This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
Saturday's NHL slate is teeming with action, as 24 teams are primed to take the ice beginning at 2:00 PM Eastern time. Certain players stand out from the pack in either positive or negative ways, so read on to see which ones to target and which to avoid.
GOALIE
Ryan Miller, ANH at ARI ($23): Miller's stopped all 61 shots he's faced since taking over for an injured John Gibson (lower body). That recent hot streak has improved his season GAA and save percentage to 2.46 and .925, respectively, so Miller would likely carry a much higher price tag given a regular starter's workload. As it is, he's a tremendous value at just $23 against a Coyotes team that's scoring the second-fewest goals in the league (2.41 per game).
GOALIE TO AVOID
Robin Lehner, BUF at WAS ($31): Wins have been hard to come by for Buffalo in recent years, but Lehner's been doing himself no favors recently with just two victories and 24 goals allowed over his past eight appearances. Improvement is unlikely against a Washington team that's 20-9-2 at Capital One Arena.
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CENTER
Henrik Zetterberg, DET vs. CAR ($15): It's easy to forget about Zetterberg with Detroit toiling away near the bottom of the standings, but the accomplished veteran is still generating plenty of value. His 41 points are three back of Dylan Larkin's team-leading total, and Zetterberg's also tied for the team lead in power-play points among forwards (12). On top of that, he raises his floor with a plus-3 rating that's also tops among Detroit's forwards. Against a middling Carolina team, he's a good value at $15.
CENTER TO AVOID
John Tavares, NYI at NJ ($27): Tavares has looked disinterested of late, as the pending free agent has just seven points and one multi-point effort over the last 14 games. It makes little sense to choose him over teammate Mathew Barzal, who has 16 points over that same time frame but comes $7 cheaper at the same position.
WING
Travis Konecny, PHI at OTT ($19): Though he missed Thursday's game with a minor foot injury, Konecny's in the midst of an extended hot streak, with nine goals and 18 points in the past 16 games. Considering that the 2015 first rounder is just 20 years old, it's entirely possible that this is the new normal for him. Even if that's not the case, Konecny should have no problem staying hot against an Ottawa club that's allowing the second-most goals per game (3.42).
Mike Hoffman, OTT vs. PHI ($16): Hoffman's minus-18 rating is an anchor, but he usually does enough to cover for it, as his average of 6.4 fantasy points per game is tops among wingers that cost $16 or less. Of his 39 points this season, a team-high 16 have come on the power play, and only Mark Stone ($20) and Erik Karlsson ($26) have more points overall among his teammates. At his price, Hoffman offers excellent value against a Flyers team that's killing penalties at just 75.3 percent -- the fourth-lowest rate in the league.
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WINGS TO AVOID
Clayton Keller, ARI vs. ANH ($21): Keller's the only winger priced at $21 or more averaging fewer than 6.8 fantasy points per game, and his 6.2 mark represents a major dropoff. Anaheim allows just 2.65 goals per game, so it's tough to justify rostering Keller given the other options in this price range.
Matthew Tkachuk, CGY vs. COL ($18): Colorado's penalty kill makes things tough for opposing power plays, ranking third-stingiest at 83.3 percent. That's bad news for Tkachuk, who scores 35.6 percent of his points (16 of 45) with the man advantage.
DEFENSE
Alec Martinez, LA vs. EDM ($18): Martinez's value is tied heavily to power-play production, as 11 of his 19 points this season have come with the extra man. That mark is third on the Kings overall, and just three behind fellow blueliner Drew Doughty's total. With that in mind, there's no better time to use Martinez than against Edmonton, as the Oilers' penalty kill ranks dead last at 72.3 percent.
Sami Vatanen, NJ vs. NYI ($16): Vatanen is an excellent two-way blueliner, and his offensive skills have been on display of late with seven assists in the last seven games. He's also a member of New Jersey's top power-play unit, further raising the two-time 37-point scorer's ceiling. An Islanders team that allows the most goals per game (3.56) while killing penalties at the league's second-lowest rate (74.4 percent) should give Vatanen all the chances he needs to stay hot offensively.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Seth Jones, CLS vs. CHI ($21): Jones hasn't scored a goal in 15 games, and he doesn't have any points over the past six. Even against the reeling Blackhawks, it's tough to imagine him living up to a $21 valuation given his recent form.
Aaron Ekblad, FLA vs. PIT ($18): As Florida's most expensive blueliner, Ekblad presents the biggest risk to owners in this matchup. A Penguins offense that's ranked seventh and climbing could drastically lower Ekblad's minus-3 rating, while his meager 24 points suggest it's tough to rely on his offensive contributions to cover for the defensive downside.
