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Yahoo Daily Fantasy Hockey: Searching for bargains on a busy Tuesday NHL slate

Yahoo Daily Fantasy Hockey: Searching for bargains on a busy Tuesday NHL slate

By Andrew Fiorentino
RotoWire Hockey Writer

Tuesday night is one of the bigger early NHL slates of the year, with nine games going down. Considering the Penguins, Kings, Oilers, Devils and Hurricanes are still looking for their first victory, while a number of teams are looking to avoid their first loss, the action should be fast and furious.

With the Jets, Lightning, Canucks and Panthers playing in the second of a back-to-back set, we could see backup netminders rolled out by those teams. But it's early in the year, and the backups in Tampa, Vancouver and Florida are rather weak, so we could see some back-to-back action for those starting goalies.

Let's find some value to send your Yahoo Daily Fantasy Hockey rosters on to glory.

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GOALIE 

Marc-Andre Fleury, PIT vs. MON ($35) - So, listen, it's not a big savings, and it's understandable if you want to drop the extra couple bucks for Henrik Lundqvist or Pekka Rinne or another goalie whose team is averaging more than 0.5 goals per game. But these Penguins come into Tuesday's divisional tilt desperate for a win, and equally importantly for our purposes, they face a Canadiens team that shoots the puck a lot -- 101 times in its first three games. Yahoo gives half a point for every save, so you're looking for a goalie who will face a lot of shots and turn most of them away. Fleury's that guy (at least in the regular season). Expect Pittsburgh to wake up and come out flying to support him offensively.

Player to Avoid: 

Ryan Miller, VAN at LA ($32) - On the back end of a back-to-back set and coming off a hard-fought shootout win against the Ducks, Miller's matchup against Los Angeles might be a bit of a letdown. As mentioned, the Kings are still looking for their first victory, and they'll be looking to take out their frustrations on what could be a tired Vancouver team. Throw in the (unlikely, but not entirely unreasonable) possibility that Richard Bachman could draw the start instead of Miller, not to mention that his supporting cast isn't very deep offensively, and you've got a good reason to look elsewhere.

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CENTER 

Victor Rask, CAR vs. FLA ($12) - The 22-year-old Rask is primed to bust out this year as Carolina's first-line center, and here's your chance to get in on the action at a bottom-dollar price. Rask's in a good situation Tuesday against Al Montoya, who's considered the likely starter for the Panthers -- any time you can avoid Roberto Luongo, it's a good thing. And in keeping with the theme of the day, I'm optimistic about the Hurricanes bouncing back with a win after taking one-goal losses in their first two games of the year. Whatever they do on offense, the super-talented Swede should be right in the middle of it.

Player to Avoid: 

Craig Smith, NSH at NJ ($17) - Smith's scored goals in each of the Preds' first two games, but that streak will be tough to continue in a road draw against the Devils that promises to be a low-scoring affair, particularly if Cory Schneider's wife can give birth in time for him to get back to the ice. Even if it's not Schneider, though, Keith Kinkaid is a more-than-capable backup, and Smith's due for some regression after scoring on two of his first three shots of the season.

WING 

Tyler Toffoli, LA vs. VAN ($18) - Well, if we're going to recommend to avoid Miller, we've got to recommend that you roll out some Kings for the same reason. Price-relative, the 23-year-old Toffoli is the most exciting one -- and in fact, he's one of the most exciting young players in the league, coming off a 49-point season that's only the beginning of his breakout. This is a kid with point-per-game talent who's seeing tons of power-play time, and this is the kind of game where guys like Toffoli make their names. Look for him to help the Kings turn around their early troubles.

Player to Avoid: 

Rick Nash, NYR vs. WPG ($21) - As a Rangers fan, I've seen a good amount of Nash in the early going this year, and much like the playoffs last season, he simply doesn't look right. He's slow to the puck, his shot has no zip on it, and he's losing battles in the corners. Most notably, his ice time is down -- after averaging 17:27 last year (already one of the lower marks of his career), he's at just 15:26 in the early going this season. It's a troubling situation, and one that makes him a highly risky play when you can dish out just three more bucks and get Vladimir Tarasenko instead.

DEFENSE 

Aaron Ekblad, FLA at CAR ($16) - The Panthers have been hiding Ekblad a little in the early going, and he's had a quiet start to the year while averaging only 18:04 of ice time in two games. However, that limited use should have him fresh for the second game of a back-to-back set against Eddie Lack and the Hurricanes, and Ekblad's playing heavy power-play minutes -- 4:45 against the Flyers on Monday night. Don't fear the sophomore slump; roll him out there in a good matchup against a Carolina team that'll give up its share of goals.

Player to Avoid: 

Mike Green, DET vs. TB ($17) - It was hoped that the move to Detroit would jumpstart Green's game, but so far, that hasn't been the case. Sure, he has a an assist and a plus-4 rating through two games, which is not bad, but that came against Carolina and Toronto, two teams that are not exactly the class of the league. Despite the nice stat line, Green quietly failed to put a shot on goal in either of those games, and it doesn't promise to get easier against a Lightning team that's much better-rounded than Detroit's prior opponents.

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