Spending lower in any daily fantasy lineup is a way to incorporate some diversity into your roster. In NHL DFS, there is typically more value in this strategy but also a good deal more risk. This is especially true on tonight's slate, where there are lots of lower-salaried plays. Plugging in these options will afford you more chances to play some studs, as well.
Tuesday night features another nine-game slate. Let's look at some value picks.
Kirby Dach, Center, Chicago Blackhawks
FanDuel Salary: $3,600
Kirby Dach played well on the top line over the weekend for the Chicago Blackhawks and had four shots on goal with six attempts. He created three scoring chances and has a good matchup at home tonight versus a Dallas Stars team trying to find itself as well. Two teams trying to regain form could be a good recipe in NHL DFS. Dach breaking out is a possibility as well, especially if he plays 18-19 minutes again.
Dach will be kept away mostly from the Joe Pavelski line, or that is the theory anyway. The center has five blocked shots in five games for Chicago and has a power-play presence. It is a matter of converting now for the Blackhawks' center.
Another center at a reasonable salary would be Jared McCann ($4,100) who is playing solid minutes for the Pittsburgh Penguins and has a good matchup against the New York Rangers. Finally, do not forget about Sam Carrick ($3,200) of the Anaheim Ducks. Just make sure he plays tonight first as he is on the taxi squad for now.
Calle Jarnkrok, Wing, Nashville Predators
FanDuel Salary: $4,000
Calle Jarnkrok faces the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday and gets top-line minutes basically. Jarnkrok has four real-world points in his last four contests. The Nashville Predators have won nine of their previous 11 games and Jarnkrok is a vital reason why.
The Red Wings may try and showcase Jonathan Bernier if he is ready and that could be the only risk against rostering the forward on Tuesday. Even then, Bernier could be rusty and that may be even more the reason to play Jarnkrok.
Do not forget there are tons of value wingers to roster on Tuesday if one is not comfortable with Jarnkrok. Luke Kunin ($3,400) has real-world points in four of his last five games for Nashville as well. Furthermore, there are risky value plays in the form of Miles Wood and Nick Merkley ($3,300) from the New Jersey Devils.
Travis Sanheim, Defenseman, Philadelphia Flyers
FanDuel Salary: $3,600
The Boston Bruins depth has taken a hit defensively of late and Travis Sanheim's level of play has risen over the past four contests.
Sanheim's ice time has come up a few minutes a night to around 22 a game lately. He had a goal with three shots on net, four blocked shots, and three scoring chances against Boston on Monday night. He now has three double-digit FanDuel point efforts in the last week.
Sanheim can be a threat at even strength or on the man advantage. He took advantage of an opportunity, blocked a shot, and scored the game-winner in overtime on Monday. He is riding a wave of confidence and a floor that is rising.
Brandon Montour ($3,800) remains a good choice on Tuesday against New Jersey and do not forget Dmitry Orlov ($3,900) from the Washington Capitals.
MacKenzie Blackwood, Goalie, New Jersey Devils
FanDuel Salary: $6,800
New Jersey just tends to give up more shots normally when Mackenzie Blackwood is in net. Yet, the opposite happened on Sunday afternoon when he was shelled for five goals on just 19 shots. It was not the performance many expected from the goaltender.
The goalie had been enjoying a nice stretch of play where he had four wins in seven starts. That included a three-start span where Blackwood allowed just six goals on a whopping 128 shots (and a shutout). Maybe, he was tired. However, he does have one of the better chances of garnering a win tonight versus the Buffalo Sabres.
Also, his roster percentage will be extremely low because of recency bias from his last start against Washington.
With the expected last-minute goalie confirmations, many question marks arise. Does one try Jonathan Bernier ($6,700) if he plays for Detroit on Tuesday? That low of a salary can be quite tempting.
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.