NHL

4 NHL FanDuel Studs to Target on 10/2/19

Nick Vazquez  —  @nickvaz Oct 2nd, 2019
Brent Burns is one of the most consistent players in NHL DFS. He is a stud you should be building around tonight?

Hockey is back, and some of the league’s best players are hitting the ice for Wednesday night’s four-game slate.

Spending up in any Daily Fantasy lineup is how to get the superstars and the highest upside players in your lineup. In NHL DFS, it’s different than paying up in sports like NBA or NFL. Someone can be one of the highest-priced players at his position a put up a total dud of a performance, and paying that much for him would be a huge mistake. Let’s make sure we are paying up in the right spots when building our lineups tonight.

Connor McDavid, Center, Edmonton Oilers

FanDuel Price: $9,000

The best player in the world carries the most expensive salary on the slate. Connor McDavid is coming off tying his career high in goals in a season with 41. When paying up, you always want to make sure you get the opportunities to justify the cost. That is not a problem for McDavid, who led all forwards in time on ice per game last season, averaging 22:50. The Edmonton Oilers are a -135 favorite against the Vancouver Canucks at home, according to . The matchup is good for McDavid, per Natural Stat Trick, the Canucks allowed the second-most scoring chances against per 60-minutes last season, and also ranked in the bottom third of the league in other metrics like expected goals against and shot attempts against. McDavid always has upside for multiple points, and in this game even more so than normal.

John Tavares, Center, Toronto Maple Leafs

FanDuel Price: $7,800

Choosing between the Toronto Maple Leafs star centers John Tavares and Auston Matthews ($8,300) is a decision point nearly every time they play. In this game against the lowly Ottawa Senators, we don’t have to worry about any line matching that may occur to slow either of these players down. Toronto is a massive -280 favorite, by far the team that’s most likely to win on the slate. This game has a 6.5 over/under, which is tied for the highest total of the night. Ottawa gave up the 5th most expected goals on a per 60-minute basis last season, and that includes most of the season with defensive stalwart Mark Stone, who has since departed. The advantage that Tavares has over Matthews is that he is $500 cheaper and he will play with an elite playmaker in Mitchell Marner. Tavares also got slightly more ice time per game, 19:05 to Matthews’ 18:33. A 47 goal scorer last season, Tavares has a pristine matchup against what is projected to be one of the worst teams in the league at home.

Brent Burns, Defenseman, San Jose Sharks

FanDuel Price: $7,300

If you pay up for a defenseman, it’s typically Brent Burns above everyone else. He led all defensemen in points for the second time in three years. He also had the most shots for a defenseman, 26 more than the next closest in Roman Josi. When you consider rostering Burns, you should almost compare him to a forward instead of the other defensemen, because the floor/ceiling combo he offers is just not found elsewhere at his position. The San Jose Sharks are underdogs going on the road to take on the Vegas Golden Knights in a tough playoff rematch, but that shouldn’t affect Burns too much. He still scored seven points in the 11 meetings last season and averaged nearly three shots on goal per game.

Frederik Andersen, Goalie, Toronto Maple Leafs

FanDuel Price: $8,400

Frederik Andersen is the most expensive goalie on Wednesday’s slate, and it’s pretty easy to see why. He’s going up against a Senators offense that was seventh-worst in expected goals for per 60 minutes, and sixth-worst in shot attempts per 60 minutes last season. Most of that season was played with Mark Stone, Matt Duchene, and Ryan Dzingel. When you pay up for a goalie, you want to be relatively sure that he will get the win, and the Leafs being big favorites checks that box for Andersen. There’s also a reasonable chance for a shutout, which combined with a win is good for 20 points on FanDuel.

Nicholas Vazquez is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Nicholas Vazquez also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username hbyanksman. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.