This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
I hope you had a nice St. Patrick's Day. Now, it's time to put the green hats away and finish off that leftover corned beef. There are 10 games on the NHL slate Thursday. You have a lot of options for your daily fantasy lineup. Here are some of the guys I would want to employ, and some folks I would eschew for this evening.
GOALIE
Jake Oettinger, DAL at DET ($30): Oettinger has been getting most of the starts recently, and with the way he's playing that makes sense. He has a 2.16 GAA and .917 save percentage. The Wings have scored 2.27 goals per game, so if Oettinger gets the start over Anton Khudobin again it bodes well for him.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Kaapo Kahkonen, MIN at COL ($36): It's hard to know who will start between Kahkonen and Cam Talbot, because both are playing really well. However, whoever is in net, I would look elsewhere. Yes, the Avalanche have only scored 3.19 goals per game, which is unexpectedly low, but they lead the league with 34.2 shots on net per contest. I expect the Avalanche to improve in terms of goals per game, and that could come at the expense of Kahkonen.
CENTER
David Krejci, BOS at BUF ($14): There's bad puck luck, and then there's the season Krejci is having. The Czech pivot's shooting percentage is 2.9 percent. That is shockingly low, and bound to regress toward the mean. The Sabres are in disarray, and they also have a 3.39 GAA. Krejci may only have one goal on the season, but a second could be on the way.
CENTER TO AVOID
Sean Couturier, PHI at NYI ($26): Couturier has been on fire since returning to action in February, but some regression has already shown up. While he's picking up plenty of assists, Couturier hasn't scored a goal in his last seven games. Semyon Varlamov has been stellar this year, posting a 2.08 GAA and .926 save percentage. He's also being helped by the fact the Islanders have only allowed 27.3 shots on net per game.
WING
Patric Hornqvist, FLA vs. NAS ($21): Hornqvist has been a real asset on the power play for the Panthers this season. He's averaged 3:47 per game with the extra man and tallied nine power-play points. His former team in Nashville provides a great matchup on that front, as it has the worst penalty kill in the league.
Conor Garland, ARI at ANA ($14): Garland has gone on a bit of a cold spell, but he has 22 points in 28 games. Plus, he's started 65.2 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, second highest on the Coyotes. John Gibson has fallen apart in net over the last month or so, and now he's banged up. Ryan Miller is doing no better, as he has a 3.66 GAA and .878 save percentage.
WINGS TO AVOID
Patrick Kane, CHI at TAM ($33): Kane has earned his lofty salary, and in most matchups I wouldn't argue against splurging on him. However, being on the road against the Lightning is not a time when I want to pay that kind of salary. Andrei Vasilevskiy has a 1.89 GAA and .932 save percentage, and the Lightning have the sixth-ranked penalty kill.
Kirill Kaprizov, MIN at COL ($20): Kaprizov may win the Calder, but Colorado can shut down even the best offensive players. The Avalanche have a 2.37 GAA, and they've allowed a league-low 24.9 shots on net per contest. That's an incredible number, and shot suppression when down a man is also a reason why Colorado has the second-ranked penalty kill.
DEFENSE
Keith Yandle, FLA vs. NAS ($17): I mentioned the Predators have the league's worst penalty kill, and knowing that it was inevitable I would have to suggest Yandle for your lineup. The man remains a machine on the power play. He's averaged 3:57 on the power play and tallied 13 points with the extra man in 28 games. Yandle probably lives for matchups like this.
Nick Leddy, NYI vs. PHI ($14): Leddy already has 18 points in 30 games after only having 21 in 60 last year. If you think he's been lucky, in actuality he's done it on 2.4 percent shooting, which is the lowest of his career. The Flyers have been unexpectedly bad in net this season, ranking in the bottom 10 in GAA. On top of that, they are on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back Thursday, while the Islanders were off Wednesday.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Seth Jones, CLM at CAR ($19): Jones has only managed one goal this season, and it came back on Groundhog Day. He's picked up some helpers, but he only has one point in his last six contests. Petr Mrazek has been medically cleared, so he may be about to return. If he doesn't, though, Alex Nedeljkovic will likely be in net, and he has a 2.08 GAA and .929 save percentage.
Rasmus Dahlin, BUF vs. BOS ($10): It may not matter much for DFS, but I just want to point out that Dahlin has is a minus-27 this season, which is wild. As for what is pertinent for you, how about the fact that eight of his 11 points have come on the power play and the Bruins have the league's top penalty kill? That says it all.
