The Hurricanes got out the brooms against the Senators, leaving us with two NHL playoff games Monday. Action begins at 7 p.m. EDT. Here are my NHL DFS lineup recommendations for the final Monday of April.
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SLATE PREVIEW
Dan Vladar was able to play in Game 4 in spite of injury questions, and the Penguins avoided elimination with Arturs Silovs in net, so all the goaltending situations feel fairly clear to me.
GOALIE
Dan Vladar, PHI at PIT ($7,400): Though the Flyers didn't win Game 4, and Vladar allowed three goals, he has an 1.76 GAA and .926 save percentage in this series. He also has a .923 save percentage over his last 10 games. With how this series has gone, and with the age of the Penguins' lineup, even if the Flyers don't win Vladar should be fine, and he's been more than fine as of late.
VALUE PLAY/ONE-OFF
Trevor Zegras, PHI vs. PIT ($5,200): Zegras has at least one point in each game of this series, and he has put two shots on net in each of those games wherein he had a point. That is a continuation of the end of the regular season. The former Duck has 21 points over his last 24 outings. Silovs played well in Game 4, but he has a career .885 save percentage. I don't think he's the savior for Sidney Crosby and company.
FORWARD LINE STACK TO CONSIDER
Mammoth vs. Golden Knights
Logan Cooley (C - $4,900), Dylan Guenther (W - $6,700), Kailer Yamamoto (W - $2,600)
There have been some murmurings about the Mammoth being a tricky matchup for the Golden Knights, with speed winning out over size. Of course, Game 3 was also the first home playoff game in Mammoth franchise history. If the fans can bring that energy again, it could make a genuine impact. Carter Hart had a brutal Game 3, allowing four goals on 12 shots on net, but he also allowed three goals on 29 shots in a Game 2 loss. This line certainly lacks the size of your average Vegas forward, but that hasn't been an issue.
Cooley has a point in every game of this series. He has played three NHL seasons and had three 20-goal campaigns, and this year he had 24 goals in only 54 contests. After scoring 40 goals this season, Guenther has a goal in each of the last two games. In five of his last nine regular-season outings he had multiple points as well. Yamamoto is being lifted up by his line mates. He has three assists in his last two games, and eight points over his last 11 contests.
DEFENSEMAN
Rasmus Ristolainen, PHI at PIT ($4,100): Ristolainen is now playing on the top pairing, and also on the first power-play unit. Owing in part to that, and the nature of the NHL playoffs, he's averaged 25:07 per game in ice time in this series. He has three points, but he also has nine shots on net and three blocked shots. This season saw Silovs play the most games of his career, and he posted an .887 save percentage.
