3 NHL FanDuel Studs to Target on 2/17/21
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.
Wednesday night brings us four contests. Let's take a look at what studs we may find. Please note that the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes game is not on the main slate.
Auston Matthews, Center, Toronto Maple Leafs
FanDuel Salary: $8,800
Auston Matthews cannot stop scoring goals -- he has 11 in his last 10 contests. His real-world point streak has lasted over a month now (13 games). In that span, he has four-plus shots on goal a total of nine times, with four-plus scoring chances also at nine.
The Ottawa Senators cannot slow down much of anyone. It was only when they countered with their own offense on Monday night that Matthews was somewhat muted. Even then, Matthews against a team that allows the most shots per 60 and scoring chances per 60 at even strength is a matchup worth choosing.
Connor McDavid ($9,000) encounters the best special teams matchup against the Winnipeg Jets.
Nik Ehlers, Wing, Winnipeg Jets
FanDuel Salary: $6,900
The idea is that Nikolaj Ehlers may slowly be morphing into a Patrick Kane-like talent provided he ever gets the consistent ice time. He played fewer than 15 minutes on Monday night against Edmonton but generated nine shot attempts and five shots on the net. He scored a goal as well.
Could Ehlers top five-plus shots on Wednesday night? That is a possibility. Again, these games between Winnipeg and Edmonton (and North Division games in general) have seen some high-shot outputs from players with speed on the perimeter who can rush towards the net. Ehlers excels at this skill and can take defensemen outside the royal road then inside it.
Again, Patrick Kane is the highest-salaried option at the position and is viable versus Detroit's penalty kill that hovers near 70%.
Tyson Barrie, Defenseman, Edmonton Oilers
FanDuel Salary: $5,700
The two hottest defensemen in the North Division may just be Quinn Hughes and, yes, Tyson Barrie.
Barrie is racking up shots and scoring chances as he did in his days with the Colorado Avalanche. Barrie now has nine straight nights with double-digit FanDuel points and a 10th almost seems inevitable versus Winnipeg. He has three-plus shots on goal and five-plus shot attempts in his previous eight contests. The blocks may be a bit risky (around one per game), but with all the opportunities, that matters little.
Defensemen are on a lower salary tier tonight, which allows one to spend up elsewhere. Thomas Chabot ($4,900) from Ottawa may not be the stud he was in his rookie year but has a favorable matchup against Toronto tonight.
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.
