We've got 14 games on the docket for Thursday, with good plays littered throughout the salaries. So let's look at some studs, some values and a goalie to use in our DraftKings lineups tonight.
[Editor's note: The St. Louis Blues and Vegas Golden Knights game has been postponed.]
High Salary Skaters
Nathan MacKinnon ($8,600): It's hard to come up with reasons to not play Nathan MacKinnon tonight. He has nine points in seven games and has probably gotten unlucky to start the season. His shooting percentage is down at 6.7%, well below the 11.9% he's shot over the past three seasons. The good news is that he's still shooting a lot, as his shot attempt rate is the third-best in the league for players who have played over 70 minutes this season, according to Natural Stat Trick. MacKinnon has hit the five-shot bonus three times in seven games and has four shots three other times. Multiple points and the shot bonus is a realistic expectation for MacKinnon every night, and especially tonight with the Colorado Avalanche having the highest implied goal total on the slate. MacKinnon may not be as popular as you would expect with Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid available at center, as well, but MacKinnon gets the slight nod over them.
Mitchell Marner ($7,300): Marner has been a divisive player over the past few seasons due to the situation with his contract, but no one can argue with his production to start this season. He's tied for the league lead in points with 12. That includes multi-point games in his last three outings. Marner also leads all forwards in ice time per game, playing over 23 minutes a night. He's attached to the hip of Auston Matthews, playing with him at even strength and on the power play, so he'll always play with an elite linemate. His Toronto Maple Leafs get a good matchup against the Edmonton Oilers, who are in the bottom five in most defensive metrics, including goals allowed per game. The Leafs implied team total is the third-highest on the night, and Marner could be a big part of the fantasy production if they were to reach or exceed that total.
Value Skaters
James van Riemsdyk ($4,000): For whatever reason, DraftKings doesn't seem to want to raise these Philadelphia Flyers players' salaries. Van Rimesdyk had 30 fantasy points on Tuesday, with two goals and seven shots on goal, and his salary only went up $200. This was his second two-goal game in his last three, so it wasn't a total anomaly. $4,000 is a bargain for a player who is on both the top line and top power play. With the Flyers playing the New Jersey Devils, JVR makes a lot of sense to go back to, given how the salary didn't increase enough to match his role and performance.
Alexandre Texier ($3,700): Like the Flyers, the Columbus Blue Jackets are another team littered with value. We'll highlight Texier, who has been playing well to start the season. He has four goals and two assists in seven games. This has been good for over 10 DK points in four of those seven games. He's inherited a new role with the trade of Pierre-Luc Dubois and is now on the first line and first power play. Last game, he saw the most ice time of anyone on Columbus besides their two stud defensemen Seth Jones and Zach Werenski. Texier is a young, improving player getting a role that will allow him to thrive, so now is the time to take a shot on him before his salary gets too high.
Goalie to Target
Carter Hart ($7,800): Hart has gotten off to a poor start, but we shouldn't overreact to a goalie in a small sample size. He's had two solid seasons in his first two years in the league, and it's just two games that are making his stats look bad. So tonight, $7,800 is actually a discount considering that the Flyers are -166 favorites. They'll go up against a Devils team that has the sixth-worst expected goal rate this season. They also have the third-lowest implied team total on tonight's slate. So while others may be scared off from rostering Hart, we shouldn't be.
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.