This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
At this point in the year, there are no busy nights in the NHL. That being said, there are only two games Monday, which is still fewer than we've been enjoying lately. The first game, a must-win contest for the Lightning against the Panthers, starts at 7 p.m. ET. Here are my recommendations for Monday's DraftKings contests.
SLATE PREVIEW
Nothing to report here. There are no questions about the goaltending choices for these four teams, and with Sam Bennett still all-but guaranteed to be out for the Panthers, no real notable questions about player health either.
GOALIE
Jake Oettinger, DAL at VGK ($7,800): Oettinger looked iffy in Game 1 of this series, but he's been in form for Games 2 and 3, which is in line with his performance going back to the end of the regular season. Over his last 14 games, he has a 1.76 GAA and a .931 save percentage, and Dallas only allowed 28.7 shots on net per contest. Vegas' offensive numbers from the regular season tell us some, but not everything, because its roster looks different now thanks to, um, some creative salary cap management, but for what it's worth the Golden Knights finished the regular season 13th in goals per game.
VALUE PLAY/ONE-OFF
Anton Lundell, FLA vs. TAM ($4,100): As I said, Bennett is not expected back for the Panthers just yet, and in his stead Lundell has been centering the second line. He's managed to pick up an assist in each of the last three games. Even though the Lightning won Game 4, Andrei Vasilevskiy allowed three goals, and he has a 3.15 GAA and an .899 save percentage over his last 10 starts.
FORWARD LINE STACK TO CONSIDER
Stars at Golden Knights
Roope Hintz (C - $5,200), Jason Robertson (W - $6,300), Wyatt Johnston (W - $5,400)
Due to injuries and poor runs of form, the Stars have jumbled their lineup some, leaving this as their first line. Like the Lightning, it's a "Let's put all our top guys together" ploy, and the Stars did manage to win Game 3 while putting 46 shots on net, even if that required overtime. Logan Thompson had a .908 save percentage this season, and I'd rather stack against him than Oettinger or Sergei Bobrovsky.
Hintz doesn't have a point yet in this series, but that's true of everyone that's lined up at center on Dallas' depth chart at the moment. At least Hintz has three 30-goal seasons in a row and two linemates who are in form. While Robertson "only" had 29 goals and 80 points this season, he hasn't had any issue solving the Golden Knights. He has at least one point in all three games of this series and has put nine shots on net as well. Johnston is the rising star for Dallas and the heir apparent as the team's No. 1 center. For now, he's playing wing to try and goose the offense. To that end, he scored two goals and put eight shots on net in Game 3, and he had an assist in Game 1 as well.
DEFENSEMAN
Brandon Montour, FLA vs. TAM ($5,100): Aaron Ekblad and Gustav Forsling are relied upon as the defensive duo that has to shoulder the load of tough minutes, matching up with top players from the opponent. Montour is the defenseman who has to, in turn, bring some offensive pop and man the point on the power play. He's put two shots on net in every game of this series, and he has three points over his last two outings. Montour also will see basically every second of power-play time for the Panthers. The Lightning had a top-five penalty kill during the regular season, but this is the playoffs.
