Yahoo DFS Hockey: Sunday Picks
Just as a hockey fan, I love the fact that Sunday's four Game 4s feature no chances of a sweep. Since the first game is at 12:30 p.m. ET, you'll have to have your lineup in early. But once you take care of that, you can get to that Mother's Day brunch or whatever and be all set. Here are the players to target, and to avoid, for your lineups.
GOALIE
Mike Smith, EDM at LOS ($38): Given the offensive support he's received the last two games, Smith hasn't needed to play well but still went ahead and made 74 saves on 76 shots. He's also posted an 1.46 GAA and .958 save percentage across 11 appearances. The Kings ranked 20th in average goals this season, and it's showing this series.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TOR at TAM ($26): The Maple Leafs ranked second with 3.80 goals per game this year while averaging 34.6 shots on net. Even for a traditionally-steady goalie like Vasilevskiy, that may be too much considering he's allowed at least three goals in every game this series.
CENTER
Robert Thomas, STL vs. MIN ($23): Thomas only has two points in the playoffs, but he's centering a line of Pavel Buchnevich and Vladimir Tarasenko. It also helped him tally 77 points during the regular season. Marc-Andre Fleury has admittedly rebounded after a rough Game 1, but he still produced a .908 save percentage on the year.
CENTER TO AVOID
Sebastian Aho, CAR at BOS ($28): With the way the goaltending has gone in all the series, Aho on the road in Boston is on the trickier end of things. Jeremy Swayman looked solid in Game 3 and maintained a 2.41 GAA. A big reason for that is the fact the Bruins allowed a mere 28.7 shots on net per game.
WING
David Perron, STL vs. MIN ($20): Perron opened the series with four points. And while he hasn't scored in the last two, he's directed nine shots on net. Perron also tallied 26 power-play points during the regular season. That's notable, as the Wild had the 25th-ranked penalty kill.
Zach Hyman, EDM at LOS ($20): Let's keep talking power play, as Hyman is currently on Edmonton's top unit and one of his three points in Game 3 came with the extra man. It's always nice to get to play alongside Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl. The Kings were only just barely better down a man with the 22nd-ranked penalty kill.
WINGS TO AVOID
Trevor Moore, LOS vs. EDM ($17): The Kings have racked up a ton of power-play time in this series, but Moore doesn't play much with the extra man and hasn't benefited as much as some of his teammates. That lowers his upside, especially with the way Smith is playing of late as noted earlier.
Jake DeBrusk, BOS vs. CAR ($14): The Bruins reunited the line of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and David Pastrnak in Game 3, bumping DeBrusk down to the second line. That's significant, as moving to the top unit basically salvaged his campaign. The demotion against a Hurricanes team that will likely get Antti Raanta back in net bodes poorly for DeBrusk.
DEFENSE
Tyson Barrie, EDM at LOS ($19): Barrie has registered a point in seven of his last nine games. That includes each of his last two outings, and both of those points came on the power play. That's fitting given Barrie racked up 21 points with the extra man during the regular season. And as mentioned, the Kings maintain the 22nd-ranked penalty kill.
Mikhail Sergachev, TAM vs. TOR ($13): Sergachev was the most active he's ever been this season with personal highs in ice time, shots on net, and blocked shots. In Game 3, he picked up his first point of the series - and on the power play to boot. Jack Campbell finished the season with a .914 save percentage, and he mainly struggled after the All-Star break.
DEFENSE TO AVOID
Charlie McAvoy, BOS vs. CAR ($21): Raanta isn't on Frederik Andersen's level, but he beats having a third-stringer in goal. The Hurricanes also allowed the fewest shots on net per game and boasted the best penalty kill, so there's more to this team than the goaltending. McAvoy notched 21 of his 56 points with the extra man, but fittingly doesn't have a power-play point this series.
Sean Durzi, LOS vs. EDM ($15): Durzi stepped up once Drew Doughty went down and has performed admirably. However, he's only recorded two points from his last 11 games. Though he fired a whopping eight shots on goal in Game 3, I'm still not enthused about him given his recent scoring issues and Smith's recent excellent play in net.
