This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
Saturday's four-game NHL slate should be a telling one, as four desperate hockey clubs will give everything they've got to avoid falling into 0-2 series holes. The first set of games established a precedent, but the choice of whether to follow the trends or go against the grain is up to you. Doing a little bit of both yielded the players below as the day's top value plays.
GOALIE
Kari Lehtonen, DAL vs. MIN ($33): Lehtonen has a history of struggling in the postseason, but you would've never guessed by watching his Game 1 shutout of the Wild. It helps that Minnesota is missing some key offensive pieces, but fantasy points are fantasy points regardless of who's on the ice for the opposition.
Goalie to Avoid:
Steve Mason, PHI at WAS ($33): Philadelphia's offensive returns in Game 1 paint a gloomy picture for their chances of stealing one in Washington. Even if Mason plays incredibly well, he'll still be a long shot to pick up valuable win points against a superior opponent.
CENTER
Derick Brassard, NYR at PIT ($19): Anyone who watched Game 1 between the Rangers and Penguins saw that New York often made out-of-position third-string goaltender Jeff Zatkoff look much better than he was by consistently shooting right at his chest or msising the net. Brassard is one of the few Blueshirts with a shot to fear, coming off a career-high 27 goals in the regular season, and he is as likely as any Ranger to snipe one home despite his moderate price regardless of whether Zatkoff or a recently-concussed Marc-Andre Fleury is in net for the Penguins.
Center to Avoid:
Joe Thornton, SJ at LA ($25): San Jose scored four times in Game 1, yet Thornton still finished with -2.0 fantasy points. The battle-tested Kings are likely to tighten things up defensively in Game 2, so Thornton has likely missed his chance to make a big impact in Los Angeles.
WING
Milan Lucic, LA vs. SJ ($18): Lucic averaged 11.0 fantasy points per game in his final three regular season appearances, so he naturally kicked off the postseason with that amount. The power forward is a proven playoff performer, and his Kings will be hungry to even the series after a surprising Game 1 defeat.
Jamie Benn, DAL vs. MIN ($31): Benn won't come cheap, but it's hard to leave him out of lineups after seeing his three-point effort Thursday. He's as offensively skilled as anyone in action, and this is the time for stars to earn their keep.
Wings to Avoid:
Patrick Sharp, DAL vs. MIN ($25): Sharp wasn't particularly impactful in the series opener after a nondescript finish to the regular season. His price is too high for a guy whose level of production has been so lackluster lately.
Rick Nash, NYR at PIT ($19): Surprise surprise, yet another postseason game went by with limited impact from Rick Nash. New York's most expensive skater has a knack for disappearing against quality competition, as evidenced by his grand total of nine goals in 57 postseason games with the Rangers.
DEFENSE
Keith Yandle, NYR at PIT ($19): With Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi out, there will be plenty of minutes to go around on the Rangers blue line. Yandle's ability to drive possession and contribute offensively makes him the logical choice to eat most of those minutes, and he's available at a very reasonable price considering his likelihood of playing a huge role against a Penguins team starting either a third-string goaltender or a notoriously inconsistent one coming off a concussion.
John Carlson, WAS vs. PHI ($26): Just like Milan Lucic of the Kings, Carlson carried his average performance from the last three regular season games into his playoff debut, but that number for him is 14.0 fantasy points. He's the top defenseman on a heavily favored team, so he'll routinely benefit just from being on the ice often thanks to a strong supporting cast. Carlson has started returning the favor during his recent roll, and it's hard to find many flaws in his situation at the moment.
Defensemen to Avoid:
Shayne Gostisbehere, PHI at WAS ($26): Gostisbehere experienced a $5 price hike between Games 1 and 2 despite registering just 3.0 fantasy points as his Flyers were shut out in the series opener. If he couldn't provide value at $21, don't expect him to do so at $26.
Marc Staal, NYR at PIT ($12): Staal's minus-2 rating Wednesday doesn't do justice to how abysmal his performance was, as he was doubly responsible for Pittsburgh's first goal by first ruining goaltender Henrik Lundqvist's vision with a stick to the eye and then letting Patric Hornqvist beat him to a rebound off the clearly compromised netminder. It's hard to imagine Staal playing any worse this time around, but don't put it past him.
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