This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
Saturday offers another busy NHL slate, with nine games on tap after 1:00 PM Eastern time. Certain players are primed to capitalize on favorable matchups while others should be avoided, so read on to see who falls into which category.
GOALIE
Thomas Greiss, NYI at STL ($28): Whomever gets the start between Greiss and Robin Lehner ($32) should be plugged in here. Defending Stanley Cup-winning coach Barry Trotz has turned the previously porous Islanders into a defensive juggernaut, as the team has allowed just 16 goals en route to an 8-1-0 record over its past nine games. Expect New York to keep rolling against a Blues team that's getting outscored 3.26 to 2.82 on average this season.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Tuukka Rask, BOS vs. BUF ($33): Rask's held each of his last two opponents to two goals, but it's still hard to fully trust him considering the Finnish netminder had surrendered three-plus goals in five of his previous six appearances. With every other projected starter priced at or below Rask's $33 valuation, there's better bang for the buck to be found in this slate.
CENTER
Nazem Kadri, TOR vs. VAN ($17): Kadri flies under the radar behind Auston Matthews and John Tavares down the middle, but he's been doing well for himself over the past 10 games with nine points and a plus-6 rating. At just $17, he's worth a look against a Canucks club that could be severely overmatched if star rookie Elias Pettersson (lower body) sits.
CENTER TO AVOID
Phillip Danault, MON vs. NSH ($18): Danault has been a feast or famine option over the past six games, producing 14 shots in his three multi-point efforts during that stretch compared to just one shot and one assist total over the other three contests. He's much more likely to come up empty than strike gold against a Predators team that's allowing fewer goals per game than anyone in the league, even with Nashville playing the second leg of a back-to-back.
WINGS
Johnny Gaudreau, CGY at PHI ($29): Gaudreau was already a star, but he's reaching new heights at age 25. Not only does he have 11 multi-point efforts in his past 16 games, but Johnny Hockey has racked up four goals and six assists over just the last three games. He's a near lock for another multi-point effort against a Flyers team that's surrendering the second-most goals in the league at 3.63 per game.
Zach Parise, MIN at OTT ($23): Parise's recorded 15.0 or more fantasy points in three of his past four appearances, settling for a robust 11.5 in the other game. He's stuffed the stat sheet over this recent stretch with three goals, three assists, 22 shots, four blocks and a plus-4 rating. The veteran winger should have no trouble staying hot against a Senators team that's allowing by far the most goals per game at 3.98.
WINGS TO AVOID
Evander Kane, SJ vs. TB ($19): Kane's poor play in his own zone makes him an extremely risky option in this brutal matchup. His minus-7 rating is lowest among all Sharks forwards, and it's likely to be exploited by a Lightning team that easily leads the league with 4.17 goals per game.
Jaden Schwartz, STL vs. NYI ($19): Schwartz ended a five-game point drought with an assist Thursday, but he still has just one goal in his past 13 appearances. Getting out of this funk won't be easy given the Islanders' recent defensive prowess.
DEFENSEMEN
Darnell Nurse, EDM at LA ($19): Nurse has stepped up his offensive game since Oscar Klefbom went down with a long-term hand injury, recording nine points in 10 subsequent games. Four of those points have come with the extra man, as he's done an admirable job filling in as the point man on the first power-play unit. He'll have a great opportunity to find further success with the extra man against a Kings penalty kill that ranks second-worst in the league at 74.2 percent.
Seth Jones, CLS at FLA ($22): Jones has a four-game point streak going, and he's filled out the box score with 11 shots and seven blocks over that span as well. Look for him to keep rolling against a Florida team that's giving up the fourth-most goals per game at 3.46.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Jordie Benn, MON vs. NSH ($16): Benn's on a hot streak offensively, but that's not enough reason to spend $16 on him in this difficult matchup. The stay at home defenseman lacks his brother Jamie's offensive skills, with just nine points in 40 games this season and no more than 20 points in any career season.
Rasmus Ristolainen, BUF at BOS ($19): Ristolainen has been slumping of late, averaging just 2.3 fantasy points over his past four games. He uses his offensive skills to make up for a minus-11 rating, but scoring will be hard to come by against a Bruins team that's holding opponents to 2.66 goals per game.
