Mitchell Marner leads the daily fantasy hockey playoff picks

There are three matches on Thursday. Toronto hosts Tampa Bay with the Maple Leafs leading 3-1 and looking to clinch the best-of-seven series. The Rangers are in New Jersey with the series tied 2-2, while Vegas needs a Game 5 win at home to eliminate Winnipeg from the Stanley Cup playoffs. Below you will find suggested options for creating an effective configuration.

KEEPER

Akira Schmid, NJ vs. NYR ($26): Schmid has become the Devils’ number one goalkeeper and has won the last two games away from home. New Jersey returns home with a 2-2 tie as Schmid allowed just 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.

AN AVOIDABLE MAL VALUATION

Andrei Vasilevski, TB, TOR ($27): Vasilevskiy has been mediocre in the playoffs as the Lightning trail 3-1 in the best-of-seven series. He has given up 19 goals so far on just 132 shots against the Maple Leafs, a far cry from his regular season performance when he was 34-22-4 with a 2.65 GAA and .915 save percentage. Toronto makes it very difficult for Vasilevskiy by getting players to the front of the net and screening Tampa Bay’s netminder. He’ll need a big performance in Game 5 if the Lightning want to keep the streak going, and that might be too much to ask of the netminder.

CENTER

Jack Hughes, NJ vs. NYR ($32): Hughes has three goals in four games against Rangers as the Devils have managed to find the back of the net just seven times in four games. The 21-year-old budding superstar took his game to the next level this season, scoring 43 goals and adding 56 assists in 78 games. Hughes in New Jersey’s greatest offense.

A CENTER TO AVOID

Mika Zibanejad, NYR at NJ ($32): The Devils have managed to hold Zibanejad to just two assists in four games. He hasn’t been able to light the lamp in the last nine games, despite finishing the regular season with eight assists in his last five contests. Zibanejad had his best season of his 12-year NHL career in 2022-23, with 91 points, including 39 goals, but he will need to start scoring in the postseason if the Rangers have any hopes of making the Stanley Cup playoffs.

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WING

Mitchell Marner, TOR vs. TB ($31): Marner is in second place in the NHL playoffs with 10 points. He has two goals and eight assists, and his 2.50 points per game average leads the entire league Thursday. He finished the season with 99 points and excelled in the regular season against the Lightning, scoring twice and adding an assist in two games. Marner excelled on the power play with nine points 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 two wins last week. Tarasenko managed just 18 goals and 50 points in 69 games between the Rangers and St.Louis this season, but has six 30+ goal seasons in the NHL during his 11-year NHL career. He is reasonably priced on Thursday.

WINGS TO AVOID

Kyle Connor, WPG in VGK ($24): Connor has two goals and an assist in four games so far in the playoffs, but will be without a center with Mark Scheifele out with an upper-body injury, while defenseman Josh Morrissey is out with a lower-body injury. That’s 40 percent of Winnipeg’s top power plays missing Thursday, severely hampering Connor’s ability to score. Connor scored 32 goals and 81 points in 82 games this season.

Artemi Panarin, NYR vs. US ($26): Panarin is stuck in a three-game point drought after picking up a pair of assists in the Rangers’ opener win. While the 31-year-old winger has had great 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, with 16 goals and an up. 30 assists in 54 games. He is overpriced on Thursday.

DEFENSE

Adam Fox, NYR in NJ ($24): Fox was held scoreless in two games in New Jersey, but returns home for Game 5, where he had six assists in two games. Fox had 12 goals and 72 points, eighth among defensemen. The Rangers need Fox to lead the team like he did in the first two games of the series or the Rangers are in trouble.

Morgan Rielly, TOR vs. TB ($18): Rielly has been impressive in his last three games, scoring twice on the road while adding four assists at home in the second game. He’s regained his scoring after a late season in which he scored just four times and added 37 assists. 65 in a game.

DEFENSES TO AVOID

Dougie Hamilton, NJ vs. NYR ($24): Hamilton crushed a career-high 22 goals and 74 points this season, but was held for naught 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 scored 275 goals in 2022-23, also a career high, but the Rangers have managed to hold him to just six shots on goal in four games during the playoffs.

Shea Theodore, VGK vs. WPG ($19): Theodore has three assists in four games against the playoff-bound Jets, with all three points coming on the road. He returns home Thursday, where he had three shots on net and a point in the opening two games of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Theodore is a bit expensive Thursday and there are better options on the blueline.