This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
Saturday's St. Patrick's Day NHL slate features no shortage of action, with 10 games on tap beginning at 1:00 PM Eastern time. Certain players stand out from the pack as options to target or avoid, so read on to see which guys are can't-miss values and which should be left out of lineups.
GOALIE
Sergei Bobrovsky, CLS vs. OTT ($33): Bobrovsky's been rolling recently, with seven wins in his past nine games, including each of the last four. Only two opponents have managed to score more than two goals against him over that nine-game stretch, and an Ottawa team that's missing leading scorer Mark Stone (leg) is unlikely to exceed that mark. Even with Stone's services for most of the season, the Senators have been outscored 3.38 to 2.77 in the average game.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Charlie Lindgren, MON at TOR ($32): Lindgren's been awful over his past three starts, allowing at least five goals in each for a total of 16 on 90 shots (.822 save percentage). A turnaround is unlikely against the rival Maple Leafs, who rank fifth in the league offensively at 3.27 goals per game.
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CENTER
Sam Reinhart, BUF vs. CHI ($18): The Blackhawks continue to have major problems in net sans Corey Crawford (concussion), as Jean-Francois Berube (starting Saturday) and Anton Forsberg own 3.48 and 3.04 GAAs, respectively. No healthy Buffalo player is better positioned to take advantage of that weakness than Reinhart, who's starting to live up to the expectations of being the second overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft with 26 points (11 goals, 15 assists) in his last 26 games.
CENTER TO AVOID
Nico Hischier, NJ at LA ($18): Hischier has a pair of multi-point performances in his past three games, but he's also been blanked six times in his past eight appearances. Additionally, he's come up short of 16 minutes of ice time in all but one of the past nine games. Those recent trends don't bode well for the youngster's chances of road success against a Kings club that's allowing the second-fewest goals per game (2.49).
WING
Chris Kreider, NYR at STL ($17): Kreider took a couple games to get back up to speed after returning from a blood clot in his arm, but the speedy power forward's found his stride with four goals and nine points in his past eight games, including a four-point effort in Wednesday's win over the Penguins. Another solid showing should be in the cards against a Blues team that's stuck starting Jake Allen (2.76 GAA, .907 save percentage) in net with Carter Hutton (neck) sidelined.
Elias Lindholm, CAR vs. PHI ($14): Lindholm's come alive offensively of late with four points over his past three games, giving him 38 for the season. That's good for fifth among Hurricanes skaters, but six of his non-goalie teammates are priced at least as highly as Lindholm. He also ranks second on the team with six power-play goals, which is a very relevant statistic heading into this matchup with a Flyers club that's been struggling defensively and ranks second from the bottom on the penalty kill at 74.9 percent.
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WINGS TO AVOID
Yanni Gourde, TB vs. BOS ($21): Gourde scored twice against the Panthers on March 6, but he hasn't lit the lamp otherwise since Feb. 13. That's unlikely to change in this battle of Atlantic Division behemoths, especially since Boston's allowing the third-fewest goals per game (2.57). If you're going to use Lightning players, either pay up for the true stars or minimize risk by grabbing low-cost options.
Rick Nash, BOS at TB ($19): Nash has traditionally done most of his damage picking on weak competition, and this Tampa Bay team is far from that. He also has just one goal, one assist, and a minus-3 rating in his past seven games while being held to one shot or fewer three times in that stretch. The value's just not there at $19.
DEFENSE
Morgan Rielly, TOR vs. MON ($19): Rielly's 19 power-play points are second only to Mitch Marner's 23 among Maple Leafs. Both of these players are primed to increase those respective totals against a Canadiens penalty kill that ranks fourth worst at 75.4 percent. With six points in his past four games, along with performances of five shots, four shots and six blocks in that stretch, Rielly's also in excellent form heading into this favorable matchup.
Keith Yandle, FLA vs. EDM ($21): Yandle's another offensively gifted blueliner positioned to capitalize on a vulnerable opponent. He ranks third on the Panthers with 17 power-play points and second on the team with 41 assists, 20 of which have come in the past 20 games. An Oilers team that ranks dead last on the penalty kill at 74.6 percent and surrenders the fifth-most goals per game overall (3.21) is unlikely to keep Yandle off the scoresheet.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Brent Burns, SJ at VAN ($31): While the matchup is favorable, Burns' totals of no goals and four points in the past 12 games coupled with his minus-18 season rating suggest he'll still have trouble living up to his $31 price. It's time to accept that the 33-year-old blueliner is overvalued in this format at this stage of his career.
Erik Gustafsson, CHI at BUF ($17): Don't let a fluky six points over the past five games convince you to pay $17 for Gustafsson, who had just 19 points in 60 games prior to this stretch. Even against the lowly Sabres, this isn't a good value pick.
