Yahoo DFS Hockey: Thursday Picks

There are only two games Thursday. Also, it's Thanksgiving south of the border, so to all the American readers out there…enjoy!

GOALIE

Carey Price, MTL vs. CAR ($42): Yes, Price is expensive, but there are only four goalies to choose from. Do you want to try and guess the winner of the Boston/Ottawa game, or do you want the safe bet? Sometimes the priciest player is also the best choice.

GOALIE TO AVOID

Cam Ward, CAR at MON ($25): You probably don't need to be told not to pick Ward. However, considering how well Tuukka Rask and Craig Anderson have played this year, it wouldn't really make sense to avoid either of them, leaving Ward is the only goalie left.

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Andrew Shaw, MON vs. CAR ($15):Alex Galchenyuk ($25) is really good, but he'll cost you. Shaw's taken 37 shots on goal in 20 games and is averaging 2:17 a night on the power play. He has a chance to have a nice game at a value price.

CENTER TO AVOID

Patrice Bergeron, BOS at OTT ($23): Anderson has a .928 save percentage this season. Bergeron has been a bit unlucky, but he still only has five points in 16 games. As the second most expensive center Thursday, Bergeron would have to find his form against a tough opponent to earn his price.

WING

Alexander Radulov, MON vs. CAR ($19): Radulov picked right back up where he left off after returning from a two-game absence. He has a seven game point streak and 17 total points in 18 games. Going up against the Hurricanes — who are 20th in goals allowed — bodes well for the former Predator.

Paul Byron, MON vs. CAR ($15): Yes, there are a lot of Canadiens on this list, but that's just the reality of a limited four-game slate. Byron has seven goals and five assists and is relatively cheap, which makes it feel like he has a better chance of paying off than some higher-priced Bruins and Sens.

WINGS TO AVOID

Bobby Ryan, OTT vs. BOS ($18): Ryan is dealing with a finger injury and may not play. Even if he does, Ryan only has six points, and Tuukka Rask has a .942 save percentage. A healthy Ryan would be a player to avoid — the fact he's banged up just takes that to the next level.

Brad Marchand, BOS at OTT ($27): The strong play of Anderson in net for the Senators has been mentioned previously. Marchand is having a great year, even if he has cooled down a bit. He's the most expensive winger on the docket, which means he's a prime letdown candidate on the road in Canada's capital.

DEFENSEMEN

Andrei Markov, MON vs. CAR ($17): Markov has been on an assist binge recently and now has 15 in 20 games. That includes seven helpers on the power play, where he should get plenty of opportunity to feast when the Canes end up in the sin bin.

Dion Phaneuf, OTT vs. BOS ($15): Defensemen don't need to score, or be as much of a scoring threat at least, to be useful for fantasy purposes. Phaneuf will take some shots on goal (he's logged 47 this season) and get in the way of some too (41 blocked shots). Phaneuf will allow you to diversify if you don't want all Canadiens, and he'll likely have plenty of shot blocking attempts against Boston.

DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID

Justin Faulk, CAR at MON ($18): Other than Erik Karlsson and Shea Weber, all the blueliners going Thursday are relatively closely priced. Faulk, though, has a tough matchup against Montreal, especially with Price and his .943 save percentage. Plus, Faulk doesn't block a ton of shots, so he likely won't help much there.

Torey Krug, BOS at OTT ($18): Krug only has one goal, and while he generated most of his value from helpers last season, he only has five of those in 2016-17. He has taken a lot of shots and is averaging more than three minutes a night on the power play, but just doesn't look like a good value against an improving Sens squad.