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 has seven games on the docket. Let's find some studs!
Nathan MacKinnon, Center, Colorado Avalanche
FanDuel Salary: $8,600
The Colorado Avalanche center has been consistent of late with 16 or more FanDuel points in each of his last three contests. While that has been good, it has not been great for fantasy DFS owners. He does have 2 goals, 16 shots, and 12 scoring chances in that span.
Nathan MacKinnon and the Oilers should be ready for the Anaheim Ducks. The center has only faced Anaheim twice this year and that was earlier in the season. Even in those games, MacKinnon generated four scoring chances a night and two high-danger chances per matchup.
MacKinnon allows for some stacking options with maybe Samuel Girard or even Devon Toews. After that, one could even add in Mikko Rantanen if there's a lot of salary left.
Also, Evgeni Malkin ($7,700) has been producing like the Malkin of old as of late and will see an AHL-caliber goaltender from Boston tonight.
Alex Ovechkin, Wing, Washington Capitals
FanDuel Salary: $8,000
The Washington Capitals winger has a nice matchup against the New York Islanders on Tuesday night. The theory is that the Islanders looked extremely vulnerable against the Devils on Sunday evening. Arguably, they gave up four goals and not the two shown on the scoreboard -- questionable interference penalty and a review that many are still talking about.
The one luxury with Alex Ovechkin is he that is a better passer than most give him credit for. With a little luck, Ovechkin would be more than just on a three-game goal-scoring streak. He has 16 shots on goal in this span with 20-plus FanDuel points in each contest. The Islanders are very vulnerable defensively against Washington.
Jake Guentzel ($7,400) is again another option against Boston. David Pastrnak ($8,500) might be considered versus the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Kris Letang, Defenseman, Pittsburgh Penguins
FanDuel Salary: $6,000
The Pittsburgh defenseman still is at $6,000 despite another very good night. He had an assist, one shot, and four blocked shots against Boston and faces them again on Tuesday night. With the prospect of going up against a backup goaltender and Kris Letang playing around 25 minutes again, elevated point potentials are likely.
Boston has just not been very good of late and allowed four goals in consecutive games along with losing four of their previous five contests. Expect Kris Letang to attempt at least five shots on net tonight as the Bruins are on their third game in four nights.
Dougie Hamilton ($6,100) could be a great play versus the Detroit Red Wings. John Carlson ($6,600) is up against a potentially weary New York Islanders team.
Philipp Grubauer, Goalie, Colorado Avalanche
FanDuel Salary: $8,500
Philipp Grubauer is projected to start on Tuesday night versus the Anaheim Ducks. The Avalanche has one of the best chances to win on the night. Anaheim is 4-5-3 on the road and has lost three consecutive contests. Grubauer has triumphed in three straight games (stopping 58 of his last 60 shots).
Wait to see who else starts when it comes to looking for viable alternatives among the studs. Does one risk Ilya Samsonov versus the New York Islanders? Who starts for the Carolina Hurricanes? After that, it comes down to just looking around after morning skate to see if anyone else is confirmed in net. Do watch for COVID-related absences. Those come out around 5:00 pm ET or so.
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.