This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
Saturday's NHL slate begins at 3:00 PM Eastern time and features a trio of games. Read on to see which players stand out as the top value plays and which ones are best avoided in Stars-Predators Game 5, Jets-Blues Game 6 and Hurricanes-Capitals Game 5.
GOALIE
Connor Hellebuyck, WPG at STL ($30): Despite giving up three unanswered third-period goals to blow a 2-0 lead in Game 5, Hellebuyck is a sensible option as the cheapest starting goalie in this slate. The road team has won the first five games in this series, with Hellebuyck stopping 57 of 61 shots for a .934 save percentage to grab both games in St. Louis.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Ben Bishop, DAL at NSH ($37): While Bishop has been terrific recently, Dallas is still the underdog in this road Game 5. For that reason, getting strong bang for the buck on Bishop will be tough at $37 with the rest of the goalies coming in between $30 and $33.
CENTER
Ryan Johansen, NSH vs. DAL ($17): The silver lining for Nashville in the team's 5-1 Game 4 loss was that Johansen finally came alive. Johansen not only got on the scoresheet for the first time in this series with an assist, he also added a game-high eight shots on net. Expect the Predators' No. 1 center to stay heavily involved in this critical home contest with the series tied 2-2.
CENTER TO AVOID
Tyler Bozak, STL vs. WPG ($16): Bozak is going to have a hard time living up to his $16 valuation considering he's averaging just 13:48 of ice time in this series and has only one goal and one assist. He also has only three shots in the last four games, so you're better off either paying up for a more productive center or going an even cheaper route.
WINGS
Patrik Laine, WPG at STL ($21): St. Louis has had no answer for Laine all year, as he's potted nine goals against the Blues between the regular season and playoffs. With the Jets on the brink of elimination, Laine will do everything in his power to continue his success against this opponent.
Warren Foegele, CAR at WAS ($15): Foegele has been a revelation for the Hurricanes in this series, climbing up the lineup after dishing out an assist in Game 2 and capitalizing on the extra opportunities with an additional three goals and an assist since. He's going to have a target on his back after boarding T.J. Oshie late in Game 4, but that shouldn't prevent owners from locking in Foegele in hopes of his recent hot streak continuing.
WINGS TO AVOID
Mats Zuccarello, DAL at NSH ($18): Zuccarello has been opportunistic in this series, but he's producing at an unsustainable rate with three goals on six shots. The diminutive winger is likely to struggle in this road matchup with a Nashville team that went 25-14-2 in its own building this season.
Viktor Arvidsson, NSH vs. DAL ($22): Arvidsson has been unable to get going, failing to find the scoresheet in this series' first four games. He's not much of a playmaker, having totaled just 14 assists this season, so it's light the lamp or bust for Arvidsson. Given his lack of success thus far, it makes more sense to look for a more well-rounded option.
DEFENSEMEN
John Carlson, WAS vs. CAR ($25): Carlson will be happy to come back home, as he had trouble getting going on the choppy Carolina ice. He excelled in Games 1 and 2 in Washington with three assists and eight shots, so expect Carlson to get back to that level as the defending champs look to maintain home-ice advantage and break the 2-2 series deadlock.
Alex Pietrangelo, STL vs. WPG ($20): Pietrangelo has lived up to his billing as a true No. 1 defenseman in this series. He's skating over 25 minutes per game while adding five assists, 15 shots and 11 blocks through five contests. If the Blues are going to close this series out on home ice, expect Pietrangelo to play a major role.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Vince Dunn, STL vs. WPG ($18): Dunn has been overshadowed by more experienced teammates Pietrangelo and Colton Parayko ($18), totaling just one assist and a minus-4 rating in this series. The 22-year-old blueliner had his ice time cut to just 13:15 in Game 5, so he doesn't seem to have the trust of coach Craig Berube at the moment.
Brett Pesce, CAR at WAS ($15): Dougie Hamilton ($19), Jaccob Slavin ($17) and Justin Faulk ($17) have all been key contributors for Carolina in this series, but the same can't be said for Pesce. Pesce's still looking for his first playoff point and hasn't made much inroads in getting there with a meager six shots through four games.
