Carolina Hurricanes Vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

I’m really not sure what to make of this game. Both teams are really good and they have exceptional goaltending. I think this game is going to be a low scoring affair, so we’ll need to make sure we are targeting players who aren’t going to finish with a zero.

Let’s start with Tampa Bay, specifically their second line. Steven Stamkos and Alex Killorn are the two players I’m targeting here. Killorn gets forgotten a lot, and that’s going to play to our advantage. He shoots the puck a lot, and he can score goals. Over the last ten games (including the regular season) he has six goals and four assists. As for Stamkos, he’s a cheaper version of Nikita Kucherov. I’d love to pay for Kucherov, but I won’t, and if that bites me, so be it. If you want to go with a full three-man power play stack, add Brayden Point and call it a day.

On defence, Victor Hedman is below $6K on DK, and I can’t explain why. He’s elite, and pricing him this low is just a head scratcher.

In goal , Andrei Vasilevskiy is an expensive option, but he’s proven that he can get the job done. He underperformed in game three, but I expect him to be able to hit value for us in this game.

As for Carolina, the only forward (not named Sebastian Aho) that I’m willing to get behind is Andrei Svechnikov. He’s affordable, and usually does a pretty good job at getting shots on goal. You can pair him with Aho if you’d like, but I’d personally just go with him as a single-bullet.

Dougie Hamilton is always an interesting play. We know he can shoot the puck a ton, but so far in this series, we haven’t seen that crazy volume like we did in the first round. He has come close to hitting the shot bonus on DK, but it hasn’t happened. He also has no points in the series, so I wouldn’t go all out to fit him into my lineup unless you’re going with a Carolina power play stack.

In goal, Petr Mrazek should get the call here. He was lights out last game and was able to easily hit value thanks to his 35-save performance. He’s going to continue to see a lot of shots, and he can easily stand on his head and steal another game for his team. He’s $7300 on DK, so if you’re fading Tampa, might as well plug Mrazek into your lineup.

 

New York Islanders Vs. Boston Bruins

I have no idea how this game is going to play out, but if I had to pick one side, It would be the Boston side. They seem to be the better team on paper, but we know that the Islanders are a great defensive team that can still score goals. 

For the Bruins, we should continue to trust David Krejci and Taylor Hall. Both players continue to be affordable and they can rack up points. Krejci has 16 shots on goal in three games, which is crazy volume for him. Why he’s still underpriced on DK is beyond me, but he’s a lock in all my lineups. 

I know the temptation to play Boston’s top line will always be there, but I know we can’t fit them all in. Since we aren’t spending up for Kucherov, we can go with David Pastrnak as a single-bullet, or you can pair him with Hall/Krejci. If you’re REALLY tight on salary, Brad Marchand works fine too.

On the back end, it’s Charlie McAvoy or nothing for me. He’s gone on this tear where he just starts racking up a ton of blocked shots. He had six in the final game against Washington, and had five in the last game against the Islanders. We don’t think of McAvoy as a shot-blocking expert, but here he is, racking up fantasy points. He’s easily the second ebay defenceman to roster on this slate behind Hedman.

In goal, Tuukka Rask continues to be elite. I expect this game to be a low scoring contest, and Rask has been more than capable of shutting the door for his team. We get him at a very small discount on DK, so that would be the best place to use him.

As for the Islanders, I’m just going to fade them completely. I don’t know where the goals are going to come from, and I’m not hot on the idea of rostering Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Kyle Palmieri. They are cheap, so I do expect some people to target them, I just won’t be one of those people. 

If you wanted to go with Mathew Barzal as a single-bullet, I wouldn’t call you crazy. We know he can score goals, and he does take some shots, but he needs to find the scoresheet to hit value, and that could be a challenge in this game.

If you are fading the Bruins, Semyon Varlamov is probably the goalie to play. He reminded us all in game three that he’s still a very good goalie, but fell just shy of stealing a game for his team. His price tag continues to drop, making it easier for him to hit value with recording the win. He’s a risky option in all formats, so be prepared for this to end poorly.