This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
Saturday's all-day NHL slate begins at 3:00 PM Eastern time and features 12 games. There's no shortage of options to choose from, but read on to see which players separate themselves from the pack as the top value plays in this slate and which ones are best avoided at their respective prices.
GOALIE
Darcy Kuemper, ARI vs. LA ($36): Kuemper has emerged victorious in eight of his last nine starts, and he's coming off his second shutout of this dominant stretch -- a 30-save effort against Calgary's fourth-ranked offense. Things get dramatically easier for Kuemper here, as the visiting Kings average the second-fewest goals per game (2.34).
GOALIE TO AVOID
Frederik Andersen, TOR at EDM ($36): Andersen has been winning a lot lately, but he hasn't been in dominant form, with 13 consecutive opponents having scored multiple goals on him, including eight with three or more. With so many other options out there, it's tough to trust Andersen at $36 against an Oilers team that's won its last four games.
CENTER
Mika Zibanejad, NYR vs. NJ ($24): Zibanejad has feasted against the Devils this season, producing three goals and three assists in his first two meetings with this Metropolitan Division foe. The third one should be no different, with a number of factors working against New Jersey here. Not only are the Devils battling a sizable number of injuries to notable contributors, but they're also 8-22-3 on the road this season and playing the second leg of a road back-to-back.
CENTER TO AVOID
Matt Duchene, CLS vs. PIT ($24): Duchene is having some trouble meshing with his new teammates, having posted a helper for his lone point along with a minus-4 rating over his past six games. Turning things around won't be easy against a battle-tested Pittsburgh team that's also in the race for a playoff spot in the competitive Eastern Conference and playing its best hockey when it matters most, having gone 8-2-2 in its last 12 games.
WINGS
Brad Marchand, BOS vs. OTT ($29): The Bruins are a great team to stack here, but if you had to pick just one, it's hard to argue against Marchand. Fifty-five of his 80 points and 19 of 27 goals have come on home ice. Anything short of a multi-point effort would have to be considered a disappointment against a Senators team that's surrendering a league-worst 4.38 goals per game on the road.
Jamie Benn, DAL vs. CHI ($21): Benn's been terrific in his first three games back after a two-game absence due to an upper-body injury, scoring four times on 12 shots while adding an assist and a plus-5 rating. A Blackhawks team that's allowing a league-high 3.78 goals per game will have a hard time slowing him down. It's also worth noting that Benn leads the Stars with eight power-play goals, putting him in position to feast on Chicago's 73.0 percent penalty kill, which is easily the worst in the league.
WINGS TO AVOID
Jakub Voracek, PHI at NYI ($21): Voracek was on fire before suffering a lower-body injury, posting nine points in his last four games played. He's missed each of the last two games since then, however, and any rust will make living up to his $21 valuation awfully difficult against the league's best defensive team (2.36 goals allowed per game).
Teuvo Teravainen, CAR at NSH ($21): Teravainen has exactly zero fantasy points over his past three appearances combined courtesy of no goals or assists and a minus-5 rating. Reversing that cold spell will be difficult against the league's fifth-stingiest opponent (2.65 goals allowed per game).
DEFENSEMEN
Ryan McDonagh, TB vs. DET ($17): Look for the Lightning to come out with a vengeance in this one after taking just their second loss in 14 games against the Wild on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Red Wings snapped an eight-game losing streak Thursday by beating McDonagh's former team in a shootout. Owners who don't want to pay up for Tampa Bay's top guys should lock in the well-rounded defenseman against this inferior opponent, as McDonagh's primed to build on his solid output of 33 points with a plus-29 rating.
Justin Schultz, PIT at CLS ($20): It's hard to go wrong with Schultz as long as Kris Letang remains sidelined by an upper-body injury. The top dog on Pittsburgh's blue line and No. 1 power-play point man in Letang's absence is averaging 9.5 fantasy points in the past six games, and Schultz is showing no signs of slowing down ahead of this rematch with a Columbus team that the Penguins handled by a 3-0 score Thursday.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Erik Gustafsson, CHI at DAL ($20): With 48 points and a minus-16 rating, Gustafsson is the epitome of a high-risk, high-reward play on the blue line. His low floor is much more likely to come into play than his high ceiling in this road matchup with a Dallas defense that's been nearly impenetrable on home ice, limiting visitors to a league-low 2.30 goals per game.
Brent Burns, SJ vs. STL ($33): Burns is the gold standard for offense from the blue line, but this just isn't the time to use him, or any of the top Sharks for that matter. Providing strong bang for the buck will be exceedingly difficult against a Blues team that's gone 15-3-1 in its past 19 games, holding 13 of those 19 opponents to two goals or fewer and shutting out six.
