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.
Wednesday night has six games on the NHL schedule. Let's dig in for some picks.
Nick Schmaltz, Center, Arizona Coyotes
FanDuel Salary: $3,700
The risk is still high on Wednesday night but Arizona and San Jose did combine for 10 goals on Monday. Schmaltz continued his strong play against the Sharks with two assists and a blocked shot.
He did not have the game most expected. Some were expecting three or more shots on goal and perhaps a goal maybe even two. However, real-world points are always good when it comes to FanDuel. The top-six center has value again because honestly, San Jose is now allowing 3.42 goals per game on the season and 9.5 penalty minutes per game committed. Those are two indicators that bode well as Arizona could even get a few more chances via the power play.
Arizona could be a nice value-stack if one pairs Alex Goligoski ($3,800) with Schmaltz. This would save a lot of salary for the studs who are in play on Wednesday.
There is also Robert Thomas ($3,900) who looked much more comfortable in his second game back from injury for the St. Louis Blues.
Jesse Puljujarvi, Wing, Edmonton Oilers
FanDuel Salary: $3,900
Jesse Puljujarvi benefits from playing alongside Connor McDavid and there is nothing wrong with that. He now has four consecutive double-digit FanDuel point nights.
With Winnipeg having such difficulty matching up against McDavid, their problems seem to be compounded as Puljujarvi creates a good deal of space through the interior of the Jets' defense. The winger has three goals and three assists in his last four games while garnering at least two scoring chances in each of those contests.
Nick Bonino ($4,000) is our high-risk option from Minnesota possibly or Zach Parise. That bottom-six line has a chance to surprise St. Louis a bit tonight.
Sean Walker, Defenseman, Los Angeles Kings
FanDuel Salary: $3,700
Sean Walker is a safer choice on Wednesday night against a bad Anaheim Ducks team.
The Los Angeles defenseman has been pretty consistent all season with a reasonable floor. In the last three games, he has seen less ice time which has cut into some of his numbers. Despite that, he has a goal and one assist in that span with six scoring chances. He may see a slight bump up to 20+ minutes tonight.
For a high-risk value play, Mario Ferraro ($3,700) sees ice time with Erik Karlsson on occasion and could stand to see a boost in his floor versus the Arizona Coyotes. He nearly topped 10 FanDuel points on Monday night.
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.