Saturday could see a first-round series end. There are three NHL games with the first starting at 3 p.m. EDT with both the Hurricanes and the Flyers looking to sweep. Here are my DFS lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
A few players - including Jake Sanderson and Roope Hintz - will be out Saturday. There are a couple notable performers on the fence, yet Dan Vladar is the biggest one as a game-time decision for the Flyers. It's not just that he's been stellar this series and during April. If Vladar can't go for Game 4, Samuel Ersson will presumably start after mainly struggling during the season.
GOALIE
Linus Ullmark, OTT vs. CAR ($7,800): I'm not risking going with Vladar, and this is something of a bet on the Sens not losing at home on Saturday and getting swept. That could still happen, but Ottawa's too good and Carolina hasn't been impressive enough to where this would feel like a sweep. Ullmark has also been great so far with a 2.02 GAA and .933 save percentage.
VALUE PLAY/ONE-OFF
Bryan Rust, PIT at PHI ($6,000): Sidney Crosby won't go down without a fight and Rust will be right alongside him. And by that, I mean he's teamed up with Crosby on the Penguins' top line and power play for a while. On top of that, Rust has tallied two points and seven shots this series. If Dan Vladar is available, he probably won't be at full capacity. Should Samuel Ersson be forced into action, he's posted a career .884 save percentage.
FORWARD LINE STACK TO CONSIDER
Stars at Wild
Wyatt Johnston (C - $7,100), Mikko Rantanen (W - $6,700), Justin Hryckowian (W - $3,100)
Based on Jason Robertson's elevated valuation and how low Hryckowian's is, going with Dallas's lead trio actually didn't yield too much greater an impact on the salary cap. Either way, I wanted a Stars line especially since each of their first two feature two members of the top power play. After a rough first outing, the last two have been better for them facing a mediocre Wild penalty kill and a side that finished bottom-10 in shots allowed. And with a rookie in net, there's always a chance for volatility.
Johnston has been the star this series with five points and 14 shots and the OT winner in Game 3. This isn't a surprise since he accumulated 45 on 206 during the season while adding 41 assists. As so much is expected from Rantanen - especially after the tradefest from last year - his 77 points across 64 appearances were kind of overlooked. He's also registered three in this series, all on the man-advantage. Hryckowian is along for the ride and has notched a helper versus Minnesota. And as a somewhat older rookie, he did have 14 goals and 16 assists this season.
DEFENSEMAN
Jamie Drysdale, PHI at PIT ($3,600): Drysdale posted 32 points and 101 shots heading into the postseason, and has since recorded three and five to go with seven blocked shots. The Penguins also finished bottom-10 in GAA.
