This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
It's a robust Tuesday evening of hockey. There are eight games on the slate for the NHL starting at 7 p.m. EDT or later. We miss out on a 6 p.m. start between the Flyers and Canucks, but you still have plenty of options. To try and help you with your decision making, here are my players to target, and to avoid, for your DFS lineups.
GOALIE
Marc-Andre Fleury, MIN at MON ($28): I could have gone Ilya Sorokin, an easy choice for the "money is no object for my goalie" crew. That's often my approach too, but to delve a little deeper, I also like Fleury against the Canadiens. Filip Gustavsson scuffled against the Leafs, so his veteran backup will get a chance in net. Fleury had a .908 save percentage over the previous two seasons, but the Canadiens have averaged 2.80 goals and 27.3 shots on net per game since the start of last year, and they are already dealing with some injury issues.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Juuse Saros, NAS vs. EDM ($33): Saros' 2.41 GAA and .920 save percentage are perhaps not telling the whole story, as he blanked the Kraken but had below-average starts against the Lightning and Bruins. Hey, none of those are easy offenses to face, and Saros will likely have strong numbers when the season is over. Having said that, the Oilers are in town. Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and a team that has averaged 3.92 goals per game since the start of last season is not a matchup to mess with.
CENTER
Bo Horvat, NYI vs. ARI ($20): Isles coach Lane Lambert has slotted the former Canuck in as his first-line center and placed Mathew Barzal on Horvat's wing, which intrigues me. In the team's opener, Horvat didn't get a point, but he put eight shots on net. Since the start of last season the Coyotes have allowed 35.1 shots on goal per game, and they are on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back.
CENTER TO AVOID
Logan Cooley, ARI at NYI ($33): Young legs like Cooley's may be able to handle being on the second leg of a back-to-back better than some, especially early in the season, but it's still never ideal. Arizona is the only team in such a scenario Tuesday, and the matchup is also tough for the promising rookie. Sorokin has a career 2.34 GAA and .924 save percentage.
WING
Brandon Hagel, TAM at BUF ($19): Hagel was already a key complementary piece for the Lightning, given that he scored 30 goals last season. Now though, he's needed more than ever, and he's responded with three points and 11 shots on net in three games. Hagel has even gotten some first-line playing time next to Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov. I'm not going to write off Devon Levi in his age-21 season with all of nine NHL appearances to his name, but he doesn't seem ready for prime time yet. Thus far in his career he has a 3.07 GAA and .900 save percentage.
Michael Bunting, CAR at SAN ($16): Once again, Bunting finds himself on the wing of a team's first line next to an upper-tier center, having exchanged Auston Matthews for Sebastian Aho. He's also getting power-play time, having averaged 6:18 per game with the extra man through three contests. Obviously, that number will drop, but doing that through three games indicates he's clearly on the top unit. The Sharks have named Mackenzie Blackwood the starter for this game in the afterglow of his 51-save performance against the Avalanche. It's time for a reality check, as Blackwood came into this season with a career .906 save percentage.
WINGS TO AVOID
Jonathan Marchessault, VGK vs. DAL ($26): Fittingly, Conn Smythe winner Marchessault scored a goal in Vegas' opener as the team celebrated its Cup win. However, that's his only point through three games. Jake Oettinger has improved every season he's been in the NHL. Last year he had a 2.37 GAA and .919 save percentage, and he made 23 saves on 24 shots in a shootout win to open this season.
Jared McCann, SEA vs. COL ($22): McCann's shooting will likely end up somewhere between the 19.0 percent that allowed him to score 40 goals last year and the 9.1 percent that has held him to one goal through three games this season, but this is not a matchup for the Kraken star to get his game sorted out. Alexandar Georgiev has taken no time in finding the form that led to his .918 save percentage last year. In fact, he has an 1.45 GAA and .947 save percentage through two starts.
DEFENSE
Josh Morrissey, WPG vs. LOS ($21): There was reason to wonder if Morrissey's 76-point campaign last year was a bit of a fluke, but thus far he has done what he can to indicate it was not. He has three points through two games, even though none of his six shots on net have gone in. Cam Talbot allowed four goals on 36 shots in his first start for the Kings, but I don't know what they were expecting. Over the last seven seasons he has a .907 save percentage.
Brock Faber, MIN at MON ($16): With Jared Spurgeon hurt to start the year, the Wild have turned to local boy made good Faber on the blue line. The rookie has not played a single second on the power play, but he's getting first-pairing minutes and averaged 22:58 in terms of ice time through two games. The Minnesota native also has a goal on three shots on net to go with an assist. It seems like the Canadiens may turn to Sam Montembeault as their top goalie this year because, well, Jake Allen clearly isn't the answer. Montembeault may be younger and have more theoretical upside, but it is truly theoretical, because the 26-year-old has a career .896 save percentage.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Drew Doughty, LOS at WPG ($16): Doughty's minutes have never lagged in his career, but his production has become reliant on the power play. Last year 27 of his 52 points came with the extra man, and the Jets rank seventh on the penalty kill since the start of last year. Connor Hellebuyck has begun this campaign slowly, but he came into this season with a career .916 save percentage, so I expect him to figure it out fast.
Darnell Nurse, EDM at NAS ($16): It's early, but the rise of Evan Bouchard and a full season of Mattias Ekholm could leave Nurse a smidge less productive this year. He's never played much on the power play, but the 22:44 he's averaged in ice time would be his lowest since the 2017-18 season, and a guy who has put 203 shots on net in each of his last two campaigns has only two this year. I may not want to risk using Saros in a DFS lineup against the Oilers, but he has a career .919 save percentage, and Nurse is not exactly topping the list of reasons for my concern about the Finnish goalie.
