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.
Wednesday night features just three games on the schedule. It is time to look at a few studs!
Alex Ovechkin, Wing, Washington Capitals
FanDuel Salary: $9,500
The Washington Capitals' forward ages like fine wine.
Alex Ovechkin has real-world points in five straight games and seven points in his last five contests. The winger has 23 shots on goal and 25 scoring chances in that span.
Ovechkin is blessed with a matchup against familiar foe Marc-Andre Fleury and the Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks are an improving matchup; their penalty kill ranks 18th in the league now at just 79.7%. It was second after a month at nearly 90%.
Washington averages 3.39 goals per game, which is fifth in the league and Ovechkin has just one in his previous six games. Honestly, it feels like the goals and FanDuel points may come at any time, and that's a dangerous notion to fade on a small slate.
Adam Fox, Defenseman, New York Rangers
FanDuel Salary: $7,200
The New York defenseman is in a prime position on Wednesday night against a mediocre-to-awful team Arizona Coyotes squad.
Adam Fox had two assists in a game against an equally-mediocre Buffalo Sabres squad last week. He does tend to thrive very well against the bottom-feeding teams, and there is little question Arizona qualifies there (five wins in 27 games -- just two at home).
Most will consider Seth Jones against the Capitals as an alternative, but Fox, unrested and motivated, could take matters into his own hands at times on Wednesday night.
Ryan Strome, Center, New York Rangers
FanDuel Salary: $5,600
Including Fox, the New York Rangers need a pick me up after a tough road loss to the Colorado Avalanche. Arizona is a perfect spot.
Ryan Strome has double-digit FanDuel points in consecutive games and provides lower-salary exposure to Artemi Panarin on Wednesday night. Strome's shot volume is inconsistent, but his overall mark (2.13 shots per game) is decent.
The good news is that Arizona is dead-last in goals allowed per game (3.67), 29th on the penalty kill (71.9%), and they take the most minors in the league to boot. There should be plenty of chances on Wednesday for New York against expected goaltender Scott Wedgewood.
Also, New York has won nine of the previous 12 meetings against Arizona while averaging more than three goals per game. Their projected goal total is 3.17, which may be a little low against a defense this poor.
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.