This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
I was a little worried there would only be one game Wednesday because three teams faced elimination Monday. Instead, the Wild managed to win a game where they only put 14 shots on goal and the Panthers made the move to Spencer Knight in net and it seemed to work out quite well. That means three games Wednesday, with the first game starting at 6:30 p.m. ET. Here are some players to target, and to avoid, for your daily fantasy lineup.
GOALIE
Marc-Andre Fleury, VGK at MIN ($34): You can look at things here in a couple different ways. One, Fleury allowed three goals on 13 shots in Game 5. Two, Fleury only had to face 13 shots in Game 5, and usually a team is not going to get three pucks past you on that few shots. This is especially true with a goalie like Fleury, who had allowed four goals total in the four prior games in this series. I've lost none of my faith in "Flower."
GOALIE TO AVOID
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TAM vs. FLA ($36): Vasilevskiy's last seven starts have come against the Panthers going back to the regular season. In those games he has a 3.54 GAA and .905 save percentage. I don't think it's so much that the Panthers have his number as it is the Panthers have a really strong offense. In the regular season they ranked fifth in goals per game and second in shots on net per game. Their power play only ranked 15 as well, so we know they can get it done at even strength. This series has been fun to watch, but it's also one where you want to steer clear of the goalies.
CENTER
Anthony Cirelli, TAM vs. FLA ($12): OK Spencer Knight, let's see if you can do it again. The 20-year-old really impressed in Game 5, making 36 saves on 37 shots. On the other hand, he has played in five NHL games total and this will be his first road playoff outing, assuming he gets the start. Because Tampa is fully healthy now Cirelli gets to have Steven Stamkos and Alex Killorn on his wings, and he had four points in the three games prior to Monday.
CENTER TO AVOID
Sidney Crosby, PIT at NYI ($32): Crosby picked up an assist in Game 5, but it was his first point since Game 1. Obviously, he's a great player, but the Islanders ranked second this season with a 2.23 GAA. They also had the sixth-ranked penalty kill. With a salary like Crosby's, you want to see him firing on all cylinders, and that just hasn't been the case. Barry Trotz and company deserve some of the credit for that.
WING
Mark Stone, VGK at MIN ($30): Stone tallied 61 points in 55 games, though he did have a 21.4 shooting percentage. That being said, he's notched at least 20 goals in every season of his career, so it's not like his goal scoring prowess is unfounded. Additionally, the winger has been hot in this series, as he's on a four-game point streak. Cam Talbot has been impressive in net, but he's also faced 166 shots over five games The Wild finished in the middle of the league in shots on net allowed per game, but among playoff teams their 30.4 shots on net given up per contest was third most.
Anthony Beauvillier, NYI vs. PIT ($18): Beauvillier didn't play a ton on the power play this year (1 :49 per game), but recently he's been moved up to the top power-play unit. Over his last three games he's averaged 3:08 with the extra man. That's good in this matchup, as the Penguins had the 27th-ranked penalty kill. Perhaps the Islanders decided to move Beauvillier up to the first power-play quintet because he ended the regular season on a seven-game point streak? Well now he has a point in four of his five playoff games as well.
WINGS TO AVOID
Jake Guentzel, PIT at NYI ($27): I mentioned Crosby hasn't been lighting it up in this series, so perhaps it's not surprising that Guentzel hasn't exactly padded the stat sheet either. He had an assist in Game 1, but that's his only point of the series. Going back to the regular season, the Nebraskan has one goal in his last 10 games, and that came against a Flyers team that finished with the highest GAA in the league. The Islanders, on the other hand, had the second-lowest GAA.
Kirill Kaprizov, MIN vs. VGK ($25): Kaprizov scored a lovely goal on his only shot on net in Game 5, but it was his first goal of the series. The Golden Knights won the Jennings trophy for the lowest team GAA and also had the top penalty kill. It's hard to score on Vegas when it is on its game, and Fleury had a .928 save percentage, so clearly he was usually on his game.
DEFENSE
MacKenzie Weegar, FLA at TAM ($19): With Aaron Ekblad's unfortunate injury and Keith Yandle being relegated to a lesser role (when he isn't scratched), Weegar is the top offensive weapon on the Florida blue line as well. He tallied 11 points over his last eight regular-season games to finish with 36 in 55 contests and he's added three more in this series. While Vasilevskiy is a great goalie, he does have a 3.54 GAA and .905 save percentage over his last seven starts.
Noah Dobson, NYI vs. PIT ($11): Dobson has started 58.6 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, highest among Islanders defensemen. He's also been placed on New York's top power-play unit and has played at least 3:00 per game with the extra man in each of his last three contests. While he only has one power-play point in those games, getting all that time against a bottom-five penalty kill is not a bad thing.
DEFENSE TO AVOID
Kris Letang, PIT at NYI ($23): Letang has five points in this series, but they have come across two games. In three games he has been held without a point. The Islanders only allowed 28.4 shots on net per contest this season, and Ilya Sorokin has been excellent in his three starts in this series. The Russian rookie has a 1.66 GAA and .951 save percentage.
Alex Pietrangelo, VGK at MIN ($20): Pietrangelo's first season with the Golden Knights was perhaps a bit disappointing, as he only had 23 points in 41 games. He has two points in this series, but Cam Talbot also has a 2.41 GAA and .928 save percentage in this series. Shea Theodore, one of the most-prolific shooting defenseman in the NHL, might be fine, but I don't know if I want to pay Pietrangelo's salary in this matchup on the road.
