This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
There's only one game on tap for the final Friday of the NHL regular season, but the night still carries plenty of playoff implications. While DFS owners will have to sit this one out due to the lack of variety, making the right pickup or lineup choice for this Lightning-Canadiens game can make or break a fantasy championship for season-long owners. There's a chink in Montreal's armor that can be exploited by a desperate Lightning team. Read on below to find out what that chink is and which players are best positioned to take advantage of it.
Featured Matchups
Lightning (PP:4, PK:13) at Canadiens (PP:13, PK:14), 7:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Peter Budaj (27-20-3, 2.12, .917), Carey Price (37-19-5, 2.20, .924)
Key Injuries:Jordie Benn (upper body), Alexei Emelin (lower body), Al Montoya (lower body), Shea Weber (lower body), Ryan Callahan (hip), Jason Garrison (lower body), Tyler Johnson (lower body), Steven Stamkos (knee)
The Lightning kept their season alive with Thursday's 4-1 win over the Maple Leafs, and can pull within one point of Toronto for the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference with another win here. Andrei Vasilevskiy played well in Toronto, but will yield the crease to Budaj on this second night of a back-to-back. The trade deadline acquisition is 3-1-0 with a 2.80 GAA and .898 save percentage since coming over from the Kings. While Price's presence in net is usually a deterrent, the desperation disparity between a Lightning team fighting to stay in the playoff hunt and a Canadiens team that has already clinched the top seed in the Atlantic Division helps balance the playing field. Montreal's penalty kill ranks a pedestrian 14th, so Victor Hedman (33), Nikita Kucherov (32) and Jonathan Drouin (26) will all have an opportunity to add to their gaudy power-play point totals. Speaking of points, first-line center Brayden Point has seven goals and five assists in the past 13 games after potting a pair of goals in Toronto.
Recommended Pickup
Philipp Grubauer, G, WAS - Grubauer will start at least one game of this weekend's back-to-back set with the Capitals able to rest Braden Holtby after clinching the Presidents' Trophy on Wednesday night. His 12-6-2 record, 2.07 GAA and .926 save percentage show that the German backup can help owners across the board, especially if he gets the nod Sunday against Florida's 23rd-ranked offense. This is a safe, low-cost addition that should be considered by any owner locked in a tight goaltending matchup.
