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.
Thirteen games might be a theme this week as we had that amount of games on Tuesday, and we have that many tonight. That's 26 teams we can pick players from, so let's sort out who we want.
Connor McDavid, Center, Edmonton Oilers
FanDuel Salary: $9,300
It's almost as simple as saying to just play Connor McDavid every night the Edmonton Oilers are playing. He is coming off another three-point game on Tuesday against the San Jose Sharks. Now the Oilers travel to Southern California to take on the Los Angeles Kings. This is the same Kings team that has allowed 3.55 goals per game this season.
The matchup works out well for McDavid in a lot of different ways if you take a look at numberFire's Daily Fantasy Matchup Heat Map. The Kings have the second worst penalty kill of teams playing tonight. Also, goaltender Jonathan Quick has the worst save percentage of any goalie who is probable to start.
The Oilers have an implied goal total of 3.13, and McDavid is our highest projected player on tonight's slate. He is a top play in all formats on FanDuel tonight.
Aleksander Barkov, Center, Florida Panthers
FanDuel Salary: $8,300
Aleksander Barkov continued his hot streak with a goal and assist in his last game on Tuesday night. That gave him 14 points in his last nine games. He also has multiple shots on goal in all of those games, netting him at least 20 FanDuel points in all but two.
Barkov's Florida Panthers will host the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday. The Ducks are giving up the seventh most expected goals per 60 minutes in the league, according to Natural Stat Trick. This is part of the reason that the Panthers have the highest implied goal total of the night, at 3.68.
Barkov should be able to produce like he has in the last few weeks, and it puts him in play for cash games as well as tournaments.
David Pastrnak, Wing, Boston Bruins
FanDuel Salary: $9,100
The NHL's leading goal scorer, David Pastrnak hasn't slowed down with his normal center, Patrice Bergeron, out of the lineup. In the two games without Bergeron, Pasta scored three goals. Of course, it's better to have Bergeron on your line as he is one of the best centers in hockey, and the good news is that he will be back tonight.
The Boston Bruins' opponent for this one will be the struggling Buffalo Sabres. After a hot start to the season, Buffalo has really slowed down in November. Since the month turned, Buffalo has allowed the third most goals per 60 minutes. That does not bode well for a team that is facing the Bruins' top line.
Pastrnak is fifth in the NHL in shot attempt rate at all strengths. We like guys who will shoot the puck often, giving them a floor if they don't score but also multiple chances to put one in the back of the net. He is the part of the Boston first line that you should consider if only playing one of them in cash games.
Dougie Hamilton, Defense, Carolina Hurricanes
FanDuel Salary: $ 6,800
Outside of John Carlson, Dougie Hamilton has been the best defenseman in fantasy hockey this season. Leading all defensemen in goals with 9, Hamilton is second in points with 23. He has always loved to fire the puck, and his shot attempt rate of 15.85 per 60 minutes is the fourth highest for defensemen this season. He's on a six-game point streak.
Hamilton will get the benefit of facing the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday. Flyers goalie Carter Hart has not been good to start this season, saving fewer than 90% of the shots he's faced. If Dougie is up to his normal shooting tricks and firing the puck at will, he'll have a chance to put one past Hart.
The Carolina Hurricanes' implied team total has ballooned to 3.55, the third highest of the 26 teams on the slate tonight. Hamilton is a nice way to get a piece of that total, and his high shooting volume makes him a good play at defense for both cash and tournaments.
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.