This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
It's a pretty eventful Thursday in the NHL, as there are nine games on the docket. That means you have 18 teams worth of players to choose from for your lineup.
GOALIE
Martin Jones, SAN vs. BUF ($29): Jones is off to a slow start to the season, but he had a 2.55 GAA and .915 save percentage last year. Plus, the Sharks have only allowed 27.0 shots on net per game, after only giving up 30.3 last season. The Sabres only scored 2.41 goals per game last year, lowest in the NHL, and have only averaged 2.00 goals per contest this season.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Jaroslav Halak, BOS at EDM ($30): Halak is off to a great start to the year, as he has a 1.18 GAA and .961 save percentage. However, that's over a small sample size. Last season, he had a .908 save percentage. The Bruins are also on the road for the second night of a back-to-back. Though the Oilers haven't lit the world on fire offensively, they still have Connor McDavid, and that takes them a long way.
CENTER
Brayden Point, TAM vs. DET ($23): Point broke out in a major way last year, scoring 32 goals and adding 34 assists. He's also been a weapon on the power play since he was a rookie, having notched at least 11 points with the extra man in each of his two campaigns. The Wings had a 3.10 GAA last year, but this season their GAA has soared to 4.83, highest in the NHL.
CENTER TO AVOID
Sean Couturier, PHI at COL ($21): Like Point, Couturier had a breakout season last year. He was helped by his minutes going up, but he also put up a 13.7 shooting percentage, highest in his career. Sergei Bobrovsky got roughed up in his last start on the road against the Lightning, but it was only one start. The Russian had a 2.42 GAA and .921 save percentage over the much larger sample size of all of last season.
WING
Cam Atkinson, CLM vs. PHI ($23): Atkinson has come out of the gate on fire, as he has four points through five games, and he's also put 21 shots on net. Though injuries limited the 29-year-old to only 65 games last year, he still scored 24 goals on 231 shots. Brian Elliott had a .909 save percentage last season, and unlike Atkinson, he's off to a slow start (4.04 GAA, .874 save percentage).
Kyle Palmieri, NJD vs. COL ($23): Palmieri has seven goals through four games, and he's lit the lamp in every single contest. That includes four goals on the power play, and he had 11 goals with the extra man last season in only 62 games. Meanwhile, last season the Avalanche had a 3.37 GAA in road contests.
WINGS TO AVOID
Brock Boeser, VAN at WPG ($24): Boeser was quite impressive last season, scoring 29 goals in 62 games. That being said, he had a 16.2 shooting percentage, which could possibly regress. Regardless, this is a tough matchup. The Jets had a 2.46 GAA at home last year, and Connor Hellebuyck had a 2.36 GAA and .924 save percentage.
Josh Bailey, NYI at LOS ($14):Bailey had career highs in goals (18) and points (71) last year, but that includes 31 power-play points, which will be hard to replicate. The absence of John Tavares further increases the difficulty of that. The Kings had the top penalty kill in the league last season, and Jack Campbell has a .922 save percentage through five games this year.
DEFENSE
Jake Gardiner, TOR vs. PIT ($17): Gardiner has been overshadowed by Morgan Rielly, but he has five points through seven games to start the season himself. Last year, he had a career-high 52 points, despite a career-low 3.8 shooting percentage, so he provides a solid amount of scoring from the blue line in his own right. The Penguins had a 3.37 GAA on the road last year, and Matt Murray is still dealing with the fallout of a concussion.
Mikhail Sergachev, TAM vs. DET ($14): Last year, Sergechev started 70.2 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, highest on the Lightning. The ninth-overall pick from the 2016 NHL Draft showed some offensive upside as a rookie, notching 40 points, including 16 on the power play. The Wings have a 4.83 GAA to start this year, but last season on the road they had a 3.34 GAA as well.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Ivan Provorov, PHI at CLM ($19): Provorov is another defense who is off to a slow start, as he too is pointless through six games. He's also never been much of a power-play weapon, as he's had five points with the extra man in each of his two seasons. As previously noted, Sergei Bobrovsky had a .921 save percentage last year, and Columbus had a 2.37 GAA at home.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, ARI at CHI ($13): Ekman-Larsson is playing a ton of minutes, as per usual, but he has yet to register a point. If things go according to plan, he may not erase the goose egg Thursday. Corey Crawford is expected to make his season debut in this game. Though it's been a while since he last played, he had a 2.27 GAA and .929 save percentage last year.
