This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
What does a new week have in store for us? Well, for starters, four NHL games Monday. It's an interesting mix of teams, but some names certainly stick out, for better or worse. As such, here are some players to target, and some others to avoid, on Monday's slate.
GOALIE
Tuukka Rask, BOS at OTT ($32): Boston and Ottawa are pretty evenly matched teams. Both teams have also played well recently, although the Bruins have been slightly better, as they are 8-2-0 in their last 10 games. The Bruins have also been impressive at preventing shots, as they've only allowed 26.4 shots on net per contest. That's the second-fewest in the NHL. Rask has had some struggles, but over his last six games he's posted a 1.82 GAA and a .931 save percentage. He's also on the cheaper side, which means you can save a couple bucks to spend elsewhere, even though Rask is a perfectly fine option in goal.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TAM vs. NYR ($30): The more expensive goalies are all at least decent options, so that leaves Vasilevskiy as the priciest but clearly questionable netminder. The Rangers have certainly been better than the Lightning this season, as New York has a plus-37 goal differential, while Tampa Bay's goal differential is a minus-1. New York has also been strong on the road, posting a 22-8-0 record in those games. On top of that, the Rangers have scored 3.18 goals per game, fourth most in the NHL. As for Vasilevskiy, he has a 2.69 GAA and a .913 save percentage.
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CENTER
Logan Couture, SAN at WPG ($22): Couture has averaged 7.4 fantasy points per game, having notched 21 goals and 22 points in 62 games. He's also been enjoying an excellent run of play, as he's tallied 16 points in his last 18 contests. The Jets have allowed 3.11 goals per game, fourth most in the NHL, and in February they allowed a league worst 3.73 goals per contest. Winnipeg also has the 26th-ranked penalty kill, and Couture has averaged 3:07 per game with the extra man.
CENTER TO AVOID
Tyler Seguin, DAL at WAS ($28): This is no knock on Seguin, who is having a great season. However, he's running into a formidable opponent in the Washington Capitals. The Caps have allowed a league low 2.03 goals per game, and they've also only allowed 27.9 shots on net per contest. They have been even better when Braden Holtby is in net, as he's got the lowest GAA in the NHL by a wide margin (1.89). Seguin is the priciest healthy center Monday, which means he will have to really excel to be worth those big bucks. Against Washington, it'll be hard for him to do that.
WING
Patrick Marleau, SAN at WPG ($19): Despite being at the tail end of his career, Marleau has shown plenty of life in his legs. Over his last 17 games he's tallied 17 points, and he's also notched 51 shots on goal in that time. As previously mentioned, Winnipeg has given up 3.11 goals per contest, and their penalty kill has been woeful. Marleau, on top of everything else, has tallied 12 power-play points while he's averaged 3:08 per game with the extra man.
Marcus Johansson, WAS vs. DAL ($15): As bad as Winnipeg has been defensively, Dallas has been even worse. They've allowed 3.20 goals per contest, and their penalty kill is the worst in the NHL. Johansson has started 35.8 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, averaged 2:47 of power-play time per game. He's already set a career high in goals (21) and he's averaged 6.0 fantasy points per game. That kind of fantasy production at this price, in such a great matchup, screams potential bargain.
WINGS TO AVOID
Mike Hoffman, OTT vs. BOS ($23): As noted earlier, the Bruins have allowed only 26.4 shots on net per game, and Rask's play in net has improved recently. Plus his career track record has shown him to be a tremendously talented goalie, so it's easier to believe in him without needing a particularly big sample size. Boston also has the second-ranked penalty kill in the league. Eighteen of Hoffman's 43 points, and 11 of his 19 goals, have come with the extra man, so Boston's potent penalty kill could end up stymying him.
Blake Wheeler, WPG vs. SAN ($23): The Sharks have been almost as good as the Capitals defensively. They've only allowed 2.32 goals and 27.4 shots on net per game. Aaron Dell is the projected starter for San Jose, and the Sharks have been even better with him in net (1.88 GAA, .935 save percentage). Wheeler's having a good year, but with teams like the Jets and Stars in action Monday, it's hard to justify paying this price for a player going against San Jose.
DEFENSE
Matt Niskanen, WAS vs. DAL ($19): Niskanen has tallied 122 shots on goal in 61 games, and the Stars have allowed 30.7 shots on net per contest. Considering that their goalies have a .895 save percentage collectively, putting shots on net tends to work out well against Dallas. Niskanen also has nine power-play points and Dallas, as mentioned earlier, has the worst penalty kill in the NHL. He's also blocked 77 shots, and Dallas has averaged 59.5 shot attempts per 60 minutes, which is sixth most in the league.
Brady Skjei, NYR at TAM ($17): Skjei has started 35.9 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, which is second most of any Ranger. He's seemingly been putting that starting position to good use, as he's tallied 11 points in his last 16 contests. Overall, he's notched 92 shots on net and 56 blocks shots in 64 games. The Lightning have allowed 2.77 goals and 30.1 shots on net per contest, and much of that came before they were sellers at the trade deadline, including dealing Ben Bishop.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Jacob Trouba, WPG vs. SAN ($19): The stellar defensive play of the Sharks, and the excellent netminding of Aaron Dell, was established earlier. That certainly makes this a difficult matchup for Trouba. The one area that San Jose hasn't been great is on the penalty kill, where they rank 14th. However, Trouba only has two power-play points, and he's averaged 1:35 per game with the extra man, so he may not be the man to take advantage of the Sharks' (relative) weakness.
Torey Krug, BOS at OTT ($18): Since returning to action, Craig Anderson has a 1.75 GAA and a .946 save percentage. The Senators also rank 11th on the penalty kill, and 18 of Krug's 42 points (plus four of his six goals), have come with the extra man. You also can't rely on Krug to add much fantasy value on the defensive end of the ice. He's only blocked 59 shots in 65 games.
