This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
We welcome Canada to the NHL playoffs Wednesday. Winnipeg and Edmonton join the fray, giving us four games taking place. The first of those games starts at 6:30 p.m. ET, so you'll have to get your lineups in a little earlier than usual. Here are some players to target, and to avoid, for your daily fantasy purposes.
GOALIE
Alex Nedeljkovic, CAR vs. NAS ($27): When the time came to name a starter for Game 1 of this season, the Hurricanes went with Nedeljkovic. That decision makes sense to me, given that he had a 1.90 GAA and .932 save percentage. Nashville scored 2.70 goals per game this season, which is the fewest of any team that made the playoffs.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Jordan Binnington, STL at COL ($32): Binnington was one of the focal points of conversation during and after Game 1 of this series. It makes sense, given that he made 46 saves on 49 shots. On the other hand, he faced 49 shots, and the Avalanche led the league in goals per game (3.52) and were second in shots on net per contest (34.6). Binnington is going to have to stand on his head in this series, and even if he does he could see himself allowing three goals again and taking a loss. In fact, that's kind of what I expect to keep happening.
CENTER
David Krejci, BOS vs. WAS ($21): It's a little weird that announcers have been talking about Craig Anderson's career playoff numbers, given the small sample size there and also the fact that he is making his first playoff appearance since 2017. The 39-year-old had a 3.37 GAA and .901 save percentage in the three seasons prior to this one. Krejci, meanwhile, took off once Taylor Hall joined the Bruins. Over the final 16 games of the regular season he put up 21 points.
CENTER TO AVOID
Ryan O'Reilly, STL at COL ($23): O'Reilly had 54 points in 56 games, though that was with an 18.6 shooting percentage considerably above his career average of 11.3. Scoring on Philipp Grubauer is harder than most. That's partially because the Avalanche gave up a league-low 25.4 shots on net per contest. It's also partially because when shots got to Grubauer he stopped 92.2 percent of them.
WING
Kyle Connor, WPG at EDM ($24): For the first time in a season where he played more than 20 games, Connor failed to score at least 30 goals. Instead, he had to settle for "only" 26 in 56 outings. I think it's fair to call the 24-year-old one of the most-reliable goal scorers in the NHL. Speaking of reliability, I hate to be skeptical about a good story but I do have to wonder if Mike Smith can keep this up. He's 39 and over his prior two seasons he had a 2.83 GAA and .900 save percentage. This year he suddenly posts a .923 save percentage? It's fair to wonder, and to take a shot on a player of Connor's caliber.
Andrei Svechnikov, CAR vs. NAS ($23): Svechnikov was a busy bee in Game 1, as he scored a goal while putting eight shots on net. He's also proven himself to be a power-play force in his career. The Russian forward had 20 points with the extra man last year and 17 this season. Nashville never figured out its penalty kill this year, as it ranked 29th on that front.
WINGS TO AVOID
T.J. Oshie, WAS at BOS ($23): Oshie was even more reliant on the power play this season as in years past. Not only did he have 17 of his 43 points with the extra man, a whopping 13 of his 22 goals came on the power play. While Tuukka Rask hasn't looked great in this series yet, the Bruins had the second-ranked penalty kill this season. I'm betting on that track record.
Filip Forsberg, NAS at CAR ($21): Forsberg was one of the few reliable forwards for the Predators when he was healthy, and that's with his shooting percentage being only 9.3. Of course, this means a relative lack of support around him. The Hurricanes only allowed 28.2 shots on net per game, and as I mentioned earlier Nedeljkovic had a 1.90 GAA and .932 save percentage.
DEFENSE
Charlie McAvoy, BOS vs. WAS ($18): McAvoy shouldered a big load for the Bruins this season. He averaged 24:00 in ice time and has been over 25 minutes a night in this series as well, in part due to an increase in power-play time. McAvoy has also been quite active, as he's notched 10 shots on net against the Capitals this past week. Even if Vitek Vanecek or Ilya Samsonov is cleared to play, neither of them is too imposing. Vanecek had a .908 save percentage, and Samsonov's save percentage was even worse at .902.
Samuel Girard, COL vs. STL ($15): Overshadowed by Cale Makar, Girard still had 32 points in 48 games, including nine with the extra man. While Makar is the primary point weapon on the power play, Girard still averaged 2:16 per game in power-play time. While the Blues weren't quite as bad as the Predators on the penalty kill, they still ranked in the bottom five.
DEFENSE TO AVOID
Roman Josi, NAS at CAR ($21): Josi led the Predators with a mere 33 points this year, the lowest team-leading point total in the NHL. That speaks to how Nashville averaged the fewest goals per game of any playoff team. While Josi will surely get his ice time and can also contribute some blocked shots, I see little offensive upside for him against a team that ranked in the top seven in GAA, penalty kill, and shots allowed per game.
Torey Krug, STL at COL ($18): You used to be able to rely on Krug to dominate on the power play in Boston. However, in his first season with the Blues he managed 13 power-play points in 51 games. A lot of defensemen would be happy with that, but that's the lowest total in his career. While Colorado's eighth-ranked penalty kill is low by its defensive standards, with Grubauer and his .922 save percentage in net I don't like Krug's chances.
