The Hurricanes saved themselves a ton of turmoil by winning Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals. However, the Caandiens still get to be at home in Game 3 in a series that s all tied up. Monday's Game 3 is, dare I say, pivotal, and it starts at 8 p.m. EDT.
For DFS purposes, you get $50,000 in salary for six players. One is designated your Captain, who has an elevated salary but also notches 1.5 times the points. You can roster a goalie, but I have opted against that. This, instead, is what I have opted for with my lineup.
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CAPTAIN
Seth Jarvis, CAR at MON ($13,500): I hesitate to make a Canadien my Captain because the Hurricanes are so impressive defensively. As is the norm, they finished first in shots on net allowed per game during the regular season, and they have allowed 23.5 shots on net per game in the playoffs with four overtime games in the mix. Even in Game 1, when Frederik Andersen allowed five goals, he only faced 21 shots. Okay, so that's why I didn't want a Hab in my Captain spot. Why Jarvis? He's hit 30 goals in each of the last three seasons and in his last five games he has two goals and 20 shots on net.
FLEX
Nick Suzuki, MON vs. CAR ($9,800): In a single-game DFS situation I'm not going to avoid Montreal players, and it wouldn't make sense to do that with Montreal at home either. Suzuki is the team's best player, so he's the obvious guy to roster. He had his first 100-point campaign this season, and in the playoffs he has 16 points in 16 games with a sustainable 12.1 shooting percentage.
Nikolaj Ehlers, CAR at MON ($7,800): There is an element of this recommendation that is about hoping that Game 2 carries over into Game 3 for Ehlers. We're talking about single-game DFS contests in a conference final. Stuff like that feels more viable. Ehlers had two goals on five shots in Game 2, and it's not like he's some fourth-liner who got lucky. He had 26 goals and 45 assists this season.
Jackson Blake, CAR at MON ($7,600): Yes, Blake doesn't have a point yet in this series. In the first two rounds, though, he totaled 11 points and 18 shots on net in eight games. Plus, it's not like he's been invisible. In Game 1 he had four shots on net, and in Game 2 he had five blocked shots.
Ivan Demidov, MON vs. CAR ($6,800): One more Canadien for you. Demidov started the playoffs slow, reasonable for a rookie, but he has seven points in his last eight games. He was a finalist for the Calder for a reason, though, and that reason is that he had 62 points during the regular season. I also like the fact he is on the top power-play unit. Sure, the Hurricanes aren't exactly porous on the penalty kill, but it's been to get power-play time than not.
K'Andre Miller, CAR at MON ($4,400): With my final spot in a single-game DFS roster, I sometimes go with a defenseman based on the premise, "he's going to be on the ice, and that means something can happen." Miller has averaged 23:25 per game in ice time in the playoffs, and he's played over 21 minutes in each game of this series. He had 37 points in 72 games this season, and he's added six points in the playoffs. At this salary, though, even a couple shots on net and a few blocked shots would suffice.
