on the second line alongside Draisaitl and Podkolzin, so he has good synergy with this roster. Kapanen typically isn't a significant offensive contributor, but he is coming off a huge game in which he provided the series-clinching overtime winner against Vegas.
