Yahoo DFS Hockey: Saturday Picks

Yahoo DFS Hockey: Saturday Picks

This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.

What does the NHL have in store for us Saturday night? Five games for those who aren't interested in dunk contests. Here are some players to target, and to avoid, for your DFS lineups.

GOALIE

Jeremy Swayman, BOS at OTT ($31): Jacob Markstrom has a hefty salary, while the Kings are on the second leg of a back-to-back so even against the Coyotes you might hesitate to use Jonathan Quick or Cal Petersen. That's why I'm going with Swayman. He was sent down to the AHL during Tuukka Rask's brief return, but that wasn't due to his performance. Swayman has a 2.15 GAA and .923 save percentage. Ottawa, meanwhile, has scored 2.68 goals per game.

GOALIE TO AVOID

Jack Campbell, TOR vs. STL ($27): Campbell's last two starts have shown he may have righted the ship, but before that there was a concerning down stretch. Prior to his last two games he had a 4.11 GAA and .864 save percentage over eight outings. The Blues are right behind the Maple Leafs at 3.48 goals per game, which is top five in the NHL.

CENTER

Trevor Zegras, ANA at VAN ($14): Zegras' flashy plays get the attention, but I'm looking at the fact he's averaged 2:36 per game with the extra man and notched nine power-play points. The Canucks, meanwhile, have the league's worst penalty kill. You don't need to be able to do magical things to take advantage of that.

CENTER TO AVOID

Jared McCann, SEA at CGY ($16): McCann has his first 20-goal season, and the first 20-goal season in Kraken history. However, this is a tricky matchup, as Markstrom has a 2.12 GAA and .927 save percentage. Also, 12 of McCann's 32 points have come on the power play, and the Flames have the third-ranked penalty kill.

WING

Viktor Arvidsson, LOS at ARI ($20): Arvidsson excels at putting pucks on net. He's registered 157 shots on goal in 42 games. The Swede has been scorching hot in the new year too, with seven goals and 10 assists in 17 games. Though Arvidsson will be on the second leg of a back-to-back, he'll be facing a team with a 3.67 GAA, tied for second highest in the NHL.

Clayton Keller, ARI vs. LOS ($17): Keller has 14 points in his last 12 games, and he's notched at least one point in 10 of those 12 outings. Hey, you can perform like that when you are averaging over three minutes per game more in ice time than the previous season. The Kings are just outside the top 10 in GAA, but that's because their defense has been stout in terms of shot prevention. That's trickier to do on the road on the second leg of a back-to-back.

WINGS TO AVOID

William Nylander, TOR vs. STL ($23): Nylander is still racking up assists, though he only has one goal in his last 13 games. The Blues have been getting great goaltending from Ville Husso, who has a 1.91 GAA and .937 save percentage. St. Louis also has a top-five penalty kill, while Nylander has relied on the power play for 20 of his 45 points.

Brady Tkachuk, OTT vs. BOS ($19): Tkachuk is having a good year, though he surprisingly only has five power-play points despite averaged 3:06 per game with the extra man. In fact, he only has one power-play point in his last 16 games. The Bruins have only allowed 29.3 shots on net per contest, and now they have Swayman and his .923 save percentage around again.

DEFENSE

Oliver Ekman-Larsson, VAN vs. ANA ($17): Ekman-Larsson is on a five-game point streak during which he's notched seven total points. He also has 18 shots on goal in his last six contests. Meanwhile, John Gibson has been struggling. Over his last seven starts he has a 3.66 GAA and .896 save percentage.

Kevin Shattenkirk, ANA at VAN ($14): Let's flip this matchup around. Shattenkirk's production has slowed down a bit, but he has 12 points with the extra man. This is a guy who's had four seasons with 20-plus points on the power play in his career. As I mentioned earlier, the Canucks have the league's worst penalty kill.

DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID

Torey Krug, STL at TOR ($18): In case Campbell has found his footing again, I'd steer clear of Krug. While he has 12 power-play points, none of them have come in his last seven games. Toronto has a top-six penalty kill, and Campbell's 2.34 GAA and .924 save percentage on the season is a reminder of what he can do at peak performance.

Charlie McAvoy, BOS at OTT ($17): Head's up, this matchup against the Senators might not be as good as you think. For starters, they have the 12th-ranked penalty kill, and 15 of McAvoy's 28 points have come with the extra man. Second, the Senators have gotten some great goaltending recently. Matt Murray has a 2.01 GAA and .942 save percentage over his last 10 games. He's day-to-day, but that just means Anton Forsberg could step in. He has a 2.09 GAA and .932 save percentage over his last 14 games.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Chris Morgan plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: cmorgan3, DraftKings: cmorgan3.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chris Morgan
Chris Morgan is a writer of sports, pop culture, and humor articles, a book author, a podcaster, and a fan of all Detroit sports teams.
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