This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
Saturday all you NHL DFS players are spoiled for choice. A robust 12 games are on the schedule. That means more options to pick through than most days. To help with that, here are my players to target, and to avoid, for your DFS lineups.
GOALIE
Cam Talbot, LOS at SEA ($35): Looking at the goaltending situations Saturday, I didn't see much in the way of viable options other than at the top of the heap. This is straightforward. Talbot has a 2.02 GAA and .927 save percentage, and the Kings have only allowed 27.0 shots on net per game. The Kraken have only scored 2.71 goals per game, so this is a matchup Talbot can easily handle.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Sergei Bobrovsky, FLA at EDM ($33): Bobrovsky has a 2.56 GAA, but for that he can thank a team that ranks second in shots on net allowed per game. The Russian goalie only has a .907 save percentage. Remember when the Oilers were scuffling offensively? Well they now have averaged 3.52 goals and 34.3 shots on net per game, both top six in the NHL.
CENTER
Nick Suzuki, MON vs. NYI ($17): The Islanders are on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back. While the Canadiens don't have a ton of offensive talent, they do have Suzuki. He has 23 points in 29 games, including 12 with the extra man. His power-play acumen is actually a strong plus, as the Islanders have a bottom-five penalty kill.
CENTER TO AVOID
Mika Zibanejad, NYR at BOS ($30): Both the Rangers and Bruins are on the second leg of a back-to-back. The concern with Zibanejad is who is in line to start for Boston on Saturday. That would be Jeremy Swayman. He has a 2.07 GAA and .933 save percentage, and his career .922 save percentage is one of the most impressive marks in the NHL.
WING
Lucas Raymond, DET at PHI ($19): Raymond's sophomore slump has been replaced by a third-year rebound. He's tallied 24 points in 29 games, including 14 points in his last 15 contests. Unfortunately for the Flyers, Carter Hart is dealing with an illness that is keeping him out of action. Samuel Ersson is not a like-for-like replacement, as he has a career .893 save percentage.
Alexander Holtz, NJD at CLM ($12): Holtz, the seventh overall pick in 2020, is carving out a regular NHL role for the first time. Over his last 10 games he has seven points, and he's also put 25 shots on target in that time. The Blue Jackets are a nice matchup for Holtz to stay in the best form of his career. Columbus has a 3.55 GAA and has allowed 34.7 shots on net per game.
WINGS TO AVOID
Mitchell Marner, TOR vs. PIT ($26): Marner has been productive as per usual, though his 20.0 percent shooting is likely to regress. Tristan Jarry has a 2.46 GAA and .917 save percentage, but over his last eight starts he has a 2.25 GAA and .927 save percentage. As such, I am wary of shelling out for Marner's lofty salary.
Jared McCann, SEA vs. LOS ($19): McCann's 14 goals are a nice follow up to his 40 from last year, though six of them have come with the extra man. I mentioned Talbot's strong numbers, but the Kings also have the second-ranked penalty kill. That doesn't bode well for McCann, even when the Kraken have the extra man.
DEFENSE
Noah Dobson, NYI at MON ($24): Dobson tallied 49 points and 206 shots on net last year. He has 29 points and 71 shots on target through 29 games this season, including 12 points with the extra man. Notably, the Canadiens are in the bottom five in shots on net allowed per game and penalty-kill percentage. That's encouraging to me, even if Dobson is on the second leg of a back-to-back.
Mikhail Sergachev, TAM at CGY ($21): Sergachev has a point in each of his last two games, giving him 19 points in 31 contests. If Victor Hedman is still out, Sergachev's upside is even higher. The Flames have a 3.43 GAA, but with Jacob Markstrom banged up, Dan Vladar is in line for the start. Since joining Calgary, Vladar has an .895 save percentage.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Adam Fox, NYR at BOS ($24): Fox, like Zibanejad, has to deal with Swayman on Saturday. Also, he has to deal with the league's best penalty kill, and Fox has been a guy who does a lot of his work on the power play. It's not as simple as noting Dobson and Fox have the same salary, but also, if you are going to shell out $24 for a defenseman, the former is much more palatable than the latter.
Devon Toews, COL at WPG ($19): Toews has put together two 50-point seasons in a row, even with Cale Makar getting the bulk of the power-play time. The Jets have a below-average penalty kill, but Toews isn't in line to take advantage of that. Plus, Connor Hellebuyck has been a one-man penalty kill recently. He hasn't allowed more than two goals in any of his last nine starts.
