There are nine NHL games starting at 7 p.m. EST or later Saturday, the final Saturday of January at that. It’s also the last busy day for the NHL before the All-Star break. Here are my players to target, and to avoid, for your DFS lineups. Let’s take advantage of all the options!
GOALIE
Stuart Skinner, EDM vs. CHI ($27): Skinner is a goalie that can hold his own (.914 save percentage) and tends to get plenty of offensive support from a top-five scoring squad. Chicago is battling the Ducks for the title of worst offense in the NHL and has the edge in my book, as it has averaged 2.45 goals and 26.1 shots on net per contest.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Marc-Andre Fleury, MIN vs. BUF ($31): The Wild announced early that Fleury would get the final start before the break. While he has a .920 save percentage over his last 11 starts, he still has a .904 save percentage on the season. Things could regress at any time. Not only that, but the Sabres have averaged 3.79 goals per game, which is highest in the NHL.
CENTER
Kirby Dach, MON vs. OTT ($18): The Habs have been decimated by injury, but Dach has been out there racking up nine points over his last 10 games. Ottawa will be on the second leg of a back-to-back, and it has made the decision to give Anton Forsberg back-to-back starts heading into the break with Cam Talbot banged up. That gives Dach the rare opportunity in the modern NHL to face a goalie playing his second game in as many days.
CENTER TO AVOID
Anze Kopitar, LOS at TAM ($19): Kopitar and the Kings are doing the Florida two-step to kick off this weekend, but the Lightning are the more imposing half of that duo this season, especially defensively. Andrei Vasilevskiy is a huge part of that, of course, and over his last 21 games he has a 2.20 GAA and .928 save percentage.
WING
Nick Schmaltz, ARI at ANA ($19): Two games ago, Schmaltz scored a goal and put eight shots on net against the Ducks. That isn’t a surprise, given that Anaheim is last in GAA and shots on net allowed per game. Oh, and Schmaltz followed that up with three goals and an assist in his last outing. He’s heading into the break playing his best hockey of the season.
Frank Vatrano, ANA vs. ARI ($18): The Coyotes aren’t exactly a wall defensively themselves. In fact, they have allowed 34.6 shots on goal per game. Vatrano has put 140 shots on net in 49 games, but 7.9 percent shooting has tamped his numbers down. That may be changing, as he has five goals over his last five contests.
WINGS TO AVOID
Travis Konecny, PHI at WPG ($21): Konecny’s scorching-hot campaign has cooled down. He has three points, all assists, over his last eight games. Now he likely faces Connor Hellebuyck, who has a 2.40 GAA and .924 save percentage.
Reilly Smith, VGK at NYI ($13): Smith has 18 goals this season, but zero in his last 11 games. Both of these teams are on the second leg of a back-to-back, but the Golden Knights are on the road. Plus, Semyon Varlamov has a .912 save percentage, making him one of the better backup goalies.
DEFENSE
Victor Hedman, TAM vs. LOS ($23): Hedman only has three goals on 91 shots on net, and his 3.3 percent shooting speaks to bad puck luck. However, two of those goals have come in his last six outings. Pheonix Copley started Friday, so it is likely Jonathan Quick starting Saturday. He has a 3.34 GAA and .884 save percentage.
Vince Dunn, SEA vs. CLM ($20): Dunn has tallied a whopping 18 points over his last 15 games. Both of these teams are on a back-to-back, but the Jackets are a long way from home for this one. On top of that, the Blue Jackets are 30th in GAA and 31st in shots on net allowed per contest.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Drew Doughty, LOS at TAM ($17): Like Hedman, Doughty has had bad puck luck this season. The difference Saturday, of course, is that the Kings are on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back. Oh, and Vasilevskiy has a 2.52 GAA and .918 save percentage.
Tony DeAngelo, PHI at WPG ($17): DeAngelo, unsurprisingly, has tallied 15 of his 29 points with the extra man. With Hellebuyck in net, though, this matchup is not in DeAngelo’s favor. Winnipeg has a top-five penalty kill.
