This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
Since Monday is MLK Day, the NHL has an afternoon-heavy schedule. We have eight games on the slate, with the earliest beginning at 1 p.m. EST. Yahoo decided to treat the full-day slate as their main collection of contests, so I will do the same. Here are some players to target, and to avoid, for your DFS lineups from these eight games.
GOALIE
Alex Nedeljkovic, DET at BUF ($30): These two teams met in their last game, and "Ned" pitched a shutout. Over his last five contests he has a 20.3 GAA and .938 save percentage. Buffalo, on the other hand, has only averaged 2.54 goals and 28.9 shots on net per game.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Juuse Saros, NAS vs. STL ($38): Saros has the highest salary of any goalie Monday, and since he's on the road against the Blues that really gives me pause. St. Louis is fifth in the NHL with 3.45 goals per game. The Finnish goalie has a 2.69 GAA on the road, and this matchup is going to be tough on him.
CENTER
Jeff Carter, PIT at VGK ($22): Carter has potted 11 goals on 100 shots on net in 31 games this year. He's also now playing on the wing, as he's on the second line with Evgeni Malkin now that the Russian is healthy. Robin Lehner is having a tough season for the Golden Knights, as he has a 2.91 GAA and .905 save percentage.
CENTER TO AVOID
Chandler Stephenson, VGK vs. PIT ($20): Stephenson has already set a career high with 26 points, though his goal scoring has dried up. He has one goal in his last 15 games. I don't think that will change against the Penguins, as Tristan Jarry has a 2.05 GAA and .929 save percentage.
WING
Alex DeBrincat, CHI at SEA ($23): DeBrincat is an elite shooter. He's potted 23 goals with a 20.0 shooting percentage after having 32 goals with a 20.6 shooting percentage last year. The 24-year-old has as much scoring touch as any player, and he's facing a team in the Kraken who has seen their goalies post the league's worst team save percentage. Philipp Grubauer, for example, has an .880 save percentage.
Clayton Keller, ARI vs. MON ($22): Keller is the only Coyotes with double-digit goals or more than 100 shots on net, as he's notched 13 goals and tallied 103 shots on target in 36 games. Now he gets to face the Canadiens, who have a 3.64 GAA and have given up 34.2 shots on goal per contest. These are two of the NHL's worst offenses, but also two of the worst defenses. Keller should be able to get his, though.
WINGS TO AVOID
Tomas Hertl, SAN vs. LOS ($27): Hertl doesn't have a point in his last three games, but what's more of a concern is his lack of power-play points in his last 12 contests. The Kings are now fourth in the NHL in GAA, and Quick is down to a 2.38 GAA and up to a .921 save percentage.
Cam Atkinson, PHI at NYI ($23): Atkinson just had a five-game point streak end, and I don't think he's about to start a new one. He has a 12.9 shooting percentage, while over the previous two seasons he posted an 8.8 shooting percentage. More to the point, he's on the road and likely facing Ilya Sorokin in net, and the Russian has a 2.43 GAA and .925 save percentage.
DEFENSE
Moritz Seider, DET at BUF ($19): Seider is making a running at the Calder. He's notched 24 points – 10 on the power play – in 39 games. The German has also tallied 76 shots on net and 71 blocked shots. Because of injuries and absences in net, the Sabres are starting Aaron Dell in this matchup. He has a 3.89 GAA and .889 save percentage.
Shayne Gostisbehere, ARI vs. MON ($18): With seven points in his last eight games, Gostisbehere now has 24 points in 36 games. He's also averaged 2:56 per contest on the power play, and the Canadiens have the 30th-ranked penalty kill. Right now, Samuel Montembault is the top goalie for the Habs, and he has a 3.89 GAA and .895 save percentage.
DEFENSE TO AVOID
Alex Pietrangelo, VGK vs. PIT ($22): Pietrangelo has a very different situation ahead of him in his matchup Monday. The Penguins have the second-ranked penalty kill, and one-third of Pietrangelo's points have come on the power play. Plus, as I've noted, Jarry has a 2.05 GAA and .929 save percentage.
Justin Faulk, STL vs. NAS ($20): I am skeptical about Saros because of the overall talent of the Blues' offense and because he has the highest salary of any goalie, but he does have a ,926 save percentage. Faulk doesn't do anything on the power play, as he has two points with the extra man and has averaged 1:09 per game in power-play time. That limits his upside.
