This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
The Wolverines just won the college football title. The Detroit Lions play their first home playoff game in 30 years Sunday. I'm a Detroiter, so gridiron excitement is overflowing around me. And yet, I set it all aside to provide you with players to target and avoid for your NHL DFS lineups Wednesday. There are three games on the slate. Here are my recommendations.
GOALIE
Carter Hart, PHI vs. MON ($32): Hart's play has been middling, as he has a .911 save percentage, but he has a 2.69 GAA in part because the Flyers have only allowed 29.0 shots on net per game. Also, they have Jamie Drysdale now. The Canadiens are a good matchup here, as they have averaged 2.74 goals and 28.6 shots on goal per contest.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Logan Thompson, VGK at COL ($33): When Thompson was sharing the load with Adin Hill, both guys excelled. As the primary goalie with Hill out, though, Thompson has struggled. He has a 3.42 GAA and .884 save percentage over his last 11 starts. The Avalanche are a top-heavy team, but their elite talent is so good they rank second in goals per game.
CENTER
Sean Couturier, PHI vs. MON ($22): A healthy Couturier has tallied 10 goals and 17 assists in 38 games. He's put 108 shots on net as well, and his 9.3 shooting percentage has room for improvement, improvement I think is likely. The guy registered eight shots on target in a game recently! Montreal has announced that Cayden Primeau is starting this game. He has a career .880 save percentage.
CENTER TO AVOID
Jack Eichel, VGK at COL ($32): The goaltending situations Wednesday are quite bad. Among projected starters, only Hart has been even pretty good this year. Of course, just recommending you avoid Canadiens would only help you so much, especially since that team lacks for offensive depth. Eichel has been great, but there has been a smidge of "quantity over quality" to his game. That is to say, his 18 goals have come on 165 shots on net, leaving him with a 10.9 shooting percentage. This is not unusual for him. Colorado has held opponents to 28.7 shots on goal per game, fewest among these six teams. Eichel's salary is quite high, so that fact gives me pause.
WING
Jonathan Drouin, COL vs. VGK ($18): Drouin has frustrated throughout his career, and the Avalanche have thrown their hands up and said, "If we let you play with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen and center the top power-play unit, will you step it up?" To his credit, Drouin has evidently said, "Yeah sure, why not?" He has 13 points over his last 13 games, including five on the power play. As I noted, Thompson has an .884 save percentage over the last month.
Jamie Benn, DAL vs. MIN ($16): Filip Gustavsson is still hurt, Marc-Andre Fleury has an .892 save percentage, and the Wild have a bottom-five penalty kill. Benn is on the first power-play unit, and he's eased into the role of a guy who plays third-line minutes and is allowed to use his remaining offensive acumen with the man advantage. He has nine power-play points on the year, including three over his last six outings.
WINGS TO AVOID
Mats Zuccarello, MIN at DAL ($22): Zuccarello has notched 14 of his 29 points on the power play this year. Last season, he tallied 29 of his 67 points with the extra man. Scott Wedgewood has played poorly in the absence of Jake Oettinger, who himself was struggling by his standards. And yet, the Stars have a top-five penalty kill.
Cole Caufield, MON at PHI ($21): Caufield's 7.9 shooting percentage is bad puck luck, though he has a 14.3 shooting percentage over his last 10 outings. However, as I noted the Flyers have only allowed 29.0 shots on net per game. Also, they have the second-ranked penalty kill. Caufield, for his part, has tallied 2 of his 27 points with the extra man.
DEFENSE
Alex Pietrangelo, VGK at COL ($22): Pietrangelo has an 1.1 shooting percentage on the year, a number that is almost guaranteed to improve. He's been racking up massive power-play minutes since taking Shea Theodore's role on the top unit, which can only help. Over his last four games, Pietrangelo has two points, 14 shots on net, and eight blocked shots. The Avalanche do keep pucks off net, but Alexandar Georgiev still has a 2.97 GAA. With a defenseman like Pietrangelo, I'll take this matchup on.
Thomas Harley, DAL vs. MIN ($18): It does seem that, with Miro Heiskanen out, Harley is on the top power-play unit. Given that he has nine points over his last 12 games, it's a good time for him to get a larger role. Additionally, facing a bottom-five penalty kill in Minnesota is advantageous as well.
DEFENSE TO AVOID
Mike Matheson, MON at PHI ($20): Fifteen of Matheson's 27 points have come on the power play, but as I noted the Flyers have the second-ranked penalty kill. Plus, while Matheson has six goals, only one has come in his last 20 games. While the defenseman has remained productive, clearly he's slowed down on that front.
Esa Lindell, DAL vs. MIN ($14): Lindell is a name that has been around for a minute, and he has six points over his last 13 games. Perhaps, in the wake of Heiskanen's injury, you may have seen the arrow up on his stock. However, the Finn plays almost literally zero minutes on the power play, and he has 14 points and 48 shots on net all season. The arrow on his stock? It remains steady, and that's not enticing.
