Yahoo DFS Hockey: Saturday Picks

Yahoo DFS Hockey: Saturday Picks

This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.

It's a busy evening for the NHL on Saturday. There are nine games on the docket starting at 7 p.m. EDT or later. While college basketball teams are punching their tickets to the Final Four, you can be racking up the fantasy points for your DFS lineup. Here are some players to target, and to avoid, for your daily fantasy contests.

GOALIE

James Reimer, SAN vs. ANA ($29): Reimer's last 10 games have gone well, as he's posted a 2.54 GAA and .924 save percentage. The Ducks are rebooting, so they've traded away a few notable players, and the team is also missing some guys due to injury. They are in the bottom 10 in goals and shots on net per game, and they aren't going to be getting any better down the stretch. It's a good time to be catching the Ducks.

GOALIE TO AVOID

Frederik Andersen, CAR at STL ($37): With 18 teams in action, you don't need to devote this much cap space to Andersen. He's been stellar, but the Dane is on the road and the Blues are fifth in the NHL in goals per game at 3.52. Andersen may be fine, but you can do better than fine Saturday.

CENTER

Anze Kopitar, LOS vs. SEA ($21): After a bit of a cold spell, Kopitar has four points in his last four games. He has 55 points in 66 contests, including 18 points with the extra man. The Kraken have the 29th-ranked penalty kill, and also a 3.55 GAA.

CENTER TO AVOID

Nico Hischier, NJD at WAS ($18): The Capitals are on the second leg of a back-to-back, but they are at home, and they also are in the top five in terms of shots on net allowed per game. Additionally, Washington saved Vitek Vanecek for this one, and he has a 2.43 GAA and .917 save percentage. Had Hischier got the Ilya Samsonov end of this duo it would be a different situation, but I'm avoiding the center here.

WING

Alexander Barabanov, SAN vs. ANA ($16): Barabanov gets to benefit from playing on San Jose's top line with Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier. That's partially why he has four points in his last four games. No goalie has been colder than John Gibson the last couple of months. Over his last 14 games he has a 4.73 GAA and .857 save percentage.

Jordan Greenway, MIN vs. CLM ($15): Greenway has gotten into his groove recently. He has three goals and 20 shots on net in his last five games. The Blue Jackets rank 30th in GAA and last in shots on net allowed per game, and they are also on the road for the second game of a back-to-back.

WINGS TO AVOID

Teuvo Teravainen, CAR at STL ($22): A whopping 27 of Teravainen's 49 points have come on the power play. However, the Blues have the seventh-ranked penalty kill. I also assume the Blues will have Ville Husso in net, and he has a 2.33 GAA and .925 save percentage.

Patrik Laine, CLM at MIN ($21): As I noted, the Blue Jackets are on the second half of a back-to-back. That's a knock against Laine here. On top of that, Cam Talbot has been on a good run. Over his last six games he has a 1.97 GAA and .926 save percentage.

DEFENSE

Morgan Rielly, TOR at MON ($22): Rielly's goal scoring has slowed down, but he has seven assists in his last 15 games. On top of that, he's put 45 shots on net in those 15 outings, so Rielly is staying active. He just needs some more puck luck. Maybe facing Montreal will help, as the Habs have a league-high 3.77 GAA.

Sean Durzi, LOS vs. SEA ($18): Drew Doughty is out, and over his last nine games Durzi has averaged 23:38 in ice time. During that stretch he has seven points, including three with the extra man. As I mentioned earlier, the Kraken have a 3.55 GAA.

DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID

Justin Faulk, STL vs. CAR ($16): I may not want to go with Andersen in net, but Andersen has been excellent this season. He has a 2.07 GAA and .926 save percentage. That's enough for me not to be enthused about Faulk, especially since he only has two points in his last 11 games.

Cam Fowler, ANA at SAN ($15): Fowler has tallied 16 of his 34 points on the power play. However, the Sharks have the fourth-ranked penalty kill. That's even with the Sharks' goaltenders not always playing great, but as noted above, Reimer has looked good lately.

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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