This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
The league put a three-game slate in the matinee to not compete with Sunday's big football game. That leads to some intriguing matchups to hold you over until kickoff. Here are some players to help guide your daily fantasy quest:
GOALIE
Braden Holtby, WAS vs. BOS ($32): Holtby has struggled lately with a 1-2-1 record over his last five starts while posting a measly .855 save percentage during that span. He'll look to start an upward swing, since he's been historically strong against the Bruins with a 16-2-0 career record along with a .944 save percentage and 1.85 GAA. The Bs have recently experienced offensive troubles with just seven goals over the last three games, setting Holtby up nicely to right the ship.
GOALIE TO AVOID
David Rittich, CGY at CAR ($28): Rittich is enjoying a breakout season, so seeing him as the second-cheapest option may force some impulse buys. Tread lightly, as the addition of Nino Niederreiter has made the Canes a more potent offense and they're hitting their stride offensively with 19 goals over the last four games.
CENTER
Evgeny Kuznetsov, WAS vs. BOS ($23): Two weeks ago, Kuznetsov was dropped to the third line since he was struggling to generate offense. He's been back on the second line for the last three games, compiling two goals, three assists and posting a season-high 24:36 TOI in the most recent outing. The door should be open again, especially against a fragile Bruins' penalty kill.
CENTER TO AVOID
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, EDM at MON ($21): The Oilers lost three straight heading into the break, so coach Ken Hitchcock put the lines in a blender and Nugent-Hopkins popped up as the third-line center. His TOI dropped 2:28 from his average, and he has recorded one assist and a minus-4 rating over the last three outings. A road matchup in a hostile environment won't help.
WINGS
Nino Niederreiter, CAR vs. CGY ($17): Early judgement has Carolina winning the trade where it acquired Niederreiter, who has tallied five goals and 22 shots on net in five games with the new club. He'll continue to be aided by a spot on the top line with Sebastian Aho, and his low price should be utilized until the spark dies.
Milan Lucic, EDM at MON ($10): It's not that I think Lucic has turned a corner – his four goals on 10 shots over the last nine games isn't a sustainable pace – but he now has a spot on a line with Connor McDavid. Lucic marked an assist in that role Saturday versus the Flyers and those opportunities could fall into his lap again. He's worthy of taking a flyer on to provide space to spend up elsewhere.
WINGS TO AVOID
Elias Lindholm, CGY at CAR ($25): Lindholm's riding a nine-game point streak coming into this outing, but this price tag borders on goal-scoring territory, of which he falls short with just two goals and 16 shots on net during that span. He also leans heavily on the power play, with 35.6 percent of his points coming with the man-advantage. I'm fading Lindholm against the Hurricanes, who have stymied 11 of the last 13 opposing power plays.
Teuvo Teravainen, CAR vs. CGY ($19): Teravainen is an excellent puck distributor but he doesn't tickle the twine enough, let alone give himself those opportunities with just seven shots on net over the last six games. He mans the second line while the Canes' top unit does a bulk of the scoring, so I'd be more comfortable with Justin Williams ($17) in this instance.
DEFENSEMEN
Torey Krug, BOS at WAS ($22): Holtby may be my goalie of choice, but it's hard to look past Krug's outlook here. He's racked up 21 points on the power play in 40 games and will be facing off against the Caps' 24th-ranked penalty kill at 77.5 percent. Krug comes in as third-most expensive among blueliners, but is well worth the cost.
Jeff Petry, MON vs. EDM ($17): Petry has notched seven points in the last nine games, and he can be counted on defensively with 17 blocked shots and a plus-4 rating. That provides a sturdy floor, and he should be able to pitch in offensively since the Oilers have allowed 12 points to opposing blue lines over the last four games.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Brett Pesce, CAR vs. CGY ($17): Pesce contributes defensively with two blocked shots per game and an appealing plus-17 rating, but the offense hasn't followed suit enough with just 12 points and 59 shots on goal in 42 outings. His price tag is steep for that lack of proven offense.
Shea Weber, MON vs. EDM ($19): Weber's production has dropped off, as he's gone pointless in seven of the last nine games. A large part of this dip is likely due to his shots per game falling from 2.66 in the first 18 games to 1.55 over the aforementioned stretch. It's tough to be positive about his outlook when he's not even generating chances.
