4 NHL Studs to Target on 10/15/19
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.
Tuesday night is typically a big night of action in the NHL, but this week it is just a seven-game night. There are still some of the game's biggest stars available, so let's check out who we want to play tonight.
Sebastian Aho, Center, Carolina Hurricanes
FanDuel Price: $7,300
Still, with just one goal and no assists on the season, Sebastian Aho goes on the road as the Carolina Hurricanes go out west to face the Los Angeles Kings. Aho is still the dominant possession player we've known him to be since he came into the league. The Canes are controlling 62.5% of the shot attempts when he is on the ice, according to Natural Stat Trick. Even on a team that has the puck as often as Carolina does, they get 12.5% better at getting shot attempts with Aho on the ice than when he is on the bench.
The main reason Aho is intriguing on Tuesday is the matchup. Despite the Kings being a decent possession team thus far, they have just been getting sunk by awful goaltending. Jonathan Quick has allowed over five goals in each of his three starts, and backup Jack Campbell has allowed at least three goals with a save percentage below .900. Carolina is second in the league in shot attempts per 60 minutes at five on five, and if they can direct some on net against this weak goaltending, the upside for Aho and company could be massive. makes the Hurricanes a -165 favorite, and puts the over/under at 6.5 goals.
Patrik Laine, Wing, Winnipeg Jets
FanDuel Price: $8,000
Coming into the season with something to prove, Patrik Laine has been doing it so far this season. After accepting a shorter contract than some of his fellow restricted free agents, Laine really needed to show why he was worth committing to for the long-term. Laine is tied for second in the league with eleven points, including eight assists, which hasn't been how he has gotten his points in the past. Now playing with better linemates in Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler, he could rack up assists to go with his elite goal-scoring ability. Laine spoke out about wanting to play with the top players and now he's thriving when getting the chance.
Laine has always been a shooter first, especially on the power play. Since joining the NHL in the 2016-17 season, he has shot at the fourth0highest rate with the man advantage in the league. Laine's goal upside is on a night in, night out basis is one of the highest in the league. He has seven hat tricks in his career already, including a five-goal game last season.
Johnny Gaudreau, Wing, Calgary Flames
FanDuel Price: $7,600
John Gaudreau and the Calgary Flames host the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night. Using numberFire's NHL DFS Matchup Heat Map, we can see that the Flames are implied to score 3.25 goals, the fourth most on tonight's slate. The Flyers have actually been a solid defensive unit to start this season, but it's too early to fear their defense as they allowed the fifth-highest five on five shot rate in the league last season. Most teams in the league aren't able to slow down Johnny hockey and his line, especially not in Calgary. Gaudreau ranked sixth in points per 60 minutes last season with 2.84, better than the likes of Connor McDavid and Patrick Kane. He also carries our highest projected fantasy point output for tonight, coming in two points higher than the next closest player in Dougie Hamilton. Gaudreau is a top play in his price range because of the matchup and playing at home, and has more goal upside than someone like Mitchell Marner who is $100 more expensive.
Frederik Andersen, Goalie, Toronto Maple Leafs
FanDuel Salary: $8,600
The Toronto Maple Leafs get to play the Minnesota Wild on the second half of a back-to-back. The Wild picked up their first win of the season on Monday over the Ottawa Senators, and have been largely unimpressive this season. They've scored just 12 goals in the five games they've played. Now they go into Toronto as +175 underdogs with the lowest implied goal total on this slate. All of this points to a good game for Frederik Andersen. Andersen got back on track with a solid outing over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, putting up 24 FanDuel points after a total dud in his previous outing. The betting line gives the Leafs nearly a 68% chance of winning the game, the best on the slate. He's the goalie you should look at if you have the salary to spend at the position.
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.
