Spending lower in any daily fantasy lineup is a way to incorporate some diversity into your roster. In NHL DFS, there is typically more value in this strategy but also a good deal more risk. This is especially true on tonight's larger slate, where there are lots of lower-salaried plays. Plugging in these options will afford you more chances to play some studs, as well.
Friday night features eight games. Let's take a look at what values we can find.
Filip Chytil, Center, New York Rangers
FanDuel Salary: $3,800
Value is a bit skewed on Friday night as most players in the center player pool are priced a little bit higher on average. Part of that is because of the propensity of offense. This requires a bit more digging, but Filip Chytil pops into the consciousness.
He may be on the third line but arguably will see good matchups against the middle of the Pittsburgh Penguins' defense, which is -- to be kind -- below average. Chytil has real-world points in his last two games and six shots on goal with five scoring chances in that time.
Does he see more than 12 to 13 minutes of playing time tonight? That is a possibility. Since the New York Rangers are having some issues on the man advantage, we shouldn't be shocked if Chytil gets time on at least the second unit soon.
Elsewhere, Nick Schmaltz ($4,100) of the Arizona Coyotes has value even against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Nicolas Deslauriers, Wing, Anaheim Ducks
FanDuel Salary: $3,400
There was this sense that taking swings on bottom-six players was almost taboo. Honestly, the Anaheim Ducks' best offense in the last week has come from their fourth line. Simply, the line does not play a lot (11 minutes per night), but they generate opportunities.
Nicolas Deslauriers averages almost three shots per night and nearly as many scoring chances. It does seem this line with Carter Rowney and Derek Grant creates matchup problems in the way the New York Islanders' fourth line does on a nightly basis. Deslauriers should benefit from facing a Colorado Avalanche team that just played last night in Los Angeles.
Phil Di Giuseppe ($3,600) may be another one of these types of players to look at on Friday night, as well.
Mathew Dumba, Defenseman, Minnesota Wild
FanDuel Salary: $4,200
With the Minnesota Wild entertaining the San Jose Sharks on Friday night, the expectation is that Mathew Dumba should see plenty of chances to exceed value. His salary is low enough to warrant at least looking deeper. Expect Dumba to play more around the 22-to-23 minute range on Friday, which increases his looks on net as he averages 3.25 shots per contest.
The talk of a different San Jose defensive system often quickly erodes in games. They yield many unblocked shot attempts from the point, and Dumba's shot is one of the more underrated in the NHL.
Jakob Chychrun ($4,100) and Alec Martinez ($4,100) carry similar point potential due to their floors, which could be as high as Dumba's.
Linus Ullmark, Goalie, Buffalo Sabres
FanDuel Salary: $6,900
Linus Ullmark faces a somewhat easier challenge tonight against the Washington Capitals. The good news is that Ullmark will not see offensive threats like Alex Ovechkin or Evgeny Kuznetsov. Those are significant developments due to COVID-19 protocol and violations.
Ullmark's only concern may be shot volume. In the previous matchup versus Washington, the goaltender faced just 21 shots. The expectation is that the Buffalo Sabres may allow a small number of shots again (25 per night, which is sixth in the NHL). Buffalo averages just 3.8 penalty minutes per night, which may help Ullmark's cause, as well.
Thomas Greiss ($6,700) may be worth investigating as he faces the Chicago Blackhawks, but he's a higher-risk play and a secondary choice.
Chris Wassel is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Chris Wassel also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username chriswassel. 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.