This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
Tomorrow, you probably have to go to work, but today, the NHL brings you eight games. The first one kicks off at 4:00 PM ET, so be sure to get your daily fantasy lineups set early. Here are some players to target, and some to avoid.
GOALIE
Scott Darling, CHI vs. DAL ($29): The Stars are going to be on the road for the second night of a back-to-back, and they are 4-8-4 away from home. The Blackhawks, meanwhile, are 11-2-3 at home. Dallas is also middle of the back in goals scored, while Darling has a .926 save percentage and a 2.23 GAA. For this price, he provides you with a good chance at a win.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Anthony Stolarz, PHI at DET ($31): Stolarz has played in one NHL game, and he stopped 29 of the 32 shots he faced against Calgary. The Flyers have been one of the worst teams at goal prevention, and they played Saturday. The Wings have had their struggles, but Jimmy Howard is expected back as the starter, which really helps their chance of winning. That, in turn, hurts Stolarz' chances of getting a win.
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CENTER
Mitch Marner, TOR vs. COL ($19): It certainly doesn't make you less excited about Marner that the Avalanche gave up 10 goals Saturday. However, even before that game they were 25th in goals allowed and 24th on the penalty kill. Marner's scoring has taken a bit of a dip, but he still has 19 points, and he's put 69 shots on goal in 26 games. This is certainly the kind of favorable matchup that could get him back to lighting the lamp.
CENTER TO AVOID
Kevin Hayes, NYR vs. NJD ($21): After a hot start, Hayes has snapped back to reality a bit, it would seem. He has one point in his last seven games, and in five of those games he had one shot or fewer. He also only plays 1:21 a night on the power play, so don't look there for him to turn his luck around. Cory Schneider's numbers aren't great this season (he only has a .911 save percentage), but since becoming a Devil, he's never had a save percentage worse than .921 for a season.
WING
Marian Hossa, CHI vs. DAL ($22): Dallas allows more goals per game than any other team, and those numbers weren't helped by the four goals they gave up to Philly on Saturday. Hossa's 14 goals are the product of an unsustainably high shooting percentage, but he plays 17:35 a night and he's got six power-play points, so clearly he can still contribute. The Stars also aren't the kind of team that tends to hurt a player's shooting percentage.
Anthony Mantha, DET vs. PHI ($15): Mantha has certainly taken a step forward this season after getting little action last year. He's averaging 16:52 per game, and 2:18 on the power play. Additionally, Mantha has put 34 shots on goal in 13 games, and he's tallied seven points. The Flyers, as previously mentioned, are 28th in goals allowed, and they are starting a rookie who will be playing his second NHL game. That all helps make Mantha enticing at this price.
WINGS TO AVOID
Alexander Steen, STL at MIN ($19): Minnesota is, as you may have heard, the best team in the league at goal prevention, and Devan Dubnyk has a stellar 1.66 GAA and .946 save percentage. That's daunting enough as is, but Steen is averaging 5.3 fantasy points per game, which is also fairly lackluster. His three goals on 37 shots in 22 games are responsible for that.
Kyle Palmieri, NJD at NYR ($20): The Rangers' willingness to turn to Antti Raanta while Henrik Lundqvist struggles does change things a bit. Raanta has been stellar, as he's notched a 1.83 GAA and .939 save percentage in King Henrik's stead. Palmieri, who scored a career-high 30 goals last season on a career-best shooting percentage, only has four goals in 25 games. That does not match up well with a red hot Raanta, as far as fantasy hockey is concerned.
DEFENSE
Morgan Rielly, TOR vs. COL ($16): As noted already, the Avalanche were 25th in goals allowed and 24th in penalty-kill percentage before they gave up 10 goals to Montreal while going 1-for-2 on the penalty kill. Rielly isn't a huge power-play contributor, but he does have 15 points, 55 shots on goal, and 49 blocks in 26 games. Colorado's paltry offense may not give Rielly many shots to block, but overall this is a great matchup for the reasonably priced blueliner.
Oscar Klefbom, EDM vs. WPG ($15): The Jets, who played last night, are 23rd in goals allowed and 25th in penalty-kill percentage. Klefbom plays 2:42 per game with the extra man, and he's put 68 shots on goal in 30 games. He's now played as many games as he did all of last year, and his numbers are relatively similar, except he's taken 20 more shots and he's seeing a lot more power-play time, two things that help a player contribute to your fantasy lineup.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Kevin Shattenkirk, STL at MIN ($20): The Wild's defensive prowess, and Dubnyk's league-leading numbers, have already been mentioned. Shattenkirk's numbers are very good this year, admittedly, and his shooting percentage (11.1) is the best of his career. He's not a terrible choice, but there are similarly productive players in better matchups. In fact, if you really wanted a Blues blueliner, Alex Pietrangelo is averaging more fantasy points per game (6.6 to 6.3) and will cost you $1 less.
Andrew MacDonald, PHI at DET ($16): There aren't a lot of defensemen in the upper echelon that look particularly sketchy, but MacDonald does stick out as being pricier than perhaps he should be. Almost all his fantasy value has come from blocked shots, as he's only taken 13 shots on goal and doesn't play on the power play. The Red Wings are second-to-last in shots per game, so blocked shots may be hard to come by, and if you thought maybe MacDonald might break through offensively, Howard and his .942 save percentage are expected to start for Detroit.
