This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
If you're watching hockey this Sunday, you don't have to pick and choose. The four games are staggered out to not overlap as much as possible. That means a first game starting at 1 p.m. ET, but hopefully you can get your lineups in early on the weekend. Onto the recommendation for this quartet of Game 4s!
SLATE PREVIEW
Even though it's the playoffs, there are some questions in goal. If Frederik Andersen is over his illness, he may step in for Antti Raanta. The Hurricanes finished first in shots on net allowed per game, so their defensive acumen is more about that. Alex Lyon was pulled by the Panthers in Game 3, but even if Sergei Bobrovsky is in net, he had a .901 save percentage this year. Then, there's the Wild. Will they inexplicably play Marc-Andre Fleury in Game 4? If they do, I'm jumping on the Stars. If it is Filip Gustavsson, though, I'd be more hesitant.
GOALIES
Ilya Sorokin, NYI vs. CAR ($7,900): Sorokin carried the Islanders at times this season, as his 2.34 GAA and .924 save percentage indicates. Down the stretch, and into the playoffs, the Russian goalie has been on fire, posting an 1.98 GAA and .934 save percentage in his last 11 outings. The Hurricanes finished 15th in goals per game, but they now are missing Andrei Svechnikov, Max Pacioretty, and Teuvo Teravainen due to injury.
Jake Oettinger, DAL at MIN ($7,600): It has not been a good series for Oettinger, but I'm not writing him off. He ended the regular season with an 1.43 GAA and .942 save percentage over his final eight appearances. The Wild averaged 2.91 goals per game this season, lowest of any playoff team, and Joel Eriksson Ek is injured. Oettinger should be able to manage.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Tyler Seguin, DAL at MIN ($4,800): Seguin has nine points and 40 shots on net in 14 games since returning from injury. He's also skating on the top line with Joe Pavelski out. Seguin's shooting gives him value and upside as is, and there is also the potential he will see Fleury in net instead of Gustavsson.
Pavel Zacha, BOS at FLA ($4,500): Patrice Bergeron is out, and David Krejci is considered a tossup in terms of if he will play. Zacha should be primed for some extensive minutes. He had a point in the first two games of the series, and while he didn't notch a point in Game 3, he played 4:07 on the power play. The Panthers, for their part, had the 23rd-ranked penalty kill.
STACK TO CONSIDER
Kings vs. Oilers
Anze Kopitar (C - $5,800), Adrian Kempe (W - $6,500), Quinton Byfield (W - $3,100)
Edmonton's success was not built on defensive acumen (though the addition of Mattias Ekholm did help). Stuart Skinner had a 2.75 GAA and .913 save percentage this year, and the Oilers had the 20th-ranked penalty kill. The Kings' second line has been defensively minded, and the first line has two key cogs on the power play, so there is where I turn.
Kopitar has four multipoint games in his last nine outings, including four points in Game 1 of this series. He's also averaged over five minutes per contest on the power play in this series as well. Kempe has a four-game point streak, and he's been shooting a ton recently. Over his last six outings he's put 38 shots on net. Byfield, the second-overall pick in 2020, is still trying to put it all together. However, he does get a couple impressive linemates, and he has two assists in this series so far.
DEFENSEMEN
Evan Bouchard, EDM at LOS ($4,900): The Kings had the 24th-ranked penalty kill, lowest of any playoff team, and Bouchard could tell you all about that. He has four points in this series, all with the extra man. In fact, the defenseman is on a six-game point streak.
Dmitry Orlov, BOS at FLA ($4,500): Hampus Lindholm is ice cold, and Charlie McAvoy is busy throwing his body around, but Orlov is providing the points on the Boston blue line. The Russian has four points in this series, and he had two points in the game prior to the start of the postseason as well. Bobrovsky had a .901 save percentage this year. Lyon has a career .908 save percentage. Whoever is in net, I am not sweating it for Orlov.
