This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
Tuesday's eight-game NHL slate promises to be a good one, with three of the league's four division leaders scheduled to take the ice. While the Kings should have their hands full against the high-scoring Stars, Washington and Chicago will be heavy favorites facing Columbus and Nashville, respectively. The aforementioned high-performing teams have plenty of players who consistently provide value, but a look around the rest of the league reveals a few more.
GOALIE
Jonas Hiller, CGY at NJ ($25) - Hiller is still the cheapest goaltender available despite giving up just one goal on 52 shots in his last two starts. You may as well ride the Swiss veteran while he's hot, especially since New Jersey's 29th-ranked offense doesn't figure to generate too many quality chances against him. You won't find a more economical No. 2 goaltender option Tuesday.
Goalie to Avoid:
Jonathan Quick, LA vs. DAL ($37) - Quick and the Stars are heading in opposite directions -- Dallas is 3-5-2 in its last 10 games while Quick is 7-1-1 with a 1.55 GAA in his last nine starts. While recent trends may suggest rolling with Los Angeles' goaltender in this matchup, playing the man facing the league's top offense still isn't a smart idea.
CENTER
Ryan Johansen, NSH vs. CHI ($22) - Johansen has two goals and seven points in five games since debuting with the Predators on Jan. 8, and he tied his season high with six shots on goal against the Blackhawks last Tuesday. Seeing Chicago and its 11-game winning streak on the other end of the ice may scare some people from using Johansen, but that just means those who do roll with the high-scoring center will be the select few to reap the rewards should he pull through with a strong game. If his 71-point 2014-15 season is any indication, a motivated Johansen is likely to deliver.
Center to Avoid:
Marcus Johansson, WAS at CLS ($20) - Johansson has scored in back-to-back games, but it's going to be tough for him to keep up that pace for long while serving as Washington's third-line center. The Swede has gotten less than 16 minutes of ice time in five straight games, and he will be constantly fighting an uphill battle to stay productive as long as Jason Chimera and Tom Wilson are his linemates.
WING
Rick Nash, NYR vs. VAN ($23) - Nash's 4.6-shot per game pace over the last five far exceeds his season-long mark of 3.3, and the prolific regular-season scorer figures to capitalize on his increased aggressiveness soon enough. Vancouver's below-average defense will have its hands full with the power forward, and Nash's three points in three games against the Canucks since 2014-15 suggest they haven't quite figured out how to contain him.
Sam Bennett, CGY at NJ ($18) - Bennett has scored in three straight games, posting an incredible six goals on 12 shots over that span. That pace obviously isn't sustainable over a long sample size, but the confident teenager shouldn't have a problem continuing to generate chances for one more game against an injury-riddled Devils squad that has dropped five of its last seven. His $18 price is more than reasonable for a player this hot.
Wings to Avoid:
Brandon Saad, CLS vs. WAS ($21) - Saad hasn't scored a goal since Jan. 2, but his surprisingly respectable minus-1 rating in that span has allowed him to maintain an exactly even mark for the season despite playing for the cellar-dwelling Blue Jackets. Tuesday's matchup with the NHL's top squad poses a big risk of moving that number into the negatives for the most expensive winger on the league's last-place team.
Ondrej Palat, TB vs. EDM ($18) - Palat's recent play has been consistently poor, as the winger has managed to top 4.0 fantasy points just twice in the last 10 games while exceeding 2.0 only three times. The Oilers are giving up just 2.0 goals per game over their last eight, so chances are Palat's run of mediocrity will continue against them.
DEFENSE
Ryan McDonagh, NYR vs. VAN ($20) - If McDonagh's New Year's resolution was to play better individual hockey, it's certainly working so far. He has come alive in 2016, with five assists already in just seven games played. New York's captain is also taking (2.1) and blocking (2.4) more shots per game in that span than he did through the season's first 38 contests, in which he averaged just 1.7 shots and 1.9 blocks per game. He has scored four of his five goals and 13 of his 22 points at home this season, so McDonagh's odds of getting onto the scoresheet for the sixth time since the start of the new year look pretty good.
Shayne Gostisbehere, PHI vs. TOR ($18) - Gostisbehere has been terrific through 25 games this season, with seven goals, nine assists and a plus-6 rating. In two games since returning from a lower-body injury, the young defenseman is scoreless but has totaled 11 shots on goal. The Flyers realize they play their best hockey when the offensive-minded Gostisbehere is given room to roam, and Toronto's 23rd-ranked defense is going to have a much harder time containing the talented blueliner than the Rangers' and Red Wings' superior units did in his last two games.
Defensemen to Avoid:
Kris Russell, CGY at NJ ($18) - Russell's value stems primarily from blocking shots, but opportunities to do so figure to be limited against the only NHL team averaging less than 25 shots on goal per game. Since shot-blocking probably won't be a big factor in this game, higher-scoring teammates Mark Giordano ($26), T.J. Brodie ($18), Dougie Hamilton ($17) and Dennis Wideman ($16) are more sensible investments from the Calgary blueline alone.
Duncan Keith, CHI at NSH ($24) - Keith has looked surprisingly human against the Predators this season, averaging just 4.7 fantasy points per game in three prior meetings. Chicago's long-time division foe knows how to contain the team's top blueline asset, and goaltender Pekka Rinne's home splits (12-5-3 with a 2.10 GAA and .919 save percentage) suggest Keith's going to have a hard time delivering enough value to justify his hefty $24 price.
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