This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
You may be prepping for Thanksgiving, but our neighbors to the north can just focus on hockey. That'll be fun for them Monday, as there are nine NHL games on the docket. Here are some players to target, and to avoid, for your daily fantasy hockey lineup.
GOALIE
Matt Murray, PIT vs. CGY ($39): Murray only has a .907 save percentage, but his GAA is still a respectable 2.60. That's in part because the Penguins have only allowed 29.6 shots on goal per game. The Flames have been inexplicably bad offensively this year. If not for the lowly Red Wings, they would have the worst offense in the league by a decent margin.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Jordan Binnington, STL at NAS ($34): Binnington has proved his rookie campaign is no fluke, as he has a 2.23 GAA and .926 save percentage. This is not the matchup to target him in, though. The Predators have scored 3.55 goals per game and put a whopping 34.3 shots on net per contest, tied for second most in the NHL.
CENTER
Eric Staal, MIN at NYR ($17): Staal had a hot streak, then a little drought, and now he has a point in each of his last three games. While the veteran center was only briefly with the Rangers, this is still a great opportunity for a "revenge" game for him. The Rangers have a 3.57 GAA and have allowed 36.3 shots on goal per contest.
CENTER TO AVOID
William Karlsson, VGK at DAL ($24): Karlsson had a 23.4 shooting percentage in his breakout campaign, a 14.2 shooting percentage last year when he had 24 goals, and now he has a 13.1 shooting percentage this season. I wouldn't be surprised to see that percentage drop after this game. The Stars have a 2.33 GAA, second best in the NHL.
WING
Evander Kane, SAN at LOS ($25): Here's the primary thing that has me intrigued in Kane in this matchup. He's averaged 2:57 per game on the power play, and seven of his 12 goals have come with the extra man. The Kings have a bottom-five penalty kill, so this matchup is right up Kane's alley.
Ondrej Palat, TAM vs. BUF ($17): Palat is currently on Tampa's top line with Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov, which is a great place to be. It's not like he's a slouch, either, as he has 12 points in 22 games. The Sabres are the only team on the second night of a back-to-back Monday, which is another point in Palat's favor.
WINGS TO AVOID
Elias Lindholm, CGY at PIT ($19): Lindholm scored a goal in his last game, ending a game-game scoring drought. However, the Penguins have a 2.61 GAA as a team. Also, Pittsburgh has a top-five penalty kill, and six of Lindholm's 18 points have come with the extra man.
Rickard Rakell, ANA vs. NYI ($18): Rakell has been hot, as he has a five-game point streak. I expect that to end Monday, though. The Islanders have a 2.43 GAA, third best in the NHL. Their goalies also have a collective .922 save percentage, so it will be hard for Rakell to get a puck in the net.
DEFENSE
Alex Pietrangelo, STL at NAS ($21): Pietrangelo has been killing it on the power play this year. He's averaged 3:21 per game with the extra man, most in his career, and he's already notched 10 power-play points. Somewhat surprisingly, the Predators have the league's worst penalty kill, which is a big reason why the Predators also have a 3.36 GAA.
Mathew Dumba, MIN at NYR ($18): Dumba has been quite active offensively, as he's put 51 shots on net in 23 games. That's second most of any Wild player. Given that the Rangers have allowed 36.3 shots on goal per contest, Dumba should have plenty of chances to put the puck on net, and that could lead to better things.
DEFENSE TO AVOID
John Klingberg, DAL vs. VGK ($19): Klingberg is back from an injury, but he was struggling a bit before that. He only has five points, including one goal, over 18 games. Marc-Andre Fleury has a 2.54 GAA and .919 save percentage, and on top of that the Golden Knights have a top-five penalty kill.
Nate Schmidt, VGK at DAL ($17): On the flip side of that game, Schmidt has eight points in 13 games. However, four of those points came in one contest, and he's not really been involved on the power play. As noted earlier, the Stars have a 2.33 GAA, and Ben Bishop's GAA is actually 2.25.
