Yahoo Daily Fantasy Hockey: Johnson, Doughty good Tuesday plays

by Neil Parker

The grind of the season is beginning to take its toll with significant injuries mounting. Anze Kopitar, Bryan Little, Nikita Kucherov and Justin Faulk are all game-time decisions. Additionally, the trade deadline nears and there projects to be a number of moves leading into next Monday, as teams look to punch their tickets to the playoffs. An early-day swap could impact the fantasy landscape, so be hip to the latest happenings.

[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Hockey contest now]

Tuesday, there are nine contests dotting the schedule but just three teams playing back-to-back games. Arizona, Columbus and Nasvhille are all playing their second road game in consecutive nights, and the Coyotes and Blue Jackets, in particular, check out as excellent matchups to prey upon.

GOALIE

Carter Hutton, NSH at TOR ($31) - The Maple Leafs have unloaded roster players the past two days and could ship out additional bodies at any point. Toronto is committed to tanking and should be seen as a plus matchup nightly going forward. Hutton was exposed by Dallas in his latest start, but he won his previous three outings with two shutouts and a .987 save percentage. The win bonus should be easily obtained here, too.

Player to avoid:

Craig Anderson, OTT at EDM ($38) - Road tilts have been extremely unkind to Anderson. He has a confidence-shattering .902 save percentage and a 3.46 goals-against average away from home, and as a team the Senators allow 3.52 goals per road game. So, even with Anderson winning his last three starts while allowing just five goals, the cap hit is steep and the track record is poor away from Canadian Tire Centre.

CENTER

Tyler Johnson, TB vs. ARI ($19) - Affordable and finding his form, Johnson is a strong lean in an A+ matchup Monday. He has registered 31 shots through his past 10 games with four goals and four helpers, and the Coyotes have allowed 3.6 goals per game through their past five games and 3.22 for the season away from the desert. Goaltending could also be an issue of Arizona in game two of a road back-to-back.

Player to avoid:

John Tavares, NYI at MIN ($30) - Notify the upset authorities of a potential letdown from Minnesota, but Tavares is too pricey to roll out with confidence Monday. The Wild have rolled four straight teams since replacing Mike Yeo with John Torchetti, and Tavares will matchup against Mikko Koivu and Ryan Suter all night. Tavares is strictly a contrarian play Monday.

WING

Tyler Toffoli, LA vs. CGY ($21) - Home at last, the Kings will look to kick away the funk that materialized during their seven-game road trip. Toffoli is a streaky scorer and has just a single goal through his past four games. He does have 18 shots, though. So, with Calgary allowing 3.21 goals per road game this season, and playing even poorer in February (3.4 goals allowed per game and 65.8 percent penalty kill), this is a solid spot to tee up Toffoli.

Nino Niederreiter, MIN vs. NYI ($14) - The cap hit and upside meet nicely here. Niederreiter presents nice savings, but he is also playing extremely well and has proven to be a reliable secondary scorer over the past three seasons. Since the coaching shuffle, Niederreiter has two goals and three assists through four games.

Player to avoid:

Johnny Gaudreau, CGY at LA ($25) - The road splits don't agree with Gaudreau, and paying up in hopes he turns his fortunes around away from Cowtown is ill-advised, especially against Los Angeles. Through 28 road games, Gaudreau has just three goals, 13 helpers and a point-sucking minus-13 rating. 

DEFENSEMEN

Drew Doughty, LA vs. CGY ($22) - The juicy matchup has been highlighted, but the lean here is Doughty's huge minutes of late. He has an assist in each of the past three games with over 30 minutes of ice in each outing. His cross-category returns provide a high floor and the cap hit is extremely reasonable next to his upside. Plus, he has 10 points through nine games this month. 

Andrej Sekera, EDM vs. OTT ($15) - There is a definite plus/minus risk here, but Sekera has been paving his fantasy success with solid peripherals and semi-regular offense. Through his past 10 games, Sekera has 18 shots, 20 blocked shots and five points with an average of 21:43 minutes of ice. The Senators are the most giving road team in the league, too.

Player to avoid:

Shea Weber, NSH at TOR ($24) - With 10.0 Yahoo fantasy points in just one of his past seven games and only one goal during the span, Weber is a risky investment Tuesday. And while there is huge upside in the matchup, others in his price range present a higher floor with a similar ceiling.

MORE FROM YAHOO HOCKEY: