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.
Tuesday night features seven games on the schedule. Let's dive in.
Connor McDavid, Center, Edmonton Oilers
FanDuel Salary: $9,000
Connor McDavid hitting the $9,000 salary plateau is significant. Few players get here this early in the season. A 10-game real-world point streak will do that (22 points in the previous 10 contests). The Ottawa Senators did play better on Monday night and slowed down McDavid to one assist and three shots. McDavid did have several high-danger chances only to be foiled by Matt Murray.
There are different ways to stack McDavid, and this can be done to take advantage of a potentially tired Ottawa defense. It will be tougher to add Leon Draisaitl, but how about a Darnell Nurse and maybe one other value play? This may be something to consider against a Senators team that looked like it had some answers on Monday night. They may have just gotten lucky.
Max Pacioretty, Wing, Vegas Golden Knights
FanDuel Salary: $8,100
Max Pacioretty is typically more of a goal scorer, but over the last two games, he has four assists (all against the Los Angeles Kings). Now, he gets to play against the Anaheim Ducks, a team that has had problems containing the Vegas Golden Knights' top line. In two previous meetings, Pacioretty scored in each game and had five shots in both contests. Furthermore, he generated eight scoring chances and six high-danger chances.
The Ducks have played better of late, but that Vegas top six cannot be contained by what Anaheim offers defensively. It was apparent in the first two games of the season and remains so today. Vegas' offense can scare anyone, and Anaheim's cannot. It is a big reason why Pacioretty could enjoy success as the game goes on tonight.
Elsewhere, look at Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Huberdeau, both of whom enjoy high-scoring potential on Tuesday.
Brent Burns, Defenseman, San Jose Sharks
FanDuel Salary: $6,400
This features a lot of risk but some possibilities of a good reward, too. Brent Burns has been up and down for the San Jose Sharks all season, but in the first matchups of miniseries, he has fared better, including a 31.2-point performance versus Anaheim.
The great news for Burns is he faces an undisciplined Kings team that will take penalties. This means more power-play opportunities and more unblocked shot attempts for Burns. His floor (shots and blocked shots) is a bit all over the place. However, he did have five blocks versus the Ducks and created a bunch of scoring chances.
On the flip side, Drew Doughty is an intriguing alternative. Both of these teams give up around 3.5 goals per game and are among the bottom third in unblocked shot attempts. There will be chances early and often.
Anton Khudobin, Goalie, Dallas Stars
FanDuel Salary: $8,000
So Anton Khudobin overslept the other day and missed practice. Whoops! That cost him a start and a little goodwill among the Dallas Stars' coaching staff. However, all is forgiven as Khudobin will start tonight versus the Chicago Blackhawks. This is an important game for the Dallas goaltender to get back on track. He has allowed 11 goals in his last three starts, which may keep his draft percentage down a bit.
The other risk will be the Chicago power play, which can strike at any time (36.6% -- third in the NHL). Dallas will take some penalties, too, which may increase the shot volume for Khudobin. He will need that to get in a rhythm. Khudobin also knows that Jake Oettinger has performed well, so he needs to improve his rebound control and play well.
The tricky part about this slate is waiting for confirmations and COVID. Wait to see who else may start when it comes to looking for 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.