NHL DFS: Yahoo Plays and Strategy for Monday, February 5

The NHL is back in action! Sure, we had the All-Star Game, but this is some proper hockey, and a chance to play some DFS contests as well. Monday, there are two NHL games on the slate. Here are my players to target, and to avoid, for your DFS lineups.

GOALIE

Ilya Samsonov, TOR vs. NYI ($21): Samsonov hasn't had a good season, but he did have three good starts in a row before the break. Mostly, though, it's the fact the Russian is at home and the Islanders have clearly the worst offense of these four teams. They rank 24th in goals per game.

GOALIE TO AVOID

Igor Shesterkin, NYR vs. COL ($34): Shesterkin has a Vezina on his shelf. He also has an .899 save percentage this season. This has been an odd year for the Russian, to be sure. Shesterkin starts the stretch run against the team that is first in goals per game. Good luck with that.

CENTER

Brock Nelson, NYI at TOR ($21): Nelson is the closest thing to secondary scoring the Islanders have, though mostly because he is on the first power-play unit. He's tallied six goals and seven assists with the extra man. The Maple Leafs rank 24th on the penalty kill, which is up Nelson's alley, obviously.

CENTER TO AVOID

John Tavares, TOR vs. NYI ($26): Tavares scored a goal right before the break. That ended a nine-game streak without a point. Maybe he's turned it around, but with only four teams in action, I have Tavares down the pecking order for rostering.

WING

Logan O'Connor, COL at NYR ($22): O'Connor was hot before the break, tallying eight goals and five assists in 12 games. Zero of those points have come on the power play, and the Rangers have the ninth-ranked penalty kill. However, I mentioned Shesterkin has an .899 save percentage, so at even strength, O'Connor has opportunity.

Alexis Lafreniere, NYR vs. COL ($15): Lafreniere's calling card from a DFS perspective is that he is a secondary scoring option even though he doesn't play with the extra man much. He has 29 points in 49 games, and that's with a 9.5 shooting percentage. The Avalanche have a top-10 penalty kill, but that doesn't matter much with Lafreniere. Even with that penalty kill, Colorado has a 3.10 GAA, which is middling.

WINGS TO AVOID

Jonathan Drouin, COL at NYR ($19): Drouin is in the inverse situation of O'Connor. He's tallied 11 of his 28 points on the power play. The Rangers, I noted, have the ninth-ranked penalty kill. Drouin also has a 15.2 shooting percentage, which is well above his career 9.0 number, so regression will likely arrive.

Anders Lee, NYI at TOR ($15): Lee is on the Islanders' top line, but he isn't really contributing. He has 13 goals, but only six assists. Also, while he's on the first line, he's on the second power-play unit. Lee is a notable name, and he's potted plenty of goals in the past, but this season is different.

DEFENSE

Morgan Rielly, TOR vs. NYI ($20): Rielly had 13 points in 12 games prior to the break. On the year, he has 13 power-play points as well. Patrick Roy has not righted the ship on Long Island. The Islanders have the worst penalty kill in the NHL.

Samuel Girard, COL at NYR ($19): Returning from the Player Assistance Program, Girard has fortunately found his footing and hit the ground running (or ice skating, such as it is). In 13 games since returning, the defenseman has eight points, all assists. Shesterkin, as I noted, has an .899 save percentage. Girard doesn't play on the power play much either, so no need to worry about the Rangers' penalty kill.

DEFENSE TO AVOID

Jake McCabe, TOR vs. NYI ($17): The Islanders have allowed 34.9 shots on net per contest, 31st in the NHL. For a defenseman who racks up a lot of shots on goal, that's a good thing. McCabe, though, has only managed 45 shots on net in 41 games. Also, the Islanders have the worst penalty kill, but McCabe doesn't play with the extra man.

Erik Gustafsson, NYR vs. COL ($12): Gustaffson has 23 points in 48 games, which is quite good for a defenseman. However, you have to take a big-picture look. Gustafsson did a lot of his work during the time when Adam Fox was on long-term injured reserve. These days, he's a third-pairing defenseman seeing limited power-play time.