This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
I'm quite excited for Thursday's NHL action. The two series in action provided us with a pairing of riveting, high-scoring overtime games Tuesday. Also, there's the chance for some DFS success. Here are my lineup recommendations.
SLATE PREVIEW
The goalies for these four teams feel locked. From an injury perspective, the one possible returning player that would have a real impact would be the return of Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce. Not because you'd roster him, but because his return would bolster a Hurricanes penalty kill unit that has been unexpectedly poor in the playoffs thus far.
GOALIE
Igor Shesterkin, NYR at CAR ($7,900): With the goal scoring we saw Tuesday, selecting a netminder for Thursday is a bit difficult. Jake Oettinger was excellent in the first round, but Colorado finished first in goals per game this season and did not have an issue scoring in Game 1. Shesterkin did allow three goals in Game 2, but that was on 57 shots. He has a 2.01 GAA and .929 save percentage in the playoffs, so I will go with him among four options I don't love. You have to pick somebody.
VALUE PLAY
Artturi Lehkonen, COL at DAL ($6,700): Lehkonen didn't have a point in Game 1 of this series, but that snapped a seven-game point streak. He's also on the top power-play unit for the Avalanche. Much has been made of the Hurricanes having issues on the penalty kill, which is fair given they were the top-ranked team in the regular season. However, the Stars have been worse on the penalty kill, and the worst of any remaining team in this postseason.
FORWARD LINE STACK
Stars vs. Avalanche
Wyatt Johnston (C - $7,200), Jamie Benn (W - $7,000), Joe Pavelski (W - $6,300)
It's two seasoned veterans on the wing with a future star at center. Well, he's a current Star, but you know what I mean. Johnston has been the best Dallas player this postseason, so his line is the one I wanted. Alexandar Georgiev had three great games against the Jets, but those came after he allowed seven goals in Game 1. How quickly some forget. He allowed three goals on 22 shots in Game 1 of this series, so let us remember he had an .897 save percentage this season.
Johnston had a goal in Game 1, giving him eight points in eight playoff games. This didn't come out of nowhere, by the way. He had 32 goals and 33 assists in his sophomore season. Benn came up big in Game 1 with a goal and an assist. That included a power-play goal. He had 22 power-play points this season. Colorado had the 12th-ranked penalty kill this season, the lowest of these four teams. Pavelski struggled in the first round but picked up an assist in Game 1. While he's 39 now, he still scored 27 goals and had 40 assists this season, so it's not like he showed any signs of losing a step.
DEFENSEMAN
Adam Fox, NYR at CAR ($7,100): There is only one Rangers defenseman in line to take advantage of Carolina's struggling penalty kill, and that's Fox. He averaged 3:32 minutes per game with the extra man this season and tallied 33 power-play points in 72 games. Fox has an assist in each of his last four outings, including power-play helpers in the last two games of the Washington series.
