One series remains in the second round of the NHL playoffs. Montreal will be hosting Buffalo on Saturday night at 8 p.m. EDT with a chance to win and move on to face Carolina. Can the Canadiens do it? Or will we get a Game 7?
Of course, that means we're dealing with single-game DFS contests. On DraftKings, you have $50,000 in salary for six players. One will be your Captain, who will earn 1.5 times the points, but at an elevated salary. DraftKings also allows you to roster goalies if you want. I'd consider Jakub Dobes, something I wouldn't have imagined myself saying heading into the postseason. Did he make the cut? Here's the lineup I landed on.
CAPTAIN
Juraj Slafkovsky, MON vs. BUF ($12,900): Making Slafkovsky my Captain provided me upside while also allowing to divvy out salary more evenly and add more potential contributors. The Sabres have allowed three goals per game during the playoffs and have been switching between goalies. That speaks to a lack of certainty that led me to want a Montreal player for my Captain. Slafkovsky is riding a three-game scoring streak, and I mentioned "upside" earlier as he's managed two three-point efforts this series.
FLEX
Tage Thompson, BUF at MON ($10,600): Thompson comes into Saturday with the highest salary, though I'm comfortable rostering him as Slafkovsky's my Captain. He's clearly Buffalo's best offensive producer as someone who's potted 40 goals from three of the last four seasons. Thompson has also driven scoring chances this postseason with 35 shots across 11 outings. He's also registered a goal and assist in the two previous away matchups, so maybe he can do that again.
Ivan Demidov, MON vs. BUF ($7,800): Decided not to go with Jakub Dobes, yet I think he's a reasonable choice if you opt for a netminder. After doing nothing against Tampa, the rookie Demidov has taken off this series by notching five points - including two Game 5 where he also directed five pucks on net. So even getting on the scoresheet Saturday would work for DFS purposes.
Josh Doan, BUF at MON ($6,800): Doan found his footing in the NHL this season, but he's now as hot as anyone having established a six-game scoring run with at least three shots five times.
Alex Newhook, MON vs. BUF ($6,400): I know Newhook isn't this good. So do you. It could all dry at any time and everything will go back to business as usual. At this salary, a player with six goals over his last eight games is worth selecting. Improbable runs always end, yet you never know when that's going to happen.
Josh Norris, BUF at MON ($5,400): The options to round out my roster weren't great, but Norris is solid enough. He's the Sabres' second-line center, after all. While Norris has only contributed two playoff points, he accumulated 34 across 44 regular-season appearances. And for what it's worth, he's put multiple pucks on net during three of the last four.
