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.
Ten games are on the docket Thursday night. There should be more value to be found.
Ryan Poehling, Center, Montreal Canadiens
FanDuel Salary: $3,200
Ryan Poehling is in a pretty good spot against a Colorado Avalanche team that just allowed eight goals on Wednesday to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The risk with Poehling is that the Montreal Canadiens do not play their young guys a lot of minutes despite their record. Poehling has played fewer than 13 minutes in seven straight appearances. The pivot has three goals in his last five games despite the lack of extended minutes.
The center will not be that popular of an option, but his salary is appealing.
Jordan Greenway, Wing, Minnesota Wild
FanDuel Salary: $3,900
Will Jordan Greenway eventually wind up on the Minnesota Wild top line on Thursday night against the New Jersey Devils? Even if he does not, top-six minutes with some power-play time is likely, and that makes him a nice value.
Although Greenway was mired in a horrid start, the winger broke through with a goal and two assists on Tuesday night against Arizona. Was that a fluke or the beginning of a run similar to what we saw last year?
Greenway and Minnesota are projected to score 3.61 goals on Thursday, per our model. At the very least, he is worth a look.
Colton Parayko, Defenseman, St. Louis Blues
FanDuel Salary: $3,900
Colton Parayko enjoys an ever-improving floor for the St. Louis Blues when it comes to shots and blocked shots. He is up to averaging two apiece in each of the categories.
Despite an offensive zone deployment percentage of less than 38%, Parayko still has 10 real-world points in 22 games. That includes three helpers in the last five games while playing around 23 minutes a night.
The back end of the home-and-home against Tampa Bay could be another wild affair. It should feature many chances for the blueliner. Double-digit FanDuel points look to be a reasonable projection on Thursday night for Parayko.
Braden Holtby, Goalie, Dallas Stars
FanDuel Salary: $7,300
Braden Holtby is projected to stat for the Dallas Stars on Thursday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Holtby has been excellent in his last couple of starts -- stopping 64 of 67 shots in wins versus Arizona and Carolina.
Holtby sports just a 4-4-1 record in nine decisions and 11 appearances. However, his overall .927 save percentage belies an excellent .897 save percentage on the penalty kill. Even more impressive, this start to the year has seen him post a .848 save percentage in high-danger scoring chance situations. That is a career-best clip.
Columbus can fire a lot of shots on goal (31.3 shots per game on the road) and gives up a ton, too (34.3 shots per game -- third-most). If Holtby indeed does play, he's a good-looking value pick.
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.