This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
I'm loving how the NHL playoffs are doing things this year. No random days off. Four series are taking place on one day, and then four take place the next. Back and forth we go until series start to end. We have four more Game 3s on Saturday, which means all these series are headed to a new home barn. It is a Saturday, so first puck drop is at 1 p.m. EDT. Get your lineups ready early.
GOALIE
Jacob Markstrom, CGY at DAL ($34): Calgary's Game 2 loss isn't on Markstrom's shoulders. Had he gotten any offensive support, it would have been a win for the Flames. The Swedish goalie had a 2.22 GAA and .922 save percentage during the regular season and has allowed all of one goal through two games in this series. Dallas, meanwhile, ranked last in goals per game among playoff teams.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Sergei Bobrovsky, FLA at WAS ($30): I'm wary of Bobrovsky with this series moving to Washington. The Russian bounced back this season with a 2.67 GAA and .913 save percentage, but this is not an easy matchup. The Capitals ranked 10th in goals per game, and they also potted three goals against Bobrovsky in winning the first game of the series.
CENTER
Ryan Strome, NYR at PIT ($19): Strome is on a four-game point streak, and he's put 14 shots on goal in this series thus far (including a triple-overtime game, to be fair). We know Casey DeSmith is out, and it would take a minor miracle for Tristan Jarry to be ready to return. That means journeyman third-string goalie Louis Domingue is in net for Pittsburgh.
CENTER TO AVOID
Evgeni Malkin, PIT vs. NYR ($23): Even at home, this is a difficult matchup, especially if Rickard Rakell isn't back on his wing. Igor Shesterkin is likely going to win his first Vezina thanks to his 2.07 GAA and .935 save percentage, and he has a .952 save percentage in this series so far.
WING
Valeri Nichushkin, COL at NAS ($20): While the Avalanche are healthy, they haven't necessarily gotten the band back together. Nichushkin has been skating on the top line with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. This year, he notched 25 goals and 27 assists in only 62 games. Connor Ingram has already been named the Game 3 starter in net for the Preds, and while he's looked good in this series he's still a 25-year-old rookie who played in three regular-season games and was the third-string goalie for the team.
Carter Verhaeghe, FLA at WAS ($18): Verhaeghe is looking good since returning to action, and returning to the top line alongside Aleksander Barkov. He has five points over his last five games, including three in this series. The Panther chased Vitek Vanecek in Game 2, and while he may return, his 2.67 GAA during the season was paired with a .908 save percentage.
WINGS TO AVOID
Jason Robertson, DAL vs. CGY ($24): Robertson had a great season and entered the playoffs hot, but he only has one assist and two shots on net in this series. The Flames are quite good at tamping down opposing offenses. Markstrom had a 2.22 GAA and .922 save percentage, but Calgary also ranked fifth in shots on net allowed per game and sixth in penalty-kill percentage. Robertson tallied 21 of his 79 points with the extra man.
Andrew Mangiapane, CGY at DAL ($13): Mangiapane tallied 35 goals this year, but the faucet seems to have been turned off. He doesn't have a goal in his last six games, and he's only put nine shots on net as well. Jake Oettinger had a 2.53 GAA and .914 save percentage this year, and in this series he's only allowed one goal.
DEFENSE
Devon Toews, COL at NAS ($21): Toews had issues staying on the ice at the end of the season, but he's shown no issues in the playoffs. He has a point in both games of this series and has seven shots on net and six blocked shots. The Predators allowed 32.3 shots on net per game, and I don't yet trust Ingram behind that defense.
Jacob Trouba, NYR at PIT ($18): Want a defenseman facing Domingue but want to save salary by not going with Adam Fox? I'd go with Trouba. He had 39 points, and more notably to me 204 shots on net, this season. Trouba has been quite active over his last eight games as well, notching 25 shots on goal and blocking 19 shots.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Kris Letang, PIT vs. NYR ($24): Letang may be a guy the Penguins trust to play 40 minutes if need be, but this is still a hefty salary to pay against this opponent. Specifically, this goalie. On a day when two third-string goalies are going to be in net in other contests, I don't want to go with a guy facing Shesterkin and his 2.07 GAA and .935 save percentage.
Noah Hanifin, CGY at DAL ($17): Hanifin set a new career high with 48 points, and he was hot in April. However, he doesn't have a point in his last four outings. Oettinger has a 2.53 GAA, and while the Stars ranked 19th on the penalty kill, Hanifin only played 1:50 per game with the extra man.
