This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
Everything is on the line Saturday. The NHL is blessing us with three Game 7s. Watching the games will be exciting, but it would also be great to win a DFS contest or two. With that in mind, here are my DFS recommendations. The first game starts at 4:30 p.m. ET.
GOALIES
Mike Smith, EDM vs. LOS ($8,000): Smith has been hot with an 1.86 GAA and .948 save percentage in his last 14 games. The Kings, meanwhile, ranked 20th in goals per game during the regular season. Four of the six teams in action Saturday were in the top-nine in that category, so facing the Kings is about as good as it gets here.
Antti Raanta, CAR vs. BOS ($7,600): Let's say you don't want to go with Smith. Maybe you believe the Oilers are fated to fall short. Fair enough! Raanta represents the next best option. The Bruins ranked 15th in goals per game while the Hurricanes maintained the league's best defense and were first in GAA, shots on net allowed per game, and penalty-kill percentage.
VALUE PLAYS
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, EDM vs. LOS ($5,400): Nugent-Hopkins can get lost in the shuffle, but he's produced five points this series. He also accumulated 23 power-play points in the regular season. The Kings struggled to the 22nd-ranked penalty kill and that should give RNH some real upside.
Michael Bunting, TOR vs. TAM ($4,500): Bunting is a Calder finalist thanks to 23 goals and 40 assists. Guess playing on a line with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner helps. Andrei Vasilevskiy not being at his usual Vezina level also helps as he's allowed at least three goals in every opening-round game.
LINE STACK TO CONSIDER
Lightning vs. Maple Leafs: Brayden Point (C - $6,600), Alex Killorn (W - $5,100), Anthony Cirelli (W - $4,300)
Jack Campbell hasn't had much more luck than his Russian counterpart in Tampa. While he did earn a shutout in Game 1, he's since produced a 4.04 GAA and .877 save percentage. Campbell also doesn't have the track record of a Vasilevskiy, especially in terms of being in a Game 7. Will the Lightning's playoff experience pay off? If so, it'll be their second line that plays a part.
Point is one of the NHL's most-prolific forwards with 58 points in only 66 games this season and four in this series - including two on Thursday. Killorn has notched an assist in four of his last five games and produced 25 goals during the regular season. Cirelli lit the lamp in Game 6, his first postseason point. Having said that, he registered 17 goals and 26 assists this season and wasn't always on Point's wing.
DEFENSE
Tyson Barrie, EDM vs. LOS ($4,800): I've been in on Barrie in every game this series, and I'm sticking to that on Saturday. He's a power-play specialist and tallied 21 power-play points during the regular season. The Oilers' third-ranked power play is facing a 22nd-ranked penalty kill. Give me Barrie again.
Ryan McDonagh, TAM at TOR ($4,300): McDonagh recorded a three-game point streak in the middle of this series and has racked up seven in his last 12 outings. He's also blocked 17 shots in the playoffs. And as I noted, Campbell has struggled to a 4.04 GAA over his last five appearances.
