This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
Welcome to the second round! The first round of the NHL playoffs was fantastic, and here's hoping the second round builds on that. There are two games taking place Tuesday to kick things off. Here are some players to target, and to avoid, for your DFS lineups.
GOALIE
Sergei Bobrovsky, FLA vs. TAM ($33): This is tricky, because all four of these teams were in the top eight in goals per game. However, three of them are top four, and then there's the Lightning, who ranked eighth. Florida is also at home, which helps. Including the playoffs, Bobrovsky has a 2.55 GAA and .919 save percentage at home this year.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TAM at FLA ($27): Vasilevskiy came up big in Game 7 against Toronto, but he allowed at least three goals in the first six games of the first round. The Panthers were by far the top offense in the NHL this season. They ranked first in goals (4.11) and shots on net per game (37.3).
CENTER
Nazem Kadri, COL vs. STL ($28): Hey, remember the Avalanche? It's been a bit, given that they swept the Predators in the first round. Kadri missed some time with injury, but since returning to action he has three goals, four assists, and 32 shots on net over 10 games. The Blues will presumably keep Jordan Binnington in net, but during the regular season he had a .901 save percentage.
CENTER TO AVOID
Robert Thomas, STL at COL ($22): Thomas had 77 points in 72 games this season, but he only has three points over his last eight games. He also doesn't have a goal in his last 10 outings. Darcy Kuemper has been cleared for Game 1, and he had a 2.54 GAA and .921 save percentage during the regular season.
WING
Carter Verhaeghe, FLA vs. TAM ($20): Verhaeghe was the star for the Panthers in the first round, notching a whopping 12 points in six games. He will assuredly slow down, but he's still on the first line with Aleksander Barkov and Claude Giroux. Meanwhile, in the first round Vasilevskiy had a 3.04 GAA and .897 save percentage.
Artturi Lehkonen, COL vs. STL ($18): Lehkonen is getting to skate on Colorado's second line, which features both Kadri and Gabriel Landeskog. That's a fortuitous place to be. Leaving Montreal for Colorado has been a boon for the winger, who has seven goals and three assists over his last 10 outings. Then, there's Binnington, who had a .901 save percentage this year.
WINGS TO AVOID
Jordan Kyrou, STL at COL ($19): The Blues are so stacked that Kyrou is down on the third line. He's not had any issue producing, but there are only so many minutes to go around. The Avalanche will be happy to have Kuemper back from his eye injury, as he was stellar in the second half of the season. Over his last 31 games he has a 2.38 GAA and .929 save percentage.
Alex Killorn, TAM at FLA ($16): Brayden Point is expected to miss Game 1 of this series. That means instead of having Point as his center, Killorn will likely have Nick Paul. That's a big step down, and that lowers Killorn's upside.
DEFENSE
Devon Toews, COL vs. STL ($21): Cale Makar casts a large shadow, but Toews was absolutely fantastic in the first round. He had at least one point in every single game, plus 15 shots on net and 10 blocked shots. Binnington has stepped up for St. Louis in the playoffs, but the .901 save percentage he had in the regular season means more to me.
Mikhail Sergachev, TAM at FLA ($13): The Panthers weren't so dynamic defensively this year that I am necessarily avoiding Lightning players entirely, especially with only four teams in action. Florida's 2.95 team GAA was actually the highest of these four squads. Sergachev had 38 points this season, and in the first round he started a whopping 61.9 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone. That was the second-highest rate of any Tampa player.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
MacKenzie Weegar, FLA vs. TAM ($20): This is more about Weegar's recent play relative to his salary, as he's been fairly cold. He had only one point, an assist, in the first round. Additionally, he only had three power-play points during the regular season, as he doesn't really play with the extra man.
Justin Faulk, STL at COL ($19): Faulk only averaged 1:35 per game on the power play, so he can't turn to the extra man to try and generate offense. That means having to try and do his damage on the road against Kuemper, who had a .921 save percentage this season.
