This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
Sunday features five NHL games with the first one at 3 p.m. EST. That means you have to get your lineups in earlier, but hopefully that's manageable since it's the weekend. Here are my players to target, and to avoid, for your DFS lineups.
GOALIE
Carter Hart, PHI vs. DET ($26): Hart is a roll of the dice, but he sometimes offers enough talent and upside that I feel like he's worth it. Let's just say I prefer him more than most goalies with a .907 save percentage. The Flyers are catching a Red Wings team on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back. Detroit sits just outside the bottom-10 in goals, but also with a measly average of 28.6 shots.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Philipp Grubauer, SEA at COL ($26): Grubauer is facing his old team, and he enters Sunday with a 2.55 GAA over his last 11 starts. However, he's also slightly struggled during that stretch with a .904 save percentage. I don't want to go with Grubauer, even though the Avs just played Saturday. Colorado is middling in goals per game, but top eight in shots. Also bear in mind that both Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar are healthy now.
CENTER
Nick Suzuki, MON at VGK ($17): Suzuki experienced issues for a little while after Cole Caufield got hurt, but he's recorded a point in five of his last six outings. He'll get to face a Vegas team who's set to start Jonathan Quick, who was just traded for and I can't quite figure out why. He's won Cups in the past, but he's 37 now and lists an .876 save percentage.
CENTER TO AVOID
Matty Beniers, SEA at COL ($16): Beniers is probably going to win the Calder, but he's still a teenaged rookie. Though he's a first-line center, he's only averaged 16:59 per game. He's also only directed 113 shots on net through 60 appearances. With Pavel Francouz out, Alexandar Georgiev has started both ends of a back-to-back a couple times, and it worked out the last time when he stopped a combined 69 of 72 shots.
WING
Jesper Bratt, NJD at ARI ($24): Bratt has scored 25 goals while registering 157 shots. The Coyotes have allowed a whopping 35.5 shots on goal a night. They also maintain the 26th-ranked penalty kill, and Bratt has notched 20 points with the extra man.
Ivan Barbashev, VGK vs. MON ($15): Barbashev got dealt to the Golden Knights and is currently on the top line next to Jack Eichel. He's averaged 18:30 with three assists in three games. The Canadiens have allowed an average of 33.7 shots, and Jake Allen enters with a 3.34 GAA and .898 save percentage.
WINGS TO AVOID
Nick Schmaltz, ARI vs. NJD ($18): Schmaltz has been on fire, though his 31.4 shooting percentage over his last 15 games will be hard to sustain. Even though he's hot, this matchup is arguably the toughest one Sunday as Vitek Vanecek has a 2.46 GAA and the Devils have only allowed 28.3 shots.
Lucas Raymond, DET at PHI ($12): In four appearances since returning from injury, Raymond doesn't have a point. Now he's on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back. With only four games on the slate and with the matchups, that's enough for me to omit Raymond from consideration.
DEFENSE
Mike Matheson, MON at VGK ($18): Matheson has posted seven points in his last seven games. He's also fired 20 shots through his last five. As mentioned earlier, Quick is projected to start for Vegas and he's produced an .896 save percentage across five seasons.
Tony DeAngelo, PHI vs. DET ($16): DeAngelo has cooled down, but he's still managed 10 goals and 24 assists over 57 games. I think this matchup could get him back on track since Ville Husso isn't expected to be back from injury, leaving AHL callup Alex Nedeljkovic to potentially start. He's made nine appearances in the NHL this year and has recorded an .880 save percentage.
DEFENSE TO AVOID
Devon Toews, COL vs. SEA ($18): Makar is back, meaning Toews is back to limited power-play minutes. He's only produced two points while up a man, so he's not primed to take advantage of Seattle's bottom-five penalty kill. The Kraken have also only allowed 27.8 shots on net per game. On the second night of a back-to-back, Toews may have issues putting pucks on goal.
Juuso Valimaki, ARI vs. NJD ($15): Valimaki represents the Coyotes' current lead blueliner, and he's accumulated 10 points from his last 12 games - all assists. Also, five of those have come on the power play. The Devils maintain a 2.67 GAA, but also boast the 10th-ranked penalty kill.
