I'm writing this piece Wednesday evening, in the aftermath of Florida's overtime win at TD Garden. Wow. Lest you forgot, Sergei Bobrovsky has won two Vezina Trophies, and he was far more of the story in this contest than anyone else. The "homies" in Boston gave two of the three stars to Bruins, not to Bob (44 saves on 47 shots, and several game-savers), and not to Carter Verhaeghe (three assists on the Panthers' four scores). To be entirely fair, Boston dominated the play – – which made Bobrovsky's performance stand out even more. Every game in the playoffs is judged by the biased eye of each viewer, but as a Penguins fan, I played golf – as I should. It was fun to watch a tense elimination match, though my New England friends probably wouldn't agree.  

Turning to two different elimination games tonight, it's Toronto's chance to knock out the Lightning, and advance to the second round for the first time since 2004. Three thoughts: first, the current NHL draft class wasn't even born in 2004. Second and most critically, Auston Matthews is eligible for a contract extension this offseason, and I don't believe he'd re-sign with the Leafs – regardless of the money – if they lose again. And third, Tampa is a proud team with one of the best goalies in hockey. They will come to play. 

For DFS, yes, my play is Andrei Vasilevskiy ($7200), along with Brayden Point ($6900). I'm not making friends in Toronto today. Ilya Samsonov has played well at home, maybe too well, and I'm betting the visitors. Game 6 is Saturday.  

New York Rangers vs. New Jersey Devils has been a series hard on the fans – the home side has yet to record a single win… and I'm thinking that pattern may hold. The Rangers are the deeper team, the more experienced team, and Igor Shesterkin has yet to have his best stuff.  Akira Schmid clearly was the better netminder at Madison Square Garden, and I'd love to have him rostered in a dynasty league, but it's a big ask to beat the Blueshirts four times. Artemi Panarin ($5700) has had his chances each game, with no goals, nine shots, and several more into the near post and side-netting.  His frustration ends tonight. I added Vladimir Tarasenko ($4700) and Jacob Trouba ($4900) from the second power-play for a three-man stack.

And finally, an elimination game. Playing without Mark Scheifele, Josh Morrissey, and maybe game-time decision Nikolaj Ehlers, the Jets are simply overmatched. Connor Hellebuyck can only hold Vegas off for so long, but the Knights' shot barrage will carry the team into the first of 15 playoff handshake lines.  Chandler Stephenson ($4100) has shown his ability to lead his line, and has six points, ten hits, and leads Vegas in faceoff stats through four games. Alex Pietrangelo ($5900), Mark Stone ($5400) and Jonathan Marchessault ($5200) all fit into my DraftKings' salary structure.  

Hoping for great games, now through early June!