Yahoo DFS Hockey: Thursday Breakdown

Yahoo DFS Hockey: Thursday Breakdown

This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.

GOALIE

Connor Hellebuyck, WPG vs. VAN ($34): Hellebuyck is on a five-game losing streak, but we shouldn't worry about him too much. He's still an annual Vezina contender and had registered a .920 save percentage at home before his cold streak. The Canucks have returned to earth following their initial boom with Bruce Boudreau behind the bench, as they've averaged two goals over the last eight games. 

GOALIE TO AVOID

Ville Husso, STL vs. CGY ($36): Husso has been fantastic this season with a .943 save percentage and an 8-2-1 record, and he's on the verge of usurping Jordan Binnington for the No. 1 role. However, I'm not ready to cough up this high of a salary for him. The Flames rank 11th in the league with 3.19 goals per game and will have a stout goalie, Jacob Markstrom, in their net as well. 

CENTER

Andrew Copp, WPG vs. VAN ($18): Copp will probably hit career highs in all categories if he stays healthy. He has accrued 11 goals and 27 points through 39 games, and he's averaging 2.8 shots and 20:52 of ice time per contest. The 27-year-old is operating on PP2 as well, and the Canucks' league-worst PK (67.8 percent) is coming to town. 

CENTER TO AVOID

Elias Lindholm, CGY at STL ($25): While I'm fading Husso, it's tough to put much faith into Lindholm playing his second road game in as many days. So long as Husso, who has a 1.88 GAA this season, starts in net, Lindholm's ceiling will be lowered, meaning his salary will be even riskier. 

WING

Teuvo Teravainen, CAR at OTT ($20): Anton Forsberg will probably get the start Thursday because he has played well recently, but his home stats are unimpressive this season as he's recorded an .898 save percentage and a 3.56 GAA in Ottawa this year. Meanwhile, Teravainen continues to skate on the top line, posting 32 points including 15 with the man advantage through 38 games while averaging nearly three shots per contest. 

Anthony Duclair, FLA vs. VGK ($22): Duclair is red hot right now, recording nine goals and 17 points through the last 14 games while averaging 2.5 shots per contest. He's been essentially matchup-proof, and Robin Lehner's 2.85 GAA is below average at the halfway point of the season. 

WINGS TO AVOID

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, EDM vs. NSH ($19): Despite skating on the first line and recording 27 points this season, it's still a risky course to insert Nugent-Hopkins into your lineup. The 28-year-old draws a difficult matchup against Juuse Saros, who has accrued a .926 save percentage and a 2.37 GAA on the road this season. 

Evgenii Dadonov, VGK at FLA ($18): A 25-goal scorer just two years ago, it's tough to get too excited about Dadonov right now. He's averaging just 15 minutes of ice time per game while bouncing between the second and third lines. Sure, we can make a revenge-game narrative here, but it won't make much of a difference against Sergei Bobrovsky's .929 save percentage at home. 

DEFENSE

Aaron Ekblad, FLA vs. VGK ($24): Ekblad has been simply remarkable this season, registering 39 points, 125 shots on net and 45 blocked shots through 42 games. He handles more than 25 minutes of ice time per game, as well. His ability to succeed in every statistical category provides a floor that's worth this salary. 

Neal Pionk, WPG vs. VAN ($16): Much like Copp at center, Pionk comes at an extreme value on the blue line against Vancouver's putrid PK. Pionk has recorded 17 points, including seven with the man advantage, through 36 games, and he provides a decent floor with his shot and blocked shot volumes. 

DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID

Drew Doughty, LA at NYI ($21): Doughty is having his best season in three years, but don't ride that momentum tonight. Nine of his 21 points have come with the man advantage, and the Islanders sit ninth in the league with an 82.8 percent penalty kill and fourth with a 2.60 GAA. 

Darnell Nurse, EDM vs. NSH ($20): Nurse is in a bit of a slump this year despite logging a career-high 26:32 of ice time per game. His 2.6 percent shooting is not great, and while it will come back up eventually, we already went over how tough it is to crack Saros. You don't want to take that risk tonight. 

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Jordan Mazzara plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: Mazz30 Yahoo: Mazz30 DraftKings: Mazz30.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jordan Mazzara
Jordan has produced NFL and NHL content for RotoWire since 2017. He's the beat writer for the St. Louis Blues and Seattle Seahawks.
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