This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
Tuesday's NHL slate consists of eight games beginning at 7:00 PM Eastern time. This reasonably large slate by NHL standards offers plenty of options to choose from, but certain players stand out from the pack as either terrific or subpar values. Read on to see which players to target and which ones to avoid.
GOALIE
Devan Dubnyk, MIN vs. ARI ($34): Between Dubnyk's hot start and this favorable matchup, this is an obvious choice, even with the Wild playing their second game in as many nights. Minnesota's poor play in front of him has Dubnyk's GAA at a middling 2.64 despite an outstanding .934 save percentage, but that GAA should come plummeting down by the time he's done with an Arizona team that's scored two goals in four games while already getting shut out three times.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Matt Murray, PIT vs. VAN ($32): Before the season started, most people would have pegged using Murray as a no-brainer against the Canucks. That's far from the truth now, however, with Murray coming off yet another concussion and Vancouver averaging a healthy 3.80 goals per game. Even with rookie stud Elias Pettersson sitting out for Vancouver due to a concussion of his own, Murray's a risky selection here.
CENTER
Nico Hischier, NJ vs. DAL ($15): Grab Hischier at $15 while you still can. The first overall selection in the 2017 draft has two helpers, seven shots and a plus-2 rating through New Jersey's first three games and his scoring rate should only improve from here considering he centers a line consisting of by far the Devils' three most gifted forwards (himself, Taylor Hall ($32) and Kyle Palmieri ($22)). It likely won't be long until Hischier's bumped up to Palmieri's price range, so act quickly.
CENTER TO AVOID
Kevin Hayes, NYR vs. COL ($16): Hayes has looked lost during the young season, likely because he's having difficulty adjusting to new coach David Quinn's system, which puts a higher premium on skating (Hayes' greatest liability). With multiple young centers chomping at the bit for playing time in New York, Hayes could find his role shrinking soon after failing to produce more than two shots in a game thus far while totaling just one assist through five contests.
WINGS
Gabriel Landeskog, COL at NYR ($20): The Rangers' greatest weakness is the team's lack of a shutdown pairing on defense, as Brady Skjei is New York's only player resembling a top-four option on the back end at the moment and he's hopelessly miscast as the team's No. 1. As a result of this poor blue line play, opposing top lines have thrived despite stellar play from Henrik Lundqvist in net. Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon ($32) and Mikko Rantanen ($24) make up one of the scariest first lines in the league, and unlike his linemates, you won't have to pay through the roof to afford Landeskog here.
Erik Haula, VGK vs. BUF ($11): Haula's been snakebitten along with many of his teammates during Vegas' slow start, but there's reason to believe he's getting ready to turn things around. He's receiving quality minutes, having skated at least 16:33 in all but one of the team's six games while operating on the second line and second power-play unit, and the career 12.6 percent shooter (16.6 in last year's 29-goal campaign) is due for some better luck after lighting the lamp only once on his first 14 shots (7.1 percent). At just $11, Haula's an excellent buy-low candidate against the lowly Sabres.
WINGS TO AVOID
Patric Hornqvist, PIT vs. VAN ($25): Hornqvist's off to a slow start with one assist in four games, and he's been dropped to the third line in Pittsburgh's recent shuffling of the forward ranks. The Swede received just 13:24 of ice time in that role Saturday, and living up to a $25 valuation is difficult in such limited minutes regardless of opponent.
Max Pacioretty, VGK vs. BUF ($20): As long as Pacioretty continues to underwhelm and his price doesn't drop, the former Montreal winger should be avoided. He has just one point in six games with Vegas, giving him a grand total of 38 points in 70 appearances since the start of last season. Pacioretty's linemate Haula is probably a better player right now and costs $9 less.
DEFENSEMEN
Dougie Hamilton, CAR at TB ($19): Hamilton's three assists through six games are nothing to scoff at, but he's capable of so much more. His 17 goals last season tied for the league lead among defensemen, and Hamilton's surely due to light the lamp soon considering he's scoreless on 22 shots this season -- having launched at least three in each of Carolina's first six games. The bottom line is Hamilton's undervalued at $19 given his offensive ability and situation on a rising Hurricanes team, and owners willing to go against the grain by using him in a tough matchup with Tampa Bay could be handsomely rewarded.
Josh Morrissey, WPG vs. EDM ($17): Morrissey might be in the process of making the leap to fantasy stardom on the blue line. The 2013 first-rounder has four points in five games while averaging a healthy 23:33 of ice time, and he should continue to be effective against an Oilers team that's been outscored 10-5 in its first three games. If Dustin Byfuglien (upper body) can't go, Morrissey would likely shoulder an even greater offensive load in this favorable matchup.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Ivan Provorov, PHI vs. FLA ($20): Provorov was tied with Hamilton and Victor Hedman atop the goals by defensemen leaderboard last season, but his offensive skills seem to have disappeared this season. Not only does he not have a point through five games, but Provorov's only managed to put four pucks on net over that span (that's 0.8 shots per game to Hamilton's 3.7). Until he shows some signs of life on offense, it's tough to justify pouring $20 into the Russian blueliner.
Erik Johnson, COL at NYR ($19): A three-assist game Oct. 6 against the Flyers has buoyed Johnson's statistics early on, but that offensive production is fool's gold. The veteran defenseman hasn't scored more than 27 points in a season since the 2013-14 campaign, so his offensive skill set isn't befitting of his current $19 valuation.
