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
Max Domi, Center, Montreal Canadiens
FanDuel Price: $4,600
The Detroit Red Wings are just so bad, like, historically bad. They are on pace for just 43 points which, in the 48-game lockout-shortened season, would have placed them 24th in the NHL. That's how bad they have been this season, in perspective.
Max Domi is having a very disappointing season, after putting up 28 goals and 72 points for the Montreal Canadiens in his first season on the team last year. This season, he has just 13 goals and 37 points in 61 games, but as stated above, this is about as good of a matchup as one can have.
Bryan Rust, Winger, Pittsburgh Penguins
FanDuel Price: $4,500
Sure, Bryan Rust has been riding on Evgeni Malkin's wing for most of this season and has been able to pick up plenty of points, but he definitely has pulled his weight. In 43 games this season, Rust has 22 goals and 45 points which has already eclipsed his career-high in goals and points.
Rust really started to break out this season with Malkin and Jake Guentzel as his line mates while Sidney Crosby was hurt, but with Crosby back he continues to play with Malkin and continues to put up points. With some other injuries on the Penguins, it has allowed Rust to play on the teams top power-play unit which gives him more upside.
Jaden Schwartz, Winger, St. Louis Blues
FanDuel Price: $5,300
The St. Louis Blues have stacked up their top line a bit with Jaden Schwartz playing with Ryan O'Reilly and Brayden Schenn. The Blues have one of the better matchups as they host the New Jersey Devils — a team that has started to sell off their assets.
Schwartz is having a solid season with 18 goals and 45 points in 59 games. In addition to playing with these guys at even strength, the trio plays on the top power-play unit together which gives them elite upside and full-game correlation.
Mike Green, Defense, Detroit Red Wings
FanDuel Price: $3,500
The Detroit Red Wings will be without Filip Hronek tonight which means somebody has to take his place on the top power-play unit. It will probably be Mike Green, but Dennis Cholowski has been put in that place before so be sure to keep an eye out for that.
Assuming it is Green, the price tag here is nice. Sure, the Red Wings power-play unit has been dreadful, converting on just 14.6 percent of their opportunities — 29th in the NHL — but Green obviously has a history of being elite in this spot. He is much older now and a shell of his former self, but this is a very cheap price for a top power-play defenseman.
Ivan Provorov, Defense, Philadelphia Flyers
FanDuel Price: $4,600
Ivan Provorov is one of those defensemen that is not only going to contribute for you offensively, but produces in the peripheral stats so that he gives you a solid floor on nights in which he doesn't get on the score sheet. However, when he does get on the score sheet, the ceiling is quite high.
Provorov has 11 goals and 30 points in 59 games this season which is solid, but he also has 131 shots and 94 blocks which averages to 2.22 shots per game and 1.59 blocks per game. Provorov quarterbacks the top power-play unit right now and although it hasn't been great, it just once again puts him in a great spot to put up points.
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.