Rostering low-salary players 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, as there are a lot of lower-salaried options.
Monday night brings us a robust nine-game slate. Let's look at some value picks.
Tyson Jost, Center, Colorado Avalanche
FanDuel Salary: $3,300
This would be a slate to take considerable risks but with Nathan MacKinnon still in doubt, it means Tyson Jost is still projected to play on the top line for the Colorado Avalanche. Being flanked with Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog can never hurt.
The low shot volume and even playing against the Vegas Golden Knights should not dissuade anyone. At Jost's salary, the value is still there on Monday night. Think of this as a "punt" type of play to provide salary relief on the slate. Jost does have two goals in his previous three games.
Michael McLeod ($3,300) is another very low salary choice from New Jersey against Philadelphia, and Philipp Kurashev ($3,200) could again play in the top-six for Chicago versus the Dallas Stars on Monday night.
Nils Hoglander, Wing, Vancouver Canucks
FanDuel Salary: $3,700
One is going to see a lot of Nils Hoglander over the coming week. Vancouver plays a bunch (five games) over the next week or so. That means plenty of opportunities for the winger to pad his numbers. The top-line winger had four real-world points in four games against Edmonton last week.
This features a bit of danger in the sense that Hoglander is a rookie who can go long stretches without attempting shots on net. Erratic shot volume is possible here, but again, look at the salary. He will even block the occasional shot as well. Expect two or three scoring chances generated at a minimum and around 15-16 minutes of ice time.
The larger than usual Monday night slate features some unusual "other" choices. Nikita Gusev ($3,600) is worth a look from the Florida Panthers and Andreas Athanasiou ($3,500) saw some top ice time over the weekend from Los Angeles and might do so again tonight.
Matthew Grzelcyk, Defenseman, Boston Bruins
FanDuel Salary: $3,900
Matthew Grzelcyk carries an unusual amount of risk because of lower blocked shot chances. However, he is often on the top pairing in Boston during most situations -- especially on the man advantage. The New York Islanders may be a top-five penalty-killing unit but with Boston at home and in need of a win, this elevates Grzelcyk a bit more as a viable play.
The Boston Bruins defenseman has real-world points in four of his previous five starts. What is nicer for Grzelcyk is he is not being overplayed (about 19-20 minutes a night of late). That helps him be a bit more rested for tonight's big game.
The concerns are minuscule here as the Islanders may try to open things up a bit given that their offense has been having issues as well. At the very least, there should be a few more opportunities than usual for the two playoff-bound teams.
Other players to consider include Travis Sanheim ($3,700) from the Flyers and maybe even Erik Cernak ($3,700) as a high-risk option from the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Laurent Brossoit, Goalie, Winnipeg Jets
FanDuel Salary: $6,900
With Connor Hellebuyck getting some "rest", Laurent Brossoit may play the rest of the regular season. He is projected to start tonight versus the Vancouver Canucks. Vancouver needs to win every game to make the playoffs. Maybe that creates a little urgency and a few more chances for Brossoit to face. The Winnipeg goaltender faced just 18 shots against the Ottawa Senators in his last start.
The goalie is a very low salary option on Monday night and he is risky, given that Vancouver was able to score some goals against the Edmonton Oilers in their last couple of games. Brossoit is at least home on Monday where he has a 2-2 record in four games played with a 2.19 goals-against average and .933 save percentage.
It is not uncommon to see playoff-bound teams rest their goaltenders and this week will feature way more of this than usual. That is because of the expected staggered playoff start.
Mackenzie Blackwood ($6,800) is a high-danger play from New Jersey and Cal Petersen ($7,100) is projected to start the third game in four nights for Los Angeles. Maybe just maybe see who starts in Montreal against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers. At the very least, any Montreal goalie should see a good volume of shots.
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.