This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
All eight teams in action Friday are playing Game 2 of their opening playoff series. However, try not to read too much into one postseason performance. It still makes much more sense to look back at the regular season as we decide who to target and avoid in Yahoo! Daily Fantasy Hockey. The first day of the NHL playoffs may have been exciting, but you certainly can't call it a large sample size.GOALIE
Devan Dubnyk, MIN vs. STL ($23): No, Dubnyk was not the same goalie down the stretch that he was early in the season, but the fact remains that he posted a 2.25 GAA and .923 save percentage on the whole. We've obviously seen stretches of dominance from him in the past, so these numbers weren't fluky. Dubnyk did lose the opener in overtime, but he only allowed two goals on 26 shots. The Blues only managed 28.4 shots on goal per game during the regular season, and the Wild are still at home Friday, where they've generally been very good. Despite that, Dubnyk is the cheapest goalie. Seems like a potential bargain.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Marc-Andre Fleury, PIT vs. CLM ($28): Alas, Matt Murray (lower body) will miss Game 2 after injuring himself in warmups before Game 1. That leaves Fleury to shoulder the load. Sure, he picked up the win in the series opener, but he also posted a 3.02 GAA and .909 save percentage this season, and the Penguins weren't a defensive dynamo this year, allowing 32.6 shots on goal per game, tied for third-most in the NHL. Fleury may have plenty of playoff experience, but he also has the worst numbers of any starting goalie Friday.
CENTER
Eric Staal, MIN vs. STL ($19): The Blues may have won Game 1, but they needed Jake Allen to play the game of his life. The Wild peppered Allen with 52 shots, and they averaged 3.21 goals per game during the regular season, second in the league. If St. Louis can't clamp down defensively, Minnesota is likely going to score more than one goal next time. Staal has been an integral part of that offense, as he delivered an excellent year after signing with Minnesota, including averaging 7.5 fantasy points per game. He also ended the regular season with 11 points in 11 games.
CENTER TO AVOID
Logan Couture, SAN at EDM ($21): Couture returned to action (wearing a cage) in Wednesday's Game 1 win after a seven-game absence. However, he only managed one shot on goal, and Couture totaled zero points and four shots on net in his final four regular-season games. The Oilers only allowed 2.52 goals per game this year, the NHL's eighth-best mark. They got even better after the All-Star break, letting up a mere 2.47 goals and 28.3 shots on net per contest.
WING
Brandon Saad, CLM at PIT ($20): Saad didn't get much power-play time this year, but he did start 36.0 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, fourth among Columbus forwards. He also notched 210 shots on goal, scoring 24 times in the process. As previously mentioned, the Penguins gave up 32.6 shots on net per game, and with Fleury in net instead of Murray, the picture is decidedly rosier for Saad.
Alexander Radulov, MON vs. NYR ($18): Henrik Lundqvist turned away all 31 shots he faced in Game 1, but he still had a mediocre .910 save percentage this season. He also ended the campaign with a 3.46 GAA and .886 save percentage in his final six games. Meanwhile, Radulov started a robust 38.5 percent of his shifts
in the offensive zone, second on the Habs, and he averaged 2:54 per game on the power play. The Rangers had the 26th-ranked penalty kill after the All-Star break, and Radulov tallied 16 power-play points in 76 games; that's a good formula.
WINGS TO AVOID
Cam Atkinson, CLM at PIT ($26): Fleury or no Fleury, Atkinson remains quite cold. He only put one shot on net in the series opener, he has just two points in his last 13 games, and he .hasn't tallied a power-play point in 20 games. Despite all that, he's tied for the honor of second-most-expensive winger Friday. That's a little rich for a guy who's struggled enough to be benched late in the season. A playoff series against the defending Cup champs doesn't offer the ideal opportunity to turn things around.
Chris Kreider, NYR at MON ($21): The Rangers won Game 1, but it wasn't Carey Price's fault that Montreal took the loss. He only allowed one goal on 30 shots, and Price has posted a 1.69 GAA and .938 save percentage in his last 20 games. The Canadiens only allowed 2.12 goals per tilt at home this season, and Kreider will be hard-pressed to solve Price as the Habs try to take the series to New York in a 1-1 tie.
DEFENSEMEN
Zach Werenski, CLM at PIT ($21): Werenski is back, and he's looking none the worse for wear. He played 25:19 in Game 1, notching six shots on goal. During the regular season, he averaged 2:49 per game with the extra man, tallying 21 power-play points in 78 games. The Penguins' penalty kill likely won't be as good with Fleury in net, and if Werenski keeps putting so many pucks on net, it wouldn't be surprising to see one light the lamp. Considering that he's averaged 7.0 fantasy points this year, this is not an unreasonable price for the stud rookie.
Ryan McDonagh, NYR at MON ($18): McDonagh was even better than Werenski, as he's averaged 7.1 fantasy points per game, and he's cheaper, too. As solid a playmaker as McDonagh is, the Canadiens may make things tough on him from an offensive perspective, but there's a whole other side of the ice in play here. Montreal attempted 59.7 shots per 60 minutes this year, which was fourth in the league; meanwhile, McDonagh blocked 160 shots, so he should definitely be able to get in front of a couple pucks. This is especially true in the playoffs, when games tend to get tighter and defenses clamp down.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Ryan Suter, MIN vs. STL ($19): Suter still plays a ton of minutes, but the production wasn't always there this season, including only one goal in his last 26 games. The Wild's offense has been very potent, and they did put a ton of shots on net in Game 1, but the Blues only allowed 1.88 goals per game after the All-Star break. There's reason to have some faith in a player like Staal, especially with only eight teams in action. It's harder to make the argument for Suter, especially since he only blocked 105 shots in 82 games and the Blues ranked in the bottom six in shot attempts per 60 minutes.
Adam Larsson, EDM vs. SAN ($16): There aren't a lot of questionable prices in the defensive ranks, but Larsson's one of them. The former Devil only took 85 shots on goal this season, and he tallied zero points on the power play. Overall, he's only averaged 4.6 fantasy points per game. San Jose only allowed 27.7 shots on goal per game in the regular season, don't expect anything to change about Larsson's offensive output in the playoffs.
