This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
We've gotten an incredible start to the NHL playoffs. The three Game 2s taking place Tuesday follow up three great Game 1s. Two of them went into overtime, and the one that didn't, Florida vs. Tampa Bay, was the best game of the bunch. Hopefully the action is as good Tuesday! And hopefully these recommendations help you set your DFS lineup.
GOALIE
Marc-Andre Fleury, VGK vs. MIN ($32): This is not merely because Fleury looked great while taking a loss in Game 1. He had a 1.98 GAA and .928 save percentage this season. While the Wild did finish ninth in goals per game, they only put 28.3 shots on net per contest. The Golden Knights, meanwhile, only allowed 27.3 shots on goal per game. As proof of concept, in a game that went into overtime the Wild only managed 30 shots on net.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TAM at FLA ($35): Again, this is not an overreaction to Game 1. Vasilevskiy is a great goalie, and with a .925 save percentage this season he may win another Vezina. This is a really tough matchup, though. The Panthers didn't just notch 3.36 goals per contest, they led the league with 34.9 shots on net per game. Florida is going to make things hard on Vasilevskiy and the Lightning.
CENTER
William Karlsson, VGK vs. MIN ($19): Maybe not ideal to recommend a guy from a team that just got blanked, but Karlsson had three shots on goal against the Wild, giving him 12 shots over his last three games. "Wild Bill" tallied 39 points in 56 games this season, and he has Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith on his wing. Cam Talbot did great in Game 1, but he ended the regular season with a 3.93 GAA and .857 save percentage in his last six contests. Additionally, he had a 2.76 GAA on the road this year.
CENTER TO AVOID
Sidney Crosby, PIT vs. NYI ($33): No knock on Crosby here, but his salary is high and this matchup is tough. The Islanders finished with a 2.23 GAA, second lowest in the NHL, and only allowed 28.4 shots on net per game. Semyon Varlamov missed Game 1 with an injury, but Ilya Sorokin made 39 saves on 42 shots in his playoff debut. The rookie had a lot of success in the KHL, and as an NHL newbie he had a 2.17 GAA and .918 save percentage.
WING
Oliver Wahlstrom, NYI at PIT ($17): Wahlstrom didn't wow as a rookie, but he proved himself on the power play. The 20-year-old had 10 points with the extra man, which is more than even a guy like Mathew Barzal. Pittsburgh actually finished in the bottom five on the penalty kill, so Wahlstrom is an intriguing upside option.
Alex Killorn, TAM at FLA ($15): The Lightning are up to full speed here in the playoffs. Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos are back, making this a formidable lineup. Now Killorn gets to skate on a line with Stamkos and on the top power-play unit with all of Tampa's weapons. As long as Sergei Bobrovsky (.906 save percentage) is in net for the Panthers, this matchup looks good to me.
WINGS TO AVOID
Kirill Kaprizov, MIN at VGK ($26): Kaprizov is likely going to win the Calder, but Fleury could win the Vezina thanks to his 1.98 GAA and .928 save percentage. Also, the Golden Knights had the best penalty kill in the NHL. Kaprizov netted eight of his 27 goals on the power play, but it will be hard for him to have success with the extra man here.
Patric Hornqvist, FLA vs. TAM ($17): Hornqvist returned from a lengthy absence for Game 1, so he may not be up to full strength. He's also quite reliant on the power play, as 12 of the 32 points in scored in 44 games came a man (or two) up. Tampa has the fourth-ranked penalty kill, so even if this series remains chippy, Hornqvist might not be able to take advantage. Besides, all that chippiness led more to 4-on-4 play than power plays in Game 1.
DEFENSE
Nick Leddy, NYI at PIT ($14): Leddy finished with 11 points on the power play, including a power-play point in each of his final two regular-season contests. As I mentioned earlier, the Penguins had the fifth-worst penalty kill this season. While Tristan Jarry overcame a bad start to the season to turn his play around, he finished with a .909 save percentage. A couple of the four goals he allowed in Game 1 were questionable as well.
Mikhail Sergachev, TAM at FLA ($13): Sergachev was active in Game 1, putting three shots on goal and blocking three shots. The Russian had 30 points in 56 games, his fourth season with at least 30 points. Victor Hedman hasn't quite looked like himself down the stretch, so instead of paying that salary I would prefer the cheaper option in Sergachev. Of course, keep your fingers crossed Bobrovsky is in net for Game 2.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Kris Letang, PIT vs. NYI ($22): Letang was hot down the stretch in terms of racking up points, but when you look at those games you see opponents like New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Buffalo. The Islanders are a different story. They had a 2.23 GAA and Barry Trotz likes to put the squeeze on opposing teams in the playoffs.
Keith Yandle, FLA vs. TAM ($15): Yandle is truly all about the power play. He averaged 17:15 in ice time and a whopping 4:27 of that came with the extra man. Eighteen of his 27 points were on the power play. While Yandle did get a power-play assist in Game 1, the Lightning had the fourth-ranked penalty kill. I'm not willing to take the gamble here.
