As the NHL regular season heads toward its conclusion, some teams are vying for playoff seeding, or even a playoff spot, while others are playing out the stretch. On an individual level, many players are trying to hit personal milestones, be they new career highs or round numbers. Then, of course, there are the DFS players. Hey, that’s you! You want to succeed down the stretch as well. There are eight NHL games on the slate Tuesday. Here are my players to target, and to avoid, for your lineups.
GOALIE
Jacob Markstrom, CGY vs. ANA ($25): It’s possible Dustin Wolf will be starting for the Flames instead of Markstrom. The Flames have swapped starts between the two a bit recently, but not for long enough to know if that is just happenstance or if it is intentional. What I do know is that Markstrom has a 2.69 GAA, while the Ducks are locked into finishing 30th in goals per game. They’ve averaged 2.41 goals per contest, and the lineup has had a youth movement and has less talent than before the trade deadline.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Linus Ullmark, BOS at NAS ($35): Now the Bruins, they’re a team with a clear goaltending rotation. Ullmark is up, and while he’s not going to win the Vezina again, he has a 2.64 GAA and .913 save percentage. However, the Predators have surged in the second half of the season. They’ve averaged 3.27 goals per game, 11th in the league.
CENTER
Connor Bedard, CHI at NYI ($22): Even with his injury absence earlier this year, Bedard has done enough to secure the Calder trophy. He’s tallied 57 points in 60 games, including 19 with the extra man. Bedard’s power-play success is the highlight here, as the Islanders have the league’s worst penalty kill. Also, the Islanders are on the second day of a back-to-back.
CENTER TO AVOID
Sidney Crosby, PIT at NJD ($33): Crosby has shown no signs of slipping here in his age-36 season. He’s tallied 82 points in 74 games, and he’s basically the only Penguin to do much on the power play, where he has 19 points. However, the Penguins are on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back. Crosby may still be a high-level NHL player, but he does have a lot of mileage on his legs. While the Devils have not been strong defensively all in all, mostly due to issues in net, they have a top-12 penalty kill. Plus, while it likely won’t continue, Jake Allen has a 2.59 GAA and .923 save percentage in seven games since being dealt to New Jersey.
WING
Jesper Bratt, NJD vs. PIT ($25): Bratt has 73 points, which is where he ended up in each of his last two seasons. Now, while it would be fun if he landed on 73 points three seasons in a row, that isn’t the goal, and I think he’ll set a new personal high. That could happen as soon as Tuesday. After all, the Penguins are on the road for the second game of a back-to-back, and Alex Nedeljkovic has a .906 save percentage.
Jonathan Huberdeau, CGY vs. ANA ($19): Huberdeau has 46 points in 72 games. While he only has 11 goals, two of them have come in his last four outings. The Ducks are 30th in goals per game, as I noted, but there’s some symmetry here. Anaheim has a 3.61 GAA, which is also 30th in the NHL.
WINGS TO AVOID
Alex Ovechkin, WAS at BUF ($32): Ovechkin has put that slow start behind him, having gotten himself up to 26 goals on the season. He has been held without a point in his last three games, though. The Sabres have only allowed 29.3 shots on net per game, top 10 in the NHL. Not only that, but in 30 games since the start of 2024, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has a 2.27 GAA and .920 save percentage.
Cole Caufield, MON vs. FLA ($21): Caufield’s opportunity to salvage an unlucky campaign (7.3 shooting percentage) is running out. He only has one goal in his last 19 outings. Though the Panthers are on the second leg of a back-to-back, this is a team in the top three in GAA and shots on net allowed per game. Even though Anthony Stolarz, the backup goalie, will be in net, he has a 2.02 GAA and .925 save percentage.
DEFENSE
Seth Jones, CHI at NYI ($24): Bedard has been the star of the show for Chicago, but Jones has been along for the ride since Bedard returned from injury. He has 13 points in his last 17 games, and he’s put a whopping 60 shots on net in that time as well. Additionally, Jones has averaged 3:27 per contest with the extra man in that time, and as I noted the Islanders have the league’s worst penalty kill.
Brock Faber, MIN vs. OTT ($17): Faber was not able to sustain his excellent level of play from earlier this year, but he’s continued to play a ton of minutes for the Wild. The rookie defensive has averaged 25:03 per game in ice time. He’s also getting back on track offensively, with seven points in his last 11 contests. The Senators have a 3.47 GAA, which is in the bottom five in the NHL.
DEFENSE TO AVOID
Charlie McAvoy, BOS at NAS ($23): McAvoy has 44 points in 67 games, which is good for a defenseman. There’s little room to quibble with that. He’s also completely disappeared offensively. McAvoy has two points in his last 13 games, and they came in the same game. What’s concerning is that he also only has 12 shots on net in that time. Though Juuse Saros‘ last couple starts were rough, so much so he got a day off, over his last 15 outings he has a 2.24 GAA and .922 save percentage.
Filip Hronek, VAN at VGK ($22): Hronek could potentially hit 50 points, as he has 46 of them through 74 games. That’s with Quinn Hughes hogging almost all the power-play minutes as well. Of course, that means Hronek can’t rely on the benefit of the man advantage in a tough matchup, and Logan Thompson has definitely been that recently. Across his last six outings he has an 1.13 GAA and .962 save percentage.
