Postseason play for the NHL begins Saturday. There are only two games on the slate, but it's a start. The first puck drop is at 5 p.m. EST. Here are my recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
Just in case, I'll note nobody is going to be involved in a back-to-back scenario Saturday. I'll also point out the four teams in action - the Hurricanes, Islanders, Maple Leafs, and Bruins - have regularly deployed two goalies, with Carolina and Boston doing straight-up rotations.
GOALIE
Frederik Andersen, CAR vs. NYI ($8,200): Andersen is easily the top choice for goalie on Saturday. Ranking 22nd in goals per game, the Islanders have comfortably the worst offense of the four teams. On the other end, the Hurricanes boast the best D. In fact, they finished first in shots allowed and penalty-kill percentage.
VALUE PLAY
Charlie Coyle, BOS vs. TOR ($6,200): Netting a larger role with Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci retiring, Coyle enjoyed a career year with personal-bests of 25 goals and 60 points. The Leafs have been questionable in net. Ilya Samsonov seems primed to be their top playoff netminder, though he posted a 3.13 GAA and .890 save percentage during the regular season.
FORWARD LINE STACK
Hurricanes vs. Islanders
Sebastian Aho (C - $8,100), Jake Guentzel (W - $9,000), Seth Jarvis (W - $7,300)
This is not a salary-saving stack, but you only have four teams to choose from and only eight conceivable lines. You can also get plenty of value for your lineups if you select a premium trio, especially one that features three players on the top unit of the NHL's second-ranked power play facing the league's worst penalty kill.
Aho's an established high-level scorer who's been running hot of late with 21 points across 15 games. He also tallied 32 power-play points on the year. There was no acclimation phase for Guentzel after coming over from Pittsburgh as he's racked up 25 points from 17 outings, with nine on the man-advantage. After plateauing in his sophomore season, Jarvis took a step forward in Year Three with 33 goals and 34 assists. And 13 of those goals came with the extra man.
DEFENSEMAN
Brady Skjei, CAR vs. NYI ($5,300): Skjei rested the final two games of the regular season, but he earned it. He picked up 47 points on the year and ended on a six-game point streak. Skjei also registered at least three shots in nine of his last 13. The Islanders improved defensively as the year went on, but still finished in the bottom-five in shots allowed.
