This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
The Hurricanes kept their season alive. Carolina avoided a sweep and is back at home for Game 5. Of course, the Canes also lost the first two games at home, which does temper any positivity toward them. Game 5 has a time slot of 8 p.m. ET. For DFS purposes Wednesday, you get $50,000 in salary for your six-player lineup. One player, your Captain, nets 1.5 times the points, but with an elevated salary. Here is the lineup on which I decided.
CAPTAIN
Andrei Svechnikov, CAR vs. FLA ($12,900): Svechnikov's salary has dipped a bit; enough I decided to make him my Captain at home for Game 5 and develop a balanced lineup around him. He scored 20 goals in 72 games this season, and he's tallied eight goals in the postseason. While Svechnikov doesn't have a goal in this series, he had an assist in Game 4. He's on the top line and he sees playoff time, so I'll take a shot on him in hopes that Game 4 (and the first two periods of Game 3) bodes well for the Hurricanes.
FLEX
Sebastian Aho, CAR vs. FLA ($9,600): Earlier in this series I recall some talking heads talking about Aho needing to step it up in this postseason. Well, what exactly can one reasonably expect? Does everybody need to be Connor McDavid? Aho has five goals on 38 shots on net and eight assists in 14 games. The Finn has a point in three out of four games in this series, and he just put seven shots on net in Game 4. Yeah, that's more than sufficient for me, especially with Aho and the Hurricanes heading home.
Sam Bennett, FLA at CAR ($8,800): The Panthers have won three out of four games in this series. Also, they've scored at least five goals in each of their three wins. I'm not about to presume the Hurricanes are going to completely flip the script after one road win and a trip back to Raleigh. Bennett has nine goals and five assists in the postseason. Also, Aleksander Barkov may be missing Sam Reinhart again, but Bennett's wings are good to go. That gives me more trust in Bennett.
Evan Rodrigues, FLA at CAR ($6,800): Speaking of Florida's top line, Rodrigues will likely be next to Barkov, even if Reinhart is not. He's surged in the role. Rodrigues has two assists in each of the first three games of this series. He didn't have a point in Game 4, but he put three shots on net. It certainly seems that Rodrigues has taken to playing next to Barkov, and is thriving off the trust of Paul Maurice.
Brent Burns, CAR vs. FLA ($5,800): I ended up with more Hurricanes than Panthers, but that's as much about salaries and opportunities as it is my belief the Hurricanes will win. Personally, I think it's a coin toss. Burns isn't the player he used to be, but in this series, perhaps owing to injuries on the blue line, he's seeing a significant role. The veteran defenseman has averaged 24:09 minutes per game in ice time in the Eastern Conference Finals. He also has an assist in each of his last two games.
Logan Stankoven, CAR vs. FLA ($5,600): Stankoven isn't Mikko Rantanen but he has stepped up in the last two games of this series. He's tallied two goals and an assist across those outings. While the series returns to Carolina, I don't think playing in South Florida is what got Stankoven going. Two of his points came on the power play, and he remains on the top power-play unit.
