Sheesh, if you thought it was difficult to predict the things that happen in the NHL during the regular season, playoff hockey will probably give you nightmares. I can't say I predicted an Andrew Shaw three point game, the biggest favorite of the night having the worst game, and Chris Stewart leading the Ducks in iCF and points. 

Nonetheless, let's give this thing another try. 

Capitals vs. Flyers

How ridiculous is this disaster that's taking place in Philly? I mean, my goodness, I don't think I've ever seen a team's home fans take a penalty before, but I guess it isn't a surprise that it happened in Philadelphia.

The Capitals are absolutely CRUSHING the Flyers on the power-play. They have no way to stop the Capitals #1 power-play of Ovechkin/Backstrom/Oshie/Johansson/Carlson. As far as Carlson is concerned, he's playing like the guy I remembered during the first month of the season. He  handles the puck so well at the top of the umbrella, that I actually think he's better than Mike Green at that role. I know it's tempting to pay up for Ovechkin, and I know plenty of people will, but I am going to pass tonight because I want to be able to pay up and fill out my lineup with quality options throughout. 

Vegas obviously likes the Capitals, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Flyers steal one to take the series back to D.C. 

Also, Holtby has been playing amazing, and is deservedly the highest price goalie on all sites, but I just can't pay for him tonight. I think most of the time I would, but he hasn't been practicing because he's nursing some type of injury that Capitals Coach Barry Trotz is trying to keep on the down low. He's supposedly going to play, but that's not a lock. 

Panthers vs. Islanders

This series is just a bit of a head scratcher. The Panthers have absolutely dominated the puck possession game, perhaps more so than any other team in the playoffs, but the Islanders have been able to hang in there, and steal a couple games. Roberto Luongo has been a disappointment, and even admitted that fatigue was a factor. He was able to get a couple days off, so the Panthers are definitely hoping he's able to bring his A-game tonight at the Barclays Center.

Florida has a duel threat in their top two lines of Huberdeau/Barkov/Jagr and Jokinen/Bjugstad/Smith basically taking over the series in every way imaginable. But the Islanders top line of Nielsen/Tavares/Okposo have been able to counter those lines with some very timely goals. The Islanders top line have been splitting their ice time, matching up with both FLA1 and FLA2 throughout the game. 

Logic would say that it'd behoove everyone to get some good exposure to all three of those lines. Reilly Smith is currently leading the playoffs in scoring, and it's just difficult to understand why that's the case, especially when you have Huberdeau and Barkov basically getting over 10 shot attempts each a game. I'm not going to mess around. I will roster Smith, but if you're doing GPPs, it'd be a good idea to fade him. 

Stars vs. Wild

Minnesota came out of nowhere to score four goals on Kari Lehtonen and steal Game 3 from the Stars. It definitely helped that the Stars were without Tyler Seguin, who stayed in Dallas while his teammates made the trip to St. Paul. 

Still, the Wild front line lacks so much depth that it's very difficult to fathom them pulling it off again. The Stars are so good offensively that the Wild practically know that they're going to have to score at least three goals to win the game. Considering how offensively challeged they've been throughout the season, that is going to be a tough feat for them throughout the series. 

I like Benn/Eakin/Sharp, primarily because of their high Corsi. Sharp is never afraid to shoot the puck, and he's always a threat for a ton of shots-on-goal. I'll take his discount from Benn, and use the savings elsewhere in my lineup. 

Kings vs. Sharks

Can you believe that every California team in the playoffs have lost all their home games so far? Can you also believe that every California team in the playoffs have won all their road games? 

As freaky as it is, it's no coincidence. In the case of Kings/Sharks, the Sharks have been a bad home team, and a good road team all season long. Still, it's a very evenly matched series that may end up coming down to goaltending.

Martin Jones comes from the Kings system, and has fared very well against his former mates, but it's tough to imagine that he'll be able to keep this up throughout the series. On the other hand, Jonathan Quick is a former Conn Smythe Trophy winner, who always seems to get better as the Kings get deeper into the playoffs. 

I like San Jose's top line because they generally play a lot with Brent Burns, and they're throwing a lot of shots on net, but the more and more you watch the series, the more and more you realize that the vast majority of those shots are extremely low percentage opportunities. If that line is going to produce, I'd be willing to bet that it'll have to happen on the power-play. 

On the Kings end, I've said it before, and I'll say it again, their scoring is too balanced. It also doesn't help that both Kopitar and Carter have been extremely streaky throughout the season, yet, both of them are probably in the middle of what most people would call a cold streak. They are both still very responsible in their own zones, are should be able to hold the Sharks in check at even strength.

I like Vinny Lecavalier's value on both sites, and he's generally on the ice in favorable situations, including the #2 power-play unit. 

We'll see what happens, but I do like the Kings in this matchup. 

Keep an eye on my Twitter @kle18 for potential updates to the lineups. Good luck!