The second round of the NHL playoffs begins on Saturday with a matchup that may not be the most exciting. Hurricanes-Flyers doesn't have the same intrigue of an Avs-Wild series, but I love the NHL and one of these teams will make the Eastern Conference Final.
Game 1 down in Raleigh starts at 8 p.m. EDT. Since this is the lone game on Saturday's schedule, it's time for a single-game showdown slate of DFS contests. It appears there have been no changes to the usual DraftKings rules. You get $50,000 in salary for six players, and one is your Captain. The Captain earns you 1.5 times the points, but at an elevated salary. You can also roster a goalie - or two, if you want - and that does bear relevance here.
I'm not expecting much offense overall, especially when Carolina will be at home. The club employs a shot-suppression style during the regular season, and then Rod Brind'Amour tells the team to lock it down even harder in the playoffs. It's actually a little surprising the Canes conceded 27.5 shots per game during their sweep of the Sens, but you have to recall Game 2 went into double OT. On the other end, Philadelphia only allowed an average of 26.5 shots to Pittsburgh.
Both teams have maintained sub-2.00 GAAs this postseason and were previously top-four in shots allowed and top-10 in GAA. I foresee a low-scoring series, so I want to try something in Game 1…
CAPTAIN
Frederik Andersen, CAR vs. PHI ($16,500): The Hurricanes finished first in shots allowed this season. On top of that, the only matchup during the opening round where they allowed more than 27 shots went well into overtime. It was a little surprising when Andersen was named for Game 1 against Ottawa, but it panned out - and then some - as he posted a .955 save percentage.
FLEX
Dan Vladar, PHI at CAR ($10,200): That's right: I'm going with both goalies! I know only one can win, and Andersen's my Captain as I think it'll be him. I'd be surprised if more than five goals are scored on Saturday. As with Carolina, the only game where Philly allowed over 30 shots went into OT while Vladar managed a 1.61 GAA and .937 save percentage versus the Penguins.
Travis Konecny, PHI at CAR ($7,800): The thing about rostering two netminders with one as your Captain is that the remaining salary is fairly limited. This is also a matchup where I don't see much offense - perhaps even only two or three combined goals - where neither is likely to get to 30 shots. Konecny notched four points against the Penguins where he directed multiple pucks on net three times. He's also on the top power play, where he recorded 14 points this season. The potential for a few chances with the extra man - even if it is purely potential - means more in a matchup that's likely to be a defensive battle.
Jackson Blake, CAR vs. PHI ($6,800): I expect Carolina to come out on top Saturday, so I expect them to accrue more fantasy counting stats. Blake scored 22 times this season and has been in solid form racking up 12 points over his last 11 outings with three more or shots from eight of his last 15. And that last part could come in handy in this matchup.
Noah Cates, PHI at CAR ($5,000): Now we're in low-salaried flyer territory, and in this case it just happens to be a Flyer. Cates is centering a line with Tyson Foerster and Matvei Michkov, two players who've gone cold. And yet, he's supplied four points through his last four appearances. That's encouraging as his offensive upside would be even higher if his linemates can pick up their game.
Jaccob Slavin, CAR vs. PHI ($3,600): To have to pick one final player with limited salary left, it's nice to be able to get someone you can trust to log plenty of ice time. Slavin is no offensive dynamo, yet skated over 21 minutes every night during the first round. He also produced two shots from each of the last three games and blocked three shots in two. At this salary, the simple fact Slavin will be out there to generate DFS points for 20-plus minutes is sufficient.
