This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
Tuesday evening's Halloween slate features some hair-raising matchups that could lead to your doom if you don't choose wisely. Here some picks to help you survive the night…
Goalie
Henrik Lundqvist, NYR vs. VGK ($28)
Lundqvist returns to the starter's net Tuesday after riding the pine for the Rangers' last two games. While this doesn't sound great on the surface, it's worth noting that when King Henrik was benched for four games last season, he came back to allow just three goals total on his way to victories in his next three starts. With Vegas on a back-to-back, the price is right Tuesday.
Goalie to Avoid
Connor Hellebuyck, WPG @ MIN ($31)
While Hellebuyck has looked stellar to start the season, don't forget that he is the owner of a career .913 save percentage, which lowers to .910 in away games. With the Wild rolling at home and currently the only team to have scored more than two goals in a game against the Michigan native so far, Hellebuyck isn't worth the coin Tuesday.
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Center
Andreas Athanasiou, DET vs. ARI ($14)
After a contract dispute that caused him to miss the season's first 10 games, Athanasiou returned to the Detroit lineup and promptly found twine in his second game back. The 23-year-old has loads of offensive potential, as evidenced by his 18 goals last season, and has already established spots on the second line and second power-play unit. He's a bargain Tuesday against Arizona's league-worst penalty killing unit.
Center to Avoid
Boo Nieves, NYR vs. VGK ($17)
Nieves' price on Halloween night is truly frightening and should scare you more than someone shouting his first name. The Syracuse native posted three assists in his first game of the season Thursday, but is currently toiling in the Rangers' bottom six and averaging just 10:41 of ice time. It's tempting to go thematic for the last night of October, but playing Nieves could lead to more tricks than treats Tuesday.
Wing
Pavel Buchnevich, NYR vs. VGK ($17)
Buchnevich is on a heater in his last three games, recording three goals, an assist, and 11 shots. Interestingly, just one of those points came on the power play, where Buch has established himself as a specialist this season. Nevertheless, the Russian winger represents a nice play against a Vegas team playing its second game in as many nights and will be likely be starting its fourth-string goalie.
Gustav Nyquist, DET vs. ARI ($16)
As previously mentioned, Arizona's 68.97 penalty killing percentage is currently the worst such figure in the NHL. This makes for a prime situation for Nyquist on Tuesday after he recorded two points and eight shots on goal in his last two games, with one of those points coming with the man advantage.
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Wings to Avoid
Patrik Laine, WPG @ MIN ($28)
Laine enters Tuesday night's slate as the most expensive winger by a decent margin despite the fact that he's in the midst of a miniature slump -- the Finnish winger has no points and a minus-3 rating in his last three contests even while averaging 3:37 of ice time on the power play. Devan Dubnyk is no slouch, especially at home, so don't reach for Laine here.
Mats Zuccarello, NYR vs. VGK ($21)
Zuccarello's inconsistency this season has plagued his daily fantasy prospects -- the Norwegian winger has eight points, but they have come in only five of a possible 12 contests and he's also recorded no shots on goal in half of his games. At this price, Zuccarello isn't worth the boom-or-bust risk.
Defense
Jared Spurgeon, MIN vs. WPG ($17)
Spurgeon has enjoyed a nice run in his last four games, scoring a goal and adding four assists to go with a plus-2 rating. The 27-year-old continues to prowl the blue line on the Wild's power play and will look to continue his dominance on home ice, where he has accumulated half of his points this season while averaging 24:34 of ice time.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, ARI @ DET ($13)
The Coyotes finally attained their elusive first win of the season Monday when they beat the Flyers in overtime, and Ekman-Larsson was one of the beneficiaries, grabbing an assist and a plus-1 rating. OEL is the quarterback of the Arizona power play and has averaged a remarkable 4:22 of ice time with the unit this season, so he is worth his low price against a Detroit squad that has seen better days.
Defensemen to Avoid
Kevin Shattenkirk, NYR vs. VGK ($21)
Despite his outstanding offensive potential, Shattenkirk has done little to assuage fantasy owners' concerns lately -- the veteran blueliner has taken just four shots on goal in his last six games. For a guy that's averaging 21:09 of ice time, including 4:20 on the power play, Shattenkirk isn't delivering, especially at his expensive price point.
Tyler Myers, WPG @ MIN ($15)
Myers has watched his role with the Jets' defensive corps diminish as the season has progressed -- after averaging 22:23 of ice time in the first five games of the season, the Houston native averaged 19:25 in the next five and has found himself on the third defensive pairing. Myers' paltry two points on the season don't make him an appealing option on the road Tuesday.
