This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
We are starting to get a little data on this season of NHL hockey. Now, I am still looking at team numbers combining last season and this season. It's too early to get a sense of penalty kills or how many shots a defense is going to give up. Pieces fall into place, though, and then we get a look at this puzzle. There are six NHL games Monday night. Here are some players to target, and to avoid, for your DFS lineups.
GOALIE
Jake Oettinger, DAL at OTT ($34): There was not an obvious target for me Monday. Oettinger has been scorching to start the season, though. He has an 1.25 GAA and .959 save percentage through four starts. The Senators revamped a bit this offseason, but they still have averaged 2.82 goals per game since the start of last season.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Tristan Jarry, PIT at EDM ($35): Like Oettinger, Jarry is off to a strong start to the season. The difference is the Canadian team he is visiting. Since the start of last year, the Oilers have averaged 3.46 goals and 33.9 shots on net per contest. They also, you know, have Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
CENTER
Dylan Strome, WAS at NJD ($17): Currently centering Washington's second line, Strome has four points in six games, three of which have come on Washington's potent power play. Mackenzie Blackwood has a 2.03 GAA, but a .904 save percentage. The former number is not sustainable with that latter number, unless the Devils have the stingiest defense ever, which I don't see happening.
CENTER TO AVOID
Elias Pettersson, VAN vs. CAR ($23): Pettersson is off to a good start, and he has shown a prowess on the power play since he joined the NHL. That being said, since the beginning of last season the Hurricanes are tops in GAA, shots on net allowed per game, and penalty-kill percentage. Frederik Andersen is still the key goalie, the coaching staff is still in place, and there is no reason to believe that will change.
WING
Martin Necas, CAR at VAN ($17): The Hurricanes have decided to see what Necas can do on the point on the first power-play unit. He only has one point with the extra man so far, but all in all he has seven points in five games. Since the start of last season, the Canucks are last on the penalty kill, and given that Thatcher Demko has an .858 save percentage this year, that is going to be hard to change.
Jason Zucker, PIT at EDM ($16): Zucker has only improved his shooting percentage from 7.8 to 9.1, but he does have four points in five games. Plus, a spot on Evgeni Malkin's wing. I wondered how Jack Campbell might look behind an Oilers defense that allows more shots than the Maple Leafs, and so far he has a 3.81 GAA and .889 save percentage.
WINGS TO AVOID
Blake Wheeler, WPG vs. STL ($18): Wheeler has always been more of a playmaker, and indeed he has three assists in five games, but he also has zero goals. Twenty of his 60 points last season came on the power play, but the Blues have the fourth-ranked penalty kill since the start of last year. Sure, a lot of that was Ville Husso last season, but this year Jordan Binnington has an 1.65 GAA and .940 save percentage through three starts.
Michael Bunting, TOR at VGK ($17): Bunting has picked up where he left off last year, though 12 shots on net through six games isn't great, and he's still on the second power-play unit and not a threat there. However, since the start of last season the Golden Knights are top eight in shots on net allowed per contest, and in his career Logan Thompson has a 2.60 GAA and .916 save percentage.
DEFENSE
Brent Burns, CAR at VAN ($20): I mentioned the Canucks' struggles on the penalty kill since the beginning of last season, and also Demko's struggles this year. Well Burns is already manning the point in his first season with the Hurricanes, having averaged 3:16 with the extra man. This is a guy who routinely has racked up double-digit power-play points every season, and he already has two this year.
Nils Lundkvist, DAL at OTT ($13): Somebody had to fill the void left by John Klingberg, and it seems to be Lundkvist. The 22-year-old defenseman has three points and eight shots on net through five games, and he's averaged 1:56 per contest on the power play. Anton Forsberg has a 2.83 GAA and .904 save percentage, and even last year when he had a .917 save percentage he had a 2.82 GAA because the Senators allowed so many shots on goal.
DEFENSE TO AVOID
Quinn Hughes, VAN vs. CAR ($20): Hughes was a game-time decision for Saturday's game and did not play, so it's possible he won't be full strength Monday, and could theoretically not play at all (though I anticipate him being back in the lineup). This matchup is entirely counter to Hughes' strengths, though. He is a power-play weapon first and foremost, and the Hurricanes have the top penalty kill since the start of last year.
Thomas Chabot, OTT vs. DAL ($19): Chabot has more talent around him, but it hasn't led to an offensively explosion yet. He has two points, both assists, though he has put 13 shots on goal in five games (and only five of them came against the lowly Coyotes). As I mentioned, though, Oettinger has an 1.25 GAA and .959 save percentage this season.
