NHL

3 NHL FanDuel Values to Target on Thursday 5/13/21

Chris Wassel  —  @ChrisWasselDFS May 13th, 2021
Values should be easier to find with so many players resting. Which low-salary plays should you turn to?

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.

Thursday night is a light three games on the NHL DFS slate. What values could we find?

Derek Ryan, Center, Calgary Flames

FanDuel Salary: $3,200

Derek Ryan expects to see some second-line minutes for the rest of the season. Playing the Vancouver Canucks might help boost his potential for FanDuel points on Thursday night.

This carries immense risk because Ryan misses the net a ton and had just two shots on goal in his previous five games. On the bright side, he did play 15+ minutes in his last start and had two scoring chances with an assist.

Value centers will drive many crazy on Thursday because of again that load management issue. The Calgary Flames' center could be joined here by Tyson Jost ($3,300) who will likely play top-six minutes again on Thursday for the Colorado Avalanche.

Nils Hoglander, Wing, Vancouver Canucks

FanDuel Salary: $4,000

The choice to play Nils Hoglander is simple. One has two teams just playing out the rest of the season. They are going to just try to avoid getting hurt so more offense is the likely expectation here on Thursday night.

Hoglander often fares well but had a total dud against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night. He was credited with two shots but that may have been generous. The winger was pretty invisible throughout long stretches of that game. The Vancouver winger will try to rectify that tonight. He does have six real-world points in his last six games for the Canucks.

Jordan Kyrou ($3,600) is back in the top-six for the St. Louis Blues and maybe a more viable option than J.T. Compher because the Avalanche forward sniped a hat trick on Wednesday night. Compher may be too much risk.

Jack Rathbone, Defenseman, Vancouver Canucks

FanDuel Salary: $3,600

Jack Rathbone is priced correctly on Thursday night along with several Vancouver defensemen. Since their blueline is one of the worst three in the NHL, it is no surprise that they are usually not looked at in the least.

The matchup here is decent enough. Calgary can allow its fair share of goals and Rathbone has a bit of speed. He is also willing to just rip that shot at all costs. He had several attempts last game but only one hit the mark. Rathbone did block three shots, however.

The defenseman expects to play more minutes too. He could project to play 16-18 minutes on Thursday night as Vancouver tries to spread ice time out to other players.

Watch to monitor some $3,500 players like Ryan Graves or even Mikey Anderson. Thes are players that could warrant more playing time just because of opportunity more than anything. Minimum-salaries players carry less risk because again it takes less to reach value.

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.