We've seen a few games from most teams, and we are still in the feeling-out process of how exactly every team will perform. However, so are the daily fantasy sites with their salaries, so let's try to take advantage of that. Here are some high salary skaters, some values, and a goalie to target on DraftKings tonight.
High Salary
Nathan MacKinnon ($8,500): MacKinnon hit both the three-point bonus and the shot bonus in a dominant performance on Friday night. That was against the St. Louis Blues, known for being one of the best defensive teams in hockey. While MacKinnon's Tuesday opponent, the Los Angeles Kings, are not bad defensively, they did allow four goals in consecutive games to the Minnesota Wild. MacKinnon had one of the highest floors on DraftKings last season, due to not only his high point totals but also leading the league in shots on goal with 318. With the Colorado Avalanche expected to dominate as a -250 favorite and a 3.58 goal total, MacKinnon is certainly a priority in cash games.
Artemi Panarin ($7,300): Panarin, like MacKinnon, was somewhat surprisingly held off the score sheet in the first game of the season. Also like MacKinnon, he made up for it in the second game, as the Russian scored two goals on Saturday night. Panarin was an MVP candidate last season and led all players with 71 points at even strength. Tonight, he'll face a New Jersey Devils team that was bad defensively last season. They allowed the fourth-most goals per 60 minutes and the fifth-most shot attempts per 60, according to Natural Stat Trick. Panarin is our fourth-highest projected skater tonight, and the New York Rangers' goal total is up to 3.26. He should be the focal point of the attack at both even strength and on the power play, giving him great upside in this game.
Value Skaters
Anthony Duclair ($2,700): DraftKings seems to be lowering the salary of players who signed later in the offseason for whatever reason. We saw that with Mike Hoffman and now we see it with Duclair. Duclair scored 23 goals last season with the Ottawa Senators and was an all-star. Now with the Florida Panthers, he's playing alongside one of the best centers in the game in Aleksander Barkov and is on the second power play unit. The Panthers have the implied highest team total against a Chicago Blackhawks team that has allowed 15 goals in their first 3 games. To get a player from a team who's getting this kind of opportunity for just $2,700 is a rare home run value that we don't often see, so Duclair is viable in all formats.
Drake Batherson ($3,200): There is a plethora of value available for the Senators tonight, as they only have two forwards above $4,000. We are going to highlight Batherson because he has perhaps the best role of any of the values on Ottawa. Batherson has played on the first line and top power play for the Senators in their first two games. He got two assists in their opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and also hit the shot bonus. He averaged 18.2 minutes of ice time in those two games, so his role seems to be secure so far. Ottawa has a 3.22 implied team total against the Winnipeg Jets, who seem likely to rest Vezina trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck in favor of his backup, Laurent Brossoit. The Jets allowed the fifth-most expected goals per 60 minutes, and without Hellebuyck saving their bacon, they could allow a few even to a team like Ottawa. Batherson is another player whose salary is somewhat surprisingly low, so let's take advantage and roster him while we can.
Goalie to Target
Elvis Merzlikins ($8,100): Merzlikins was solid in his rookie season with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He posted a .923 save percentage and was ninth in the league in goals saved above average. Playing for a team coached by John Tortorella usually leads to a team being solid defensively, and that benefits the goalie a lot. Merzlikins will face the Detroit Red Wings in a back to back situation. The Red Wings averaged just two goals a game last season, by far the worst in the league. With Columbus being -184 favorites and Detroit having the lowest implied team total on the slate, Elvis is likely to leave the building with a win and a solid fantasy performance on Tuesday night.
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.