This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
With Carolina headed home after being eliminated by Boston, there are only two games Thursday. If you've been missing games during the day because of work or whatever, that won't be as much of a problem! On the other hand, your DFS options are limited. Even so, I have players to target, and also players to avoid. Here they are.
GOALIE
Anton Khudobin, DAL at CGY ($32): Khudobin is coming off a win in which he made 28 saves on 29 shots, and Ben Bishop is still banged up, so I expect Khudobin to get another start. While he has a .917 save percentage in the playoffs, in the regular season the 34-year-old posted a .930 save percentage. Calgary scored 2.91 goals per game, which was only just outside the bottom 10. Of the four goalies going Thursday, I like Khudobin best by a hair.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Semyon Varlamov, NYI at WAS ($30): I wouldn't expect you to pick Braden Holtby, given that he had a 3.11 GAA and .897 save percentage this season. If you go with Cam Talbot I totally support that. Ergo, I'm left with Varlamov. My biggest concern here is that the Capitals scored 3.42 goals per game this year, second highest in the NHL.
CENTER
Mathew Barzal, NYI at WAS ($23): Barzal is the driving force of the Islanders' offense., scoring 60 points in 68 games this season, and that's been obvious during the playoffs. After a goal in each of his last two games, Barzal now has seven points in eight playoff contests. As I just noted, Holtby had a 3.11 GAA and .897 save percentage in this campaign.
CENTER TO AVOID
Tyler Seguin, DAL at CGY ($22): While Seguin has points in his last two games, those were his first points of the playoffs. Plus, he doesn't have a goal yet in the postseason after tallying a disappointing 17 goals this year. Cam Talbot had a 2.63 GAA and .919 save percentage, so Seguin will be hard pressed to finally light the lamp.
WING
Anders Lee, NYI at WAS ($18): The Islanders' top line of Barzal, Lee, and Jordan Eberle gets a lot of beneficial ice positioning. Of the players in New York's lineup, they rank first, second, and third in percentage of shifts started in the offensive zone. They are also all on the first power-play unit. As for Lee specifically, he's been a force. Over his last five games he has three goals and 20 shots on net.
Elias Lindholm, CGY vs. DAL ($17): With only four teams in action, and with the caliber of goalies in net Thursday, you are going to have to take some chances here and there. For example, I'm taking a chance on the fact the Stars had the 17th-ranked penalty kill this season. Lindholm led the Flames with eight power-play goals, and he added 11 assists with the extra man as well.
WINGS TO AVOID
T.J. Oshie, WAS vs. NYI ($20): In the three games Nicklas Backstrom has missed, Oshie doesn't have a single point. In fact, recently he's even been moved off the second line and down to the third line. Barry Trotz knows how to coach a defense, and he knows the Capitals quite well. The Islanders had a 2.79 GAA this year, and in the playoffs Varlamov has a 1.87 GAA.
Alexander Radulov, DAL at CGY ($18): Radulov had a big day in Game 4 of this series, scoring a goal and putting seven shots on net, albeit in an overtime game. However, if you don't include that game, the Russian has two points and nine shots on goal in his seven other playoff contests. Also, if you thought Radulov might have some success on the power play, the Flames had the eighth-ranked penalty kill.
DEFENSE
John Klingberg, DAL at CGY ($19): With defensemen, I frankly need to find somebody who has been hot and has a track record I can believe in. That's Klingberg, who has seven points in his last six games and has put 22 shots on net in that time. The Swede had 32 points in 58 games, good for a defenseman, and that's the first time he failed to hit the 40-point mark in his career.
Ryan Pulock, NYI at WAS ($18): After having 35 points in 68 games this year, Pulock has six points in eight playoff contests. That may be in part because he has gone from averaging 1:46 per game with the extra man in the regular season to 2:50 per game in the postseason. The Capitals may have had the sixth-ranked penalty kill, but some of that was because of Ilya Samsonov. Holtby with his 3.11 GAA and .897 save percentage is a different story.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Mark Giordano, CGY vs. DAL ($20): Giordano fell off from his Norris-winning campaign last year, only notching five goals and 31 points this season. In fact, he hasn't scored a goal in his last 25 games. The Flames have also stopped giving him as much time on the power play, as he's averaged 1:44 per contest in the postseason. That means he probably can't take advantage of the Stars' 17th-ranked penalty kill.
Esa Lindell, DAL at CGY ($15): Lindell had his first double-digit goal campaign last season, but he only managed three goals this year. He hasn't added a goal in the playoffs, and he only has two assists in the postseason as well. His teammate Klingberg may be hot, but Lindell is not, and that's enough to make me write him off Thursday against Talbot and the Flames.
