5 NHL FanDuel Values to Target on 1/9/20
If you follow the NHL, you already know all of the top players. Obviously, when playing DFS, those 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
Derek Stepan, Center, Arizona Coyotes
FanDuel Price: $4,400
Over his last four games, Derek Stepan has put up five points and eight shots, and he will center the Arizona Coyotes second line tonight. He has a goal-scoring winger in Phil Kessel on one side, which is great, along with Lawson Crouse, who is not ideal.
The Coyotes visit the Tampa Bay Lightning, a team that has been on fire as of late. Tampa Bay is 8-1-1 in their last 10 games, including eight straight wins. They have also improved defensively as of late, but Arizona is also a very underrated team that is scoring at a rate that is below league average.
Alex Tuch, Winger, Vegas Golden Knights
FanDuel Price: $3,600
The Vegas Golden Knights host the Los Angeles Kings tonight in what is a fantastic matchup. Not only have the Kings struggled this season, they are on the tail-end of a back-to-back after losing on home ice last night to the Dallas Stars.
Alex Tuch plays on the third line at even strength and spends time on the Golden Knights' second power-play unit. His role on the power play is an important note here as the Kings have one of the worst penalty kills in the league. Their 74.4 percent success rate ranks as the fourth-worst in the NHL. In addition, he is our top points-per-dollar winger, as per our projections.
Pavel Buchnevich, Winger, New York Rangers
FanDuel Price: $4,300
I know he has been struggling lately, but this price seems low for Pavel Buchnevich. He does have just 23 points in 42 games, which is admittedly lower than I expected. That said, Buchnevich plays on the New York Rangers top line at even strength, while also having a role on the second power-play unit.
This is a great matchup for the Rangers to get some offense going, as the New Jersey Devils have struggled to keep the puck out of their net this season. They are allowing 3.43 goals against per game, which is the second-worst in the NHL.
Quinn Hughes, Defense, Vancouver Canucks
FanDuel Price: $4,400
I have mentioned this before -- while Quinn Hughes is a very good defenseman offensively, he is very reliant on getting on the scoresheet to really pay off his value. His 30 points in 42 games are incredible for a rookie defenseman, but he has just 74 shots and 28 blocks, meaning when he's not putting up offense, his FanDuel point-total suffers greatly.
Hughes projects as the fourth-highest points-per-dollar defenseman, as per our models. The Florida Panthers have allowed 3.33 goals against per-game, as their $10 million dollar goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky, continues his struggles.
Mattias Ekholm, Winger, Nashville Predators
FanDuel Price: $4,400
Mattias Ekholm is kind of the opposite of Hughes in that not only does he produce modest offensive totals -- as his 24 points in 41 games would indicate -- but he also brings plenty of peripheral success. He is averaging 2.37 shots per game and 1.56 blocks per game.
Just a hair below Hughes, Ekholm projects as the fifth-highest points-per-dollar defenseman, as per our algorithm. The Nashville Predators visit the Chicago Blackhawks, a team playing a bit better as they're 6-4-0 in their last 10 games, but it's still a positive matchup overall.
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.
