We're down to four matchups for Round 2, and just two games most nights, like tonight. The strategy has to hold but stacking one team to win is crucial. Picking against the grain might be risky, but the reward will only be there for the risk-takers.   

STACK: No bigger "against the grain" play than the ST. LOUIS BLUES. Playing very simply for the Avalanche to get their first gut punch of the playoffs, although I do believe they'll win this series. I'm playing Ryan O'Reilly ($4300), Vladimir Tarasenko ($5600), Pavel Buchnevich ($4700), and David Perron ($5000), along with Justin Faulk ($4300) and Jordan Binnington ($7400). Now THAT'S a stack!!   

VALUE PLAYER(S): Taking the discounts above, I was able to add both Steven Stamkos ($6300) AND Nikita Kucherov ($6900), as – yes, I'm playing both away squads.   

FILL THE ROSTER:  Again, taking the least expensive "stack" allowed me decent flexibility, so my last pick, Devon Toews ($5000) was chosen for his +/- play, even in the face of the Blues' 4 goals tonight.   

LAST WEEK, my picks of Tarasenko (hat trick, +3, 5 SOG), Vincent Trocheck (G+2A, +2), and Jacob Slavin (G, +1, 3 SOG) rescued my "miss" on Vasilevskiy for that night, and I finished high enough to profit……, so maybe I'm only a little crazy. We'll see.   

FINAL THOUGHTS: While Pittsburgh losing was never my hope, my two tickets for three more home games would've run me over $1000, and that's without the food, beer, and parking.    Nah, I'd far rather have paid all that and more!!

Comments/ concerns for my mental health??  @dokhockey