This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
It's the final Friday of January, and the All-Star break is around the corner. There are four NHL games this particular Friday, with the first pucks dropping at 7 p.m. ET. Here are my players to target, and to avoid, for your DFS lineups.
GOALIE
Jordan Binnington, STL at SEA ($29): The Blues are 25th in goals per game and have averaged 29.3 shots on net per contest. Those aren't good numbers. However, the Kraken rank 26th in goals per game and have managed 29.0 shots on goal per contest. Those are worse numbers. As such, I'll take the shot on Binnington, who for what it's worth has a 2.12 GAA and .927 save percentage over his last eight games.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Tristan Jarry, PIT vs. FLA ($31): Jarry has a .913 save percentage, but that's paired with a 2.56 GAA that is quite good for the offensive landscape of the current NHL season. The Panthers never make it easy on the opposition, though. While their 3.23 goals per game is just below the bottom 10, they are first with 34.4 shots on net per contest.
CENTER
Vincent Trocheck, NYR vs. VGK ($20): Adin Hill just returned for Vegas, and he looked quite good, but he had to turn aside 40 shots to only allow two goals. The game prior, Logan Thompson faced 38 shots himself. Is a banged-up Golden Knights team scuffling defensively? If so, Trocheck has put 116 shots on net in 47 games and tallied 225 last season. He also has 17 points in his last 15 outings.
CENTER TO AVOID
Evgeni Malkin, PIT vs. FLA ($24): Florida's goaltending has been up and down, but it has only allowed 27.1 shots on net per game and has the 10th-ranked penalty kill. Malkin has tallied 12 of his 38 points with the extra man, so facing a top penalty kill makes it tough for the future Hall of Famer to live up to his lofty salary.
WING
Jonathan Marchessault, VGK at NYR ($23): Marchessault is on a five-game point streak, so he's stayed hot even with Jack Eichel and William Karlsson out. He's one of the best players in the NHL at racking up shots on goal, and he has 166 this year in 48 games this year. The Rangers have only allowed 28.5 shots on net per game, but keeping Marchessault entirely in check is tricky, and the goaltending for the Rangers has been surprisingly poor.
Trevor Moore, LOS at COL ($19): Moore has already set a personal high with 21 goals, doing that in only 45 games. However, it's not some egregious puck luck, as his shooting percentage is 13.9, which is a number that feels sustainable. Even if it isn't, sheer tonnage should help, as Moore has thrown 43 shots on net over his last 11 games. The Avalanche don't allow many shots on goal, but Alexandar Georgiev has an .896 save percentage, so the pucks that get through often bear fruit.
WINGS TO AVOID
Mikko Rantanen, COL vs. LOS ($35): When the salary outlay is this high, it doesn't take a lot to give me pause. The Kings have the number-one penalty kill in the NHL. Rantanen is a great player, but he is one of the top power-play producers in the NHL. In fact, 30 of his 65 points have come with the extra man. Can the Finn solve the league's top-ranked penalty kill? I don't know if I want to take a shot on that.
Jordan Kyrou, STL at SEA ($19): Kyrou has managed 13 goals this year, but it's taken a lot of work to get there. He has an 8.7 shooting percentage which means it has taken 150 shots on net to get to 13 goals. The Kraken don't allow a ton of shots – 29.9 shots on goal per contest – and Joey Daccord has been excellent. He has a 2.32 GAA and .922 save percentage.
DEFENSE
Vince Dunn, SEA vs. STL ($25): Dunn just returned to action, and he picked up an assist in the process. He's averaged 2:48 per game on the power play and has 13 power-play points in 43 games. The Blues rank 22nd in penalty-kill percentage. That's not terrible, but it is the worst of any of these eight teams.
Alec Martinez, VGK at NYR ($20): Martinez had a solid role with the Golden Knights, but recently his role has been elevated to a notable level. Over his last seven games he's averaged 23:09 a night in ice time, in part because he's played 2:44 per contest on the power play. He has four assists in that time, but also has blocked 26 shots, blocking shots being a longtime staple of Martinez's game. That much playing time makes Martinez better for DFS purposes, and the Rangers aren't a bad matchup for him.
DEFENSE TO AVOID
Colton Parayko, STL at SEA ($22): Parayko has six points over his last 10 contests, so his stock is up. On the flip side, Daccord has a 2.32 GAA and .922 save percentage this year. Now, the Kraken do have a below-average penalty kill, but Parayko doesn't play on the power play at all. He'll have to try and tackle Daccord at even strength, which is obviously tough.
Drew Doughty, LOS at COL ($21): Doughty has six points in his last 10 games, but that includes a 25.0 shooting percentage, and five of those points have come on the power play. His shooting luck will likely regress, and the Avalanche have the 11th-ranked penalty kill. Doughty's momentum, such as it is, seems primed to dissipate.
