This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
Friday is the last day before the NHL takes a few days off for Christmas. However, it's also a day that has been complicated a bit by impending weather. Two games, Buffalo-Tampa Bay and Ottawa-Detroit, have been postponed due to the fear of the weather. That leaves us with 11 games on the docket…for now. If you are celebrating, have a Merry Christmas. Here are the players to target, and to avoid, for your Friday DFS lineups.
GOALIE
Alexandar Georgiev, COL vs. NAS ($37): Georgiev has smoothly and seamlessly stepped into the skates of Darcy Kuemper for the Avalanche. The former Rangers goalie has a 2.39 GAA and .924 save percentage. Nashville has been struggling to get anything going offensively, as it has averaged 2.52 goals per game.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Vitek Vanecek, NJD vs. BOS ($31): Vanecek has a 2.45 GAA, but he owes it entirely to his team stifling the opposition. The former Capital has a .908 save percentage, which is his career number as well. Boston may be on the second leg of a back-to-back, but it is in the top three in goals and shots on net per game, so I still worry about this matchup, especially with so many options out there.
CENTER
Jonathan Toews, CHI vs. CLM ($11): Toews has picked up three points in his last five games. On the season, he's averaged 3:02 per contest on the power play, and he's picked up six goals with the extra man in 30 games. The Blue Jackets have a 4.03 GAA, and they've also allowed 35.5 shots on net per contest.
CENTER TO AVOID
Ryan O'Reilly, STL at VGK ($10): O'Reilly has cooled down a bit. He doesn't have a point in his last five outings. Logan Thompson has a 2.61 GAA and .917 save percentage, so O'Reilly might have a little trouble on the road getting back on the score sheet.
WING
Zach Hyman, EDM vs. VAN ($27): Hyman has averaged 3:23 per game on the power play, and he's tallied 11 points on that front. That makes this an ideal matchup. The Canucks are on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back, and they also have the league's worst penalty kill.
Seth Jarvis, CAR vs. PHI ($16): Jarvis has picked up 11 points over his last 15 games. While both of these teams are on a back-to-back, the Hurricanes are at home. Also, the Flyers are in a bleak situation goaltending wise. Carter Hart played Thursday, and Felix Sandstrom is out with an injury. Samuel Ersson may be making his NHL debut, and he has a .910 save percentage down in the AHL.
WINGS TO AVOID
Filip Forsberg, NAS vs. COL ($23): Forsberg has a 9.2 shooting percentage, which calls to mind two seasons ago when he had a 9.3 shooting percentage. He also only has one goal in his last eight games. As I noted, Georgiev has a 2.39 GAA and .924 save percentage this year.
Cole Caufield, MON at DAL ($20): Caufield is having himself a fine season, though his 17.1 shooting percentage could regress. Being on the road against the Stars could hinder him, though, Jake Oettinger is also having a fine season, as he has a 2.47 GAA and .919 save percentage. Plus, the Stars have the fourth-ranked penalty kill, and Caufield has averaged 3:16 per game on the power play.
DEFENSE
Alex Pietrangelo, VGK vs. STL ($24): Since returning to the lineup, Pietrangelo has an assist in each game he's played in. I can easily see him making that a four-game point streak heading into the break. Jordan Binnington has a 3.11 GAA and .897 save percentage, and the Blues have a bottom-six penalty kill as well.
Shayne Gostisbehere, ARI vs. LOS ($17): Gostisbehere has 13 points in his last 14 games. He's also averaged 3:29 per contest with the extra man and has eight power-play points. The Kings are on the second leg of a back-to-back, and Jonathan Quick has a 3.54 GAA and .882 save percentage.
DEFENSE TO AVOID
Noah Dobson, NYI vs. FLA ($18): The Islanders are on the second leg of a back-to-back, while the Panthers are not. Sergei Bobrovsky is also on a good stretch of play in net. Over his last eight games he has a 2.37 GAA and .921 save percentage.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, VAN at EDM ($11): Ekman-Larsson has 14 points in 32 games, but the Canucks are on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back, and the Oilers are not. Stuart Skinner has a .913 save percentage, while is solid and enough for me under the circumstances. Also, the fact Edmonton doesn't have a formidable penalty kill doesn't matter much, since Quinn Hughes gets almost all the power-play time on the point for Vancouver.
