This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
Two NHL games Thursday, two series that might end. We're heading toward the end of the first round and could get closer to that when these games wrap up. Or maybe we might get a Game 7! Here are some players to target, and to avoid, for your daily fantasy lineup.
GOALIE
Jack Campbell, TOR vs. MON ($33): I'm thinking this series is about to end in five games. Montreal eked out a 2-1 win in Game 1, but since then they've scored two goals across three contests. The Canadiens finished 17th in goals per game this season, but with 31.2 shots on net per contest which ranked seventh. However, the Maple Leafs only allowed 27.3 shots on goal per game, and in this series Campbell has faced 114 shots across four games, handling most of them.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Alex Nedeljkovic, CAR at NAS ($27): These teams love their overtime hockey, and I wonder if that could start to wear down Nedeljkovic. Additionally, this series has seen the home team hold serve in every game, and Game 6 is in Nashville. In the two road games in this series, "Ned" has allowed nine total goals with a .907 save percentage. It's a small sample size, sure, but also there are only four goalies in action Thursday, so any reason for concern counts.
CENTER
Alex Kerfoot, TOR vs. MON ($16): With John Tavares out, the Maple Leafs have moved Kerfoot up to being their second-line center. So far, he's found quite the rapport with William Nylander and Alex Galchenyuk. Kerfoot has a three-game point streak, including three points in Game 4. Also, after only averaging 36 seconds per game with the extra man in the regular season, the 26-year-old has averaged 1:51 in this series.
CENTER TO AVOID
Mikael Granlund, NAS vs. CAR ($16): In order to get to 13 goals in 51 games this season, Granlund needed 17.6 percent shooting, a personal best. He only totaled 74 shots on net. In the playoffs, he's had two games where he was held without a single shot on goal. While Granlund has three points in this series, I'm still skeptical of a center that shoots that infrequently unless they are an elite playmaker, and Granlund had only 14 assists this season.
WING
William Nylander, TOR vs. MON ($23): Nylander had nabbed a goal in every game of this series. In fact, going back to the regular season he has only been held without a point once in his last 13 contests. While Carey Price has looked better in this series than he did in the regular season, you can't overlook the fact he had a .901 save percentage this year.
Martin Necas, CAR at NAS ($20): Necas notched 16 goals and 20 assists in 64 games last season as a rookie, and he built on that this year. The 22-year-old picked up 41 points in 53 contests. Eleven of those points came with the extra man, and the Predators had the 29th-ranked penalty kill this season. While Necas is on the second power-play unit right now, he's still averaged 2:01 per game with the extra man in this series, in line with the 1:51 he averaged during the regular season.
WINGS TO AVOID
Tyler Toffoli, MON at TOR ($22): Toffoli's first campaign with the Canadiens went well, as he notched 28 goals in 52 games. Of course, that required 17.7 percent shooting, highest in his career. However, the 29-year-old doesn't have a goal in his last eight games, which includes every game in this series. With Campbell having a 2.15 GAA and .921 save percentage this season, that drought could easily continue.
Brendan Gallagher, MON at TOR ($19): I'm doubling down on fading Canadiens wingers. Gallagher returned for the postseason and reclaimed his spot on the first line for the Habs, but it's been a bit of a slog for him thus far. He doesn't have a point in this series and the usually prolific shooter has only put eight shots on goal. Of course, the Maple Leafs only allowed 27.3 shots on net per contest, so I want to give them some credit for that.
DEFENSE
Morgan Rielly, TOR vs. MON ($19): Rielly was kept off the scoresheet in Game 4, but that ended a four-game point streak. Plus, he still played 2:36 on the power play. On the season he averaged 2:55 per game with the extra man and tallied 12 power-play points. As for Montreal, it had the 23rd-ranked penalty kill.
Jake Muzzin, TOR vs. MON ($19): Finding a second defenseman was a little tricky for me, especially with Jaccob Slavin returning for the Hurricanes. He's a great player on the defensive end of the ice, but he doesn't contribute a ton offensively. So I'm just going with two Toronto defensemen. Hey, Price had a .901 save percentage this season and I just mentioned the Canadiens' 23rd-ranked penalty kill. Muzzin came into the playoffs on a five-game point streak and just picked up an assist in Game 4.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Brett Pesce, CAR at NAS ($18): Pesce had points in the first three games of this series but did not have a point in either of the last two. Considering that he had 25 points in 55 contests, I'm not surprised he's cooled down. That's especially true since Pesce isn't on the power play for the Hurricanes, and that means not getting to take on the Predators' 29th-ranked penalty kill. Juuse Saros had a 2.28 GAA and .927 save percentage, so without the man advantage it can be quite hard to score on him.
Jeff Petry, MON at TOR ($16): Petry is doing his best, as he does have 12 shots on net in this series. He also has zero points. Campbell has a 1.01 GAA and .965 save percentage in this series and he had a 2.15 GAA in the regular season, so Petry could end up without a point once more.
