This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
The six evening games comprise the main contests at Yahoo on Friday. It's also an interesting player pool with all six matchups projected to be relatively close except the Tampa Bay-Seattle bout. Toronto and Pittsburgh are also receiving modest road chalk. Here's a quick peek at the daily-fantasy landscape ahead of Friday's action.
All statistics from Natural Stat Trick and Hockey Reference.
GOALIE
Joseph Woll, TOR at SJ ($29): Toronto is allowing the sixth fewest goals per 60 minutes at five-on-five and rank third in Corsi For percentage. An eighth-ranked 85.7 penalty-kill percentage is also a plus with San Jose scoring just 2.74 goals per game. Expect Woll to have sound team defense in front of him Friday, and this cap hit is manageable.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Ilya Sorokin, NYI vs. PIT ($34): The Islanders have allowed 31 goals during their current six-game losing streak, and they remain injury depleted Friday against the surging Penguins. Pittsburgh has won four straight with a plus-13 goal differential. Additionally, considering Sorokin has an .879 save percentage through his past three starts there isn't much of a salary discount here, either.
CENTER
Nick Suzuki, MON at BUF ($17): This projects as a favorable matchup for Suzuki and the Canadiens, as Buffalo enters with a 2-9-1 record and 52 goals against through its past 12 contests. Montreal's No. 1 center also found the scoresheet last time out to snap a five-game point drought, so look for more offense from Suzuki Friday.
CENTER TO AVOID
Nazem Kadri, COL at DAL ($22): This salary is probably still a little low considering Kadri's racked up an incredible 21 points -- six goals -- through his past 10 outings. However, the Stars have surrendered the fourth fewest expected goals per 60 minutes in the league, and Kadri's current offensive surge is unsustainable.
WING
Jake Guentzel, PIT at NYI ($24): Currently cruising along with a point in 10 of his past 11 games, Guentzel has been dangerous night in, night out with 43 shots and 26 individual high-danger scoring chances during the stretch. As noted, the Islanders have been a mess defensively, too.
Cole Caufield, MON at BUF ($12): With just a single goal and assist through 13 games this season, Caufield has been one of the biggest disappointments of the season. Still, he registered a goal, four shots and six attempts Wednesday against Washington. So, look for another strong showing in the noted soft matchup Friday.
WINGS TO AVOID
Alex Killorn, TB vs. SEA ($19): While Killorn hasn't scored a goal in seven games, his shooting percentage is still at an unsustainably high 23.3 for the campaign. Additionally, he's only recorded 12 shots and reached double-digit fantasy points once during the noted stretch. The Kraken also rank second in expected goals against per 60 minutes at five-on-five, so the matchup could be tough.
DEFENSE
Kris Letang, PIT at NYI ($21): Another Penguin to consider, Letang has collected just two assists through his past five games, so a soft matchup could be just what he needs to pad his stat line. After all, his current 1.67 points per 60 minutes still trail the 1.89 mark he posted over the previous three years.
Rasmus Dahlin, BUF vs. MON ($17): There could be some contrarian appeal here, Dahlin has somewhat quietly recorded six points -- two goals -- through his past six games. Plus, while the Canadiens are favored Friday, Montreal enter with a 5-14-2 record while allowing the third most goals per game and ranking 29th in penalty-kill percentage.
DEFENSE TO AVOID
Cale Makar, COL at DAL ($26): The emerging superstar has exploded for six goals, two assists and a 26.1 shooting percentage through his past four games. He carries a position-high salary, though, and Dallas has tidied up defensively with just two goals allowed through its past two games.
Morgan Rielly, TOR at SJ ($19): There are probably enough blueline options to look past Rielly on Friday. He's missed the scoresheet in six of his past nine games and only reached double-digit fantasy points in four of those outings. Opposing netminder -- and former teammate -- James Reimer ($33) has also been fantastic this season with a .936 save percentage and 1.97 GAA.
