There are three games on tap Thursday. Toronto hosts Tampa Bay with the Maple Leafs up 3-1 and trying to clinch the best-of-seven series. The Rangers are in New Jersey with the series tied at 2-2, while Vegas needs a win in Game 5 at home to eliminate Winnipeg from the Stanley Cup playoffs. Below, you’ll find suggested options for crafting an effective lineup.
GOALIE
Akira Schmid, NJ vs. NYR ($26): Schmid has taken over as the Devils’ No. 1 goaltender, winning the last two games on the road. New Jersey returns home tied at 2-2, as Schmid gave up only two goals on 59 shots at Madison Square Garden. Schmid was 9-5-2 with a 2.13 GAA and .922 save percentage during the regular season, so his outstanding play in the playoffs is no surprise.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TB at TOR ($27): Vasilevskiy has been mediocre in the playoffs as the Lightning are trailing 3-1 in the best-of-seven series. He has given up 19 goals on only 132 shots versus the Maple Leafs thus far, a far cry from his regular-season performance when he was 34-22-4 with a 2.65 GAA and .915 save percentage. Toronto is making it very difficult for Vasilevskiy, getting players to the front of the net and screening the Tampa Bay netminder. He needs a big performance in Game 5 if the Lightning want to extend the series and that may be too much to ask from the netminder.
CENTER
Jack Hughes, NJ vs. NYR ($32): Hughes has three goals in four games versus the Rangers, as the Devils have managed to find the back of the net only seven times in four contests. The 21-year-old budding superstar took his game to a new level this season, scoring 43 times while adding 56 assists in 78 games. Hughes in New Jersey’s top offensive threat.
CENTER TO AVOID
Mika Zibanejad, NYR at NJ ($32): The Devils have managed to hold Zibanejad to only two assists in four games. He has been unable to light the lamp in his last nine games, although he did end the regular season with eight helpers in his last five contests. Zibanejad had his best season in his 12-year NHL career in 2022-23, picking up 91 points, including 39 goals, but he needs to start scoring in the postseason if the Rangers have any hopes of advancing in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
WING
Mitchell Marner, TOR vs. TB ($31): Marner is tied for second place in NHL playoff scoring with 10 points. He has two goals and eight assists, and his 2.50 points-per-game average leads the entire league heading into Thursday’s action. He finished the season with 99 points and had regular season success against the Lightning, scoring twice and adding an assist in two games. Marner excelled on the power play with nine tallies and 36 points this season.
Vladimir Tarasenko, NYR vs. NJ ($17): Tarasenko was pointless in two games in New Jersey, but returns home, where he has two goals in a pair of victories last week. Tarasenko managed only 18 goals and 50 points in 69 games this season, split between the Rangers and St. Louis, but he has six 30-plus goal seasons in the NHL in his 11-year NHL career. He is nicely priced Thursday.
WINGS TO AVOID
Kyle Connor, WPG at VGK ($24): Connor has two goals and an assist in four games thus far in the playoffs, but he is missing his center as Mark Scheifele is out of action with an upper-body injury, while defenseman Josh Morrissey is missing with a lower-body injury. That’s 40 percent of the top Winnipeg power play that will be missing in action Thursday, severely hampering Connor’s ability to score. Connor had 32 goals and 81 points in 82 games this season.
Artemi Panarin, NYR vs. NJ ($26): Panarin is stuck in a three-game point drought after picking up a pair of assists in the Rangers’ opening game victory. While the 31-year-old winger has had outstanding success at the NHL level during his eight-year career, with 216 goals and 445 assists in 590 games, his success in the playoffs has been less than stellar, scoring 16 times and picking up 30 assists in 54 career games. He is overpriced Thursday.
DEFENSE
Adam Fox, NYR at NJ ($24): Fox was held without a point in two games in New Jersey, but he returns home for Game 5 where he had six assists in two games. Fox had 12 goals and 72 points – eighth best among defensemen. The Rangers need Fox to lead the team the way he did in the first two games of the series, otherwise the Rangers are in trouble.
Morgan Rielly, TOR vs. TB ($18): Rielly has been spectacular in his last three games, scoring twice on the road while adding four assists at home in Game 2. He has regained his scoring touch in the postseason after a lackluster regular season, where he scored only four times while adding 37 assists in 65 games.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Dougie Hamilton, NJ vs. NYR ($24): Hamilton smashed his career bests with 22 goals and 74 points this season, but was held pointless in Games 1 and 2 at Madison Square Garden, the site of Game 5. Hamilton excelled at home in Games 3 and 4 with a goal and two assists. He had 275 shots on goal in 2022-23, also a career high, but the Rangers have managed to hold him to only six shots on goal in four games during the playoffs.
Shea Theodore, VGK vs. WPG ($19): Theodore has three assists in four games versus the Jets in the playoffs, with all three points coming on the road. He returns home Thursday where he managed three shots on net with nary a point in the opening two games of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Theodore is a bit pricey Thursday and there are better options on the blueline.
