This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
The first five series of the NHL playoffs kicked off Wednesday. That leaves the other three series to begin Thursday. Here are my recommendations for your daily fantasy lineup.
GOALIE
Braden Holtby, WAS vs. CAR ($8,800): Holtby has a strong playoff reputation, but he's also been playing good hockey this year as well. Over his last 15 games he has a 2.20 GAA and .921 save percentage. The Hurricanes are middling offensively, which, in the playoffs, qualifies this for being a favorable matchup.
CENTER
David Krejci, BOS vs. TOR ($6,300): Krejci ended the season with a bang, as he had multi-point games in four of his last five outings. That helped him finish the year with 73 points. Since the All-Star break, the Maple Leafs had a 3.30 GAA, which was bottom 10 in the NHL.
Carl Soderberg, COL at CGY ($4,700): The Avalanche are thought of as a one-line team, but Soderberg provided some actual secondary scoring. He set personal bests with 23 goals and 49 points. Mike Smith finished with an .898 save percentage, but David Rittich hasn't been any better than that recently. He has an .897 save percentage in his last 15 outings.
WING
Jake DeBrusk, BOS vs. TOR ($5,800): DeBrusk has started 64.7 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, highest among Boston forwards. He also tallied 27 goals in 68 games in his sophomore campaign. As previously noted, the Leafs had a 3.30 GAA after the All-Star break.
Elias Lindholm, CGY vs. COL ($5,400): Lindholm cooled off down the stretch, but I still have faith in him. He's still on Calgary's top line, and he was a real weapon on the power play. The Swede scored 26 points with the extra man. This could be a chance for him to regain his old form, as the Avalanche had the 25th-ranked penalty kill.
Zach Hyman, TOR at BOS ($5,000): You may know Hyman as "the guy who skates on Toronto's top line with John Tavares and Mitch Marner. He doesn't score like those two, but he still managed 21 goals in 71 games. Meanwhile, in his last 10 starts Tuukka Rask has a 3.20 GAA and .871 save percentage.
DEFENSE
Tyson Barrie, COL at CGY ($6,300): The eye goes to the power-play numbers whenever Barrie is involved. He averaged 4:03 per game with the extra man, notching 25 power-play points for his efforts. The Flames had the 21st-ranked penalty kill, but the poor goaltending they have gotten recently makes them feel even worse on that front.
Dougie Hamilton, CAR at WAS ($6,200): Hey, Washington and Carolina are also playing! This isn't a great matchup on either side, but unless this game is 1-0, there are going to be some points. Hamilton tallied 18 goals on 259 shots, which is what excites me about him. Also, he has six points in his last seven games.
