This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
We have four NHL games Friday, and we see all four series swapping locations. Yes, it's four Game 3s, which means changes of venue across the board. How will that impact my recommendations for your DFS lineups? Let's find out! Here are the players to target and avoid for your daily fantasy rosters.
GOALIE
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TAM vs. TOR ($26): Both Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta are questionable, so I can't go that route. Vasilevskiy was much better at home this year, though. The Russian had a 2.23 GAA and .921 save percentage in his own rink. Plus, on the more-psychological end of sports prognostication, the Lightning are two-time champs at home, while the Maple Leafs have quite a bit of existential baggage on them as a franchise. Any little edge to help me make this tough decision.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Marc-Andre Fleury, MIN at STL ($26): Fleury bounced back in Game 2, but now he's on the road. The Blues ranked third with 3.77 goals per game. These are two high-flying offenses, and I feel like either of them teams can drop four or five goals on an opposing netminder any given night.
CENTER
Patrice Bergeron, BOS vs. CAR ($31): The Hurricanes allowed the fewest shots on net per game in the NHL, but Bergeron seems undeterred. He's put 12 shots on net in this series already, and he scored both of Boston's goals in Game 2. The fact there is a very-real chance Carolina's third-string goalie Pyotr Kochetkov is in net has me feeling better about the Bruins in what is a must-win game for the squad.
CENTER TO AVOID
John Tavares, TOR at TAM ($23): If the Lightning are more disciplined at home, Tavares won't keep averaging 6:38 per game on the power play in this series. Right now, the Maple Leafs don't have William Nylander on his wing, which also limits his upside to a degree. Vasilevskiy had a 2.23 GAA and .921 save percentage at home, which is also a mark against the former Islander.
WING
Pavel Buchnevich, STL vs. MIN ($22): Buchnevich's first year with the Blues was a big one, as he set career highs with 30 goals and 76 points with his new team. Of course, it helps that his line (Buchnevich, Robert Thomas, and Vladimir Tarasenko) were three of the top four in terms of offensive-start-zone percentage for the Blues. Since joining the Wild, and including the playoffs, Fleury has a 2.78 GAA and .910 save percentage.
Alex Killorn, TAM vs. TOR ($14): Killorn picked things up a bit down the stretch, so over his last 11 games he has four goals and four assists. He's also on the second line and the top power-play unit now. Jack Campbell's struggles after the All-Star Game left him with a .914 save percentage on the season, and in Game 2 he allowed five goals (though admittedly he had a shutout in Game 1).
WINGS TO AVOID
Trevor Moore, LOS vs. EDM ($19): Mike Smith was hot to end the regular season, struggled in Game 1, and then posted a shutout in Game 2. The 40-year-old remains an enigmatic goalie, but over his last 15 games he has a 1.99 GAA and .941 save percentage. It's enough to give me pause, specifically with Moore, given that he only had two power-play points all season. He has to get it done at even strength.
Matthew Boldy, MIN at STL ($18): Boldy doesn't have a point yet in this series, even in Game 2 when his team dropped six goals on the Blues. Ville Husso had a 2.56 GAA and .919 save percentage this season, so it'll be hard for the Wild to be that productive again on the road, and for what it's worth the Blues also had the fifth-ranked penalty kill this season.
DEFENSE
Tyson Barrie, EDM at LOS ($19): Barrie has a point in six of his last eight outings. Like Krug, he's a power-play savant, having tallied 21 points with the extra man during the regular season, and adding another power-play point in Game 2. The Kings, for their part, had the 22nd-ranked penalty kill.
Torey Krug, STL vs. MIN ($18): The Wild had the 25th-ranked penalty kill this season, the worst of any playoff team. Krug is renowned for his acumen on the power play. He averaged 2:49 per game with the extra man this year, tallying 19 power-play points in 64 games. Krug also started 64.6 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, most on the Blues.
DEFENSE TO AVOID
Tony DeAngelo, CAR at BOS ($23): Maybe heading home (or possibly swapping Jeremy Swayman for Linus Ullmark) is what the Bruins need. Boston did rank fourth in GAA, after all, and only allowed 28.7 shots on net per contest. The Bruins also had the ninth-ranked penalty kill. DeAngelo has racked up assists with gusto in this series, but 20 of his 51 points came with the extra man this season. Plus, he's not likely to play 8:10 on the power play like he did in Game 2 again.
Morgan Rielly, TOR at TAM ($21): Rielly has a hefty salary, and with these series moving to Tampa I am less confident in him payoff off in your lineup. The Lightning had the 11th-ranked penalty kill this season, and with Vasilevskiy's home numbers (2.23 GAA, .921 save percentage) it looks a bit less rosy for Rielly.
