This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
Saturday's NHL slate is a busy one, with 12 games on tap beginning at 2:00 PM Eastern time. Read on to see which players to target and which ones to avoid among the plentiful options in this slate.
GOALIE
Sergei Bobrovsky, CLS at LA ($34): Bobrovsky's rounding back into form after a slow start, having stopped 67 of 69 shots in his past two appearances. The two-time Vezina Trophy winner should have no trouble building on those last two performances against a Kings team that's toiling away at the bottom of the standings while scoring a league-low, 2.00 goals per game.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Keith Kinkaid, NJ at NYI ($37): Kinkaid's had a rough go of it lately, allowing 20 goals over his past five starts while winning only once in that span. Paying a premium price for him doesn't make sense against an Islanders team that comes in riding a four-game winning streak.
CENTER
Connor McDavid, EDM at DET ($34): McDavid's capable of carrying a fantasy lineup on any given night, but he's even more likely to do so against a weak opponent like the Red Wings, who have been outscored 3.69 to 2.62 in the average game this season. After leading the league in points each of the past two seasons, McDavid is certainly in the running to do so again with 19 points (nine goals) through 12 games, only failing to mark the scoresheet once.
CENTER TO AVOID
John Tavares, TOR at PIT ($28): Tavares has cooled down considerably after a hot start with his new club, notching only four points while posting a minus-4 rating over his past eight games. That rating could come under fire again during this road matchup with a Penguins team that's scoring a league-best 4.09 goals per game, so Tavares' floor is lower than owners should have to stomach in this price range.
WINGS
Jeff Skinner, BUF vs. OTT ($22): Skinner took a few games to get acclimated to his new surroundings, but Buffalo's prized off-season acquisition has been stellar of late with six goals, five assists and a plus-8 rating in his past seven games. In fact, Skinner hasn't posted a negative rating since finishing minus-2 in his Sabres debut, going plus-12 in the remaining games. There's little reason to expect Skinner to slow down against a Senators team that's giving up 3.83 goals per game, just .02 goals behind Philadelphia's league-worst mark.
Devin Shore, DAL at WAS ($16): Shore's been thriving in a top-line role alongside Tyler Seguin recently, producing four points in the past two games and eight points in the last six. He should remain in that position as long as Dallas continues to split up Seguin and Benn for balance purposes, and there's little reason to change that status quo after back-to-back wins. A matchup with a Capitals team that's giving up 3.82 goals per game presents a nice opportunity for Shore to keep rolling.
WINGS TO AVOID
Brendan Gallagher, MON vs. TB ($17): Gallagher already has nine goals, but much of that total can be attributed to a preposterous 21.4 shooting percentage that's more than double his career mark. Considering Gallagher has just one assist, his scoring is likely to dry up almost completely once his luck normalizes. Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy -- who sports a 2.09 GAA and .930 save percentage -- is likely to hold the agitator in check.
Brad Marchand, BOS at NSH ($30): When choosing between high-end Bruins wingers, you may as well pay up the extra dollar for David Pastrnak, who's averaging 13.4 fantasy points to Marchand's 8.9. Neither guy is particularly appealing here, anyway, as committing that much to salary to a player facing a Predators team that's holding opponents to 2.31 goals per game is asking for trouble.
DEFENSEMEN
Erik Karlsson, SJ vs. PHI ($26): If there was ever a time for Karlsson to get back on track, this is it. The Flyers are allowing 3.85 goals per game and killing off only 68.8 percent of penalties, so his prominent role on San Jose's top power-play unit should pay off here. Teammate Brent Burns should benefit from all of Philadelphia's weaknesses just like Karlsson, but the $4 saved by picking Karlsson over Burns could have profound implications on the rest of your lineup.
Jared Spurgeon, MIN at STL ($16): Last season, Spurgeon scored .61 points per appearance, Matt Dumba was also at .61 and Ryan Suter produced .65. This year, Suter is comfortably ahead with 12 points while Spurgeon has seven to Dumba's six. Suter is understandably the most expensive of the three at $22, but Spurgeon's strangely affordable at $16 compared to Dumba at $19. In addition to his low price, Spurgeon also brings momentum into this favorable matchup against a Blues team that's surrendering 3.82 goals per game, as he's recorded a point in each of the last three games.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Joel Edmundson, STL vs. MIN ($18): It's better to buy low on some of Edmundson's teammates than roll out the low-ceiling blueliner at $18. Last season, Edmundson finished with 17 points, Vince Dunn had 24, Colton Parayko 35 and Alex Pietrangelo 54. Pietrangelo's available at just $20 after a slow start, though he's turned it on with 34.5 fantasy points in his last two games. Dunn costs the same as Edmundson but has more upside due to a spot on the top power-play unit, and Parayko's actually $1 cheaper than his stay-at-home defense partner.
Nick Leddy, NYI vs. NJ ($18): Leddy has been soundly outplayed by identically priced teammate Ryan Pulock, who's averaging 5.1 fantasy points to Leddy's 2.6. In fact, every other defenseman in this slate priced at $14 or more is averaging at least a full fantasy point more per game than Leddy. Why the player who had the worst rating in the league last season remains priced at $18 despite his ineffectiveness this year is a mystery, but owners would be wise to ignore him at this price barring a significant turnaround.
