This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Oh, Canada. Wednesday's two NHL playoff games include two Canadian teams. The Maple Leafs will try and get back to their winning ways at home, while the Oilers have the chance to win Game 5 on the road in Vegas and return to the Western Conference Finals once more. The first puck drops at 7 p.m. ET. Here are my NHL DFS lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
Anthony Stolarz is almost assuredly out for Game 5, so expect Joseph Woll once more. Even if Calvin Pickard is healthy, I assume Stuart Skinner will get another start coming off a shutout. With Mark Stone avoiding serious injury and returning for Game 4, that's about it for injury-related concerns for DFS players.
GOALIE
Joseph Woll, TOR vs. FLA ($7,400): This was tough, because there isn't a choice I particularly like. Woll is coming off a good start, though in a 2-0 loss. However, this series is moving back to Toronto, where the Leafs won the first two games of this series. Sergei Bobrovsky is not exactly a steady performer in net, and he had an .840 OPS in the first three games of the series. Among a series of dicey options, I'll go with Woll at home.
VALUE PLAY/ONE-OFF
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, EDM at VGK ($5,400): Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch was aggressive with the lineup changes for Game 4. That went well, given Edmonton's 3-0 win, so I would think the team would roll out the same lines and pairings for Game 5. Of course, the fact Knoblauch revamped things once means it could easily happen once more. Nugent-Hopkins may be on the top line next to Connor McDavid again, but even if he isn't, he'll be on the top power-play unit. He had a seven-game point streak end in Game 4, but he tallied three shots on net and blocked two shots. Also, crucially, he played 2:47 on the power play.
FORWARD LINE STACK TO CONSIDER
Maple Leafs vs. Panthers
John Tavares (C - $6,000), William Nylander (W - $6,800), Max Pacioretty (W - $3,700)
As previously noted, Bobrovsky had an .840 save percentage in the three games in this series prior to Game 4. He allowed at least four goals in all of those games as well. His first round was also a mixed bag. Bob had a shutout in that series as well, but finished with a .901 save percentage and allowed at least three goals twice. You never know what the Russian netminder will give you, but he's on the road here and I am willing to stack Toronto's second line Wednesday.
Tavares was in the middle of a point drought, had two goals in Game 3, but then didn't have a point in Game 4. However, he put five shots on net in that outing, so he was still quite engaged. Tavares is also on the top power-play unit and has averaged 3:10 per game with the extra man in the postseason. Five times this postseason Nylander has tallied multiple points. Like Tavares, he was engaged in Game 4, tallying four shots on target and even blocking a shot. This season he tallied 45 goals for good measure, making him one of the top goal scorers in the NHL. Pacioretty was throwing his body around in Game 4, picking up eight hits. Of course, that didn't yield any DFS points, but it's still a sign of engagement on the ice. What is relevant to DFS is that he had seven points in the four games before that outing.
DEFENSEMAN
Shea Theodore, VGK vs. EDM ($5,100): This season Theodore had 19 power-play points in 67 games. He's added four more points with the extra man in the playoffs. Skinner may be coming off a shutout, but he was yanked for Pickard for a reason, and even after that shutout the Oilers have only killed 65.6-percent of penalties in the postseason. Only the Senators and Kings have done worse in the playoffs.
