This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
Fridays are more fun with some DFS hockey. There are four NHL games on the slate here in the middle of November. Here are the players to target, and to avoid, for your DFS lineups.
GOALIE
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TAM at WAS ($33): While we are a little over a dozen games into the NHL season for each team, there are still some things I expect to shake out as the season goes on. Like, say, Vasilevskiy's numbers. He has a career 2.51 GAA and .919 save percentage, and he has finished a season with a save percentage below .916 once ever. The Capitals have averaged 2.73 goals and 28.5 shots on net per contest, and with their injury issues I can see them continuing to struggle.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Marc-Andre Fleury, MIN at SEA ($27): If you think only about Fleury's track record, and of Seattle's offensive struggles as an expansion team, you might be primed to go with Fleury in goal. I'm not so sure that is a wise idea. Over the last two seasons, Fleury has a .906 save percentage. Meanwhile, the Kraken have averaged 3.57 goals per game this year. Even if they likely don't sustain that, I'm not trusting Fleury in Seattle.
CENTER
Tyler Seguin, DAL vs. SAN ($17): Seguin's four-game point streak just ended, but he has 10 points through 13 games. He and the Stars also catch the Sharks on the second leg of a back-to-back, the only team in that situation. James Reimer will likely be in net for San Jose, and he has a 2.88 GAA and .910 save percentage.
CENTER TO AVOID
Logan Couture, SAN at DAL ($17): As I just noted, the Sharks are on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back. San Jose's top line is strong, but Couture centers the second line, where Matt Nieto and Alexander Barabanov are his wings. There is a chance Jake Oettinger returns for the Stars in this one, and if he does I feel even stronger about this.
WING
Bryan Rust, PIT at TOR ($21): Rust has started 64.5 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, highest on the Penguins. He's also averaged 4:02 per game with the extra man. Due to goaltending injuries, Erik Kallgren is starting for the Maple Leafs in goal these days, and he has a career .889 save percentage.
Andre Burakovsky, SEA vs. MIN ($19): In his first season with the Kraken, Burakovsky has 13 points in 14 games. That includes six points with the extra man, as he runs the point on the first power-play unit for Seattle. This year, the 37-year-old Fleury has a 3.17 GAA and .896 save percentage.
WINGS TO AVOID
Alex Killorn, TAM at WAS ($14): What's concerning about Killorn is that he has only put 17 shots on net in 13 games. Though he has four goals, his 23.5 shooting percentage is unlikely to be sustained. Darcy Kuemper has a 2.47 GAA and .916 save percentage, and in his career he has a .918 save percentage.
Marcus Johansson, WAS vs. TAM ($13): Johansson started the season strong, but he only has two points in his last four games, with only 14 shots on net as well. While Vasilevskiy has gotten off to an iffy start, his career .919 save percentage gives me confidence in the Russian goalie.
DEFENSE
Miro Heiskanen, DAL vs. SAN ($19): Heiskanen missed three games, but he still has eight points in 10 contests. Three times he's finished with over 30 points in a campaign, and as a 23-year-old defenseman who is definitively the top guy on Dallas' blue line this could be the season where he really breaks through. The Sharks do have a strong penalty kill, but they are on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back, and Reimer has a 2.88 GAA and .910 save percentage.
Calen Addison, MIN at SEA ($10): Addison came out of the gates unsustainably hot, but the rookie skill has a lot going for him. He's started 66.7 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone and averaged 4:11 on the power play. Six of his points have come with the extra man. The Kraken have a bottom-10 penalty kill, which plays into Addison's strengths.
DEFENSE TO AVOID
Mikhail Sergachev, TAM at WAS ($19): Sergachev has come out the gate strong, though his 8.3 shooting percentage will likely regress. Kuemper has a 2.47 GAA and .916 save percentage to start his tenure with the Capitals, so perhaps some of that regression will be hitting Friday for Sergachev.
Jared Spurgeon, MIN at SEA ($16): Spurgeon has six points in 13 games, but Addison's gain has been the veteran's loss. That is to say, Spurgeon has only averaged 0:52 per contest on the power play and has zero points with the extra man. He will get little opportunity against that Kraken penalty kill, and thus the fact the Kraken have allowed a mere 27.5 shots on net per game is more of a concern considering Spurgeon.
