3 NHL FanDuel Studs to Target on 3/24/21
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 features three games in all. Let's take a look at some studs.
Sidney Crosby, Center, Pittsburgh Penguins
FanDuel Salary: $8,100
The Pittsburgh Penguins play the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night, a team Sidney Crosby has much historical success against. That is well documented. With the Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens game being postponed on Wednesday, Crosby becomes the top center on this short slate.
The good thing is that Crosby is up against a team that has allowed an average of more than four goals a game over its last 14 contests. The previous four games have seen the Pittsburgh center fire more shots than usual (five a game). That expects to continue as the Crosby line is the focus of the Penguins' offense currently. At even strength, Crosby enjoys nearly a two-thirds expected goals percentage against Buffalo over their last 10 meetings.
Also, with several stud centers struggling, Anze Kopitar ($7,900) is a decent option against the San Jose Sharks, who feature the most porous defense on this slate -- even more than the Vancouver Canucks.
Nik Ehlers, Wing, Winnipeg Jets
FanDuel Salary: $6,600
The Winnipeg Jets are never dull. Even in victory, the top-line has struggled a bit of late. However, Nikolaj Ehlers is one of those players that can create his own offense at any time. He had five shots and four scoring chances against Vancouver on Monday night.
It is likely that Ehlers should be able to utilize his speed and creativity once again on Wednesday. With four goals and six assists over the past 10 games, Ehlers continues to show why he is a face of the future in DFS.
Evander Kane ($7,400) carries some high-shot potential into Wednesday's clash with the Los Angeles Kings. Just expect to spend downward salary-wise elsewhere.
Kris Letang, Defenseman, Pittsburgh Penguins
FanDuel Salary: $5,900
Kris Letang's salary is reasonable on Wednesday, and the Penguins defenseman will be the highest-rostered blueliner on this short slate. Pittsburgh scores three or more goals against Buffalo on a regular basis, and in his career, Letang produces at nearly a point-a-game versus Buffalo with three-plus shots a contest.
The Buffalo defense gives up a lot of quality chances along with 3.47 goals per game (third-worst in the NHL). During their losing streak, that number has climbed to over four a game along with allowing around 35 shots per 60.
Some additional players to consider on Wednesday may just be Sean Walker ($3,600) and Travis Hamonic ($3,800), who are both value plays for floor purposes.
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.
