This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Alright, it's time for things to kick up a notch. The first round of the NHL playoffs ended Sunday. The second round begins Monday with the Toronto Maple Leafs hosting the Florida Panthers. It's the defending champs versus the… very much not the defending champs. Been a minute since the Leafs hoisted the Cup, as you may have heard. The puck drops at 8 p.m. EDT.
For DFS purposes, you get a salary outlay of $50,000 for six players. One is your Captain, and he earns 1.5 times the points, though with an elevated salary. You can pick a goalie if you want as well. When I was doing single-game lineups for the two Game 7s of the first round, I had zero interest in any of the goalies. With Anthony Stolarz and Sergei Bobrovsky, I feel a bit different, but let's see what I ended up with.
CAPTAIN
Sam Reinhart, FLA at TOR ($12,900): Well, just to note it here, I didn't end up going with either goalie. These teams ended up allowing the fewest shots on net per game in the first round, though the Blues and Jets going into multiple overtimes in Game 7 played a role in that, but neither Bobrovsky nor Stolarz were great. Both were good, and Stolarz was strong at home, but neither put together a series for the Conn Smythe resume. So, with that said, why Reinhart for my Captain?
Well, he's one of the elite goal scorers in the world, having tallied at least 31 goals in all four of his seasons with the Panthers. He has six points in five games in the first round, and that was with Andrei Vasilevskiy in the opposing goal. Reinhart also put at least three shots on net in a game three times in that series. The Maple Leafs were stingy against the Senators, but allowed the eight-most shots on goal per contest in the regular season.
FLEX
William Nylander, TOR vs. FLA ($8,800): Nylander iced the Senators with two goals and an assist in Game 6. It was his third game with multiple points in the series. That's not surprising. While Auston Matthews may overshadow him, for four seasons in a row Nylander has notched at least 40 goals, and also at least 250 shots on net. Plus, he had four power-play points in the first round after having 30 in the regular season. In the playoffs, when scoring can be at the premium, sometimes the power play is the best pathway to success.
Sam Bennett, FLA at TOR ($8,000): Bennett missed less time than usual this season, even if he did miss six games, helping him manage 25 goals. He also put 241 shots on net, an impressive number to be sure. Bennett had 16 shots on target over the final four games of the first round, and this season the Maple Leafs gave up 29.3 shots on goal per contest.
Matthew Knies, TOR vs. FLA ($7,200): There was some bandying about Knies as the proverbial Fifth Beatle alongside the Maple Leafs' so-called "Core Four." He plays alongside two of those guys, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, on the top line for Toronto. Knies made the most of his opportunity this season, notching 29 goals, and then he added three more goals against the Senators here in the postseason.
Seth Jones, FLA at TOR ($6,800): Jones was playing plenty of minutes as is, but with Aaron Ekblad set to miss one more game due to his suspension, he could be seeing a lot of ice time against the Maple Leafs in Game 1. He played over 26 minutes in each of the final two games of the first round and I presume that will be the case against to start this series. Whether or not that yields offense for Jones I don't know, but the opportunity will be there, and Jones has produced in the past. This was his third season in a row notching over 30 points, and he did that in only 63 games this year.
Anton Lundell, FLA at TOR ($6,000): You know, all things considered, if you were to ask me who I think wins Monday I'd say I'm leaning the Leafs. However, that's just a lean, and the way the salaries for the players were set, I ended up liking a lineup with four Panthers to two Leafs. Lundell may be a third-line center, but he had 17 goals and 28 assists this season. The Finn also ended the first season on a high note. He had five points and six shots on net over the final two games.
