This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Thursday's NHL slate begins at 6:30 p.m. EDT and features four games. Below, you'll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
SLATE PREVIEW
The Maple Leafs are easily this slate's largest favorites at home against the Canadiens in Game 1 of the last playoff series to get started. Otherwise, the Lightning (vs. Florida) and Islanders (vs. Pittsburgh) are modest home favorites, while Golden Knights-Wild is a toss-up. All three of those series are in Game 3, with the Lightning up 2-0 while the other two have split. Each of Thursday's games have an over/under of 5.5 goals.
GOALIES
Marc-Andre Fleury, VGK vs. MIN ($8,100): Fleury has been nigh impenetrable in this series thus far, stopping 63 of 65 shots through two games. Dating back to the regular season, he's held each of his last 11 opponents to two goals or fewer, and Game 1 of this series is Fleury's only defeat in this magnificent stretch.
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TB vs. FLA ($8,300): After a pedestrian Game 1 performance in which he gave up four goals on 39 shots but was bailed out by the offense, Vasilevskiy stepped it up in Game 2, stopping 32 of 33 shots to give the Lightning a commanding 2-0 series lead. With the series shifting to Tampa Bay, look for Vasilevskiy to continue playing well while facing a steady but not overwhelming diet of shots.
Jack Campbell, TOR vs. MON ($8,400): Campbell carries some added risk because this will be his playoff debut, but he was tremendous in the regular season, going 17-3-2 with a 2.15 GAA and .921 save percentage. He's in position to continue that success against a Canadiens team that ranked 17th in goals per game (2.82) during the regular season despite taking the seventh-most shots (31.2).
Semyon Varlamov, NYI vs. PIT ($7,900): It will be interesting to see which goalie New York goes with after Ilya Sorokin ($7,900) stopped 39 of 42 shots in a Game 1 win and Varlamov turned aside 43 of 45 in a losing Game 2 effort. Either option would be an appealing sub-$8,000 value play, with Varlamov's 1.87 GAA and .937 save percentage on home ice this season making him especially enticing.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Sam Bennett, FLA at TB ($5,400): After being suspended for Game 2, Bennett will return to his usual second-line center role and look to build on the success he's found since being traded to Florida. He posted a 6-9-15 line in 10 regular-season games with Florida and dished out two assists in Game 1 of this series.
Cole Caufield, MON at TOR ($4,200): Caufield has conquered every new challenge hockey has laid before him thus far, and the playoffs should be no exception. The 5-foot-7 rookie scored four goals in 10 regular-season games with Montreal after potting 30 in 31 games with Wisconsin in the NCAA and another three in two AHL games this season. His offensive ability is tremendous relative to his $4,200 valuation.
Ondrej Palat, TB vs. FLA ($4,700): Palat finds himself in just about the most fantasy-friendly situation imaginable, skating on Tampa Bay's top line with stars Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point. He had a goal and an assist in Game 2, and Palat produced an 11-7-18 line over 25 games in this role during last year's Stanley Cup run.
Jake Guentzel, PIT at NYI ($6,900): Guentzel's an elite sniper, having converted on 16.2 percent of his career regular-season shots and 20.7 percent in the playoffs, where he owns a 25-22-47 line in 47 games. He has an assist but is yet to light the lamp on 11 shots through two games in this series, so Guentzel's due for a breakout performance as he continues to work on the top line and No. 1 power-play unit.
Kirill Kaprizov, MIN vs. VGK ($6,600): Kaprizov has been held off the board through his first two NHL postseason games, but the Russian rookie sensation is too talented to be bottled up much longer. He had a 27-24-51 line in 55 regular-season games and finished hot with an 11-5-16 line in 13 games down the stretch, so Kaprizov's a nice buy-low candidate after his slow start to this series.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Maple Leafs vs. Canadiens
Auston Matthews (C - $9,200), Mitch Marner (W - $7,600), Zach Hyman (W - $5,500)
The last playoff series to get started features one of the league's best lines from the regular season. Marner and Matthews both ranked top-five league-wide in points with 67 and 66, respectively, and the latter led the NHL in goals with 41 in 52 games. They'll be getting Hyman back for the first time since he sustained a knee injury on April 18; Hyman produced a 15-18-33 line in 43 games prior to the injury. The sky's the limit for this line against underperforming netminder Carey Price, who will see his first NHL game action since April 19 due to a concussion and had a 2.64 GAA and .901 save percentage prior to the injury.
Golden Knights vs. Wild
Chandler Stephenson (C - $4,700), Mark Stone (W - $6,700), Alex Tuch (W - $4,500)
Coach Pete DeBoer pulled the right levers with his line shuffling after being shut out in Game 1. Replacing Tomas Nosek with Tuch in the top-line spot vacated by Max Pacioretty (undisclosed) gave the team's top playmaker in Stone a finisher to work with, and the result was a two-goal performance out of Tuch en route to a 3-1 Game 2 win. If Pacioretty remains sidelined in Game 3, look for this combination to remain effective. Stone was Vegas' leading regular-season scorer with a 21-40-61 line in 55 games, while Stephenson had a career year (14-21-35 in 51 games) and Tuch added an 18-15-33 line.
Islanders vs. Penguins
Brock Nelson (C - $4,000), Anthony Beauvillier (W - $4,800), Josh Bailey (W - $3,000)
The Islanders will be happy with a split in Pittsburgh and now get to head back home, where they went 21-4-3 in the regular season. Meanwhile, Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry struggled to a 3.25 GAA and .885 save percentage on the road, so New York's offense figures to find success, led by the well-rounded second line. Nelson led the team with 18 regular-season goals and has opened the playoffs on a two-game point streak. Beauvillier finished the regular season with a 7-6-13 line over his last 11 games and chipped in an assist in Game 1, while Bailey has a goal, six shots and five blocks through the first two games. Last postseason, Nelson and Beauvillier tied for the team lead with nine goals apiece in 22 games, while Bailey led the teams with 20 points, followed by Nelson's 18.
DEFENSEMEN
Shea Weber, MON at TOR ($4,800): Weber's set to return from an upper-body injury that's sidelined him since April 28. He struggled to score before the injury but should immediately return to a prominent two-way role and munch major minutes as Montreal's best chance of slowing down the Matthews line. Weber's booming slap shot has helped him rack up a 17-19-36 line in 75 previous playoff games, and he's a reliable source of secondary stats as well.
Matt Dumba, MIN vs. VGK ($4,400): Dumba was sensational in Minnesota's Game 2 loss, scoring the team's lone goal on four shots while blocking a whopping eight shots. While a repeat performance is unlikely, Dumba's ability to contribute at both ends makes him a strong value play at $4,400.
Ryan McDonagh, TB vs. FLA ($4,100): McDonagh's asked to play more of a shutdown role in Tampa Bay, but the former Rangers captain can still deliver offense when called upon. He sent a brilliant stretch pass to spring Brayden Point for the late winner as part of a two-assist performance in Game 1, and McDonagh has been impactful on both ends as expected, with five shots and two blocks through two games.
Cody Ceci, PIT at NYI ($2,900): Ceci has surprisingly been among Pittsburgh's most noticeable skaters through this series' first two games, totaling an assist, eight shots and two blocks. He's a nice budget option to round out your lineup as you spend big on other positions.
