This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
There are just two Stanley Cup playoff games on the NHL docket Wednesday after 7:00 p.m. EDT. Below, you'll find a breakdown of the action and suggested options for crafting an effective DraftKings DFS lineup. All game lines and odds used below are pulled from DraftKings Sportsbook.
SLATE PREVIEW
The Bruins and Avalanche are both substantial home favorites against the Panthers and Kraken, respectively. Boston leads its series 3-1 and is the larger favorite in a game with an over/under of 6.5 goals. Colorado's series is tied 2-2, and the over/under for Game 5 is only 5.5 goals.
GOALIES
Linus Ullmark, BOS vs. FLA ($8,400): After submitting a league-best regular season in net, Ullmark has remained strong in the postseason, allowing more than two goals only once en route to a 3-1 series lead. He's the chalk goalie play as the Bruins look to close their series out on home ice.
Alexandar Georgiev, COL vs. SEA ($8,200): Georgiev has wobbled a bit, but the strong Colorado team in front of him carried him to 40 wins in the regular season and two more in the playoffs. His ceiling is low, as Georgiev isn't usually asked to make many saves, but his floor is high due to a lack of quality chances against. Georgiev finally faced more than 30 shots for the first time in this series in the 3-2 Game 4 overtime loss, and he's allowed 2-4 goals in every game.
Philipp Grubauer, SEA at COL ($7,200): Grubauer has only one dud in this series, as he's played well against his former team. Across the first two games in Colorado, the German netminder stopped 72 of 76 shots to earn a split. He'll likely face heavy traffic again, making him a high-risk, high-reward play in net.
Alex Lyon, FLA at BOS ($7,000): Lyon started this series' first three games before Sergei Bobrovsky ($6,800) made 25 saves on 30 shots in a subpar Game 4 performance. Neither Panthers goalie constitutes more than an against-the-grain bargain option.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Mikko Rantanen, COL vs. SEA ($7,300): Rantanen has scored five of Colorado's 12 goals in this series and assisted on another. Even skating on a separate line from Nathan MacKinnon ($9,900) at even strength, Rantanen's a no-brainer play given his production and affordable valuation compared to other elite forwards.
Brad Marchand, BOS vs. FLA ($6,200): Marchand has bounced around the lines a bit at even strength, but the battle-tested winger has been effective anywhere he plays and is a key contributor on both the power play and penalty kill. He has a point in every game, and Marchand has added 15 shots on goal in this series.
Jaden Schwartz, SEA at COL ($4,100): In Seattle's balanced attack, Schwartz is the only player to score multiple goals in this series, and he easily leads the team with 19 shots on goal while ranking second with four points. He led the Stanley Cup winning Blues team in goals during that 2019 postseason and is putting together another fantastic playoff run.
Anton Lundell, FLA at BOS ($3,300): Given the uncertainty over Sam Bennett's ($5,200) status due to an undisclosed injury, Lundell may be asked to slide up to the second line. Lundell has yet to record a point in this series as the third-line center, but he's generated a few chances, with multiple shots on goal in every game.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Bruins vs. Panthers
Patrice Bergeron (C - $5,600), David Pastrnak (W - $9,400), Tyler Bertuzzi (W - $4,700)
Pastrnak has been limited to two goals on 14 shots after a 61-goal regular season, but he's capable of breaking out with a multi-goal performance at any time. Perhaps the return of Bergeron would get Pasta going, as Bergeron is "feeling good" after missing this series' first four games due to an upper-body injury. The veteran center has a 27-31-58 line in the regular season. Bertuzzi's on an eight-game point streak dating back to the regular season and has a 2-4-6 line in this series, putting him one point back of Taylor Hall's ($4,300) team-leading total this postseason.
Avalanche vs. Kraken
Nathan MacKinnon (C - $9,900), Artturi Lehkonen (W - $5,200), Evan Rodrigues (W - $4,400)
MacKinnon put 15 pucks on net in this series' first two games, and with the Avs controlling matchups thanks to last change at home, the elite center should get back to generating chances galore, so it's worth clearing the cap space for him. He has four points in this series, as does Lehkonen, while Rodrigues has produced three. Given Colorado's lack of depth scoring, this trio and Rantanen should continue to lead the way up front.
Panthers at Bruins
Aleksander Barkov (C - $6,400), Carter Verhaeghe (W - $6,100), Sam Reinhart (W - $5,000)
There's plenty of talent on Florida's top line, and it will need to shine through for the Panthers to keep their season going. Each oft hese players has been limited to two points in this series. In the regular season, Barkov had 78 points in just 68 games, Verhaeghe scored 42 goals and Reinhart posted a 31-36-67 line.
DEFENSEMEN
Devon Toews, COL vs. SEA ($5,300): With Cale Makar suspended for Game 5, both Toews and Bowen Byram ($4,900) should take on increased roles. Toews has a 1-3-4 lline in this series while Byram has an assist and 17 shots, so both defensemen have been quite productive even with Makar gobbling up major minutes in front of them.
Gustav Forsling, FLA at BOS ($4,600): Forsling has been a force on both ends in this series, contributing a goal, an assist and 10 shots while blocking multiple shots in every game. He has topped 23 minutes of ice time in each game and should continue to play a prominent role with the Panthers' backs against the wall.
Justin Schultz, SEA at COL ($3,700): Schultz surprisingly leads Seattle with five points in this series. Two of those have come on the power play, and he should continue to provide value at his modest valuation as long as he's being deployed in offensive situations and capitalizing on his chances.
Brandon Carlo, BOS vs. FLA ($3,400): Boston hasn't relied on its defensemen for much offense in this series, but Carlo has been tremendous on the defensive end with 12 blocked shots over the past three games. He brings a high floor relative to his affordable valuation against a Panthers team that led the league with 36.8 shots per game in the regular season.
