This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
It's a light day for the NHL on Tuesday, with only three games on the slate. That's because the schedule is jam-packed Wednesday and Friday, to sandwich a day off for the league on Thanksgiving. Before we get stuffed on hockey and turkey, let's look at Tuesday's games and get into the players to target, and to avoid, for your DFS lineups.
GOALIE
Jacob Markstrom, CGY vs. CHI ($39): Markstrom is off to an incredible start to the season. We're talking Vezina candidate-type stuff, as he has an 1.71 GAA, .942 save percentage and five shutouts. I believe regression is coming, but not at home against Chicago, a team averaging 2.17 goals and 28.4 shots on net per contest.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Marc-Andre Fleury, CHI at CGY ($22): Fleury has looked like his Vezina-winning self recently, with only five goals allowed over his last four games. On the other hand, he has a 3.05 GAA and .911 save percentage over his 12 total appearances. Calgary's offense has been almost as good as its goaltending, as it has put up 3.32 goals and 34.3 shots on goal per game. Everything is pointing toward the Flames in this matchup.
CENTER
Elias Lindholm, CGY vs. CHI ($30): Lindholm has put together a five-game point streak, giving him 20 points in 19 games. That was during a lengthy road trip, by the way. Now the Flames return home and face a team with a 3.22 GAA. Even with Fleury's improved play recently I'll go with the hot center from the Flames.
CENTER TO AVOID
Sean Couturier, PHI at TAM ($22): Couturier has cooled a bit, as he only has one point, an assist, in his last six games. Now he's in Tampa to face Andrei Vasilevskiy. His .917 save percentage is actually low by his standards, but he still has a 2.39 GAA.
WING
Zach Hyman, EDM at DAL ($23): The Oilers signed Hyman and said, "Hey want a spot on our incredible power play?" to which Hyman reasonably said, "Sure." He's averaged 2:22 with the extra man and tallied five power-play points in 17 games. Dallas is down in the bottom eight when it comes to the penalty kill, so the Oilers are looking at a nice opportunity here.
Jesse Puljujarvi, EDM at DAL ($22): With only three games taking place Tuesday I'm willing to double down on Oilers wings. Puljujarvi doesn't get as much power-play time as Hyman, but they both play on Edmonton's top line with Connor McDavid as their center. That's a nice place to be, and it's helped Puljujarvi to six goals and eight assists in 17 games. While he doesn't have a point in his last four, he has 15 shots on goal in those outings. In addition to their poor penalty kill, the Stars have a 3.13 GAA.
WINGS TO AVOID
Patrick Kane, CHI at CGY ($32): Even with only six teams in action, I'd try and avoid paying Kane's salary Tuesday. For starters, he only has one goal in his last seven games. He's racked up plenty of assists in that time, but when you are talking one of the highest-salaried DFS wings that means something. Also, let's not forget Markstrom's 1.71 GAA and .942 save percentage.
Ondrej Palat, TAM vs. PHI ($17): Palat often benefits from getting to play on a line with Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov. The problem for him? Both Point and Kucherov are out right now. Then, add in the fact Carter Hart seems to have put last season's nightmare behind him. Hart has a .932 save percentage this season. At home AND on the road, by the way.
DEFENSE
Miro Heiskanen, DAL vs. EDM ($18): Heiskanen is helping to power the Dallas offense so far. In particular, he leads the Stars with 44 shots on goal in 16 games. The Oilers, on the other hand, have given up a ton of shots. Specifically, they have allowed 34.2 shots on net per game.
Oliver Kylington, CGY vs. CHI ($18): Not familiar with Kylington? That's fair, as he has not been much of a factor for the Flames in the past. This year, though, he's on the second pairing and has averaged 16:51 in ice time. More than that, he's tallied 12 points in 18 games. Perhaps not coincidentally, his ice time is up to 18:15 per contest over his last seven games. Chicago, as I noted, has a 3.22 GAA.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Seth Jones, CHI at CGY ($20): Jones has been what Chicago hoped for when it traded for him, especially on the power play where he has six points. However, the Flames have a top-10 penalty kill. They also have the league's lowest GAA. The Flames have allowed 29.8 shots on net per game, which is not remarkable, but beyond a couple shots on net I don't see much upside for Jones in this one.
Ivan Provorov, PHI at TAM ($17): Provorov has three points in his last four games, which is good. On the other hand, he has five points all season, which is not so good. Three of them have come on the power play, and the Lightning have a top-10 penalty kill. They also have Vasilevskiy, who has a .917 save percentage overall and a .919 save percentage at home this year.
