Three NHL playoff series started Saturday with Sunday bringing another four more first-round matchups. The first puck drops at 3 p.m. EDT. And now, onto the DFS lineup recommendations!
SLATE PREVIEW
As I noted Saturday, back-to-backs are not a worry in the playoffs. However, there are questions about who will start in net for a few teams. In terms of uncertainty, from least to most, I'd go Vegas, Los Angeles, Colorado, and then Montreal. And you can probably count on Andrei Vasilevskiy for Tampa.
GOALIES
Mackenzie Blackwood, COL vs. LOS ($7,900): It's tricky with the Avs as Scott Wedgewood was better than Blackwood, though the latter was playing more down the stretch. Either way, keep an eye on who starts as the Kings are comfortably the worst offense taking the ice on Sunday having only averaged 2.68 goals per game. Vegas is the second-lowest of the eight teams in action at 3.22.
Carter Hart, VGK vs. UTA ($7,600): Hart started six of the last seven games, a sign he's likely to get the call for Game 1. He also posted a 1.66 GAA and .930 save percentage over that stretch, with all of them wins. The Golden Knights only allowed 24.4 shots per game and Utah finished 20th in getting pucks on net, so Hart likely won't be very busy.
VALUE PLAY/ONE-OFF
Jason Zucker, BUF vs. BOS ($5,500): Zucker scored 24 goals on 128 shots, but that was in only 62 games. And 10 of those came on the power play, where he also notched six assists. While Jeremy Swayman was stellar down the stretch, the Bruins finished 24th in penalty-kill percentage while also bottom-five in shots allowed.
FORWARD LINE STACK
Lightning vs. Canadiens
Brayden Point (C - $6,000), Nikita Kucherov (W - $8,000), Gage Goncalves (W - $4,100)
Montreal finished average in terms of GAA, shots allowed, and penalty-kill percentage. They also finished with the highest GAA of any of Sunday's eight clubs. That's with rookie goaltender Jacob Fowler as the team's best netminder. And it looks like the Habs will be going with Jakub Dobes on Sunday away from home in Game 1. While Kucherov has a high salary, Goncalves' presence makes stacking this line more viable.
You know, this ended up being a down season for Point even though he still finished with 50 points in 63 games. That includes 11 on the man-advantage, where he averaged 3:47. Kucherov is, you know, a future Hall-of-Famer who racks up points with the best of them as he went off for 130 and probably would've won another Art Ross Trophy if he didn't miss six matchups. Goncalves is no star, but he's also no slouch with 11 goals and 22 assists that's been helped by skating alongside Point and Kucherov.
DEFENSEMEN
Charlie McAvoy, BOS at BUF ($5,800): McAvoy is sure to log plenty of ice time having averaged 24:23, with 3:04 of that on the power play. That helped him tally 61 points, 111 shots, and 129 blocked shots. The Sabres finished bottom-10 in shots allowed and will be playing their first playoff game in over a decade. Pressure is high, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has never previously appeared in a postseason game.
Devon Toews, COL vs. LOS ($5,200): It's tricky as the intrigue here is getting a shot against the Kings' 30th-ranked penalty kill. Cale Makar skates most of those minutes and his salary is high. If you can fit him in, go for it. At the same time, Toews averaged 1:24 while up a man. He also collected seven points from his last 13 outings, with one coming on the power play.
