This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Tuesday's NHL slate begins at 7:00 p.m. EDT and features Game 1s from a pair of second-round playoff series. Below, you'll find a breakdown of the action and suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
SLATE PREVIEW
Both home teams are favored as the second round gets underway. Colorado's a heavy favorite against the Blues, while the Panthers are more modest favorites against the in-state rival Lightning. The all-Florida matchup has an over/under of 7.0 goals, while Blues-Avalanche comes in at 6.5.
GOALIES
Darcy Kuemper, COL vs. STL ($8,400): Kuemper's over the eye injury scare he suffered in the first round, so he's expected to be the Game 1 starter for an Avalanche team that swept its first round series while all the rest went at least six games. He allowed just four goals on 61 Nashville shots in roughly seven and a half periods of action in that series.
Sergei Bobrovsky, FLA vs. TB ($8,100): After a shaky start to the postseason, Bobrovsky turned things around with three consecutive wins to close out Washington. If you think the favored Panthers will take care of business on home ice in Game 1, Bobrovsky could be worth locking in.
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TB at FLA ($7,700): Vasilevskiy got better as the first round went on and was his sharpest in Game 7, allowing just one goal on 31 Toronto shots. He beat Florida in the playoffs last year, so Vasilevskiy certainly won't be intimidated by the potent Panthers offense.
Jordan Binnington, STL at COL ($7,400): Facing the high-powered Avalanche offense is a daunting task, but the affordable Binnington has some against-the-grain appeal. He led St. Louis to the Stanley Cup in 2019 and has been tremendous since taking over for Ville Husso halfway through the first-round series against Minnesota, winning all three of his starts while allowing just five goals on 88 shots.
VALUE PLAYS/ONE-OFFS
Gabriel Landeskog, COL vs. STL ($5,800): Landeskog's skating on the second line, but that didn't stop him from dominating the Predators, as he posted a 3-3-6 line and 15 shots in the first-round sweep. The skilled winger also had a 30-29-59 line in just 51 games during the regular season, so Landeskog's an excellent value at just $5,800.
Vladimir Tarasenko, STL at COL ($5,600): Tarasenko finished the first round on a hot streak, lighting the lamp four times in the last two games. With 40 goals in 84 career playoff games, the sniper's used to stepping up in big games.
Sam Reinhart, FLA vs. TB ($4,800): Thanks to two goals, an assist and 15 shots on goal, Reinhart finished the first round against Washington on a five-game streak of outings with double-digit fantasy points. His quietly high floor makes Reinhart a strong value play at his sub-$5,000 valuation.
Nick Paul, TB at FLA ($2,900): Paul was the Game 7 hero for the Lightning against Toronto, scoring both of the Lightning's goals in the 2-1 win. He'll continue to fill in for the injured Brayden Point (leg) on the second line, putting Paul in position to build on that clutch performance.
FORWARD LINE STACKS
Avalanche vs. Blues
Nathan MacKinnon (C - $8,800), Mikko Rantanen (W - $6,700), Valeri Nichushkin (W - $4,300)
MacKinnon was unstoppable in the first round, lighting the lamp in every game and totaling five goals on 29 shots in just four games. He's worth paying up for until the Blues show they're at least capable of slowing the star center down. Rantanen dished five helpers in the first round, and he's likely to rediscover his goal-scoring touch before long considering he led the Avalanche in both goals (36) and points (92) during the regular season. Nichushkin's a nice value play as long as he's skating on this line, and he generated plenty of offense against the Predators with two goals, one assist and 20 shots.
Panthers vs. Lightning
Aleksander Barkov (C - $7,400), Claude Giroux (W - $4,600), Carter Verhaeghe (W - $3,800)
Barkov's the best all-around player on the Panthers, Giroux has the playoff experience and Verhaeghe was the first-round hero. The center mustered a 2-4-6 line in the six-game series win over the Capitals after totaling a 39-49-88 output in just 67 regular season games. Giroux got better as the series against Washington went on, notching a 2-3-5 line in the last two games. He's hungry to make another run at the Stanley Cup after coming close a few times with the Flyers. Verhaeghe's a bargain at just $3,800 considering he racked up a 5-4-9 line in the last three games against Washington, including two overtime winning goals.
Blues at Avalanche
Ryan O'Reilly (C - $4,300), David Perron (W - $5,000), Brayden Schenn (W - $3,500)
Locking in some or all of this line can help you clear cap space for other top players in action Tuesday without sacrificing production. O'Reilly and Perron both dominated against the Wild in the first round, notching 5-3-8 and 5-4-9 lines, respectively. The affordable Schenn chipped in three helpers in that six-game series.
DEFENSEMEN
Cale Makar, COL vs. STL ($8,000): With a 3-7-10 line and 20 shots, Makar was a key contributor in the sweep of Nashville. He should be worth paying up for as the priciest blueliner in this slate, especially if you're going for an Avalanche stack.
Colton Parayko, STL at COL ($4,600): Parayko dominated after Torey Krug (lower body) went down early in Game 3 against the Wild. Including the game in which Krug got hurt, Parayko notched 17.5 or more fantasy points in three of the last four games against Minnesota thanks to a 1-3-4 line, eight shots and a whopping 16 blocks.
MacKenzie Weegar, FLA vs. TB ($4,200): Weegar had multiple shots in all but one of the six games against Washington and blocked a shot in every game, but he was held to just one assist in the series. If he's able to rediscover his scoring ability from a 44-point regular season, Weegar's consistent contributions in secondary stats should allow him to outperform his $4,200 valuation.
Ryan McDonagh, TB at FLA ($3,000): If you can't afford fellow Lightning blueliner Victor Hedman at $6,600, McDonagh makes for a nice consolation prize given his strong two-way play in the first round. McDonagh averaged just over 14 fantasy points over the last three games against Toronto thanks to a goal on seven shots and 11 blocked shots in that stretch.
