This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
GOALIE
Braden Holtby, WAS vs. ARI ($36) – As much as I'm happy for Arizona with their recent win, toppling the Capitals is a much more difficult challenge than the Hurricanes. Holtby has won four of his past five games and despite allowing 15 goals in that span, he still sports a .921 save percentage. The Coyotes have been very good at scoring first, but it's unlikely they'll leave D.C. with a win. The Capitals are just deeper and better in nearly all facets.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Connor Hellebuyck, WPG at DAL ($34) – After going on an absolute tear, Hellebucyk and the Jets crashed back down to earth after allowing five goals against the Habs. As talented as Hellebuyck may be, the Stars are a dangerous offensive team and certainly have the edge with a more experienced lineup, a more dependable defense and home-ice advantage. If anything, this matchup will turn into a track meet with lots of offensive chances for both teams. Hellebucyk sports excellent career numbers against the Stars (4-1-1, 1.98 GAA, .933 save percentage), but like his hot streak this season it could blow up at any time.
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CENTER
Tyler Seguin, DAL vs. WPG ($30) – He's scored two goals in his past three games and has a good matchup against the Jets even though the Stars lost 5-2 in their previous meeting. Both of Seguin's most recent goals have come with the man advantage, and the Jets have not always been very disciplined, averaging over 10 penalty minutes per game. Seguin can be feast or famine at times, but the Jets are a good matchup in what should be a high-scoring game.
CENTER TO AVOID
Clayton Keller, ARI at WAS ($18) – He's an intriguing pick because his offensive ceiling is through the roof, but the Capitals are tough to beat and smart enough to know that Keller's the one they should focus on defending. The Coyotes have been very good at scoring first, but they've rarely held onto leads, and under Barry Trotz the Capitals have become better at grinding out wins. Keller has a formidable task in front of him having to face John Carlson and Holtby.
WING
Anthony Mantha, DET at VAN ($18) – Along with Dylan Larkin and Andreas Athanasiou, the three young forwards might form the fastest line in the league. Since Athanasiou ended his contract holdout and joined this line, all three players have started to produce, with Mantha potting goals in three straight games and starting to look like the sniper he was in major junior. The Canucks defense is banged up and allows quite a few shots, so there should plenty of chances for Mantha to register a point or two.
Alex Tuch, VGK at TOR ($18) – It's no secret the Leafs and Frederik Andersen haven't been playing well, and since his call up, Tuch is starting to play himself into a top-six role. He's scored four points in his past four games, and played a season-high 18:17 against Ottawa. He now has seven points in nine games, and at this rate will be in the conversation for the Calder Trophy. His size (6-foot-4, 222 pounds) will make him a nightmare for the Leafs defense, which faces a Knights offense that's already better than anyone expected.
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WINGS TO AVOID
Brad Marchand, BOS vs. MIN ($29) – He's one of the few Boston forwards who's actually scoring, but the Wild have been very stingy on defense and won't allow many chances. The Bruins have last change on home ice and the Wild are playing the first game of their long road trip, but other than that it seems there are very few things the Bruins offense can exploit. Marchand will draw the best defensive pairs and Devan Dubynk is still tough to beat despite a dip in his numbers, so he doesn't provide much value for being the second most expensive winger on the slate Monday night.
Mats Zuccarello, NYR vs. CLS ($20) – The Rangers love him because he never quits, but with just 26 shots on goal and a minus-9 rating, he's not a forward opposition defenses are particularly scared of. He's scored just once in his past seven games, not to mention he's facing a Blue Jackets defense that has two future stars in Seth Jones and Zach Werenski, and one of the best goalies on the planet in Sergei Bobrovsky.
DEFENSE
John Klingberg, DAL vs. WPG ($21) – After two quiet games to close out a long road trip, Klingberg responded with three assists against Buffalo, giving him 14 points on the season. A new wrinkle to Klingberg's already impressive game is his shot-blocking ability. The sample size is small, but Klingberg's blocking more shots than ever before but also playing a less physical game, perhaps a product of Ken Hitchcock's more structured defensive system where positional play is key. Klingberg will have plenty of chances to score against a Jets team that doesn't defend particularly well.
Nate Schmidt, VGK at TOR ($16) – He's an intriguing pick because of the role that he's starting to play – the No. 1 defenseman for the Golden Knights. Through 13 games he's the team leader in ice time with 21:58 per game, and he's played less than 20 minutes just twice this season. He's a strong skater who can really move the puck, which presents a challenge to the turnover-prone Leafs. Schmidt's not an elite offensive defenseman by any means, but he's putting together a scoring streak with an assist in two straight games.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
John Carlson, WAS vs. ARI ($22) – He's not exactly a fantasy darling because for all the talent he has, he doesn't put up a lot of points. He has just nine assists and a minus-3 rating this season, and against Arizona he'll be tasked with shutting down Keller. The good thing about Carlson is that he consistently gets pucks on net and blocks shots, but he's usually not dynamic enough on offense to force opposing defenses to pay attention to him.
Michael Del Zotto, VAN vs. DET ($14) – He's still looking for his first goal as a Canuck, and despite leading the team in ice time most nights, Del Zotto hasn't made the impact on offense everyone though the would. Signed to bolster the Canucks power play, MDZ has just two points with the man advantage and he's currently in a six-game scoring drought.
