This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
It's the Ides of March, but you need not be afraid. I have lineup recommendations from Wednesday's four NHL games to try and lead you to DFS success. Here are the players to target, and to avoid, for your lineups.
GOALIE
Marc-Andre Fleury, MIN at STL ($29): Minnesota has announced Fleury is getting the start Wednesday, but he's been on a strong run of performance recently. Over his last six starts he has an 1.66 GAA and .944 save percentage. The Blues have averaged only 28.9 shots on net per game, and while they've averaged 3.06 goals per contest, they were sellers at the deadline.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Alexandar Georgiev, COL at TOR ($35): With the talent on these two teams, there could be a lot of goals in this game. Georgiev has a 2.65 GAA and .916 save percentage, but he's going to be on the road against a Maple Leafs team that has averaged 3.42 goals per game and is largely healthy right now.
CENTER
Brock Nelson, NYI at ANA ($20): Nelson has had a career year, having set personal bests in points, power-play points, and shots on net. He may not score 37 goals like he did last season, but 28 goals is nothing to sneeze at. Though the Islanders are on the second leg of a back-to-back, this matchup is just too good to worry about that. The Ducks are last in GAA and shots on net allowed per contest.
CENTER TO AVOID
Brayden Schenn, STL vs. MIN ($17): Schenn is technically the Blues' third-line center, but he plays a lot with the extra man so he still gets plenty of minutes. The Wild have a top-10 penalty kill, though, and Fleury's been hot over the last month. As I noted, the veteran goalie has an 1.66 GAA and .944 save percentage over his last six starts.
WING
Jeff Skinner, BUF at WAS ($24): Skinner has only been held without a point twice in his last 14 games. He's also put 184 shots on net in 63 contests. The Capitals are on the second leg of a back-to-back, and Charlie Lindgren has a .905 save percentage in his role as a backup goalie.
Matthew Boldy, MIN at STL ($20): After a bit of a drought, Boldy has three goals in his last five games (plus two assists for good measure). On top of that, he's tallied 211 shots on goal through 67 outings. The Blues have allowed 32.4 shots on net per contest, and Jordan Binnington has a 3.33 GAA and .894 save percentage.
WINGS TO AVOID
Valeri Nichushkin, COL at TOR ($23): Nichushkin has lost one of his linemates, as Artturi Lehkonen is out with an injury. The Russian is also on the second power-play unit right now as well. As for the Maple Leafs, they have a 2.70 GAA and have only allowed 28.9 shots on net per contest.
Michael Bunting, TOR vs. COL ($16): Bunting has 20 goals and 23 assists, but he only has eight power-play points. There's just too much talent on the Maple Leafs for Bunting to sneak onto the top unit. The Avalanche actually have a below-average penalty kill, but Bunting isn't primed to take advantage of that. He does have to face Georgiev and his .916 save percentage as well.
DEFENSE
Jared Spurgeon, MIN at STL ($18): Spurgeon has a two-game point streak, and he had six shots on net in his last outing as well. He's also notched 132 shots on goal while picking up 166 blocked shots as well. Meanwhile, the Blues have a 3.65 GAA, which is bottom five in the NHL.
Noah Dobson, NYI at ANA ($17): Dobson is prolific at shooting the puck, having put 176 shots on net in 64 contests. The Ducks have allowed a staggering 39.1 shots on goal per game. Anaheim also has a bottom-five penalty kill, and the Islanders defenseman has 17 power-play points.
DEFENSE TO AVOID
Justin Faulk, STL vs. MIN ($18): Faulk has 33 points in 66 games, which means he effectively notches a point half the time he takes the ice. It may be hard for him to do that in this game, though, with Fleury's strong play recently. Plus, once Torey Krug returned, Faulk effectively stopped producing on the power play.
Bowen Byram, COL at TOR ($18): Byram has 15 points in 27 games, though with a 14.6 shooting percentage that will be difficult to sustain. The young defenseman also doesn't get to play much with the extra man. Toronto has only allowed 28.9 shots on goal per game, and Ilya Samsonov has a 2.41 GAA and .915 save percentage.
