Why Tavares should bust out of his slump and other great plays for Saturday's daily fantasy hockey slate.

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Now for the top values of the day for the full NHL slate.

Top Budget Plays

Centers

Peter Holland $3,100 – We do like Leo Komarov as a middle value play but Holland may have his share of chances against a Los Angeles team who just faced 45 shots against Montreal on Thursday night. It will be a sneaky play that avoids most of the top-four defensemen that Los Angeles have. Holland should have a few chances to pass his possible totals. He is good enough to put together a solid offensive game.

Wingers

Phil Di Giuseppe $2,800 – As long as the winger keeps playing with Jeff Skinner, he has to be plugged in and played. This is almost no matter the opponent. The forward has five points in six games and though he only averages about a shot per game. This may not be the most sustainable thing but there is little doubt of the viability of this play. It could be a plan that may just work. Pittsburgh is still reeling at least a little.

Defensemen

John Moore $3,100 – Though this could be a low scoring hockey game, these are two teams that are repressed enough to see a pairing break out. Moore is actually the most offensively mobile defenseman on New Jersey. Moore is probably the one player who should see as much power play time as possible. Yes, he plays the game a little more risky but too often the Devils get too tentative. He at least represents a change.

Goalie

Jeff Zatkoff $7,400 – This all depends on who actually starts on the back end of the back-to-back. Either way, the Pittsburgh goalie option will be viable given Carolina’s propensity to give up goals. The Penguins may have the perfect opponent to get them out of their funk. There is one thing to keep in mind. Pittsburgh will have a tendency to give up more shots as they play a more up tempo style. This could play into a DFS player’s hands as the more rubber faced means the more chances for a greater point total.

Since we saved some money on the budget plays let’s look at the few of the pricey options that are worth paying up for today.

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Centers

John Tavares $7,800 – The Arizona Coyotes just gave up seven goals to Columbus on Thursday. If Tavares cannot get it going against them then what else is there? There have been some odd struggles where the center has just gone mysteriously ice cold. Does anyone think Tavares will keep averaging a hair less than 0.80 points per game? It is exactly that rationale that will draw people in.

Wingers

Gabriel Landeskog $6,800 – He is on the wing with Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon. They have a good opponent in Edmonton who will likely give up quite a few spots. The first Colorado line makes a good stack and could get multiple points on a night that is only a medium slate. After all, with the potential in these Western Conference games, why not take the risk and ride it for the reward.

Defenseman

John Klingberg $5,900 – Klingberg had a bit of a lull on Thursday but plays a Montreal squad that is having a bit of a tough time right now. Los Angeles gave up a ton of shots and yet ultimately won. This should be different as Dallas scored only one goal themselves on Thursday and will look to get their revenge on someone err anyone. Playing on the top power play and getting top minutes against Edmonton should reap some rewards somehow.

Goalie

Pekka Rinne $7,600 – This may be a moderate risk to try since Nashville is 4-8-3 in their last 15 games but Rinne has not played all that poorly of late. How could you fault him in his previous two contests where he only gave up four goals? Every so often a team has to provide goal support for their starter and Nashville just has not done that. It may be more than just missing Mike Fisher but goal scoring has become quite the issue. Minnesota is on a roll right now as they have scored eleven goals in just two games but the law of averages often to seem to play off with these two teams.

Chris Wassel has been playing DFS for the last year and has played Fantasy Hockey for over two decades. You can follow him on Twitter @ChrisWasselDFS. Please note that this is a modestly large Saturday slate. We are targeting only the eight game evening schedule and will have all the breakdowns on Twitter.