This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
Two more teams can advance to the second round Thursday if the Maple Leafs can close out the Canadiens (7 p.m. EDT) and the Hurricanes can prevent the Predators (9:30 p.m.) from forcing a seventh game.
Jack Campbell has been brilliant for the Leafs with a .965 Sv% while the Habs have scored a playoff-low three goals at 5v5 despite having a reputation for being a dominant puck possession team. Tyler Toffoli, Tomas Tatar, Eric Staal and Brendan Gallagher have combined to score zero goals so far.
History currently favors the Preds, who can force Game 7 with a win in Nashville in a series where the home team has won every game. Goaltending has been the story this series with Juuse Saros managing to keep a very good Hurricanes offense at bay.
GOALIES
Jack Campbell, TOR vs. MON ($8,500): Campbell has been nothing short of brilliant this series; only Connor Hellebuyck and Ilya Sorokin, both of whom have staged upsets already, have a higher GSAA, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Juuse Saros, NSH vs. CAR ($7,600): Saros comes at a slight discount to Alex Nedeljkovic ($8,300) even though the series has been very close with three games decided in overtime. Saros is 2-0 with a .940 Sv% in two playoff games at home and 0-3 on the road with a .913 Sv%.
VALUE PLAYS
Alex Kerfoot, TOR vs. MON ($4,500): Kerfoot's done a tremendous job filling in for John Tavares and notched three assists the previous game. He's a strong two-way center who isn't as offensively gifted as your ideal No. 2 center, but it hasn't really mattered much against the Habs. He'll center the second line and PP2.
Joe Thornton, TOR vs. MON ($3,500): Both Thornton and Jason Spezza, cagey veterans playing fourth-line minutes with big roles on the power play, should be good value picks. Thornton has the edge because he's playing on PP1.
LINE STACKS
Hurricanes at Predators
Vincent Trocheck (C - $6,300), Nino Niederreiter (W - $4,900), Martin Necas (W - $4,300)
Both of the Canes' top two lines are worth stacking but Trocheck's line is the stronger value play because of Necas' relatively low salary. Both players were excellent in Game 5 and the Canes' depth is a big reason why they've outplayed the Preds for long stretches.
Maple Leafs vs. Canadiens
Alex Kerfoot (C - $4,500), William Nylander (W - $6,800), Alex Galchenyuk (W - $3,700)
Nylander, who's on a four-game goal streak, is a big reason why the Leafs' second line has been playing so well. Galchenyuk's been playing well in a top-six role, too, and he was rewarded with three points despite skating just 12 minutes. The Habs have done a good job of defending Auston Matthews' line, and with the Leafs PP having trouble converting on chances, betting on the other lines to score seems like a pretty good idea.
DEFENSEMEN
Jeff Petry, MON at TOR ($5,200): Not only have Habs defensemen failed to score a goal against the Leafs, they've failed to score a single point. That's absurd considering Petry scored 12 goals and 42 points during the season, and Shea Weber still has a devastating slap shot. We're going with Petry just in case the Habs can bust their slump.
Brett Pesce, CAR at NSH ($4,200): Pesce remains an integral part of the Canes blueline, playing 40 minutes in Game 4 and 25 in Game 6. Even though he didn't register a point in either of those games, he did manage to get seven shots on goal. Offense isn't his calling card but as long as he's on the ice a lot with the vaunted Canes offense, he should get more chances than most. Pesce's a value play and also the preferred option over the ice-cold Dougie Hamilton ($6,500), who has just two assists despite providing a bevy of shots.
Alexandre Carrier, NSH vs. CAR ($3,700): Carrier's a good value play, taking some shifts with Roman Josi on the top power play. The former fourth-round pick had established himself as a premier option on offense in the AHL, and though he played sparingly this season, he's played a meaty role for the Preds in the playoffs, scoring two assists in five games while playing top-four minutes.
