This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
For the first time in the many years I have been writing about fantasy hockey, Yahoo is offering single-game DFS contests for the NHL. That's great, because there is only one game taking place Tuesday. We've got Game 2 of the Tampa Bay Lightning visiting the Carolina Hurricanes. Here is how Yahoo's single-game contests work: you will be picking a lineup of five players. Every spot is a flex position, so you can choose who you please. One player is designated as your "Superstar." This player is worth 1.5 times the points. Your budget is $130, which equates to an average of $26 in salary per player. Here is a potential lineup I put together that looks enticing to me Tuesday.
SUPERSTAR
Nikita Kucherov, TAM at CAR ($34): I decided to eschew a goalie, which allowed me to really stack my lineup with top-notch players. For my superstar I'm going with Kucherov. Considering that he missed the entire regular season, it was reasonable to wonder how he might look when the playoffs were beginning. Well now he's tallied 12 points in seven games, including eight on the power play. Sure, the Hurricanes had the third-ranked penalty kill during the regular season, but that doesn't seem like it's deterring the red-hot Lightning power play. Tampa went 1-for-3 on the power play in Game 1, with Kucherov picking up an assist.
FLEX
Brayden Point, TAM at CAR ($25): Now I turn to the man who centers Tampa's top line alongside Kucherov, and also the top power-play unit. Point had 23 goals and 25 assists in 56 games this season, even though Kucherov wasn't available and Steven Stamkos missed a big chunk of the year. He has five goals in the playoffs, including one in each of his last two games. Both of these goalies were great during the regular season, but right now I have more faith in Andrei Vasilevskiy, the guy with a .921 save percentage over the last five seasons and a Vezina to his name, than the rookie Alex Nedeljkovic. "Ned" was a great story, but he has also played in 35 total NHL games including these playoffs.
Victor Hedman, TAM at CAR ($24): For a guy who people say isn't at full strength Hedman is doing an awful lot in the playoffs. He's averaged 23:50 per game in ice time, including 3:29 with the extra man. The Swede did a ton of damage on the power play during the regular season as well, with24 power-play points in only 54 games. Yes, the Hurricanes had a great penalty kill, but it's still easier to score with the extra man, and Hedman is clearly a major weapon in such situations. Only two teams are playing Tuesday and they were both great defensively during the regular season. I'm splitting hairs.
Andrei Svechnikov, CAR vs. TAM ($23): Svechnikov is the only Carolina player in my lineup, but I love how active he can be offensively. During the regular season he put 147 shots on goal in 55 games, potting 15 goals in the process. His 10.2 percent shooting was nearly three points lower than last season's mark, so arguably he was a bit unlucky. During the playoffs he's notched 28 shots on net in seven contests but only managed 3.6 percent shooting. Some regression toward the mean could be coming, and that would mean lighting the lamp.
Ondrej Palat, TAM at CAR ($21): The logic here is simple. Palat plays on the wing with Point and Kucherov. That's a great place to be. I'd compare him to Zach Hyman being on a line with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner but after the way Toronto's series with Montreal went that might seem like an insult. In that comparison Palat is a rich man's Hyman, as he had 15 goals and 31 assists in 55 games. There is concern that he is losing power-play time with Kucherov and Stamkos healthy, but last year he had 41 points in 69 games while averaging 1:20 with the extra man. He can get it done without power-play time, especially given his linemates.
