This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
We got a great football game Sunday night – congrats to the Chiefs – but now it is time to fully turn your attention to the NHL. There are five games Monday, and here are the players to target, and to avoid, for your DFS lineups.
GOALIE
Ville Husso, DET at VAN ($22): Husso's last start was at home against the Canucks, and he made 32 saves on 34 shots in a win. In fact, the Finn has a 2.30 GAA and .923 save percentage over his last seven starts. The Canucks may be ninth in goals per game, but they are 20th in shots on net per contest. Also, they don't have Bo Horvat anymore, and it feels like the bags are packed for the golf course this spring already.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Pheonix Copley, LOS vs. BUF ($27): Copley may have taken over as the Kings' lead goalie, but he still only has a 2.78 GAA and .901 save percentage. The Sabres have been dynamic offensively all season, and are tied for second in the NHL with 3.67 goals per contest.
CENTER
Elias Lindholm, CGY at OTT ($21): Lindholm has been sharing the attention with Nazem Kadri this year, but it hasn't cut into the Swede's production. His goal scoring is down – his 17.9 shooting percentage last year was a career high – but he still has 48 points in 52 games. With Anton Forsberg unfortunately out for the season, the Senators are officially a mess in goal. The 22-year-old netminder Mads Sogard is getting his third-ever NHL start, and this season he has faced all of three shots.
CENTER TO AVOID
Ridly Greig, OTT vs. CGY ($17): Yes, Greig has three points, all assists, in his first five NHL games, and he is up centering Ottawa's second line. He's also 20 and has, you know, played in all of five NHL games. Calgary's goaltending has been spotty, but it is still middling in terms of GAA because it has allowed a mere 27.6 shots on net per contest.
WING
Matt Duchene, NAS vs. ARI ($18): Duchene has picked up a goal in each of his last three games, and five goals in his last five contests. The Coyotes have allowed 35.0 shots on net per game, and it is expected Connor Ingram will be in net, as the Coyotes have been swapping starts for their goalies. Ingram has a 3.60 GAA and .879 save percentage.
David Perron, DET at VAN ($13): Perron has a point in each of his last two games, both on the power play. All in all, he's averaged 3:35 per contest with the extra man, and this is the perfect matchup for that. The Canucks have the league's worst penalty kill.
WINGS TO AVOID
Nick Schmaltz, ARI at NAS ($19): Juuse Saros has a 2.73 GAA, but a .919 save percentage. His issue is that he's faced a lot of shots, but Schmaltz, which productive, has only put 76 shots on net in 37 games. That's not a big number for a forward, which gives me more cause for pause in this matchup.
Matthew Boldy, MIN vs. FLA ($17): In his last five games, including four since the break, Boldy only has one point, an assist. He was hot for four games before that, but prior to that he had two points in nine contests. The second-year player has run hot and cold, and speaking of hot, Sergei Bobrovsky has a 2.66 GAA and .924 save percentage over his last nine starts.
DEFENSE
Moritz Seider, DET at VAN ($19): Seider has put fears of a sophomore slump behind him. He has 15 points in his last 13 games. Part of that is the fact he was returned to the top power-play unit, and five of his points in that time has come with the extra man. As I noted, the Canucks have the league's worst penalty kill.
Noah Hanifin, CGY at OTT ($17): Rasmuss Andersson is unfortunately banged up after a scooter accident, but Hanifin is healthy and he has six points and 19 shots on goal in his last seven outings. The Senators are starting Sogard in net, and the big Dane has allowed six goals on 57 career shots faced.
DEFENSE TO AVOID
Thomas Chabot, OTT vs. CGY ($19): I mentioned that the Flames have allowed a paltry 27.6 shots on goal per game. Well, they also have the sixth-ranked penalty kill. That's not good for Chabot, as 15 of his 29 points have come on the power play.
Jared Spurgeon, MIN vs. FLA ($17): On the flip side of my note above, the Panthers have a poor penalty kill all in all, but Spurgeon has averaged a mere 1:12 per game on the extra man. He's been productive, but the power play hasn't been able to help him earn any (relatively) easy points. Spurgeon will be facing Bobrovsky, who has a .924 save percentage over his last nine starts, almost entirely at even strength.
