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 from paying up in sports like NBA or NFL. Someone can be one of the highest-salaried 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.
Monday night's slate is six games, as the Buffalo-Boston game has been postponed.
Auston Matthews, Center, Toronto Maple Leafs
FanDuel Salary: $8,800
Yes, it is easy not to overthink here. Auston Matthews has at least a goal in seven straight games. He is going up against a Vancouver Canucks that allows four goals a game, and is league-worst in shots yielded (35.7 per game) and penalty minutes (12.9 per contest). With all those opportunities and the top-ranked power play in the league (38.5%), Toronto and Matthews become an easy choice.
There are different ways to utilize Matthews and one way is to use a partial stack from the power-play unit (including Mitchell Marner, who has 6 goals and 14 assists). Also, Vancouver has played awful against teams that can create a high tempo (Montreal generated 11-plus high-danger scoring chances a meeting). Matthews should get a litany of chances almost by default on this night. Connor McDavid ($8,900) going against the next-worst team in the league in the Ottawa Senators may be where rostership runs more to.
Artemi Panarin, Wing, New York Rangers
FanDuel Salary: $8,000
Artemi Panarin has back to back 30-plus FanDuel point performances coming into tonight's clash with the rival New York Islanders. Overall, Panarin has a four-game point streak, and in three of those games, the Russian winger had 4 or more shots and 3-plus chances. The opportunities are definitely there.
The Islanders righted the ship on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, but even then, they allowed three goals and needed some amazing saves from Semyon Varlamov just to preserve the victory. Goals are expected to be had in this game but the Rangers are playing much better coming in and that is vital. Panarin rosterers have enjoyed success against the Islanders before.
Elsewhere, look at Patrik Laine or maybe even Filip Forsberg, who both enjoy plus matchups at home on Monday night.
Victor Hedman, Defenseman, Tampa Bay Lightning
FanDuel Salary: $7,100
A stud like Victor Hedman going against a team that has barely been able to keep its penalty kill near 60% the past few weeks like Nashville sets up for an intriguing matchup. Tampa Bay has one of the two man-advantage units in the NHL. Hedman has 10 real-world points on the season, including one 30-plus FanDuel point performance previously versus the Predators.
The great news for Hedman is that Nashville has been yielding three or more goals with increasing frequency this season. There is a little bit of risk with Hedman as his floor has dropped over the past week or so (three shots in three games). If a team can get a player moving, it may just be Nashville. Roman Josi ($6,600) may have a nicer floor but a little less offensive upside tonight from the Predators against this very same Lightning team.
Alex Nedeljkovic, Goalie, Carolina Hurricanes
FanDuel Salary: $8,300
Alex Nedeljkovic carries some huge danger against the Columbus Blue Jackets. However, this game is on the back end of a back-to-back. This is after a wild 11-goal affair on Sunday afternoon. Nearly 70% of such scenarios have ended up hitting the under which bodes well for his numbers. In those games, shot and chance rates have mostly been the same.
He has not played a game yet this season as injuries have pressed the AHL goaltender into duty. Nedeljkovic is still believed to be the future in net for the Carolina Hurricanes. Columbus expects to total 30-35 shots again which means a solid performance could net the Carolina goalie 25-plus FanDuel points potentially.
The tricky part about this slate is waiting for confirmations and COVID. Wait to see who else may start when it comes to finding viable alternatives among the studs.
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.