This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
January comes to an end Friday, putting another month of the NHL season in the books. We end the first month of the New Year with seven games on the slate. Here are some players to target, and to avoid, for your daily fantasy hockey lineup.
GOALIE
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TAM at ANA ($38): Vasilevskiy started his season a little slow, especially compared to his Vezina-winning campaign last year. But he's back in form with a 2.53 GAA and .918 save percentage. Even though he's on the road, I still trust him in net. That's especially true against the Ducks, who have only scored 2.48 goals per game.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Jordan Binnington, STL at EDM ($26): Is Binnington finally having his sophomore slump? Over his last nine games, he's posted a 3.33 GAA and .876 save percentage. The Blues also own a middling penalty kill, and the Oilers boast the league's top power play. That's not a recipe for success for Binnington.
CENTER
Ryan Strome, NYR vs. DET ($20): Strome is averaging four minutes more per game in ice time, which may be partially why he has 43 points over 48 contests, setting him up to blow by his career-best numbers. There's a good chance he gets a step closer to that Friday. After all, the Red Wings enter with a 3.88 GAA, by far the worst in the NHL.
CENTER TO AVOID
Sean Couturier, PHI at PIT ($22): Philly has been decidedly worse on the road than at home - and that includes Couturier, who has nine goals and 25 points in 25 home games and four goals and 18 points in 25 road games. He's also only notched one power-play point in his last 15 outings. Now he's in line to face Tristan Jarry, who has starred with a 2.16 GAA and .929 save percentage.
WING
Tom Wilson, WAS at OTT ($18): The benefits of playing on a line with Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom - and also staying out of the penalty box - are clear with Wilson. He's also been hot recently, with nine points during his last eight contests. As for the Senators, they come in with a 3.35 GAA and have allowed 33.5 shots on net per game.
Dominik Simon, PIT vs. PHI ($11): Since Sidney Crosby came back, Simon has been skating on his wing. Probably not coincidentally, he has managed four points in his last five contests. I mentioned the Flyers have been worse on the road, and that's especially true in net with a 3.80 road GAA - ranking them second-worst in the league.
WINGS TO AVOID
Jonathan Marchessault, VGK at CAR ($23): Marchessault isn't going to tally 75 points like he did his first year in Vegas, but he will probably match the 59 points from last season. However, it will be hard for him to add to that against Carolina. The Hurricanes excel at suppressing offenses, as they maintain a 2.46 GAA and have only allowed 27.3 shots on net per contest at home - the latter of which is tops in the NHL.
Kyle Connor, WPG vs. BOS ($22): Connor is enjoying a career year, but it will still be hard for him to live up to his price in this matchup. The Bruins have posted a 2.51 GAA, tied for second best. They also own the fourth-ranked penalty kill, so good luck to Connor in terms of doing anything on the power play.
DEFENSE
Torey Krug, BOS at WPG ($20): Krug and power-play production are synonymous at this point. He's averaged 3:55 per contest on the power play and tallied 19 points with the extra man over 43 games. While Connor Hellebuyck has played well this year, the Jets still offer a bottom-five penalty kill, which is right up Krug's alley.
Adam Fox, NYR vs. DET ($17): Fox has started 54.8 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, second highest on the Rangers. The rookie has also averaged 2:13 per game with the extra man, producing 13 points on the power play. In addition to their 3.88 GAA, the Red Wings have the league's worst penalty kill.
DEFENSE TO AVOID
Thomas Chabot, OTT vs. WAS ($19): Chabot has played more minutes this year than in his breakout season last year, but his shooting percentage has dropped to 3.0 and that has hurt his numbers a bit. However, he does have nine power-play points - all assists. The Capitals come in with the second-ranked penalty kill, so Chabot's power-play minutes may not pay off Friday.
Shea Theodore, VGK at CAR ($17): Theodore is in line to put up career numbers, largely in part to the fact he's averaged 3:08 with the extra man. In fact, 11 of his 31 points have come on the power play. In addition to allowing fewer shots per game than any team, the Hurricanes boast the fourth-ranked penalty kill.
