This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
The week ramps up with 11 games on the NHL slate. Let's sort through the possibilities to find some players to target and avoid.
GOALIE
Carey Price, MON at COL ($34): The Canadiens head to Denver to battle the Avalanche, the team with the worst goal differential in the league at minus-69. Price has dropped back-to-back games, and three of his past four outings, while Montreal is playing their fourth game in six days, and they're 1-6 in their past seven. Even so, Price is a steal as the seventh most expensive netminder on the board. The Avs have dropped four straight against teams with an overall winning record.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Ryan Miller, VAN at NAS ($37): Miller has allowed 10 goals over his past two games, and he has dropped four straight starts. Also working against him is the fact the Canucks have also won just 17 of their past 57 road games, and the home team has won four straight in this series. Miller has the fifth highest salary on the board, but even the biggest contrarian will steer clear of the veteran on this night.
[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Hockey contest now]
CENTER
Mitch Marner, TOR vs. DAL ($16): The rookie rolls into Tuesday's contest with a point in four straight outings. He kicked off the streak with a goal and assist in the first meeting with the Stars on Jan. 31 in Dallas, and he has lit the lamp in three of the past four games. Marner is a solid value against Stars goaltending, as they have allowed a league-high 169 goals through 53 games (3.19 goals per game).
CENTER TO AVOID
Jordan Staal, CAR at WAS ($15): Staal has been performing admirably over the past couple of weeks, potting a pair of goals with five points and a plus-3 rating over his past five outings. However, facing Washington's Braden Holtby is a tall order, as he is 10-4-0 with a 1.84 GAA in his career against the Hurricanes. The All-Star netminder is also unbeaten since Dec. 29, and the Caps have allowed the fewest goals in the league.
WING
Alexander Radulov, MON at COL ($20): Radulov is trending upward after posting multi-point performances in four of his past eight outings. He should have another quality stat line against the team with the worst goal differential in the NHL. The Avalanche also have the second worst high-danger save percentage in the NHL at .835. Montreal's offense hasn't really been clicking lately, but the team's struggles certainly are no fault of Radulov.
Jason Zucker, MIN at WPG ($16): Zucker has become an outstanding story this season, pairing with Mikael Granlund and Mikko Koivu to form one of the most underrated and dynamic scoring lines in the league. Zucker also leads the NHL with a plus-33 rating. The Jets have had tremendous difficulty on defense and in net, yielding at least three goals in 12 straight games. Minnesota's offense has potted at least two goals in 34 of their past 35 games, so expect a strong performance from Zucker and company.
WINGS TO AVOID
Johnny Gaudreau, CGY at PIT ($22): Gaudreau and the Flames are the heaviest underdogs on the board Tuesday evening, and Johnny Hockey's minus-17 rating might be set to get a lot worse as a result. He also has a minus-12 rating in 22 road games this season, as opposed to minus-5 in 23 games at home. His salary is pumped up by the fact he carries a four-game point streak (one goal, five assists) into play. Gaudreau also has three goals and an assist in four career meetings against the Pens, but a poor plus-minus will undercut any offensive production.
Gabriel Landeskog, COL vs. MON ($15): Landeskog has failed to light the lamp in any of his last six games dating back to Jan. 19, and he hasn't scored in front of the home fans since Jan. 14. He has managed just nine goals and 18 points this season, putting him on pace for the worst point total of his career. He has also managed just three power-play points with a 10.1 shooting percentage, his worst since the 2012-13 season. While Colorado is catching Montreal at the right time, with the Habs just 3-5-2 in their past 10 outings, it won't make a difference.
DEFENSE
Ian Cole, PIT vs. CGY ($17): Cole is a solid value at this price level, thanks to his defensive skills. He has managed a plus-21 this season, and he's sixth in the NHL with 123 blocked shots through 51 games. With Yahoo giving one point per blocked shot, and two points for each positive plus-minus point, it's like Cole starts off with an automatic two or three points. If he is able to add any offense, and there is a good chance he will against the defensively-challenged Flames, it's an added bonus.
Kris Letang, PIT vs. CGY ($26): Letang has been in and out of the lineup over the past several weeks, but when he's been on the ice he has been awfully good, scoring 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in his last 11 games. The Flames have yielded 3.75 goals over their past eight outings, so Letang and the Pens are likely to get plenty of scoring chances. Calgary ranks 19th in the league in penalty kill percentage, too, so the Pens should see success on the man advantage.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Dustin Byfuglien, WPG vs. MIN ($23): Byfuglien has failed to score a goal in nine straight games dating back to Jan. 14. In addition, the Jets have given up three or more goals in 12 straight games, killing his plus-minus rating. He has been even or in the negative in 13 of the past 21 games, making him terribly overrated considering he almost needs to have a multi-point night just to break even on his DFS salary. Byfuglien, incidentally, has only managed three multi-point games in the past 22 outings.
Jeff Petry, MON at COL ($19): Petry was recently sidelined due to a bout of the flu. He has played three games since returning, but he is scoreless with just two shots on net. His value to fantasy owners is in the blocked shot department, and he has managed two or more blocks in eight straight outings. However, he has been offering little else lately and is overvalued at this salary. The last time Petry lit the lamp was Dec. 23, a span of 19 games.
