This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
It's a light Monday on the rinks around the NHL. There are only two games on the slate, so your choices will be meager for your daily fantasy lineup. However, some options are still better than others. Here are the guys I would target, and avoid, for DFS hockey purposes.
GOALIE
Carter Hutton, BUF vs. ARI ($33): Hutton struggled in his first year with the Sabres, but this season he's looked like the guy who played so well in St. Louis he got his first chance to start. The 33-year-old has a 2.27 GAA and .920 save percentage. Arizona has scored 3.10 goals per game, but it has been a paltry offense in the past. I feel like a little dose of skepticism is warranted about the Coyotes.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Darcy Kuemper, ARI at BUF ($35): This is a half-hearted choice. I like Hutton, I like Jacob Markstrom, and the Panthers are on the road for the second game of a back-to-back, so I know you aren't going that direction anyway. That just leaves Kuemper. He's played quite well, but he's on the road, and the Sabres have scored 3.42 goals per game. So yeah, maybe this isn't the best night for Kuemper.
CENTER
Bo Horvat, VAN vs. FLA ($19): I'm just letting you know right up front that I am stacking Canucks. Like I said, the Panthers are on the road for the second game of a back-to-back. They are also in the bottom five in GAA in the NHL. This is the clear matchup to target. As for Horvat specifically, he has six points in his last three games.
CENTER TO AVOID
Aleksander Barkov, FLA at VAN ($27): Barkov doesn't have a goal yet, which is notable, though he's racked up plenty of assists. However, you know by now the Panthers are on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back, and they are as far from home as you can get. The Canucks have a 2.40 GAA, and they also have the third-ranked penalty kill.
WING
J.T. Miller, VAN vs. FLA ($18): Miller is off to a hot start in his first season with the Canucks, as he has 11 points through 10 games. He's getting a ton of power-play time, as he's averaged 4:52 with the extra man. Miller has shown skill in that realm in the past, as he notched 20 power-play points last season. The Panthers have had a good penalty kill so far, but the circumstances of this game for them is a point in Miller's favor.
Josh Leivo, VAN vs. FLA ($12): Leivo has started 66.2 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, highest on the Canucks. He's been pretty active recently as well, as he's put four shots on goal in each of his last two outings. Samuel Montembeault has been good for the Panthers so far, but it's played in fewer than three full games. Plus, last year he had a 3.05 GAA and .894 save percentage.
WINGS TO AVOID
Phil Kessel, ARI at BUF ($20): Kessel's gotten off to a bit of a slow start for the Coyotes, at least when it comes to goal scoring. He's scored two goals in 10 games, both in the same game. The Sabres have a .923 save percentage as a team, so it may be a tricky night for Kessel to light the lamp once more.
Victor Olofsson, BUF vs. ARI ($20): Olofsson got a lot of love early in the season, but he's started to cool down. He's notched six goals on the year, but zero of them have come in his last five games. Also, even with this brief drought, the Swede still has a 24.0 shooting percentage. While I recommended avoiding Kuemper, it was about the Sabres in the abstract. I don't know if I'd bet on any single player for Buffalo.
DEFENSE
Alexander Edler, VAN vs. FLA ($22): When you think of a Vancouver defenseman, you think of Edler. He's notched six points through 10 games. The Swede also has 28 shots on goal and 26 blocked shots, so he can notch fantasy points for you on both ends of the ice.
Quinn Hughes, VAN vs. FLA ($15): Soon enough, though, Hughes will be the face of Vancouver's defense. In fact, he's already the top guy on the power play. The speedy youngster has four points in his last three games, and they've all come with the extra man. They give him a ton of opportunity, and I like that against the Panthers in this matchup.
DEFENSE TO AVOID
Keith Yandle, FLA at VAN ($17): Speaking of power-play mavens, that's basically Yandle's entire role at this point in his career. He's averaged 18:52 per game in ice time, but 3:37 of that comes with the extra man. Given that the Canucks have the third-ranked penalty kill, and their goalies have a .923 save percentage over all, this isn't the kind of game that Yandle can take advantage of.
Rasmus Ristolainen, BUF vs. ARI ($17): Ristolainen still plays a ton of minutes, but his role has been overtaken by Rasmus Dahlin. In fact, he's now down to 1:41 per game with the extra man after averaging over three minutes in each of the last four seasons. The Finn also only has nine shots on goal in his last seven games.
