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 of risk, too. The right low-salary plays can give you good production while affording you more chances to roster high-salary studs.
Thursday night comes in fierce with 11 games. Let's find some values!
Filip Chytil, Center, New York Rangers
FanDuel Salary: $3,900
The center is starting to play better little by little. His ice time is limited to where he rarely exceeds 13 minutes a night.
However, Filip Chytil, like any New York Rangers player can strike at any point on a counterattack. Chytil also has assists in consecutive games.
Does that mean Gerard Gallant will give him a nudge up the lineup tonight? It is possible.
The San Jose Sharks have allowed 3.07 goals per game on the season, and New York comes in with a very solid 13-7-2 road record averaging more than three goals a contest. Chytil could be a pivot value play that is well less than 5% rostered -- or even 1% for that matter.
This late-night game is one to hammer.
Alex Tuch, Wing, Buffalo Sabres
FanDuel Salary: $3,900
Alex Tuch is an entertaining player, to say the least, and returns to the lineup on Thursday against the Nashville Predators.
Nashville and Juuse Saros have plenty of not-so-pleasant memories of facing the now Buffalo Sabres winger from when he played for Vegas.
In just three games this year, Tuch has a goal and two assists. The good news for Tuch managers is that he is guaranteed to play in the top-six with ample power-play time. He has played 15-plus minutes in every appearance, and he has nine scoring chances since returning from offseason surgery.
There is always a risk with shots though. Tuch averages just 1.33 shots per game, but do not expect that to last. He averaged 2.3 shots per game in his tenure with the Golden Knights.
Nashville is not going to have a fun time trying to slow down the speed merchant from Buffalo tonight.
Jamie Oleksiak, Defenseman, Seattle Kraken
FanDuel Salary: $3,700
With the Seattle Kraken going on the road to face a ticked-off St. Louis Blues team, the chances that Jamie Oleksiak blocks four or more shots tonight are higher than usual.
Oleksiak has blocked four shots twice in his previous five games. Shots on goal will always be a risk for the defensive-minded Oleksiak, but he still possesses an above-average shot.
He is averaging more than 19 minutes per game in the past seven contests, which is a noticeable uptick from earlier in the season. It's not much, but for barely above minimum salary, Oleksiak is at least worth a look.
Adin Hill, Goalie, San Jose Sharks
FanDuel Salary: $6,900
The ribbing that Adin Hill gets in the fantasy hockey community as the new Martin Jones in San Jose aside, he honestly has not been that bad of late.
At the minimum, Hill has played above-average recently, allowing just two goals in each of his last three starts.
The Sharks goaltender has a .500 record on the season while not facing a lot of shots. It does keep his goals-against down (2.42 on the season), and that means fewer real-world points lost typically.
The New York Rangers cause a lot of anxiety here, but Hill is one of the best value plays on the night given what else looms.
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.