This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
The NFL season is over, but this weekend we get to enjoy the NBA's All-Star weekend. And don't forget the NHL action! Friday there are four games on the NHL slate. Here are some players to target, and to avoid, for your DFS lineups.
GOALIE
Jake Oettinger, DAL at CHI ($28): One team is on the second leg of a back-to-back Friday, and that's the Blackhawks. Chicago also happens to be 30th in goals per game. Oettinger's .916 save percentage isn't great, but his 2.49 GAA is impressive.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Juuse Saros, NAS at CAR ($35): Saros has a 2.45 GAA and .924 save percentage, but over his last three starts he's picked up three losses and allowed at least three goals. Now, I think he'll be fine, but being on the road against the Hurricanes is tough. In addition to having the league's lowest GAA, Carolina has scored 3.45 goals per contest.
CENTER
Tyler Seguin, DAL at CHI ($20): After a slow start that kind of made the one time 40-goal scorer an afterthought, Seguin has picked things up. Over his last 12 games he has seven goals and seven assists. That includes five points on the power play. Marc-Andre Fleury has been saved for this start, but he has an .891 save percentage over his last nine starts.
CENTER TO AVOID
Ryan Johansen, NAS at CAR ($12): Like I said, the Hurricanes have the league's lowest GAA and 2.38. They've also allowed the fewest shots on net per contest. Johansen isn't getting to play on Nashville's top line, so his wings are Eeli Tolvanen and Luke Kunin instead of Filip Forsberg and Matt Duchene. He plays on the top power-play unit, but the Hurricanes have the top penalty kill.
WING
Reilly Smith, VGK vs. LOS ($17): Smith has 32 points in 47 games, and he's put 124 shots on net as well. The Kings have been swapping starts between their goalies, and it would be Jonathan Quick's turn Friday if that continues. Over his last eight games he has a 3.24 GAA and .881 save percentage.
Adrian Kempe, LOS at VGK ($15): Kempe has a career-high 19 goals in 45 games, including six in his last 13 contests. He's added more than a minute to his average ice time (up from 16:56 to 18:16) and has put 129 shots on net. Robin Lehner is currently day-to-day with an upper-body injury, and if he can go Laurent Brossoit will be in net. He has a .906 save percentage.
WINGS TO AVOID
Filip Forsberg, NAS at CAR ($26): My concerns with Forsberg are the same as my concerns with Johansen. Frederik Andersen has a 2.07 GAA and .928 save percentage. The Hurricanes have the league's best penalty kill. It doesn't bode well for Forsberg, whose 22.0 shooting percentage is a candidate for regression.
Patrick Kane, CHI vs. DAL ($24): You might see Kane's 7.2 shooting percentage and think he's bound for regression, but he had a 7.9 shooting percentage last year. That's now a sample size of over 100 games. Kane is on the second leg of a back-to-back, and Oettinger has a 2.49 GAA.
DEFENSE
Shea Theodore, VGK vs. LOS ($19): Theodore has eight goals and 24 assists in 45 games, including 10 points with the extra man. The power-play prowess could come into play here, as the Kings have a bottom-six penalty kill. Plus, Quick has struggled recently.
John Klingberg, DAL at CHI ($17): Klingberg has had terrible luck on the goal-scoring front. He's only lit the lamp once off of 65 shots on net. However, the Swede has 24 assists in 40 games, and 14 power-play points. The Blackhawks have a bottom-six penalty kill, and they are also on the second leg of a back-to-back.
DEFENSE TO AVOID
Seth Jones, CHI vs. DAL ($17): Jones has struggled on the goal-scoring front, with only three this season. While he has 28 assists, he's also on the second leg of a back-to-back. On top of that, Oettinger has a 2.46 GAA.
Jaccob Slavin, CAR vs. NAS ($17): Slavin has six power-play points, atypical for him, but only one in his last 15 games. The Predators have a middling penalty kill, but Slavin won't take advantage of that. While I'm skeptical about Saros as a goalie for DFS purposes, he does still has a .924 save percentage.
