This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
Friday's NHL slate is a small one, with just four games on tap beginning at 7:00 PM Eastern time. Still, there's value to be found for owners that know where to look. Read on to see which players to target and which to avoid here.
GOALIE
David Rittich, CGY at OTT ($22): Rittich had been struggling recently, but he turned things around beautifully in Wednesday's 5-1win over the Sabres, coming up 18 seconds short of a shutout. He'll have a great opportunity to build off that performance here against a similarly inept Senators club that will be playing its second game in as many nights. Ottawa's scoring the eighth-fewest goals per game (2.69) while allowing the second-most (3.40).
GOALIE TO AVOID
Jacob Markstrom, VAN vs. MIN ($28): Markstrom's won just one of his past five starts while allowing 14 goals on 143 shots for a .902 save percentage over that stretch. Things are only projected to get tougher with a Wild team that's won seven of its last nine games coming to town.
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CENTER
Eric Staal, MIN at VAN ($24): Staal's price keeps climbing, but it's hard not consider him an excellent value nonetheless until his valuation sits among the game's elites or he slows down. The veteran sniper has shown no signs of doing the latter, as he's posted a trio of multi-goal performances over the past seven games and has 17 goals in the last 22. He's doing his fair share of distributing as well, and now has 30 points in those 22 games, including 15 in the most recent nine. Staal's upside against a Canucks team that's giving up 3.22 goals per game rivals that of anybody in this slate.
CENTER TO AVOID
Charlie Coyle, MIN at VAN ($16): Even in this favorable matchup, Coyle doesn't make much sense to use at $16. He's seen his ice time drop in each of the past three games and is mired in a 12-game goal drought. Staal offers much better bang for the buck, as does fellow Wild center Mikko Koivu, who's riding a five-game point streak and costs just $1 more than Coyle.
WINGS
Sonny Milano, CLS vs. DET ($12): Milano's lit the lamp in three of five games since getting recalled from the AHL, yet the 2014 first-rounder remains priced at just $2 above the minimum. Take advantage of this bargain against a Red Wings club that's allowing 3.00 goals per game while scoring a mere 2.59. Both of those marks rank Detroit among the league's 10 worst teams in those respective categories.
Matthew Tkachuk, CGY at OTT ($19): Tkachuk hasn't lit the lamp in the past six games despite firing 28 shots on net over that span, but the career 11.3 percent shooter hasn't let that lack of puck luck keep him down. He still has four helpers in that stretch and is averaging over 8.0 fantasy points per game. Tkachuk should be able to continue that recent success against the league's second-worst defensive team and is more than capable of adding to his season total of 24 goals here as well.
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WINGS TO AVOID
Ondrej Kase, ANH at DAL ($15): Kase was more valuable in a bigger role when the Ducks were ravaged by injuries earlier this season, but he's having trouble living up to his $15 valuation as a member of the bottom six. He's gone seven games without a point now while totaling just 10.7 fantasy points over that stretch. Unless Kase gets moved back up in the Anaheim lineup, he's best left out of daily lineups.
Daniel Sedin, VAN vs. MIN ($17): Sedin's been invisible since Brock Boeser's season-ending back injury, posting 1.8 points in 12:23 of ice time in the game Boeser got hurt before following that up with 1.0 point in 13:50 the next game. Those duds against two of the league's worst defensive teams in the Islanders and Coyotes don't portend good things to come in this matchup with a Wild club that's stingier than league average defensively.
DEFENSEMEN
Mike Green, DET at CLS ($14): Penalty killing has been a sore spot for the Blue Jackets this season, as they rank seventh-worst at 77.3 percent. That's music to Green's ears considering he ranks second on the Red Wings with 13 power-play points despite missing seven games. The risk to his minus-7 rating is also minimal since Columbus ranks fifth from the bottom in goals per game (2.60).
Ryan Suter, MIN at VAN ($20): Suter's been an assist machine recently, tallying nine in the past seven games. The league leader in ice time (26:45 per game) will have every opportunity to improve on that total in this matchup against an already overmatched Canucks club that recently lost its best player for the season.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
John Klingberg, DAL vs. ANH ($25): Klingberg's been mired in a serious dry spell over the past 11 games, as he's totaled just four assists and a minus-7 rating without a goal in that stretch. Paying $25 for him against a Ducks team that's allowing just 2.63 goals per game is likely to lead to disappointment given Klingberg's recent form.
Trevor Daley, DET at CLS ($15): Don't let Daley's three goals in the past six games fool you, as he remains a poor bet to contribute offensively. The 34-year-old blueliner has a paltry career average of .30 points per game, and he had gone 10 games without a point prior to this recent uptick. Between Daley's lack of offense and the fact that he's recorded zero blocked shots three times in the past five games, $15 is an overpay for him regardless of opponent.
