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.
Friday night brings us four more games on the NHL DFS playoff slate. Let's take a look at a few studs.
Nathan MacKinnon, Center, Colorado Avalanche
FanDuel Salary: $9,000
It has been a party so far in these playoffs for Nathan MacKinnon as he has made this look all too easy versus the St. Louis Blues.
The center of the Colorado Avalanche has 5 goals and 2 assists on 10 shots and 9 scoring chances so far. That is in just two games and not for an entire series. Let that sink in for a second.
St. Louis just does not have the depth to adequately match up against MacKinnon when he is skating like he is now. His power game is like few on this planet when the center gets going. The Blues may be able to slow him down some in Game 3 as the scene shifts to St. Louis. However, will that be enough?
Connor McDavid ($8.900) was held to zero real-world points and two shots on Wednesday. That seems less likely to happen again. Sebastian Aho ($7.800) is a slightly lesser-salaried alternative who should get his chances.
Brad Marchand, Wing, Boston Bruins
FanDuel Salary: $8,300
Brad Marchand has been consistent the past few games in this series and overall with real-world points in five of his last six games. Does he have a little more in the tank for Game 4 against the Washington Capitals tonight?
The biggest problem with Boston from a more selfish DFS standpoint is that the scoring so far has been a bit more spread out. While that is great for winning a series, it is not quite as good for daily fantasy. That being said, Marchand has managed two goals, including a power-play goal, and eight shots in his last two games. Also, the left-winger for the Bruins has seven scoring chances and has an expected goals for of one or above in two of three contests.
Going outside the normal "box" leads us to Filip Forsberg at ($6,800) as Nashville plays at home tonight. Also, do not sleep on Taylor Hall ($6,800).
Roman Josi, Defenseman, Nashville Predators
FanDuel Salary: $6,500
The goofy part of this series between Nashville and Carolina is that Roman Josi is still shooting the puck quite a bit -- nine shots in two games. That included eight in Game 2 and the expectation is that the trend continues in Game 3.
Nashville was able to shift from defense to offense more in Game 2 because players were more comfortable with the pace. While this did not translate into goals, it did mean seven power-play chances for the Predators as they were drawing penalties quite well. Power plays mean more shot chances and shots on goal. The problems may mean fewer blocked shots, but still, the floor is high enough. If Josi can get a goal or assist, that would be a bonus.
Among some other high-salaried defensemen, Cale Makar ($5,700) and Devon Toews ($5,100) have to be alternatives from Colorado. Also, Dmitry Orlov ($4,400) has been stud-like in his first three playoff games for Washington.
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.