This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
With just a 10:30 PM Eastern time Oilers-Sharks matchup on tap Tuesday, this NHL slate will feature Wednesday's 14 games in addition to this Tuesday matchup. Since waiting until Wednesday to make your selections is an option as well, the below recommendations for which players to target and avoid will prominently feature players from Tuesday's game while still touching on the others as well.
GOALIE
Semyon Varlamov, COL at LA ($36): Varlamov has gotten back on track with two straight wins following a five-game stretch without one, and his rate stats are still in terrific shape (2.32 GAA, .926 save percentage). With arguably the league's most dangerous first line providing goal support and a Kings team that averages only 2.00 goals per game trying to solve Varlamov, he's in great position to stretch his win streak to three while keeping the puck out of the net.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Marc-Andre Fleury, VGK at ARI ($33): Fleury's given up three-plus goals in four of his past five appearances, and it looks like he's not the problem. Backup Malcolm Subban fared even worse Monday, allowing seven goals in a loss to Calgary. The Coyotes aren't a high-scoring opponent, but they're not easy to beat, and it's hard to trust Fleury against anyone given his recent results.
CENTER
Joe Pavelski, SJ vs. EDM ($21): Pavelski is in the midst of a dominant four-game stretch, during which he's compiled six goals, three assists and a plus-6 rating. While Pavelski's 21.3 shooting percentage is likely unsustainable, it's worth noting that nobody's better at redirecting the puck in front, and that useful skill has allowed Pavelski to maintain a shooting percentage as high as 18.2 over a full 82-game slate before. He's also starting to rack up more assists after a slow start in that category, and has a highly favorable matchup against Oilers netminder Cam Talbot, who has allowed 20 goals over his five-game losing streak.
CENTER TO AVOID
Brayden Schenn, STL at NSH ($20): Schenn's off to a slow start, and it's only gotten worse lately. He's in the midst of a brutal five-game stretch during which he's been held below one fantasy point four times, and getting back on track won't be easy against a Nashville team that's allowing the fewest goals in the league. If you insist on picking against the Predators, pay up the extra $2 for Ryan O'Reilly, who has 23 points to Schenn's 10 this season.
WINGS
Drake Caggiula, EDM at SJ ($13): Caggiula is in one of the most favorable situations in all of hockey, skating on a line with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. He's parlayed that role into three points over the past three games, and should find himself in the midst of many more scoring chances than typically seen by players in this price range. Since Caggiula's best chances to score will come at even strength, San Jose's 89.1 percent penalty kill also won't have an adverse effect on him.
Alexander Radulov, DAL at PIT ($23): Radulov's eight goals and 15 points may not look overly impressive at first, but those totals really start to pop when you consider that he's only suited up for 11 games. A Penguins team relying on Matt Murray (4.08 GAA and .877 save percentage) in net is in no position to stop Radulov from padding his point total.
WINGS TO AVOID
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, EDM at SJ ($22): While lineup placement favors Caggiula, Nugent-Hopkins has seen his production dry up since leaving Connor McDavid's side. RNH has only three points and a minus-7 rating over the past six games, with two of those three points coming on the power play. Given his recent struggles at even strength and San Jose's success on the penalty kill, this isn't the time to turn to Nugent-Hopkins.
Ilya Kovalchuk, LA vs. COL ($20): Kovalchuk's defensive issues have become a serious problem, as his rating's down to minus-10, and he's mired in an ugly six-game stretch during which he's totaled 3.8 fantasy points and a minus-4 rating. While an Avalanche offense averaging 3.55 goals per game is primed to exploit Kovalchuk's poor defense, his countryman Varlamov will make it difficult for the Russian to produce offense of his own.
DEFENSEMEN
Brent Burns, SJ vs. EDM ($30): Given Talbot's aforementioned struggles, Burns should be worth paying up for here. The star blueliner has 22 points in 21 games, and that's despite scoring on only 4.3 percent of his 70 shots (three goals). He's due to get rewarded for putting all that rubber on net, and Burns has delivered strong value even with the lack of goals thus far.
Matt Dumba, MIN vs. OTT ($19): Dumba has been on fire recently, producing three goals and two assists to go with 19 shots over the past four games. He's also recorded at least one power-play point in each of those four contests. Don't expect Dumba's hot streak to come to an end against a Senators team that's been by far the worst in the league defensively with 4.19 goals allowed per game.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Josh Mahura, ANH vs. VAN ($27): Mahura scored 11.8 fantasy points in his first game, but one strong performance doesn't justify a $27 valuation. Avoid him, at least until Mahura's price drops to a reasonable valuation for an unproven commodity.
Ryan McDonagh, TB vs. FLA ($20): McDonagh's strength is in his own end, but he's not a game-changer offensively, as evidenced by his season total of one goal and meager six shots in the past seven games. His strong performance in the rating category may not continue while Louis Domingue (3.58 GAA, .889 save percentage) presides over the Lightning net with Andrei Vasilevskiy (foot) out, giving owners little reason to pick McDonagh.
