This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
Monday only has one game on the slate, which means Monday's daily fantasy contests have folded in with Tuesday's two games. That gives you six teams worth of players to choose from instead of two. That's not too shabby this time of the season. Here are some players that look like nice values, and some others I suggest you try and avoid.
GOALIE
Marc-Andre Fleury, PIT vs. WAS ($33): OK, so perhaps this is putting more emphasis on the small sample size of the postseason over the regular season. However, in the playoffs Fleury has a 2.37 GAA and a .934 save percentage. Plus, in his last 11 games of the regular season he had a .921 save percentage. Pittsburgh was also a stellar 31-6-4 at home during the regular season, and they just took two games on the road against the Capitals. Washington has had their struggles this postseason, and that increases Fleury's chances of picking up another win.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Henrik Lundqvist, NYR vs. OTT ($30): Sure, even with Lundqvist's six-goal disappointment in Game 2 he has a 2.15 GAA and a .933 save percentage in the playoffs. However, it does bring to mind the end of his regular season, when he had a 3.46 GAA and a .886 save percentage in his final six games. Overall, he had a 2.74 GAA and a .910 save percentage this year, making him one of the worst starting goalies among playoff teams by the numbers. On top of that, the Rangers oddly were worse defensively at home this year, allowing 2.90 goals per game, which was fourth worst in the NHL.
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CENTER
Derek Stepan, NYR vs. OTT ($17): Stepan has averaged 6.8 fantasy points per game, and he ended the regular season with seven points in his final eight games. He hasn't been quite that good in the playoffs, but he does have two goals in his last three games including one in Game 2 of this series. As New York's top center, Stepan has seen plenty of playing time in the postseason, as he's averaged 21:32 per game. The Senators allowed 2.80 goals per game on the road this year, and they just gave up five goals in their last contest. Ottawa also had the 27th-ranked penalty kill after the All-Star break, and Stepan notched 18 power-play points this year.
CENTER TO AVOID
Evgeny Kuznetsov, WAS at PIT ($21): Kuznetsov has averaged 6.2 fantasy points per game, which means there are several players who are less expensive who have better averages. He's had a pretty good postseason, although he has no power-play points in eight games. In fact, in his last 21 games he only has two points with the extra man, both assists. As noted earlier, Fleury has a 2.37 GAA and a .934 save percentage in the playoffs, and now he and the Penguins are headed home. Kuznetsov is the fourth most expensive center. If he was cheaper, or if this was another two-game slate of contests, this might be a different story, but neither of those things are the case.
WING
Phil Kessel, PIT vs. WAS ($25): Kessel started 40.6 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, second most of any Penguin, and he played a whopping 3:50 per game with the extra man. He's been on fire in the playoffs, as he has 11 points and 25 shots on goal in seven games. Braden Holtby, who was great during the regular season, has a 2.62 GAA and a .911 save percentage in the playoffs. That makes this matchup seem less worrisome, especially given how great Kessel has been this year.
Mark Stone, OTT at NYR ($18): After a bit of a goal drought, Stone has two goals in his last four games, including one in Game 2. He didn't have trouble scoring earlier in the year, as he notched 22 goals in 71 games, and he also notched 14 power-play points. The Rangers had the 26th-ranked penalty kill after the All-Star break, and as previously noted this was not Lundqvist's finest season. Stone has also tallied 22 shots on net in the playoffs, and if he keeps that up he may find the back of the net once again.
WINGS TO AVOID
Conor Sheary, PIT vs. WAS ($23): Sheary had a fine regular season, but the playoffs have been a different story. He has no goals in the postseason, no points, and only one shot on goal against the Capitals. In fact, Sheary has mostly found himself glued to the bench. He's averaged 10:35 per game in this series. If that continues to be the case, it will be immensely difficult for him to earn this price point.
Viktor Arvidsson, NAS vs. STL ($23): Arvidsson has yet to tally a point in this series, and perhaps that shouldn't be surprising. The Blues allowed a mere 1.88 goals per game after the All-Star break, and they also had the league's best penalty kill in that time. They also allowed only 28.4 shots on net per tilt, and a lot of Arvidsson's fantasy value comes from his ability to put the puck on the net. He's the most expensive Predators forward, and given St. Louis' defensive stoutness since Mike Yeo took over, there's reason to be concerned about this matchup, especially for a pricier player.
DEFENSE
John Carlson, WAS at PIT ($22): Carlson has tallied 26 shots on goal in eight games this postseason, a lofty number for a defenseman. The Penguins gave up 32.6 shots on net per game during the regular season, and that number is actually up to 37.9 in the playoffs. Additionally, Pittsburgh tallied 58.8 shot attempts per 60 minutes, sixth most in the NHL. Carlson blocked 127 shots in 72 games, and he's added 17 during the postseason.
Colton Parayko, STL at NAS ($16): Parayko didn't get a point in Game 3, which ended a three-game point streak. However, he did tally two shots on goal, as well as two blocked shots. He's averaged 6.2 fantasy points per game, making him the least-expensive player to average over 6.0 fantasy points per contest. Parayko tallied 188 shots on goal in 81 games, and he blocked 117 shots as well. In his last 11 games, he has 32 shots on net, and Nashville ranked eighth in shot attempts per 60 minutes (58.6).
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Alex Pietrangelo, STL at NAS ($22): The Predators have allowed the fewest goals per game in the playoffs, and that number got even lower when they held the Blues to one goal in Game 3. At home, the Predators only gave up 2.46 goals and 28.9 shots on net per contest, and obviously they've kicked that up a notch in the postseason. Pietrangelo has no goals in the playoffs, and in this series he's only tallied one shot on net in each game.
Ian Cole, PIT vs. WAS ($17): Cole has tallied a few assists in the postseason, but it seems like he's been a bit lucky on that front. He's averaged 5.7 fantasy points per game, and he has zero goals in his last 21 contests. Cole also sees essentially no time on the power play (he's averaged four seconds per game in the playoffs), and in four of his seven playoffs games he's notched zero shots on goal. Washington's playoffs have been disappointing, but this is a team that allowed the fewest goals per game in the NHL during the regular season. If they find anything approaching that form, it won't bode well for Cole.
