This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
You may be heading into your weekend come Friday night, but the NHL will not be relaxing along with you. There are six games on the schedule, which provides daily fantasy players with a fairly substantial collection of NHLers to choose from. Some players look better or worse than others, though, so here are a handful of those players to target and to avoid.
GOALIE
Corey Crawford, CHI vs. NYI ($31): The Islanders have scored 2.93 goals per game, which is impressive, but they've also given up 2.93 goals and 32.1 shots on goal per game, and they'll also be playing on the second night of a back-to-back. That could mean Jean-Francois Berube (3.33 GAA, .894 save percentage) in net. The Blackhawks have scored 3.00 goals per game, so they should give Crawford plenty of support, and they're 9-1-0 in their last 10 games, including five straight victories. Crawford's chances of picking up a win seem quite high.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Curtis McElhinney, TOR at ANA ($35): McElhinney has a .931 save percentage, but that's in a mere 13 games. His career mark is a much less impressive .906, and it's not like he's got a great defense in front of him. The Maple Leafs have allowed 32.6 shots on goal per contest, and they will be on the second night of a back-to-back. Anaheim is also 19-7-3 at home, further hurting McElhinney's chances of getting a win. Despite all this, he's still the second-most-expensive goalie Friday.
CENTER
Sean Monahan, CGY vs. DET ($16): The Wings were sellers at the deadline, but even before that, they had given up 2.95 goals per game, and netminder Petr Mrazek is sitting on a .903 save percentage. Monahan has started 41.7 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, which is second-most on the Flames, and he's averaged 3:09 on the power play, where he's scored 12 points; he also has five points in his last five games. Detroit's penalty kill ranks 15th, so a player with as much power-play prowess as Monahan shouldn't be too concerned.
CENTER TO AVOID
Mathieu Perreault, WPG vs. STL ($18): Jake Allen has had a rough year (2.66 GAA), but the Blues gave up the fewest goals per game (1.83) in February. Additionally, St. Louis has been great all season at shot prevention, allowing just 27.9 shots on goal per contest. Perreault has only averaged 4.7 fantasy points per game, and this matchup isn't as favorable as it might seem on paper.
WING
Jaden Schwartz, STL at WPG ($17): The Jets had a disastrous February, surrendering an NHL-worst 3.73 goals per game. On the season, Winnipeg's goalies have a collective save percentage of .897, and the Jets also have the 27th-ranked penalty kill. Meanwhile, Schwartz has averaged 6.0 fantasy points per game and tallied six points in his last seven contests. Additionally, while Schwartz has only taken 121 shots in 58 games, he's notched 20 shots in his last six games.
Richard Panik, CHI vs. NYI ($16): As previously noted, the Islanders have allowed 2.93 goals and 32.1 shots on net per game. With Berube possibly in net (or with Thomas Greiss having to play on consecutive nights), the odds are even more in Panik's favor. Panik has been hot recently as well, having notched 12 points in his last nine games.
WINGS TO AVOID
Jonathan Drouin, TAM at PIT ($18): Matt Murray has stabilized Pittsburgh's situation in net with Marc-Andre Fleury no longer starter material, and he's posted a 2.29 GAA and .926 save percentage. The Penguins have also been improving defensively; while they have the 19th-ranked penalty kill overall, they ranked fifth in February. Eighteen of Drouin's 39 points have come on the power play, so Pittsburgh's newfound potency on the penalty kill is a concern. With a lot of questionable defenses taking the ice Friday, you can do better than Drouin.
Anders Lee, NYI at CHI ($18): Lee is having a good season, although his 16.8 shooting percentage is likely to come down a bit. Chicago has only allowed 2.52 goals per contest, at top-10 ranking. Again, there are a lot of bad defenses in action Friday, and because of back-to-backs, there are a few iffy backup goalies as well. This is partially about Lee and this matchup, but it's equally about the fact you can find better values in this slate.
DEFENSEMEN
Cam Fowler, ANA vs. TOR ($18): Fowler's power-play production has dried up, but considering Toronto has the ninth-ranked penalty kill, he may not have found much success in that matchup regardless. However, Fowler has averaged 24:51 of ice time per night, and he's tallied 144 shots on goal in 63 games. As mentioned earlier, Toronto's allowed 32.6 shots on net per game. With McElhinney in net, the chances of those pucks going in seem higher. The Leafs have also averaged 61.2 shot attempts per 60 minutes, second in the NHL. Fowler has blocked 105 shots, so the odds seem good that he'll get in front of a puck or two.
Jaccob Slavin, CAR vs. ARI ($15): Surprisingly, Slavin has averaged a solid 5.2 fantasy points per game. Now he gets to go up against a Coyotes team that has given up 3.21 goals and 33.6 shots on net per contest. Beyond that, Arizona will be playing its second game in as many nights, which could mean Louis Domingue (3.26 GAA, .897 save percentage) in net – another positive for Slavin and Carolina. Slavin also has 122 blocks in 60 games, so he's got a nice combination of floor and upside in this matchup.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Jacob Trouba, WPG vs. STL ($19): Trouba will be returning from a two-game suspension for this one, but he had zero points in the four games leading up to the ban. Additionally, Trouba only has two power-play points, and it's unlikely he'll improve upon that against the Blues' seventh-ranked penalty kill. As previously mentioned, the Blues have allowed just 27.9 shots on net per game as well as having paced the league defensively in the month of February.
Ian Cole, PIT vs. TAM ($18): Cole only has five points in his last 20 games; most of his fantasy value – he's averaged only 5.8 fantasy points per game this season – has come from blocking shots. The Lightning rank just outside the top 10 in shot attempts per 60 minutes, so Cole get some blocks, but it will be hard for him to accumulate enough to be worth $18. He's also only taken 73 shots on goal in 62 games, so it's not like his offensive output is all that reliable.
