This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
GOALIE
Carter Hart, PHI vs. NYI ($35): The netminder was great at home this year but struggled on the road. However, the neutral site of the bubble has been just fine for 22-year-old. He has a 1.71 GAA and .943 save percentage in the playoffs. The Islanders only managed 29.6 shots on net per game this season, so this may not be a busy series for Hart.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Pavel Francouz, COL vs. DAL ($34): Philipp Grubauer seemed to suffer a serious injury in Game 1, so Francouz is stepping in to start. He was excellent during the regular season, posting a 2.41 GAA and .923 save percentage. During the regular season the Stars struggled offensively, but the team has been on fire recently. They've scored at least five goals in four of their last six games, including in Game 1 of this series.
CENTER
Nazem Kadri, COL vs. DAL ($24): Kadri was looking primed for a big season, but injuries limited him to 51 games. Even so, he scored 19 goals and added 17 assists. In the playoffs, he's only been held without a point in one contest. Anton Khudobin was stellar in the regular season, putting up a .930 save percentage, but in the playoffs his numbers have been less impressive (2.55 GAA, .917 save percentage).
CENTER TO AVOID
Brock Nelson, NYI at PHI ($17): Nelson had 26 goals this year, but he skates on New York's second line. Anthony Beauvillier has been hot in the playoffs, but I don't know if that will continue. The Flyers only gave up 28.7 shots on net per contest, lowest in the NHL. Add in Hart's hot play and it's a daunting combo for Nelson.
WING
Claude Giroux, PHI vs. NYI ($19): Giroux averaged 3:06 per game with the extra man, tallying 20 power-play points in 69 games. It's the 10th season in a row where he's averaged over three minutes per contest in power-play time and notched at least 20 points with the man advantage.
Alexander Radulov, DAL at COL ($17): Radulov started 61.4 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone this year, highest on the Stars. He's also coming off a game where he tallied two goals and an assist. Dallas' offense has been hot, and if that continues in Game 2, Radulov could be a part of that once again.
WINGS TO AVOID
Anthony Beauvillier, NYI at PHI ($18): I mentioned earlier that Beauvillier has been hot in the playoffs. Indeed, he has six goals and three assists in nine games. That's on only 27 shots, though. He has a 22.2 shooting percentage in the playoffs after having a 13.6 mark in the regular season.
Denis Gurianov, DAL at COL ($18): This is mostly a warning against buying into Gurianov's incredible Game 6 against the Flames too much. Yes, he scored four goals and added an assist. He also did that with five shots on net. The rookie also did that with only 13:27 of ice time and 1:15 on the power play. During the regular season, he only managed nine assists, and his shooting percentage was 15.2. That's not bad, but he's not the kind of player you can expect to stay hot.
DEFENSE
Cale Makar, COL vs. DAL ($23): Makar's five-game point streak just ended, but I'm not concerned. The rookie had 50 points in 57 games, including 19 with the extra man. Dallas had the 17th-ranked penalty kill this season, which happens to be worst of the four teams playing Monday. It may not be a great matchup for Colorado's power play, but it is the best matchup.
Ivan Provorov, PHI vs. NYI ($17): Provorov has a point in each of his last two games. During the regular season, he averaged 3:06 with the extra man and tallied 16 power-play points. Like I said, the Islanders had the 15th-ranked penalty kill. Also, surprisingly, their 2.79 GAA is the highest of all four of these teams. This could be a tough day for offenses.
DEFENSE TO AVOID
Ryan Pulock, NYI at PHI ($18): Pulock was racking up the assists against Florida, but he cooled down a bit against Washington. That may not be a surprise, given that he only had 25 assists this season. Shots are hard to come by against the Flyers, who allowed the fewest shots on net per game in the NHL, which makes it harder to notch not just goals, but also assists.
Matt Niskanen, PHI vs. NYI ($15): Niskanen had 13 power-play points this season, but he only averaged 2:03 per game with the extra man. It was his first year with multiple double-digit points with the extra man since 2015. Niskanen doesn't have a single power-play points in the postseason, and I don't expect that to change Monday. This lowers his ceiling in a tough matchup against Barry Trotz's team.
