If you follow the NHL, you already know all of the top players. Obviously, when playing DFS, these players will come at a high cost. In this article, we are looking to find the cheaper value plays to help you afford the superstars.
Tanner Pearson, Winger, Vancouver Canucks
FanDuel Price: $4,800
When he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks last season, Tanner Pearson put up a very solid 9 goals and 12 points in 19 games. This season has not gone quite as well with just 2 goals and 4 points in 10 games. He is playing on the second line at even strength with Bo Horvat and Jake Virtanen while being situated on the second power-play unit.
The Canucks host a Florida Panthers team that are on the tail-end of a back-to-back after defeating the Edmonton Oilers last night. The Panthers will be throwing out back-up goaltender Sam Montembeault who has a 2.77 goals-against average (GAA) and .902 save percentage (SV%) in 14 career games in the NHL.
Brett Connolly, Winger, Florida Panthers
FanDuel Price: $4,300
On the other side of this game, the Panthers have some injuries and will have Brett Connolly on the second line with Mike Hoffman as usual but Brian Boyle will be their center which is far from ideal. Now, Boyle did score two goals last night but offense simply is not Boyle's game having scored 20 goals just ones and eclipsing 30 points just once as well. However, Connolly is off to a fantastic start in Florida with 4 goals and 9 points in 11 games this season.
Connolly will also play on the second power-play unit but that may not even be that much of an advantage as the Panthers power play has struggled with just an 18.2 percent success rate — 20th in the NHL. In addition, the Vancouver Canucks have the third-best penalty kill with an 88.9 percent success rate.
Jakob Chychrun, Defense, Arizona Coyotes
FanDuel Price: $3,600
He has missed at least 14 games in each of his first three seasons, but this year Jakob Chychrun is hoping to finally stay healthy. Over the last two seasons, Chychrun has averaged over 2 shots per game and about 1.4 blocks per game.
Chychrun plays on the team's second power-play unit which ranks 15th in the NHL. Their opponents — the Buffalo Sabres — have a penalty kill that sits 15th, so it is a battle of completely average special teams. Chychrun's ice-time has remained extremely consistent with a 20:15 AVG in each of his last two seasons and 20:13 in the early part of this season which is pretty on-point for a second-pair defenseman.
Ryan Sheppard is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Ryan Sheppard also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username donkshow_. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.