This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
As the work week begins, the NHL is bringing us five games Monday. That's the sort of middle-of-the-road number where your options aren't scarce, but they aren't exactly abundant either. A few shrewd picks will go a long way. Here are some players to target, and to avoid, for your daily fantasy hockey lineups.
GOALIE
Braden Holtby, WAS at CLM ($34): Over his last 12 starts, Holtby has a 2.29 GAA and .926 save percentage. Even on the road, I like him in this matchup. After all, the Blue Jackets have only managed 2.47 goals per game.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Jordan Binnington, STL vs. COL ($32): Binnington hasn't matched his rookie numbers, which isn't surprising, but he still has a very good 2.46 GAA and .919 save percentage. That being said, despite being at home this is a tricky matchup. The Avalanche lead the NHL with 3.66 goals per game, and remember that their Death Star wasn't fully operational all year, as Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog both missed time.
CENTER
Mika Zibanejad, NYR vs. NAS ($25): Since returning from injury, Zibanejad has been on a torrid pace. He's notched 10 points in his last 10 games, including seven goals. For whatever reason, Nashville is struggling defensively this year. The Predators have a 3.19 GAA.
CENTER TO AVOID
Connor McDavid, EDM at DAL ($35): Call it heresy if you must, but McDavid is just so expensive, and rightfully so, and this is an incredibly tough matchup. The Stars have a 1.89 GAA at home, best in the NHL. They also have a top-four penalty kill, and we all know how much of McDavid's impact happens with the extra man. There are enough good matchups out there you can justify skipping on the dynamo Oiler on Monday.
WING
Evgenii Dadonov, FLA vs. OTT ($20): Dadonov has started 63.7 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, which is third on the Panthers. He's also averaged 3:22 per game with the extra man, his third season in a row averaging more than three minute a night in power-play time. A hot streak in net for Anders Nilsson dropped Ottawa's GAA overall, but over his last seven games the goalie has a 3.72 GAA and .883 save percentage.
Calle Jarnkrok, NAS at NYR ($17): Jarnkrok has been playing on Nashville's top line with Viktor Arvidsson out. It's probably not a coincidence that he also has 10 points over his last 11 games. He should get plenty of opportunity in this one, as the Rangers have a 3.09 GAA and have given up 35.3 shots on net per game.
WINGS TO AVOID
Joonas Donskoi, COL at STL ($19): Donskoi is off to a career-best start, but his 22.0 shooting percentage is bound to regress. While I suggested not going with Jordan Binnington in net, overall he is still having a good year, so some individual Avalanche players I am still skeptical about. Donskoi, who also got banged up in his last game and may not be 100 percent, is one of them.
Cam Atkinson, CLM vs. WAS ($18): Atkinson is starting to look more like his old self, but he still only has eight goals in 32 games with a 7.5 shooting percentage. Plus, you know who else is looking more like his old self? Braden Holtby, who like I mentioned earlier has a 2.29 GAA and .926 save percentage in his last 12 games.
DEFENSE
Roman Josi, NAS at NYR ($27): Josi won't be cheap, but he's perfectly suited for this matchup. After all, he leads the Predators with 113 shots on net through 31 games. The Rangers, on the other hand, have given up 35.3 shots on goal per contest. Josi should be quite busy Monday night, and that could lead to points pretty easily.
Adam Fox, NYR vs. NAS ($16): Like a lot of young defenseman with offensive potential, Fox is getting eased into an NHL lineup with plenty of power-play time. He's averaged 2:20 per game with the extra man, and he's tallied eight power-play points. As for the Predators, one of the reasons for their defensive woes this year is a penalty kill that ranks 24th in the NHL.
DEFENSE TO AVOID
Oscar Klefbom, EDM at DAL ($20): Like his teammate Connor McDavid, Klefbom is facing about as tough of a matchup as you can fine. After all, the Stars have the best home GAA in the league. They also have a top four penalty kill, and 13 of the Swedish defenseman's 22 points have come on the power play.
Seth Jones, CLM vs. WAS ($19): Jones gets plenty of power-play opportunities himself, as he's averaged 3:08 per game with the extra man. That's led to him tallying six of his 17 points on the power play. Unfortunately for him, the Capitals have a top-five penalty kill, and keep in mind Braden Holtby wasn't playing this good for the entire year.
