SLATE PREVIEW
It's a pivotal Game 3 for the Bruins as they try to avoid a 0-3 hole at home against the Hurricanes. Carolina dominated the first two games of the series and won both in Boston during the regular season with a 13-1 edge in goals.
Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs-Lightning, Wild-Blues and Oilers-Kings matchups are all even at 1-1 and all six sides will be looking to gain an edge as the series shift to a new venue.
GOALIES
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TB vs. TOR ($7,900): Vasilevskiy and the Lightning bounced back in a big way in Game 2 with a 5-3 win, though they needed the Leafs to get themselves into penalty trouble to do so. Nevertheless, Vasilevskiy looked much sharper and now gets the home crowd behind him. It's a close series and he provides a potential value play as arguably the league's best goalie.
Ville Husso, STL vs. MIN ($7,700): Interesting to note the team that has won the possession battle has lost both games. The Blues outplayed the Wild and ended up losing, though don't expect a goalie change. Husso was 15-3-2 at home with a .926 Sv%, and the teams are too close for either to win two straight, especially now with the Blues back at home.
VALUE PLAYS
Ondrej Palat, TB vs. TOR ($4,300): Palat has been rather quiet through two games, but he's a staple in the Tampa's top-six and they'll get last change on home ice where he should receive favorable matchups. He also produced six points in four games against the Leafs during the season.
Seth Jarvis, CAR at BOS ($4,800): Jarvis' ice time was expected to diminish given his inexperience on a deep Canes lineup, but he's quickly earned Rod Brind'Amour's trust and has remained in a prominent scoring role. He was quiet in Game 2, but notched two points in the opener where Carolina has looked dominant.
LINE STACKS
Oilers at Kings
Connor McDavid (C - $10,000), Jesse Puljujarvi (W - $4,600), Evander Kane (W - $7,500)
The good thing about this line stack is that Puljujarvi also got into the action with a goal. He's usually the weakest part of this line stack, but the Oilers' offense woke up in Game 2 and McDavid is about as close to a guarantee as you can get.
DEFENSEMEN
Tony DeAngelo, CAR at BOS ($6,200): The Canes have the Bruins on the ropes and it's been a chippy series so far, which means plenty of power plays. Carolina has taken advantage on special teams with DeAngelo pitching in with three assists on Wednesday. Given how the series has gone, he might boast the most offensive upside among the defensemen for Friday's slate and offers up better value than Victor Hedman at $7,600.
Sean Durzi, LA vs. EDM ($5,200): Durzi's been holding down the right side with Drew Doughty injured and the Kings should get the matchups they want at home. Though Mike Smith shut the Kings out in Game 2, goaltending has been volatile for both teams and this could be a high-scoring encounter. If that's the case, Durzi stands to benefit the most on L.A.'s blueline.
