This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
There's no baseball Thursday. Given that, why not turn your attention toward the NHL, where there are 12 games on the schedule? Here's some food for thought when assembling your lineup…
GOALIE
Carter Hutton, BUF vs. COL ($29): Hutton turned heads last season by posting a 2.09 GAA and .931 save percentage in limited action. So far, the other shoe hasn't dropped, as he has a 2.06 GAA and .943 save percentage to start this year. Colorado's offense was good overall last year, but on the road it scored 2.68 goals per game and managed a mere 28.7 shots on net per contest.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Jake Allen, STL vs. CGY ($32): Part of the reason Carter Hutton played as much as he did for the Blues last year was because of Allen's struggles. He finished the season with a .906 save percentage. The new year has not led to redemption yet, as he's allowed five goals apiece in each of his starts. Calgary tallied 33.6 shots on net per game last year, and guys like Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau can certainly take advantage of a struggling netminder.
CENTER
Joe Pavelski, SJ at NYR ($22): It's easy to take Pavelski for granted, especially since he had "only" 22 goals last year thanks to a 9.8 shooting percentage comfortably below his career average. Despite that, he still managed 23 power play points, and he's averaged at least 3:00 per game with the extra man since the 2008-09 season. The Rangers had a 3.21 GAA last year, fourth highest in the NHL, and allowed a whopping 35.3 shots on net per contest.
CENTER TO AVOID
Mark Scheifele, WPG at NAS ($27): Scheifele is having a fine season, but this is a tough matchup. The Predators had a 2.49 GAA last year, second lowest in the NHL. Pekka Rinne won the Vezina with a 2.31 GAA and .927 save percentage, and he's looked good in two starts this year. There are a lot of options out there, and most of them have easier matchups than the Jets center.
WING
Jake Guentzel, PIT vs. VGK ($24):Jake Guentzel scored 22 goals last season thanks in part to playing on Sidney Crosby's wing, and that's a position he still maintains. It's also interesting to see that he's averaged2:48 per game on the power play so far, although that could obviously decrease over a bigger sample size. The Golden Knights will be on the road for the second night of a back-to-back, which likely means Marc-Andre Fleury won't be starting again his old team. Instead, Malcolm Subban, who had a .910 save percentage last year, will likely be between the pipes.
Kyle Palmieri, NJD vs. WAS ($23): Palmieri was crazy productive on the power play last season, tallying 23 points with the extra man in only 62 games. He also had 24 goals, which was his lowest total in his three years with the Devils. The Capitals are also on the road for the second day of a back-to-back, and they will be starting Pheonix Copley, who had an .896 save percentage in the AHL last year.
WINGS TO AVOID
Brock Boeser, VAN at TB ($24): This is no knock on Boeser, even though he's averaged NEGATIVE 1.5 fantasy points per game to start the season. It's just a rather tough matchup in what is about as much of a road game as it gets for a team from Vancouver. Andrei Vasilevskiy had a .920 save percentage last year, so it will be hard for Boeser to use this game to right the ship.
Evgenii Dadonov, FLA vs. CLM ($23): Dadonov scored 28 goals last year, but the 28-year-old was getting his first real taste of NHL action after years in Russia. He had a 14.9 shooting percentage, which could easily regress. Sergei Bobrovsky has been stellar the last two seasons, and he has a .919 save percentage to start this year.
DEFENSE
Rasmus Ristolainen, BUF vs. COL ($19):Rasmus Dahlin will be the man for the Sabres soon, but for now Ristolainen has that role. Over the last three seasons he's notched at least 41 points and 180 shots on net. He's also had at least 21 points with the extra man in those campaigns. The Avalanche struggled on the road last year, posting a 3.37 GAA in away games.
Ryan Suter, MIN vs. CHI ($19): Suter is a minutes machine, as last year as a 32-year-old he averaged 26:47 per game, including 3:05 with the extra man. That trend has continued this season, as he's played 25:42 per contest through two games. Corey Crawford is out, which leaves Cam Ward (4.62 GAA, .843 save percentage through three games) as the likely starter.
DEFENSE TO AVOID
Roman Josi, NAS vs. WPG ($25): Josi is quite pricey, as he's tied for being the fourth-most-expensive defenseman Thursday. That makes sense given his track record, even though he doesn't have a point through three games. This is a really tough matchup for the Finnish defenseman to try and break that goose egg, as Connor Hellebuyck had a 2.36 GAA and .924 save percentage last year. Now, to start this season, he has a 2.33 GAA and .926 save percentage.
Shea Theodore, VGK at PIT ($19): Theodore was solid last year, he had 29 points in 61 games, but this price feels a little high for that. Beyond that, the Golden Knights are on the road for their second game in as many nights, which is a factor going against the 23-year-old. Matt Murray is out, but Casey DeSmith managed a 2.40 GAA and .921 save percentage backing Murray up last year.
