This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
The NHL scheduled got jostled a bit, but we've got three games on Sunday - including two teams playing the second leg of a back-to-back. In the playoffs, that usually means the same goalies in net. Here are some players to target, and to avoid, for your daily fantasy lineup.
GOALIE
Carter Hart, PHI at NYI ($34): This is really a battle between Hart and Varlamov, two goalies on the second leg of a back-to-back. Colorado and Dallas has been a high-flying series and the Canucks and Golden Knights are both also finishing off a back-to-back. In addition to Hart's stellar play everywhere but on the road this season, the Flyers only allowed a NHL-low 28.7 shots on net per game while the Islanders only managed 29.6 shots on goal per contest.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Pavel Francouz, COL at DAL ($33): Francouz looked excellent during the regular season by posting a 2.41 GAA and .923 save percentage. However, I wouldn't want to mess with the Stars right now. They've scored at least four goals in six of their last eight outings. On a related note, Francouz has posted a 3.99 GAA and .880 save percentage this series.
CENTER
Nazem Kadri, COL at DAL ($24): Kadri is enjoying the best postseason of his career by tallying seven goals and seven assists in 11 games. He owes a lot of that to Colorado's high-powered power play, as seven of his points have come with the extra man. While Anton Khudobin dazzled with a .930 save percentage during the regular season, he's slipped to a 2.75 GAA and .913 save percentage in the playoffs.
CENTER TO AVOID
Brock Nelson, NYI vs. PHI ($17): My overarching recommendation for Sunday is to avoid Flyers and Islanders players outside of goalies, given both defenses and the other two series' offensive environments. That includes Nelson, who hasn't registered a goal over his last six contests and also only managed seven power-play points this season.
WING
Jonathan Marchessault, VGK at VAN ($25): Marchessault wasn't as prolific as Max Pacioretty when it comes to putting pucks on goal, but he did have 235 shots across 66 games. The Canucks allowed 33.3 shots on net per contest, and they are also on a back-to-back. Vancouver will also almost certainly be starting Jacob Markstrom on consecutive days and he compiled a 2.75 GAA this year.
Alexander Radulov, DAL vs. COL ($19): Radulov started 61.4 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, highest on the Stars. While it took some time for him to get going these playoffs, he's recorded five points in his last three games. The Avalanche allowed 31.3 shots on net per contest this season, which is a concern with how Dallas's offense has played recently.
WINGS TO AVOID
Claude Giroux, PHI at NYI ($19): Giroux has had some rough spots this year, and was even dropped to the third line briefly during the postseason. He relied on the power play to do most of his damage, notching 20 of his 53 points with the extra man. The Islanders managed a middle-of-the-pack penalty kill, but they've kept Giroux off the score sheet on the power play so far.
Josh Bailey, NYI vs. PHI ($17): Bailey scored 14 goals in 68 games this year, but with a 14.9 shooting percentage that proved to be the highest of his career. He also only put 94 shots on goal. In the playoffs, he's fired 16 shots on goal in 12 games. Bailey has racked up some assists, but it was mostly against the Panthers and Capitals who started goalies with GAAs over 3.00 this season. Hart and the Flyers are a different story.
DEFENSE
Cale Makar, COL at DAL ($23): Makar started 62.3 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, highest on the Avalanche. That not enough? He also averaged 3:43 per game with the extra man. Even though the Stars produced the second-best GAA in the league during the regular season, they only ranked 17th on the penalty kill.
Esa Lindell, DAL vs. COL ($18): Behind Miro Heiskanen and John Klingberg, there's Lindell. He's been hot recently, tallying four points over his last six games. Even if Lindell's offensive numbers don't sustain, he adds value on the defensive end - especially against a high-powered offense like Colorado - with 12 blocked shots in this series.
DEFENSE TO AVOID
Alexander Edler, VAN vs. VGK ($19): Edler has posted a two-assist game in this series, but he only had 28 assists all season. The Swede also only averaged 1:12 per game with the extra man, which means he's not in line to take advantage of Vegas's 27th-ranked penalty kill. Edler's fantasy points tend to come from blocked shots, and won't provide much value unless he's blocking a ton of shots.
Ivan Provorov, PHI at NYI ($18): Provorov's offense has dropped a bit this postseason with only one goal and no more than one shot in seven of 12 outings. Barry Trotz defenses tend to be good at suppressing shots, and Varlamov posted a 2.62 GAA during the regular season.
