NHL Tuesday: Tristan Jarry leads daily fantasy hockey plays
March Madness is right around the corner, which may draw your attention away from the NHL. Tuesday though, the NHL takes center stage with 12 games on the schedule. Here are some players I'd target, and some others I'd avoid, for your DFS lineups.
GOALIE
Tristan Jarry, PIT vs. MON ($28): Jarry's performance has been up and down since returning from injury, but he's coming off a strong start, and he still has a .913 save percentage on the season. The Canadiens are in the bottom five in goals and shots on net per contest, and they are also on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TAM at NJD ($34): Vasilevskiy is usually steady, but he's struggled recently. Over his last 10 starts he has a 3.41 GAA and .889 save percentage. It will be hard for him to turn things around in this matchup, as the Devils have averaged 3.53 goals and 34.5 shots on net per contest.
CENTER
Logan Couture, SAN vs. CLM ($18): Couture has 55 points in 67 games, and over his last six outings he has three goals and three assists. The Blue Jackets have a 3.74 GAA, and they've also allowed a whopping 35.1 shots on net per contest.
CENTER TO AVOID
Mark Scheifele, WPG at CAR ($21): Scheifele has tallied 38 goals, though on 21.7 percent shooting. The Hurricanes have allowed a league-low 25.8 shots on net per contest. Carolina also has the second-ranked penalty kill, and Scheifele has tallied 11 of his goals with the extra man.
WING
Tyler Toffoli, CGY at ARI ($19): Toffoli has been putting a lot of pucks on net. He's notched 212 shots on net per contest in 67 games, tallying 26 goals. The Coyotes have had an issue preventing shots this season. They've allowed 35.8 shots on goal per contest, second most in the NHL.
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Jason Zucker, PIT vs. MON ($17): Zucker has been on a goal-scoring tear. He has 11 goals over his last 13 games, including a four-game goal streak. The Canadiens, as I noted, are on the road for the second leg of a back-to-back, and Sam Montembeault has a 3.28 GAA and .905 save percentage.
WINGS TO AVOID
Viktor Arvidsson, LOS vs. NYI ($18): Arvidsson gets things done by putting a lot of pucks on goal, as he's a career 10.9 percent shooter. This year he has 18 goals on 175 shots on net through 62 games. It's hard to get shots past Ilya Sorokin, though. He has a 2.35 GAA and .925 save percentage.
Brandon Hagel, TAM at NJD ($17): Hagel is not on the top line at this point, and while he has seven points in his last 12 games, he's only put 14 shots on net in that time. The Devils have a 2.64 GAA, largely because they've only allowed 28.2 shots on goal per game.
DEFENSE
Dmitry Orlov, BOS at CHI ($19): Orlov has been on fire since joining the Bruins. He has 10 points in eight games, and has been featured on the top power-play unit. That's helped him notch three points with the extra man. Chicago is in the bottom eight in GAA and shots on net allowed per game, which could help keep the Russian defenseman hot.
Jeff Petry, PIT vs. MON ($17): Petry will be facing his former team Tuesday. He has 10 points and 35 shots on net over his last 14 games as well. The Canadiens are on the road for the second night of a back-to-back, and they have a bottom-five penalty kill for good measure.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Seth Jones, CHI vs. BOS ($17): Jones is the last star standing for Chicago, and now he has to face the Bruins. Boston's defense has been stellar this year with a 2.14 GAA, best in the NHL by a wide margin, and it has the league's best penalty kill as well.
Drew Doughty, LOS vs. NYI ($17): The power play has been key for Doughty this season. He's tallied 22 of his 41 points with the extra man, including two of his three goals. However, the Islanders have a top-five penalty kill, making this a tricky matchup for the defenseman.
