This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
SLATE PREVIEW
It's a four-game Thursday with four teams on the brink of elimination: Bruins, Lightning, Wild and Oilers. The Wild and Oilers are staring down first-round upsets, and it'll be a very difficult matchup for the Oilers with top defenseman Darnell Nurse suspended for Game 6 after headbutting Philip Danault in Game 5. For the back-to-back defending champion Lightning, a loss will end their bid for a three-peat, something no team has done since the '80s Islanders.
GOALIES
Antti Raanta, CAR at BOS ($7,400): The home team has won every game in this series so Raanta's at a disadvantage, but he was very good in his last start with one goal against in 34 shots. Even with a loss in which he allowed four goals, he has an excellent .942 Sv% in the postseason.
Jonathan Quick, LA vs. EDM ($7,200): The Oilers will be without Nurse so that should make scoring goals a little easier. Quick hasn't been particularly sharp with at least three goals allowed in four of the five games in this series, but the Kings are ahead because they've provided enough goal support. On home ice where Todd McLellan gets last change, it tilts the ice in their favor.
VALUE PLAYS
Ondrej Palat, TB vs. TOR ($4,100): Palat is on a three-game point streak and even though both teams feature good goalies, neither team has had trouble scoring. The Lightning are average 4.50 goals per game at home, tied for third-best in the playoffs and Palat is expected to play on the top line with Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov.
Alex Iafallo, LA vs. EDM ($4,500): Iafallo has two helpers in two games and will continue to play on the top line with Adrian Kempe, who scored Game 5's overtime winner, and top center Anze Kopitar. Iafallo is arguably coming off his best game with six shots and four blocked shots, and the Kings have the edge on home ice and the Oilers missing their top defenseman.
LINE STACKS
Wild at Blues
Ryan Hartman (C - $5,900), Mats Zuccarello (W - $6,600), Kirill Kaprizov (W - $9,400)
Kaprizov's two-goal effort in Game 5 extended his goal streak to four games, and he's the only Wild player who has managed to score goals with any kind of consistency. Hartman and Zuccarello have been quiet, but playing on the same line as their top player should boost their fantasy value.
Maple Leafs at Lightning
Auston Matthews (C - $10,200), Mitch Marner (W - $8,800), Michael Bunting (W - $4,700)
Bunting, recently named a Calder finalist, keeps the cost of this line stack down but he continues to be productive with three points in his past four games. The Leafs have kept this line mostly intact while Sheldon Keefe juggles the other three lines, and the normally infallible Andrei Vasilevskiy has allowed 18 goals in the playoffs so far, second-most in the league behind Igor Shesterkin.
DEFENSEMEN
Morgan Rielly, TOR at TB ($5,800): Considering the role Rielly plays, he is good value at this price for the fourth-best offense in the playoffs on a goals per game basis. He's their best puck mover and has a chance to extend his point streak to four games.
Tyson Barrie, EDM at LA ($4,600): The only way the Oilers can win is with their offense, and with Nurse out of the lineup, that means Barrie has to shoulder more of the load. He has just two assists in the series and has been held to zero points and two shots in the past two games, but perhaps with increased minutes, it will give him more opportunities to find the scoresheet.
