3 NHL FanDuel Studs to Target on Tuesday 6/8/21
In any daily fantasy lineup, 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.
Tuesday night has two more games on the NHL DFS playoff slate. Let's take a look at a few studs to build around.
Nathan MacKinnon, Center, Colorado Avalanche
FanDuel Salary: $8,900
The Colorado Avalanche center is in the spotlight on Tuesday night. There is one silver lining to Game 4's fiasco in which Nathan MacKinnon played slightly more than 16 minutes -- he will be rested and probably ticked off.
The pivot has only seven shots in his previous two games along with one blocked shot. With the scene shifting back to Colorado, MacKinnon should enjoy the luxury of last line change. He had two goals and two assists in the two home games versus the Vegas Golden Knights.
Furthermore, MacKinnon is a player who usually rises to the occasion. With the series tied at two games apiece, this is as big an opportunity as any.
Elsewhere, Sebastian Aho ($8,000) and the Carolina Hurricanes are on the brink of elimination. Aho is viable alternative on Tuesday night.
Nikita Kucherov, Wing, Tampa Bay Lightning
FanDuel Salary: $8,400
Nikita Kucherov was on fire in the Tampa Bay Lightning's last two games, totaling two goals, three assists, 13 shots, and 10 scoring chances. That included a power-play goal and many opportunities on the man advantage.
The Lightning have drawn penalties throughout the series and little suggests that will change much even with the shift back to Carolina for Game 5.
Furthermore, both teams have the potential to top 30 shots on goal. The extra day of rest should benefit both side and only increase the pace.
Max Pacioretty ($7,600) has been as consistent as they come for Vegas. He has either a goal or an assist in all five playoff starts so far.
Dougie Hamilton, Defenseman, Carolina Hurricanes
FanDuel Salary: $6,400
This is one of the safer stud choices, because Dougie Hamilton has at least three shots on goal and at least six shot attempts in every single game of their Round 2 series with Tampa Bay.
Tuesday night, Carolina will hope to see a few more power-play chances come their way after they saw just two on Saturday, compared to Tampa Bay's six. Another bit of good news is that Hamilton is blocking a few more shots again (five in the previous three games). Any addition to an already expansive floor is a welcome one.
We have some solid options elsewhere at the position. Victor Hedman ($6,700) is the highest-salaried defenseman. His potential to block a lot of shots like Game 1 (eight) cannot be overlooked along with power-play opportunities. Cale Makar ($6,300) is also worth a look.
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.
