This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
Welcome to the second round of the NHL playoffs, Canada! With the Maple Leafs completing another postseason collapse, the Jets and Canadiens are kicking things off Wednesday.
It's one of two games going down, and here are some players to target, and to avoid, for your daily fantasy lineup...
GOALIE
Philipp Grubauer, COL vs. VGK ($29): I was tempted to go with Connor Hellebuyck, but I thought I'd get a little bold and go with Grubauer, even though the Golden Knights ranked third in goals per game this season. The German goalie had an 1.95 GAA and .922 save percentage and plays behind a defense that allowed a league-low 25.4 shots on net per contest. During the playoffs he has a 1.60 GAA and .941 save percentage. He's also at home, and the Avalanche look like they are en route to the Stanley Cup Finals with the way they are playing right now.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Carey Price, MON at WPG ($27): Price played hero for the Canadiens to help them win three games in a row, and it feels like anytime he looks good the buzz around him grows. Yes, he had a 2.24 GAA and .932 save percentage in the first round. He also had a .901 save percentage during the regular season. I don't have faith that Price is going keep flashing that Vezina-winning skill against the Jets.
CENTER
Paul Stastny, WPG vs. MON ($12): Stastny's return to Winnipeg wasn't exactly the Fountain of Youth, but he did have 29 points in 56 games. However, the veteran is in a good place right now thanks to the Jets getting healthy. Pierre-Luc Dubois and Nikolaj Ehlers are both back, and they also happen to both be on the wing with Stastny on Winnipeg's second line. Montreal's 2.95 GAA this year was decidedly worse than the other three teams in action, so a well-rested Stastny could be in a nice spot.
CENTER TO AVOID
Nick Suzuki, MON at WPG ($19): Phillip Danault is more of a defensive stalwart at center, leaving Suzuki to shoulder the offensive load at that position. He was up to it this year with 41 points in 56 games, and he's on a three-game point streak. However, after a seven-game series he will now be heading to Winnipeg with only one day of rest to fact a team coming off a sweep. Hellebuyck had a 2.58 GAA this year after having a 2.57 GAA last year, so he's been steady in net for the Jets.
WING
Gabriel Landeskog, COL vs. VGK ($30): Barring an injury or something unforeseen, we likely will not see Robin Lehner in anything other than mop-up duty in the playoffs again. The red-hot Marc-Andre Fleury should be back in goal, but you know who else is hot? Landeskog, who is on a seven-game point streak where he's tallied 14 points. The Swede usually has the lowest salary on Colorado's incredible first line, which is why I often like to select him for DFS lineups.
Blake Wheeler, WPG vs. MON ($20): Winnipeg's top line is offensively oriented to say the least. The three players who started the most shifts in the offensive zone for the Jets were Wheeler, Mark Scheifele, and Kyle Connor, also known as the Jets' first line. Wheeler started the most shift with an offensive slant at 60.6 percent, and he also averaged 2:56 per game with the extra man. The Canadiens, meanwhile, had the 23rd-ranked penalty kill this season.
WINGS TO AVOID
Jonathan Marchessault, VGK at COL ($21): Marchessault had an assist on Vegas' lone goal in Game 1, but it was his first point in six games. It also may not be replicated in Game 2. The Golden Knights may have won the Jennings trophy, but the Avalanche finished third in the NHL with a 2.36 GAA in spite of questions about their backup goalie. That's not a concern right now, given that Grubauer and his 1.95 GAA will be in net barring anything happening to him.
Tyler Toffoli, MON at WPG ($20): Toffoli scored a goal in each of Montreal's last two games, which isn't surprising given that he scored 28 goals this season. Granted, that was with a 17.7 shooting percentage, well above his career shooting percentage of 11.1. Hellebuyck had a .916 save percentage this season – in line with his career .917 save percentage, but over his last 10 games his shooting percentage is .943.
DEFENSE
Alex Pietrangelo, VGK at COL ($20): If there is one place where the Avalanche are relatively "susceptible," it may be the penalty kill, where they ranked eighth this year. Normally, this would be where you would go with Shea Theodore. However, he's gone cold, including on the power play, and recently Pietrangelo has been getting the first-unit power-play time over his teammate. The former Blue is also more likely to add value on the defensive end of the ice, as he blocked 80 shots in 41 games this season and he's blocked 15 more shots in the playoffs.
Josh Morrissey, WPG vs. MON ($17): After having 31 points in each of his last two seasons, Morrissey had 21 points in 56 games this year. However, he also had a 3.4 shooting percentage, below his career 5.3 shooting percentage. On the flip side, he averaged career highs in ice time (23:34) and power-play ice time (2:51). That gives him more opportunities, and opportunity against a goalie like Price who had a .901 save percentage is a good thing.
DEFENSE TO AVOID
Devon Toews, COL vs. VGK ($19): Game 1 was a disaster for the Golden Knights, but let's not overlook a couple things. Like, for example, Vegas having the lowest GAA and best penalty kill this season. Or, say, the fact Fleury had a 1.71 GAA and .931 save percentage in the first round. Expecting a degree of bounce back, some Colorado players could be kept in check. Cale Makar gets a lot of power-play time so I am not going to completely right him off, but his pairing partner Toews is a different story.
Jeff Petry, MON at WPG($16): The Canadiens pulled off an upset in the first round, but Petry was surprisingly not really part of it. He had only one point against the Maple Leafs, an assist. The defenseman does not have a goal in his last 12 games. Meanwhile, May went quite well for Hellebuyck, as in eight games that month he had a 1.45 GAA and .952 save percentage.
