This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
The trade deadline is now officially behind us. Rosters are solidified, or at least solidifying. Saturday brings us six games starting at 7 p.m. EST or later. Here are the players to target, and to avoid, for your DFS lineups.
GOALIE
Juuse Saros, NAS at CHI ($32): Both of these teams were wheeling and dealing, but with an eye on rebuilding. However, Saros is still part of Nashville's future, and with a career .919 save percentage that makes sense. Chicago is last in goals per game at 2.46 and, well, you saw who they dealt. This offense is only going to get worse.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Filip Gustavsson, MIN at CGY ($38): Gustavsson has wrested the No. 1 goalie spot from Marc-Andre Fleury, and with good reason. His .930 save percentage is stellar. Having said that, the Flames are a more difficult matchup than you might think. Their 3.11 goals per game doesn't wow you, but they've also put 35.6 shots on net per contest, which is second highest in the NHL. Gustavsson will be challenged in this road start.
CENTER
Phillip Danault, LOS vs. STL ($16): Anze Kopitar is still the top guy for the Kings, but Danault is no slouch, especially with Kevin Fiala and Viktor Arvidsson on his wings. He has 43 points in 63 games, and you may have forgotten he scored 27 goals last season. The Blues have a 3.64 GAA, and as a team that was a seller at the deadline, things are likely to get sketchier the rest of the way.
CENTER TO AVOID
Elias Pettersson, VAN vs. TOR ($31): The Canucks' plan seems to be to build around Pettersson, but first they have to, you know, start building. Toronto is built to win right now, with a 2.63 GAA and with only allowing 28.9 shots on net per contest. Things are even better with Ilya Samsonov in net, as he has a 2.39 GAA.
WING
Claude Giroux, OTT vs. CLM ($21): Giroux has a whopping 10 points over his last four games. That's only a quartet of contests, sure, but he has 24 points over his last 16 outings as well. The Blue Jackets are in the bottom three in GAA and shots on net allowed per contest, and they are on the second leg of a back-to-back. Michael Hutchinson will likely make his first NHL start of the season after being dealt to Columbus, and he's been mostly an AHL goalie for several seasons now.
Philip Tomasino, NAS at CHI ($16): Roles are shifting in Nashville, and I am looking at Tomasino to step up. In his age-20 season last year, the first-round pick had 32 points in a limited role. He got called up in the middle of February and since then has five points in nine games, even though he's only shooting at a 5.6 percent clip. Chicago has allowed 33.9 shots on net per contest, and though Alex Stalock is back and was playing well prior to his concussion issues, in his career the veteran has a .909 save percentage.
WINGS TO AVOID
Johnny Gaudreau, CLM at OTT ($17): As I noted, the Blue Jackets are on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back. The Senators may not feel too imposing, but there is a good chance Mads Sogaard will be in net. He's only made five starts since his promotion, but he has a 2.37 GAA and .920 save percentage in those games. Also, Ottawa actually has the fifth-ranked penalty kill.
Jonathan Huberdeau, CGY vs. MIN ($17): Moving on to Gaudreau's former team, Huberdeau has 40 points in 59 games, with 12 of those being goals. It's not about bad puck luck, though. Huberdeau has oddly only put 96 shots on net after tallying 222 last year. Clearly, he's not part of the Flames' penchant for pummeling the net with pucks, and Gustavsson does have a .930 save percentage.
DEFENSE
Morgan Rielly, TOR at VAN ($19): With the additions to Toronto's blue line, Rielly's minutes dropped in his last game, but not on the power play. It seems the Maple Leafs are shifting him into a role that plays to his strengths. Rielly has 12 power-play points in 47 games, and the Canucks have the league's worst penalty kill.
Sean Durzi, LOS vs. STL ($18): Durzi has eight points in his last nine contests. On the year he's tallied 14 points with the extra man as well. Jordan Binnington has a 3.29 GAA and .895 save percentage, and the Blues have a below-average penalty kill for good measure.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Quinn Hughes, VAN vs. TOR ($20): The Maple Leafs are the best defensive team among the squads on this slate, ranking in the top six in GAA and shots on net allowed per game. Samsonov's strong goaltending only makes them tougher, and they made additions to their team with a clear eye toward defense as well. Hughes has taken on an even larger role on the power play than before, up over four minutes per game on average, but I still don't want to roster him Saturday.
Seth Jones, CHI vs. NAS ($17): Jones looks around and sees himself as the last man standing in Chicago, the only significant player left on the roster. Hey, at least he gets to play with his brother. It's harder to produce with less talent around you, and he is facing a goalie in Saros who has a .916 save percentage. The Finn has also only allowed two goals in each of his last three starts.
