This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
It's the last weekend of April, but there's a lot of playoff action left for the NHL. Maybe not for the Capitals, though, as they face elimination in a sweeping fashion. There are three games starting at 5 p.m. ET or later. These are my DFS recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
Lineups are looking stable, among the pertinent players for DFS purposes at least, and that includes in net for the Canucks. Yes, Thatcher Demko did travel to Nashville, but he was labeled as week-to-week with an undisclosed issue (the only kind of issue one finds in the NHL playoffs) and just because he's in the Music City doesn't mean he will be in net. That would be a true surprise, so bank on Casey DeSmith.
GOALIE
Juuse Saros, NAS vs. VAN ($7,800): Saros didn't have his best season, but over his last 24 games he's posted a 2.45 GAA and .914 save percentage. The Canucks spent much of the year in the top three in goals per game, but finished sixth. Why? In part, because their puck luck started to even out. They were sixth in goals per game, but 26th in shots on net per contest. To that end, Saros has not faced more than 20 shots in this series.
VALUE PLAY/ONE-OFF
Vincent Trocheck, NYR at WAS ($6,500): Trocheck tallied 77 points this season, even though his points were coming in fits and starts just before the playoffs began. That's changed, as he has a point in every game of this series, and two in each of his last two outings in fact. He's been helped by heavy power-play time – two of his points have been with the extra man – against a team that finished 19th in penalty-kill percentage.
FORWARD LINE STACK TO CONSIDER
Predators vs. Canucks
Ryan O'Reilly (C - $5,200), Filip Forsberg (W - $8,000), Gustav Nyquist (W - $4,800)
Nashville's top line was relied heavily upon this season. Why not go back to that well in Game 4 at home with a chance to tie the series? DeSmith did not exactly threaten Demko's job in his first season as a backup in Vancouver. He had a .905 save percentage with Pittsburgh last year, and this year that number dipped down to .895. DeSmith was good in Game 3, but allowed three goals on 15 shots in Game 2, so I am not sold.
O'Reilly doesn't have a point in his last two games, but he had a goal in Game 1, which capped off a six-game point streak. While he didn't have a point in Game 3, he put four shots on net. Forsberg owns basically every offensive record in Predators history, and that includes the 48 goals he scored this season, a total he put up on 347 shots on net. The Swede has three points in this series, but also 10 shots on target. Nyquist's move to Nashville paid off, as he notched 75 points. He had an assist in each of the first two games of this series.
DEFENSEMAN
Evan Bouchard, EDM at LOS ($6,600): The Oilers have been on fire, even scoring four goals in the game they lost in this series. Only one defenseman really gets in on the fun with this team, though, and that's Bouchard. He had four assists in Game 1 and added a fifth assist in Game 3. Bouchard has also put 12 shots on net while blocking seven shots in his own defensive zone. With the way Edmonton is clicking, Bouchard is in prime position to produce points, or at least get some shots on goal.
