This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
If you love hockey, Valentine's Day, well, it may not be perfect. There are only three games on the slate Wednesday, and only one of them really pops from a viewership perspective. Hey, that game (Florida-Pittsburgh) is on TNT, though! So maybe this NHL slate is like a box of heart-shaped chocolate bought at the pharmacy. Not the best gift, but at least an effort was made. Here are my players to target, and to avoid, for your DFS lineups.
GOALIE
Sergei Bobrovsky, FLA at PIT ($33): The Panthers have already said Bobrovsky is getting this start, with a game in Buffalo scheduled for Thursday. Pittsburgh, in spite of the big names, is in the bottom 10 in goals per game. Now, it has also put 33.3 shots on net per contest, so maybe there is some bad luck in play. However, the Panthers have held opponents to only 27.3 shots on goal per game, so the Penguins may not get as many shots as they are accustomed to.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Tristan Jarry, PIT vs. FLA ($31): Jarry has similar numbers to Bobrovsky, even a bit better, with his 2.44 GAA and .916 save percentage. The difference is the quality of these offenses. Florida has managed even more pucks on target – 34.3 shots on net per game – but the difference is that it is above average in goals per contest.
CENTER
Joel Eriksson Ek, MIN at ARI ($24): Eriksson Ek hasn't centered Minnesota's top line on a regular basis, but he's there now, and he's been producing wherever he's been placed. The Swede has 42 points in 52 games, and he has five multi-point games in his last 10 outings. Arizona's overall team GAA is not bad, but that's because Connor Ingram was performing quite well earlier in the year. Unfortunately for the Coyotes, Ingram has an .898 save percentage in his last 12 appearances.
CENTER TO AVOID
Evgeni Malkin, PIT vs. FLA ($24): Malkin has managed 41 points in 49 games, even though he's been indicative of the power-play issues that have plagued the Penguins. The Russian has managed only three goals with the extra man. Of course, the Panthers have the sixth-ranked penalty kill, so it's not like I'd be expecting power-play success from Malkin and company anyway. Bobrovsky also has a 2.43 GAA.
WING
Nick Schmaltz, ARI vs. MIN ($17): Schmaltz has averaged 3:18 per game with the extra man. He's tallied eight goals and six assists on the power play, and that's in 48 games. The Wild have a bottom-five penalty kill, so this matchup is up his alley.
Nino Niederreiter, WPG vs. SAN ($12): Niederreiter picked up a goal in his last game, giving him 13 on the season to go with 13 assists. He's also put at least three shots on net in four of his last five contests. The Sharks remain last in GAA and shots on net allowed per game, and they are also 31st in penalty-kill percentage for good measure.
WINGS TO AVOID
Evan Rodrigues, FLA at PIT ($14): Rodrigues has spent much of this season as a top-six forward for the Panthers, which has helped him get to 30 points in 52 games. However, currently he's down on the third line, which cuts into his minutes. Furthermore, his 6.8 shooting percentage is not actually a sign of poor luck, as his career number is 7.7. Maybe Jarry will be busy Wednesday, but Rodrigues isn't who I am worried about, and Jarry does have a .916 save percentage.
Fabian Zetterlund, SAN at WPG ($13): Zetterlund has 14 goals in 51 games, but right now the situation is even bleaker for the Sharks than previous. Logan Couture AND Tomas Hertl are both out right now. If that wasn't bad enough, the Jets have a 2.32 GAA, which is lowest in the NHL.
DEFENSE
Brock Faber, MIN at ARI ($23): Perhaps Faber heard that Connor Bedard's return is nearing, so he decided to bolster his Calder resume while he can. The defenseman has 13 points in his last 10 games and has averaged a whopping 25:55 a night in ice time over that span. With Ingram's struggles (.898 save percentage over his last 12 games) and Arizona's below-average penalty kill, Faber has a real opportunity.
Josh Morrissey, WPG vs. SAN ($21): Morrissey is primed to settle in somewhere between his earlier career and last season's surprising (outlier?) campaign. He has 35 points in 50 games, including eight with the extra man. The Sharks have a 3.82 GAA, comfortably highest in the NHL, so they remain the clear best matchup in the league.
DEFENSE TO AVOID
Erik Karlsson, PIT vs. FLA ($24): Karlsson has been picking up a point – and only one point – pretty regular recently. That includes an assist against these same Panthers the last time they played. However, that helper came on the power play in a game where the defenseman played 10:02 (yes, 10:02) with the extra man. In typical circumstances, facing Bobrovsky's 2.43 GAA and Florida's staunch defense doesn't bode well.
Jacob Middleton, MIN at ARI ($10): Middleton has seven goals in only 52 games, which is already a personal high. The thing of it is that his seven goals have come with a 13.2 shooting percentage. That's viable for a forward, but unusually high for a defenseman, especially one who has averaged a mere three seconds per game on the power play. His numbers are flattering to him at the moment.
