This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
The puck drops for Game 4 of the Tampa Bay-New York series at 9 p.m. EDT, and Yahoo has a single-game contest where you're not position-restricted and can select five players while staying under a $115 salary cap. Here are a handful of picks and pans from Saturday's player pool.
All statistics from Natural Stat Trick and Hockey Reference.
Picks
Semyon Varlamov, NYI vs. TB ($35): There have been peaks and valleys in Varlamov's fantasy results during the postseason, so this is a high-risk, high-reward recommendation. The Islanders are probably in a must-win spot though, and the veteran netminder has allowed two goals or fewer in six of 10 playoffs starts and posted double-digit fantasy points in eight of those appearances.
Nikita Kucherov, TB at NYI ($34): The best scorer in the player pool should be on your radar. Kucherov's two goals and nine assists through the past six games has his playoff totals at five and 18 through just 14 postseason contests.
Mikhail Sergachev, TB at NYI ($12): Sporting an eight-game point drought, Sergachev is too skilled offensively to continue missing the scoresheet much longer. The salary is easy to slide under the cap, and he's posted 30 points in each of the past four regular seasons.
Anthony Cirelli, TB at NYI ($12): With just a single goal and assist through the past 10 games, Cirelli's salary sits in profit territory. The 23-year-old center has registered a team-high 20 individual high-danger scoring chances during the postseason, and his 9.1 percent shooting probably has positive regression ahead. He's locked into a meaningful role centering the second line and skating with the second power-play unit.
Ross Colton, TB at NYI ($10): A potential minimum-salary target, Colton has registered four points, 19 shots and eight blocks through 14 playoff contests. He plays a limited role, but his 5.12 individual high-danger scoring chances per 60 minutes is a top-20 mark among skaters with at least 100 minutes of ice time during the postseason.
Pans
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TB at NYI ($38): This salary is prohibitive enough to warrant caution. Vasilevskiy has been outstanding through his past four starts with three wins, a .956 save percentage and 1.27 GAA. However, he's also allowed three goals or more in five of his 14 postseason appearances, so there's a low floor to his range of outcomes.
Victor Hedman, TB at NYI ($24): Considering Hedman's producing at a point-per-game pace with 34 shots and 29 blocks through 14 postseason contests, he's definitely worth the salary. However, there's no requirement to roster a defenseman, and generally forwards have better opportunities to score. Additionally, nine of his 14 playoff points have come on the power play, resulting in Hedman being a minus-4 in the postseason.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau, NYI vs. TB ($19): The center hasn't found the scoresheet or registered double-digit fantasy points in any of the first three games of the series against Tampa Bay. Pageau also spent nearly all his ice time matched up against Tampa Bay's top two lines with New York having last change in Game 3, so don't expect his five-on-five matchups to be soft in Game 4, either.
