This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
GOALIE
Brian Elliott, PHI vs. ARI ($29) – As always with Elliott, things are either excellent or atrocious. He's got a 2.00 GAA and .925 save percentage in five wins this season, but in his two losses he's got a 6.02 GAA and .786 save percentage. The Flyers are coming off a tough road win against the Maple Leafs, and the Coyotes are unquestionably the league's worst team with zero wins through 11 games. Elliott's still a risky play, but he's been more good than bad early on in the season.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Ben Bishop, DAL at VAN ($34) – With Brock Boeser in the lineup and Travis Green behind the bench, the Canucks are faster and better, and they've won four straight games. Despite his 5-2 record, Bishop's allowed eight goals in his past two appearances; after getting pulled against the Avalanche, he allowed five against a struggling Oilers squad. The Canucks have failed to score at least three goals just once in their past six games, one of which was a 1-0 win against the Wild.
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CENTER
John Tavares, NYI vs. VGK ($26) – He's scored seven goals in his past four games, including two hat tricks, and sits third in the league with nine tallies. Vegas is coming off a 7-0 win and previously held St. Louis and Chicago to four total goals, but Tavares became arguably the hottest player in the league after Doug Weight moved Josh Bailey to his line. The Islanders' offense is now finding its groove, and with Mathew Barzal and Jordan Eberle starting to score, it takes a little less pressure off Tavares' shoulders.
CENTER TO AVOID
Boone Jenner, CLS vs. BOS ($17) – He'd be a bargain at this price if he was in his 30-goal form, but he's coming off a disappointing 18-goal season last year, and through his first four games he's yet to register a point. Other than a 5-4 overtime loss to Buffalo in which they blew a three-goal lead, Boston has actually been quite good defensively with three goals allowed in their past two games.
WING
Nikita Kucherov, TB at FLA ($34) – Kucherov and Steven Stamkos had their point streaks snapped in a loss against Anahiem thanks to an outstanding performance by John Gibson, but Monday's expected starter for Florida, James Reimer, is not in the same tier and shouldn't be difficult to beat. Despite their most recent loss, Tampa Bay remains one of the league's best teams, and on most nights they will be able to beat any team with their vaunted offense.
Jamie Benn, DAL at VAN ($28) – After a slow start in which he managed only one assist in his first three games, Benn has scored five goals in his past five games, and Vancouver's depleted blue line presents an opportunity for Benn to shine in his home province. Brandon Sutter's line has been used as Vancouver's shutdown line, and they're the ones who will most likely draw the matchup against Benn, but nobody on that line is capable of handling Benn's mix of size and skill.
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WINGS TO AVOID
Max Pacioretty, MON at OTT ($24) – He's scored two goals in three games, so everyone's hopeful it's a sign that Pacioretty's turned the corner on a horrific start to the season, but given how inconsistent and unpredictable the Habs have been so far it makes it difficult to trust their captain. The Sens are also a notoriously difficult team to score against with Guy Boucher's trap, Erik Karlsson on the blue line and Craig Anderson in net.
Dustin Brown, LA at STL ($21) – Everyone should be happy the former Kings captain has re-established himself as a top two-way winger – he recently recorded his 3,000th career hit – but the Blues are very tough to score on and Jake Allen has won three of his past four starts. Not to take anything away from Brown, but part of the reason he's scoring is because Anze Kopitar has also been rejuvenated, and at this price there are plenty of more talented forwards who don't rely as much on their linemate to score.
DEFENSE
Erik Karlsson, OTT vs. MON ($30) – He should be the most expensive player every night because of the type of impact he makes, and despite missing the start of the season he's already back at the top of the scoring race with nine points in six games. Ottawa could force a lot of turnovers with their ability to clog up the neutral zone, and Montreal's defense has been very suspect all season, so Karlsson's stretch passes are something to watch for.
Ivan Provorov, PHI vs. ARI ($17) – He's not a bad gamble because all signs are trending up: he scored a goal and an assist against Ottawa and then played more than 27 minutes against Toronto in a hard-fought win. Arizona's goaltending situation has been so disastrous they just traded for a 25-year-old goalie with four career NHL starts to fix their problem, and Philadelphia is sixth in the league in goals scored. If Shayne Gostisbehere, who was hurt against Toronto, does not play, Provorov will be the one assuming his power-play duties.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Brent Burns, SJ vs. TOR ($32) – It would be wise to stay away from Burns until he's stopped being priced like the league's best defenseman, because there are too many other options outperforming him right now. Playing the Leafs will present more scoring opportunities than usual, but Burns has yet to score a goal this season and his minus-7 rating is a reminder that he hasn't been very good in his own zone, either.
Joel Edmundson, STL vs. LA ($17) – The Kings are too difficult to score on to devote much salary to a No. 3 defenseman, even if he's coming off a two-point game against the stingy Blue Jackets. Edmundson is more of a physical defenseman who can sometimes score in bunches because he has such a heavy slap shot, but otherwise much of the playmaking duties on the Blues blue line fall to Colton Parayko and Alex Pietrangelo. Michael Del Zotto ($17), Keith Yandle ($16) and Oliver Ekman-Larsson ($13) seem like better bets for value in this price range.
