This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
Four games are scheduled for tonight with each being Game 2 of the squads' respective series. In all of tonight's matchups, the home team won its playoff opener, putting the pressure on the visiting squad to avoid falling behind 2-0 on Tuesday.
SLATE PREVIEW
Of all the matchups tonight, the Avalanche visiting Winnipeg (9:30 p.m. ET start), might be the most interesting. The shots in Game 1 were 46-23 in favor of Colorado, but Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made 40 saves and Winnipeg narrowly escaped with a 7-6 victory. In a high-scoring affair like that, neither goaltender can be called great, but unsurprisingly, the Avalanche have more to worry about in Alexandar Georgiev. The 28-year-old Avalanche netminder struggled during the regular season as well, and Colorado will find it difficult to get past the first round despite its elite scorers if Georgiev can't hold his own going forward.
GOALIES
Igor Shesterkin, NYR vs. WAS ($8,600): Shesterkin is on a 4-1-0 run while stopping 129 of 137 shots (.942 save percentage) in that five-game span. The Capitals were not impressive offensively during the regular season, managing just 2.63 goals per contest, so Shesterkin is in a favorable position as this series continues.
Thatcher Demko, VAN vs. NAS ($8,100): Demko was solid in Game 1, saving 20 of 22 Predators shots. He's been an important part of the Canucks' success in 2023-24, posting a 35-14-2 record, 2.45 GAA and .918 save percentage across 51 appearances. I'm expecting him to continue to perform well in the playoffs.
VALUE PLAYS
Dakota Joshua, VAN vs. NAS ($4,800): Joshua played a huge role in Vancouver's series-opening victory, scoring two goals and an assist. Although he had just 32 points in 63 outings during the regular season, he has been hot recently, supplying seven goals and nine points over his past 10 contests.
Adam Lowry, WPG vs. COL ($4,000): Adam Lowry scored a pair of goals Sunday, marking his second multi-goal game in the span of his last three appearances. He is a risk after providing just 35 points in 81 outings during the regular season, but Lowry tends to step up in the playoffs -- he has nine goals and 14 points across his past 18 postseason contests.
FORWARD LINE STACK
Lightning at Panthers
Brayden Point (C - $8,600), Nikita Kucherov (W - $10,300), Anthony Duclair (W - $5,300)
There's a solid chance of the Lightning bouncing back in Game 2 and the top line should be a key part of that. Nikita Kucherov had an unreal season with 44 goals and 144 points, so it'll be hard to contain him in this series. He's also one of the best playoff performers of all time with 53 goals and 161 points across 143 career games -- of those in the 2024 playoffs, no one has more total postseason points than him.
Point tends to do well in the playoffs too, supplying 40 goals and 83 points in 80 career outings. He's also coming off a strong campaign in which he had 46 markers and 90 points in 81 appearances. Duclair isn't nearly as noteworthy, but he's cheap enough that it's worth taking him to round out the line.
DEFENSEMEN
Quinn Hughes, VAN vs. NAS ($7,100): Hughes collected two assists Sunday, which is an impressive feat, but also not an uncommon one for the 24-year-old defenseman. He collected 24 multi-point contests in the regular season, totaling 17 goals and 92 points over 82 outings overall. Hughes is likely to continue to excel throughout Vancouver's postseason run.
Josh Morrissey, WPG vs. COL ($7,000): Morrissey had a goal and an assist in Game 1, bringing him up to three markers and 12 points over his past eight contests. He finished the regular season with 10 goals and 69 points in 81 appearances, which was good for eighth place in the defensemen scoring race.
Gustav Forsling, FLA vs. TBL ($5,300): In terms of cheaper options, Forsling is worthy of a look. He has five assists across his past six contests, including a helper in Game 1 of the first-round series. In the regular season, Forsling contributed 10 goals and 39 points, making it the third straight campaign in which he finished in the 37-41 point range.
