This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Monday means we're back to hockey being solely in the evening, at least in certain time zones. We have four Game 4s, but no team is on the verge of being swept, so more hockey is to come. The first puck drops at 7 p.m. ET. Let's get to the DFS recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
No change of venue Monday. Also, likely no change in netminders, assuming the Devils ride with Akira Schmid again. After his performance in Game 3, why would they?
GOALIES
Igor Shesterkin, NYR vs. NJD ($8,300): Shesterkin is the one goalie I have any real faith in Monday. Even in a loss, Shesterkin made 26 saves on 28 shots in a game that went into overtime. He did his past. That's usually the case with the Russian netminder who won the Vezina last season. In fact, he has an 1.64 GAA and .945 save percentage over his last 15 outings.
Laurent Brossoit, VGK at WPG ($7,900): Finding a second goalie was tricky, but I landed on Brossoit. It's mostly about the matchup. The Jets finished 21st in goals per game this season, 14th out of the 16th playoff teams and lowest of these eight squads. Now, Josh Morrissey is out, and Nikolaj Ehlers is likely out as well. Brossoit has only played well in one game in this series, but he has picked up two wins, and maybe Game 4 will be his third.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Mark Stone, VGK at WPG ($5,400): After a game to readjust, Stone has been at peak performance over his last two games. He's tallied four points and put seven shots on net. In those two contests, Connor Hellebuyck has allowed five goals each time. That's not likely to continue, but it is notable.
Brandon Hagel, TAM vs. TOR ($4,800): Hagel has put a cold streak behind him, garnering four goals and four assists in his last seven games. That includes three points in this series. Ilya Samsonov was great at home this year, but on the road he had a 2.82 GAA and .909 save percentage.
FORWARD LINE STACK
Avalanche at Kraken
Nathan MacKinnon (C - $9,000), Artturi Lehkonen (W - $5,000), Evan Rodrigues (W - $4,500)
The decision to split up MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen makes it possible to stack a Colorado line without breaking the bank. Former Avalanche goalie Philip Grubauer had a 2.82 GAA this season, but also an .895 save percentage. Seattle was able to keep the damage from getting too bad by only allowing 27.0 shots on net per contest. However, Grubauer has already faced 109 shots. The Avalanche seem to have solved that Kraken defense, and this line has been key to that.
Obviously, basically nobody stops MacKinnon from getting pucks on net. He had 366 shots on goal in only 71 regular-season games. Now, he's added 20 more in the playoffs and tallied three points as well. Lehkonen returned from injury just before the playoffs, but he's looked no worse for wear. In fact, he has two points in each of his last two games. That's without any power-play points yet, and Lehkonen had 20 points with the extra man in 64 games during the regular season. Rodrigues didn't quite beat his personal highs in goals and points this year, but to be fair he only played in 69 games, and he also wasn't on MacKinnon's wing all season. Now he is, and he has five points in his last five outings.
DEFENSEMEN
Morgan Rielly, TOR at TAM ($4,600): Rielly is going to be showered with boos in Game 4 after his hit on Brayden Point in Game 3, though fortunately Point returned to the ice in that one. Of course, that didn't stop him from tallying the overtime winner last time out. It's odd to say about…Andrei Vasilevskiy has been pretty bad recently. Over his last five starts he has a 4.56 GAA and .846 save percentage.
Nate Schmidt, WPG vs. VGK ($2,800): I recommended Brossoit as a potentially goalie, but as you likely recall that was mostly about matchup, and also a lack of enthusiasm for other options. Schmidt is about opportunity. Neal Pionk is going to be the big beneficiary of Josh Morrissey's unfortunately injury, but Schmidt is likely to see benefit as well. He played 28:42 in Game 3, and he saw power-play time again. Also, prior to Game 3, Schmidt was actually on a four-game point streak, so he was already playing well.
