This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Friday's NHL slate begins at 7:30 p.m. EDT and features two games. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
SLATE PREVIEW
The Avalanche lead the Golden Knights 2-0 after two very different games in Colorado. Colorado dominated the first 7-1, while Vegas carried play in the second, yet the Avs still escaped with a 3-2 overtime win. The series shifts to Vegas for Game 3, where the Avalanche are still very slightly favored in a toss-up. The Canadiens took Game 1 in Winnipeg by a 5-3 score, with the game's leading headline generated on the final goal, which Jake Evans scored into an empty net just as he took a punishing, controversial hit from Mark Scheifele that subsequently resulted in a four-game suspension for Scheifele and a concussion for Evans. The Jets are slightly favored in Game 2 as they look to even the series at home.
GOALIES
Philipp Grubauer, COL at VGK ($8,200): Grubauer was needed to bail his team out for the first time this postseason in Game 2, and he was up to the task with 39 saves on 41 shots. He's still undefeated this postseason, going 6-0-0 with a 1.66 GAA and .943 save percentage.
Connor Hellebuyck, WPG vs. MON ($8,000): Hellebuyck looked a bit rusty in Game 1 on Wednesday, stopping just 28 of 32 shots in his first action since May 24 en route to his first loss of the postseason. He still has a 2.01 GAA and .937 save percentage overall in these playoffs and is likely to bounce back in Game 2 against a Canadiens team that won only 24 of 56 regular-season games.
Carey Price, MON at WPG ($7,900): Price wasn't great in Game 1, but he didn't have to be, as Montreal pulled out a 5-3 road win. With all the pressure on Winnipeg to avoid going down 2-0 in the series, Price will likely be busy in Game 2. He's capable of stepping up despite the high expected volume, especially with Scheifele out of the Jets' lineup.
Marc-Andre Fleury, VGK vs. COL ($7,800): Fleury has won only once in his last four outings while posting a save percentage of .900 or worse in each. His career has been full of underwhelming playoff performances on stacked teams, and Fleury's in trouble now that the team he's facing is even better than the one in front him.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Max Pacioretty, VGK vs. COL ($6,600): Pacioretty didn't appear in this postseason until Game 7 against the Wild due to an injury, but he's since racked up a three-game point streak, scoring in his return and adding assists in each of this series' first two games. Vegas' leading goal-scorer with 24 in 48 regular-season games will need to step up even further on home ice for his team to have a chance.
Pierre-Luc Dubois, WPG vs. MON ($3,800): With Scheifele suspended and Paul Stastny's (undisclosed) status up in the air after he didn't dress for the series opener, Dubois will likely be pressed into top-line center duties. He didn't perform like a first-line center in the regular season, but Dubois used to fill that role in Columbus and has stepped up in the playoffs with three points in four games, giving him an 8-14-22 line in 30 career postseason appearances.
Brandon Saad, COL at VGK ($3,200): Saad's goal streak now sits at five games, and he's potted a goal in eight of his last 10 games dating back to the regular season. Colorado's top source of secondary scoring beyond the top line remains extremely affordable at just $3,200 despite his recent scoring binge.
Eric Staal, MON at WPG ($2,900): When you're hot, you're hot, and Staal's gotten in a groove at the right time with consecutive multi-point game in his last two contests. At just $2,900, the veteran center's worth locking in while he's rolling.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Avalanche at Golden Knights
Nathan MacKinnon (C - $9,200), Mikko Rantanen (W - $7,700), Gabriel Landeskog (W - $6,400)
This trio combined for a goal, an assist and 10 shots in Game 2, and that was considered an off night. Even after that down game, this line has a 6-4-10 line and 24 shots through this series' first two games. Overall this postseason, MacKinnon has an 8-5-13 line, Landeskog has a 4-7-11 line and Rantanen has a 3-7-10 line through six games.
Golden Knights vs. Avalanche
William Karlsson (C - $4,900), Jonathan Marchessault (W - $5,500), Reilly Smith (W - $3,900)
Only four Golden Knights forwards have scored a point over this series' first two games — Pacioretty and all three members of this line. Karlsson scored the team's lone goal in Game 1, Smith lit the lamp in Game 2, and Marchessault had an assist in each contest. The "misfit" line has been there through all of the team's playoff battles, making its members best prepared to handle the adversity of this 2-0 series deficit.
Canadiens at Jets
Phillip Danault (C - $3,500), Brendan Gallagher (W - $5,200), Tyler Toffoli (W - $6,000)
Danault's used primarily in a defensive role, but his heavy usage allows him to rack up plenty of secondary stats while limiting opposing top lines. He was quiet in Game 1 against the Jets but totaled 19.0 fantasy points over the final two games against the Maple Leafs thanks to an assist, three shots and five blocked shots. Gallagher took a while to get going after returning from a thumb injury for the postseason, but the two-time 30-goal scorer is finally heating up with goals in each of his last two games. It remains to be seen who fills the top-line spot vacated by Evans. If it's Toffoli, he'll give this line some extra bite offensively, as he led the team in goals (28) and points (44) over 52 regular-season games before adding a 2-4-6 line in eight postseason contests.
DEFENSEMEN
Shea Theodore, VGK vs. COL ($5,500): Theodore's waking up offensively after a slow start to the postseason, as his two-assist performance in Game 2 gave him four helpers in the last three games following six games without a point. He's also totaled at least three shots in eight of nine games this postseason but is still searching for his first goal. The dam will likely break at some point for Theodore considering he had a 7-12-19 line in 20 games during last year's playoff run, and you want him in your lineup when the puck luck finally turns his way.
Jeff Petry, MON at WPG ($5,300): Petry had a quiet first-round series against the Maple Leafs after ranking second on the Canadiens with 42 points in the regular season, but he seems to have rediscovered his offensive game if the series opener against Winnipeg is any indication. The veteran blueliner had two assists in that contest and added two blocks in a hefty 25:49 of ice time. Petry plays in all situations and should continue to contribute across the board for the Canadiens.
Neal Pionk, WPG vs. MON ($4,700): Pionk's helper in Game 1 stretched his point streak to three games and gave him assists in four of the Jets' five games this postseason. After racking up 32 points in 54 regular-season games, Pionk has proven himself to be a reliable source of offense from the blue line.
Samuel Girard, COL at VGK ($3,700): Girard was the only player from either team besides Theodore to post multiple points in Game 2, and his two-assist effort gave Girard four helpers over a three-game point streak. He's been a reliable source of offense from the back end all year with a 5-27-32 line in 48 regular-season games and five points in six playoff contests, yet Girard remains quite affordable at $3,700, valued below three other Avalanche blueliners.
