This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
Happy Halloween, hockey fans! The NHL has been considerate to all you trick-or-treaters out there, as there are only two games on the slate Thursday. It's a light schedule, but nevertheless here are my recommendations for who to target, and who to avoid, for your daily fantasy lineup.
GOALIE
Pekka Rinne, NAS vs. CGY ($38): This isn't a hard choice, as Rinne has been as good as anybody in net this season. He has a 1.74 GAA and .937 save percentage, and he has a shutout in each of his last two starts. If that wasn't enough reason for you, the Flames have only managed 2.50 goals per game.
GOALIE TO AVOID
David Rittich, CGY at NAS ($28): There's a reason that Rinne is 7-1-0 in net this year. Not only has he been great, but he's getting a ton of offensive support. The Predators have scored 4.00 goals per game, which makes them one of the best goal-scoring teams in the NHL so far. Rittich's numbers are essentially irrelevant given that he has to face Nashville on the road.
CENTER
Paul Stastny, VGK vs. MON ($19): The Canadiens, who have a bottom-five penalty kill, are on the road for the second game of a back-to-back. Given that there are only four teams in action, you are going to be seeing a lot of Golden Knights in this article. Let's start with Stastny, who has nine points through 13 games, including six with the extra man.
CENTER TO AVOID
Sean Monahan, CGY at NAS ($24): Monahan only has two goals this season, and none of them have come in his last 12 games. Eventually he'll turn it around -- he's scored at least 30 goals in each of his last two seasons -- but this isn't the game for it to happen. As I mentioned earlier, Rinne has a 1.74 GAA.
WING
Max Pacioretty, VGK vs. MON ($23): Speaking of snakebit shooters, Pacioretty is only shooting at a 3.7 percent clip to start the year. However, he's put 54 shots on net in 13 games, so the goals should come in time. Also, he has nine assists, which has helped his fantasy value stay high. Keith Kinkaid will likely be in goal for the Canadiens in this game, and he had a 3.36 GAA and .891 save percentage last year. Oh, also, this is a potential revenge game for the former Hab.
Cody Glass, VGK vs. MON ($11): Glass came into the season as one of the top prospects in the NHL, and so far he has six points in 13 games. The 20-year-old has also averaged 2:51 minutes per game on the power play, and he has three points with the extra man. The Habs have a bottom-five penalty kill, and they are also on the road for the second game of a back-to-back.
WINGS TO AVOID
Matthew Tkachuk, CGY at NAS ($22): Tkachuk is off to a strong start to the year, which has raised his price a bit, and justifiably so. However, his four goals in 14 games have come in two separate two-goal performances, one against Florida and one against Los Angeles. This matchup is much tougher than either of those. The Predators have only allowed 29.3 shots on net per contest, and then you have to add Rinne and his .937 save percentage.
Jonathan Drouin, MON at VGK ($17): Drouin has 11 points through 12 games, although with a big uptick in his shooting percentage that may regress. Of course, he's playing on the road for his second game in as many days. Vegas is probably a crazy place to be on Halloween, but Drouin is going to be too busy trying to solve Marc-Andre Fleury, who has a 2.29 GAA and .928 save percentage.
DEFENSE
Mattias Ekholm, NAS vs. CGY ($18): Ekholm has started 57.2 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, highest among Nashville defenseman. He has seven points in 12 games even though the Swede doesn't play much on the power play. That's not a bad thing in this matchup, as the Flames have a top-five penalty kill. Even with that, though, Rittich has a 2.86 GAA.
Nate Schmidt, VGK vs. MON ($15): The Canadiens will be playing their second game in as many days, which means little rest. Schmidt has had plenty of rest, though. He's only played in one game this season, and he's just gotten off injured reserve. Last year he had 30 points in 61 games, so if he's ready to go at full speed this is a nice matchup for him to jump into.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Mark Giordano, CGY at NAS ($24): After winning the Norris last year, Giordano is still at the top of his game. He has only eight shots on goal in his last six contests, though, so his output has dropped a bit. The Predators have been good at suppressing shots, and I've gone over Rinne's numbers a few times already in this article.
Shea Weber, MON at VGK ($21): Weber has long been a guy who has gotten it done on the power play, but last year his numbers dipped a bit. He only had six points with the extra man in 58 games, and this year he only has two power-play points. It'll be hard for Weber to do much with the extra man in this one, as the Golden Knights have a top-five penalty kill.
