This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
The main contests at Yahoo consist of nine evening NHL games beginning at 7 p.m. EST. There are a number of lopsided matchups on the docket, too. The Avalanche are huge favorites, while the Rangers, Devils, Capitals, Wild, Predators and Maple Leafs are also all notable chalk. It's also worth noting the only teams playing Saturday not in the first or second leg of a back-to-back set are Montreal, Colorado, Washington, Toronto, Nashville, Calgary, Edmonton and San Jose. Here's a peek at the fantasy landscape.
All statistics from Natural Stat Trick and Hockey Reference.
GOALIE
Cam Talbot, MIN vs. CHI ($22): Minnesota steamrolled Chicago 5-1 on Friday, and Talbot could return from a lower-body injury to face them Saturday. The veteran's salary has dropped $10 since his last appearance Jan. 1. There have been some struggles, but Talbot's still 15-8-1 with a run-of-the-mill .909 save percentage for the campaign.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Petr Mrazek, TOR at NYI ($27): The Islanders are as healthy as they've been all season and are 6-1 out of the holiday break. Additionally, Mrazek's underwhelmed this season with an .882 save percentage and 3.59 GAA through four appearances.
CENTER
Nathan MacKinnon, COL vs. MON ($35): Montreal is 1-4-3 coming out of the holiday break with 34 goals allowed. Cayden Primeau is also starting for the Habs, and he's recorded an .869 save percentage and 4.15 GAA through eight appearances the past two years. Tee up MacKinnon confidently.
CENTER TO AVOID
Connor McDavid, EDM vs.CGY ($37): With Calgary ranking second best in goals against per game and fifth in penalty-kill percentage, this might not be the best matchup in which to spend up for No. 97. Plus, McDavid's uncharacteristically missed the scoresheet in five of his past 10 games.
WING
Alex Ovechkin, WAS vs. OTT ($34): It's been eight games since Ovechkin had a multi-point showing, so banking on an outburst against Ottawa could be rewarding. The Senators have surrendered the most goals per game and second-most expected goals per 60 minutes, and Ovechkin has still racked up three goals, three assists, 32 shots, 61 attempts and 31 scoring chances during the noted eight-game stretch.
Kaapo Kakko, NYR vs. ARI ($13): The young Finn remains a fixture on the No. 1 line for the Rangers, and New York draws a high-end matchup Saturday. Arizona is playing its third road game in four nights and also rank third last in goals against per game and fourth last in penalty-kill percentage. Kakko is also in the midst of a 12-game goal drought despite registering 21 scoring chances during the slump.
WINGS TO AVOID
Mitch Marner, TOR at NYI ($26): Not only have the Islanders been winning since the holiday break, they've also allowed just 11 goals during their 6-1 surge. New York starter Semyon Varlamov has a .953 save percentage over three of those starts, too. Marner's a matchup-proof contributor, but there are also a lot of softer matchups available Saturday.
Chris Kreider, NYR vs. ARI ($23): The 30-year-old winger is having the best offensive season of his career and has been scorching hot of late with five tallies on 33.3 percent shooting, plus a helper, over his past four outings. As noted, the Coyotes are an opponent to target, but statistical correction could be looming for Kreider.
DEFENSE
Tony DeAngelo, CAR at NJ ($20): Scorching hot, DeAngelo has room to negatively regress offensively and still return value at this salary. He paces all defensemen in points per 60 minutes this season, and his 3.23 mark ranks 35th in the league. The Devils have also allowed 28 goals through eight games since the holiday break.
Tyson Barrie, EDM vs. CGY ($14): As noted, this isn't a favorable matchup, but Barrie's salary has also plummeted into profit territory. Additionally, his current offensive cooler (four assists through the past 14 games) is out of character. After all, even with the skid, Barrie ranks eighth in points per 60 minutes among all defensemen since the beginning of last season.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Cale Makar, COL vs. MON ($30): Fading the league's more prolific offensive defenseman in a plus matchup is all about salary. Makar's is climbing, and while he may be an elite contributor among his blueline peers, he ranks 66th in points per 60 minutes overall.
Jakob Chychrun, ARI at NYR ($17): After allowing six goals to the Hurricanes on Friday, expect the Rangers to pay attention to details defensively Saturday. New York has allowed the third-fewest goals per game and ranks fifth in penalty-kill percentage, and Igor Shesterkin should be back in net. Chychrun's minus-30 rating through just 28 games is also a crippler in this scoring system.
