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 features 11 games, so let's see what studs are out there.
Sidney Crosby, Center, Pittsburgh Penguins
FanDuel Salary: $7,700
The Pittsburgh Penguins' center brings about a significant risk on Tuesday night. However, the pivot is playing against the Buffalo Sabres.
Sidney Crosby has only played two games this entire season due to injury and COVID. So, this is effectively his "preseason" but Buffalo is a team that Crosby averages over one real-world point a game. Buffalo has yielded four or more goals in five of its last six games. That increases the potential for a beleaguered Pittsburgh team.
He is still one of the best centers in hockey. With Buffalo having defensive issues of late, Crosby is in a better spot and will have lower than usual ownership rates.
Alex Ovechkin, Wing, Washington Capitals
FanDuel Salary: $9,400
Alex Ovechkin is relentless. He now has 742 career goals and aims for 750 as the next plateau. The left-winger should enjoy a nice matchup against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night. Washington is projected at 3.16 goals which could be considered a tad low.
The winger is in his mid-30s, but no one would know it. Ovechkin has seven real-world points, 11 shots on goal, and 14 scoring chances over just the past four games.
Ovechkin can be utilized with other options including maybe Dmitry Orlov, or even Conor Sheary perhaps. It may be more vital to look at mini-stacks of two with this large of a slate.
Adam Fox, Defenseman, New York Rangers
FanDuel Salary: $7,000
The New York Rangers almost force teams to play at a pace above their means. This helps defensemen like Adam Fox and increases their projections. The Montreal Canadiens are arguably a one-line team with Nick Suzuki. Also, Montreal has had issues with their special teams -- ranking dead last in the Eastern Conference at 70.7%.
Fox has a great floor, and you can stack New York players in different ways but especially with that man advantage on Tuesday night. Fox has produced 15 or more FanDuel points in three consecutive games.
With the Rangers going up against a higher-paced top line, the Rangers' defender is a splendid play.
Igor Shesterkin, Goalie, New York Rangers
Thankfully, Igor Shesterkin is the projected goalie for the New York Rangers versus Montreal on Tuesday night. He got a night off against the New Jersey Devils. That may be an immense benefit. Shesterkin has seen 29 or more shots in every start aside from opening night. The goaltender has allowed 11 goals against Calgary Flames but just 16 versus everyone else.
The Canadiens have looked a little better in the past few games but Shesterkin did turn in a 31-save performance in their only meeting this year. Shesterkin is several hundred dollars cheaper than Jack Campbell on Tuesday. This could pay some dividends.
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.