This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
We might see a series end Monday. The Panthers could find themselves swept out of the postseason by the Lightning one day after losing in Game 3. We also have the Blues hosting the Avalanche, but without Jordan Binnington around any longer unfortunately. Here are my DFS recommendations.
GOALIE
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TAM vs. FLA ($7,900): When push comes to shove, Vasilevskiy seems to deliver. There's a reason why the Lightning are back-to-back Stanley Cup champs. The Russian goalie has allowed only one goal in each of his last four games, all wins. Florida hasn't solved him yet. Why think they can do it in Game 4?
Darcy Kuemper, COL at STL ($8,300): If you don't want to go with Vasilevskiy in net, for whatever reason, Kuemper is the only other viable option for me. Ville Husso got replaced by Binnington in the first round and has allowed at least four goals in his last three games. Sergei Bobrovsky had a .913 save percentage this season and is on the road. Kuemper has a tough matchup too, but he had a .921 save percentage this year, and in the playoffs he has a .926 save percentage.
VALUE PLAYS
David Perron, STL vs. COL ($5,000): Perron only has points in four playoff games, but in each of those games he's had multiple points. He also has a power-play point in each of those contests. Perron had 26 points in 67 games this year, and the Avalanche had the 15th-ranked penalty kill.
Valeri Nichushkin, COL at STL ($4,700): You can produce without power-play time when you are skating on a line with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. He has a point in five of seven playoff games, and 28 shots on net in that time as well. Husso was better than Binnington this season, but over his last 10 games he has a 3.55 GAA and .894 save percentage.
LINE STACK TO CONSIDER
Lightning vs. Panthers: Nick Paul (C - $3,200), Ondrej Palat (W - $3,500), Alex Killorn (W - $3,200)
Even if Brayden Point were healthy enough to play, why would the Lightning risk him at this point? They are up three games to none, after all. The second line for the Lightning saves you a lot of salary over the first line, but still has plenty of upside. Especially at home against a Panthers team that has allowed 11 goals in this series (though that does include empty netters, to be fair).
Paul has five points in his last six games, and in five of those games he's allowed put at least three shots on net. Palat had a four-game point streak against the Maple Leafs, and he has an assist in back-to-back games in this series. Killorn doesn't have a point in this series, but he had four points in the first round. He also managed 25 goals and 34 assists in the regular season, so we know he can score.
DEFENSE
Victor Hedman, TAM vs. FLA ($6,400): Hedman has an assist in every game in this series. That's no surprise, given that he had 85 points this season and put 219 shots on net. The Swede has been one of the steadiest, productive defenseman for a decade at this point. Sometimes, you want to spend your salary on a guy you can trust, even if that salary is lofty.
Bowen Byram, COL at STL ($2,700): Want to try to save some salary after grabbing Hedman? Byram has upside. Not just "drafted fourth overall in 2019" upside. Byram will likely see a larger role with Samuel Girard's nasty injury. He had 17 points in 30 regular-season games, so there is upside here.
