This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
The second round of the NHL playoffs is here! Here are my recommendations for Tuesday's pair of games…
GOALIE
Martin Jones, SAN at VGK ($8,400): The Golden Knights may have swept the Kings, but it wasn't because of their offense. Vegas only scored seven goals in the series. Jones, meanwhile, posted a 1.00 GAA and .970 save percentage in San Jose's opening series. Both series were short, and small sample sizes, but Jones had a 2.55 GAA during the regular season.
CENTER
Evgeny Kuznetsov, WAS vs. PIT ($7,700): Vegas and San Jose were both great defensively during the opening round, and Vegas was strong defensively at home all season. That makes it really hard to choose anybody from that game other than forwards. As such, everybody is going to be chosen from the Capitals-Penguins showdown. That includes Kuznetsov, who had eight points and 28 shots on net in six games against the Blue Jackets. The Russian also had 83 points during the regular season.
Derick Brassard, PIT at WAS ($4,800):Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are both quite expensive, and Malkin also is banged up and may not even be able to play. That could mean more ice time for Brassard. The center had three points during the first round, and during his last seven regular-season games he had six points. Though Braden Holtby was impressive against Columbus, he had a 2.99 GAA and .907 save percentage during the regular season.
WING
Jake Guentzel, PIT at WAS ($6,600): Guentzel was the breakout start of the first round, tallying 13 points in six games. That won't continue, but as long as he's playing on Sidney Crosby's wing, he'll be just fine. As previously noted, Holtby had a 2.99 GAA and.907 save percentage this season.
Patric Hornqvist, PIT at WAS ($6,300): Hornqvist returned with a vengeance from a two-game absence, registering a goal and two assists in Game 6 against the Flyers. He now has an 11-game point streak wherein he's notched a whopping eight goals and seven assists. You can always count on the Swedish winger to put pucks on net — he had 247 shots on goal in 70 games.
T.J. Oshie, WAS vs. PIT ($5,600): Oshie had four points during the first round, all on the power play. He also ended the regular season hot, notching 11 points in his last 11 games. The Penguins struggled defensively on the road, posting a 3.37 GAA away from home.
DEFENSEMEN
Dmitry Orlov, WAS vs. PIT ($4,200): Orlov was consistent against the Blue Jackets, as he had two shots on goal in every single game. He also has three points over his last two contests. As mentioned earlier, the Penguins had a 3.37 GAA on the road this year, which tied for sixth highest in the NHL.
Matt Niskanen, WAS vs. PIT ($4,000): It's tricky when there are only two games on the slate and one of them projects to be low scoring. Unless you want to gamble on a bottom-six forward having a surprise game, you have to go with the big names. So maybe you can try and save a little cash on defensemen, who are generally cheaper anyway. Niskanen notched seven goals and 22 assists in 68 games this season and had two points in the first round.
