This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
With the NFL out of the way, the NHL is making a grab for audiences, and Tuesday is a great day to get on board. There's a whopping 13 games on the slate, meaning you have a ton of options for your daily fantasy lineup. It can be daunting to make choices when you have so many players to pick from, so here are some recommendations for players to target, and to avoid, for your daily fantasy lineup.
GOALIE
David Rittich, CGY vs. SAN ($29): Rittich's last start went poorly, but he still has a .910 save percentage after having a .911 save percentage last season. That's steady performance. Meanwhile, the Sharks have only averaged 2.53 goals and 29.1 shots on net per contest, and now they are without Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Marc-Andre Fleury, VGK at TAM ($25): The home-ice advantage for Vegas has not been there this year, but of course this game is on the road anyway. However, the lack of home cooking is partially responsible for his 2.78 GAA and .908 save percentage. Now he's facing a Lightning team that has scored 3.58 goals per contest.
CENTER
Pierre-Luc Dubois, CLM vs. FLA ($19): Dubois has had a three-point game in two of his last three outings, giving him 42 points in 53 contests. As for the Panthers, they are on the road for the second game of a back-to-back. With Chris Driedger out and former Blue Jacket Sergei Bobrovsky having played the night before, Samuel Montembeault will likely be in net, and he has a 3.35 GAA and .888 save percentage.
CENTER TO AVOID
Elias Pettersson, VAN at BOS ($28): Pettersson is building upon his stellar rookie season, in part because he's averaged a massive 4:06 per game on the power play. This is not an easy matchup for any player, though. In addition to having the league's lowest GAA (2.45), the Bruins have the third-ranked penalty kill.
WING
Alex DeBrincat, CHI at MIN ($19): DeBrincat's 7.9 percent shooting is well below his career average, but things have gone better for him recently. He's notched 10 points in his last 14 games, including three power-play goals. The Wild are in the bottom five in both GAA and penalty-kill percentage, so maybe DeBrincat will get to boost his success rate a bit more.
Ilya Kovalchuk, MON at NJD ($17): The Canadiens have tried to make things easy for Kovalchuk since he joined the team. He's started 56.9 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, third highest on the team, and he's averaged 2:25 per game with the extra man. That's helped the Russian notch 10 points in 12 games. Now he'll face his old team in New Jersey, which has a 3.53 GAA.
WINGS TO AVOID
Jonathan Huberdeau, FLA at CLM ($29): Huberdeau is having a good year, but he may be without his usual center Aleksander Barkov on Tuesday night. Also, he will be on the second night of a back-to-back and on the road to boot. The Blue Jackets have a 2.51 GAA, and since taking over as the starter Elvis Merzlikins has a 2.42 GAA and .925 save percentage.
Andrei Svechnikov, CAR at STL ($24): Svechnikov has already equaled the 20 goals he scored as a rookie, and he also has 15 power-play points. On the other hand, he only has one point with the extra man in his last 21 games. Additionally, the Blues have been one of the best teams in the league defensively at home. They have a 2.28 GAA and have only allowed 28.1 shots on net per contest in St. Louis.
DEFENSE
Mark Giordano, CGY vs. SAN ($21): The points have been harder to come by for Giordano this year after he won the Norris last season, but he's staying active. He's put 140 shots on net in 53 games (his 3.6 percent shooting is well below his career average), and he's blocked 136 shots as well. The Sharks have a 3.60 road GAA, so if Giordano is his usual busy self, maybe luck will be on his side.
Matt Dumba, MIN vs. CHI ($18): Speaking of active defensemen, Dumba leads the Wild with 127 shots on goal in 51 games. However, he's only shooting at a 2.4 percent clip, and he's never had a shooting percentage below 6.6 in any other season. The Blackhawks have left their goalies quite busy, as they've allowed 36.8 shots on net per contest. Dumba will at least have opportunities Tuesday.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Oscar Klefbom, EDM at ARI ($20): Klefbom started the year hot on the power play, but he only has two points with the extra man in his last 17 games. While the Coyotes have a penalty kill just outside the top 10, in a way that's almost their weak spot defensively. After all, they have a 2.67 GAA as a team, and it's not just Darcy Kuemper. Antti Raanta has a .913 save percentage, and Adin Hill's save percentage is .920.
John Klingberg, DAL at NYI ($16): The Stars, like the Panthers, are on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back. Also like the Panthers, Klingberg and company have a tough matchup to deal with. The Islanders have a 2.68 GAA and .915 save percentage as a team.
