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 and 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.
A 12-game slate is on tap for daily fantasy players on Thursday, with plenty of stars on the ice. Let's see which ones we want to prioritize tonight.
Jack Eichel, Center, Buffalo Sabres
FanDuel Salary: $8,400
Even with the Buffalo Sabres struggling as much as they are, Jack Eichel is having a career year. He's already set a career-high in goals with 31, good for fourth in the league. He has points in 12 of his last 13 games and is on pace for over 100 points this season. Eichel and the Sabres are at home tonight, where he has recorded 42 points in 27 games, compared to just 24 on the road. Tonight, he'll have a great chance to add to that home point total.
Eichel and Buffalo will face the cellar-dwellers in the NHL in the Detroit Red Wings. Detroit is seemingly last in every metric in the league, as they are at least 15 points worse than every other team in the league. Their 3.81 goals allowed per game is the worst in the NHL. This gives Buffalo a healthy 3.46 implied goal total in the game tonight. Individually, Eichel has numberFire's highest projection of any skater, making him a great play in all formats tonight.
Leon Draisaitl, Wing, Edmonton Oilers
FanDuel Salary: $8,400
The NHL's leading scorer plays for the Edmonton Oilers, but it's Leon Draisaitl and not Connor McDavid. Draisaitl is four points ahead of his teammate for the league-lead with 83. He had an 11-game point streak end on Tuesday night and had multiple points in five straight games. He leads all forwards in ice time per game, playing 22:29 per contest, according to Natural Stat Trick. He'll look to start a new streak on Thursday night.
The Oilers face the San Jose Sharks, in what can only be described as a disaster season for the Northern California team. They sit in third to last in the Western Conference after making the conference finals last season. They've allowed the fifth-most goals per game with 3.28, being sunk by poor goaltending all season long. They are without centers Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl for the long term, leaving them thin down the middle. The Oilers are projected to score 3.65 goals tonight, which should mean a good night for Draisaitl to rack up some fantasy points for his owners.
Roman Josi, Defenseman, Nashville Predators
FanDuel Salary: $6,700
Roman Josi is the king of shot volume for defensemen now that Dougie Hamilton is on the shelf for the foreseeable future. Josi is second among defensemen with 8.46 shots on goal per 60 minutes. He's also second in points for defensemen with 51. Josi has been the one constant for the Nashville Predators, as he leads them in points by 14 over the next closest player, Filip Forsberg. He averages 26:02 per game, the second-most ice time in the league.
The Predators are in Canada on Thursday to face the Calgary Flames. The Flames will be without top defenseman Mark Giordano due to injury. The Flames are in the middle of the pack in a lot of defensive numbers, including goals allowed per game in which they are 16th. Without Giordano in the lineup, those numbers might suffer. The Predators implied goal total is 3.21 on the road, suggesting that the Flames may struggle without their best blueliner. Josi is at the heart of the Predators offense, so if they are able to get some goals, he should be on them. Josi is our highest projected defenseman tonight by over four points over the second place, making him a priority if spending up at the position.
Thomas Greiss, Goalie, New York Islanders
FanDuel Salary: $8,500
The New York Islanders face off against the Los Angeles Kings at home in what should be an ideal situation for a goaltender. The Kings have scored the third-fewest goals in the league, and the Islanders have allowed the fifth-fewest per game. Greiss himself has had a solid season with a .922 save percentage. His Islanders are -200 favorites in this game, giving him a great chance at getting the win. The Kings have the lowest implied goal total tonight, sitting at a lowly 2.35. Greiss is our highest projected goalie tonight and is viable in all formats.
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.