This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
After a break in the schedule following the Conference Finals, Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals kicks off tonight with Edmonton hosting Florida, starting at 8:00 p.m. ET. You can construct a FanDuel lineup to go along with the game by selecting six players with a budget of $60,000. You'll be taking five utility players and one MVP, who will provide you with 1.5 times the points with the drawback of costing 1.5 times the salary relative to what that player would cost in a utility slot. Here are my recommendations for Wednesday's game.
SLATE PREVIEW
Perhaps because they're the home team, the Oilers are seen as mild favorites at -125 on the Moneyline. Edmonton is 6-1 at home in the 2025 playoffs, but Florida is a similarly impressive 8-2 on the road. The Over/Under is at 6.5 with the over's odds at +110. Three of the seven games in last year's Florida-Edmonton series finished with seven or more goals.
MVP
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, EDM vs. FLA ($12,900): Although Nugent-Hopkins was held off the scoresheet in Edmonton's series-winning 4-1 victory over Dallas on Thursday, he's still having a fantastic playoff run with five goals and 18 points across 16 outings, which gives him more points than anyone in this series other than Connor McDavid ($21,300) and Leon Draisaitl ($20,100). I passed on Edmonton's star duo for the MVP slot to have a more balanced lineup. I did toy with Sam Bennett ($14,400) as an alternative, and I think he'd be a good choice in the slot if you want to lean more heavily on Florida, but ultimately, I felt Nugent-Hopkins had about as good a chance of having a great game, so I decided to go with the cheaper pick.
UTIL
Connor McDavid, EDM vs. FLA ($14,200): McDavid has been, unsurprisingly, phenomenal in the 2025 playoffs, supplying six goals and 26 points across 16 outings. He's on a five-game scoring streak (three goals, nine points) and has been held off the scoresheet just once over his past 14 games. He's also projected to play alongside Nugent-Hopkins, which gives him synergy with my recommended MVP.
Matthew Tkachuk, FLA at EDM ($11,800): Tkachuk has five goals and 16 points across 17 playoff appearances this year. He's also coming off a great series against Carolina in which he contributed two goals and seven points in five outings. Taking Nugent-Hopkins allowed us to be more top-heavy with our utility picks, and having both McDavid and Tkachuk is a luxury of that.
Sam Bennett, FLA at EDM ($9,600): As noted above, Bennett is also a great choice for the MVP slot. He has 16 points in 17 playoff appearances this year, including a stunning 10 goals. Bennett collected four goals and seven points across five games against Carolina during the Eastern Conference Finals. If you took Bennett in the MVP slot, you could select Nugent-Hopkins ($8,600) here or Carter Verhaeghe ($8,200) if you want to continue to hedge toward Florida. Verhaeghe is also projected to play on Bennett and Tkachuk's line, so the trio goes well together.
Mattias Ekholm, EDM vs. FLA ($7,200): Ekholm didn't make his 2025 playoff debut until Thursday due to an undisclosed injury, but he registered an assist and blocked two shots in his return. He was limited to 15:52 of ice time, well below his 22:12 average during the regular season, but it wouldn't be surprising if his responsibilities increase now that he's gotten back into the lineup. Getting roughly a week off after eliminating Dallas probably helped if there were any lingering issues from the injury.
Jeff Skinner, EDM vs. FLA ($4,200): Missing out on Zach Hyman (upper body) hurts Edmonton, but having a player like Skinner waiting in the wings was a luxury. Although he didn't stand out in the regular season (16 goals, 29 points), Skinner is a six-time 30-plus goal player who can make an impact in big moments. He made his presence felt Thursday, scoring a goal against Dallas on three shots, and he's a nice forward on which to roll the dice when his price is that low.
