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 will bring the house down with eight games. Let's find some values!
Scott Laughton, Center, Philadelphia Flyers
FanDuel Salary: $4,200
Scott Laughton is one of the better defensive centers in the league but does have an offensive streak at times.
The center is a good matchup against a slower New York Islanders team. His ice time is improving as well, sitting around 14-15 minutes a night of late. He has assists in consecutive games and four helpers in his previous six contests.
The Islanders are still averaging 10.5 penalty minutes per game (28th in NHL) and 32.4 shots per game (22nd), so the Flyers should have plenty of chances in this one. Laughton did get five shots on goal in a game last week.
In a spot no one is likely to gravitate to, Laughton is a unique way to stack Philadelphia on Tuesday.
Nils Hoglander, Wing, Vancouver Canucks
FanDuel Salary: $3,600
Nils Hoglander is an intriguing forward for Vancouver. He has shown some offensive flashes for the Canucks this season.
The problem? He is currently paired with Elias Pettersson. Normally, that is a great thing, but Pettersson has struggled mightily this season. Pettersson finally broke out -- against the Washington Capitals of all teams -- with two goals and four shots in a road win on Sunday afternoon.
In 38 games, Hoglander has eight goals and six assists. However, it is easy to see he can create scoring chances in bunches when other players are picking up the slack. It is consistency which is a main issue like it is for many young NHL players.
The shot volume is a bit dicey. Hoglander has two games recently where he combined for 11 shots, but in the other four recently, the winger has just six shots on net combined.
Vancouver is a value stack in the truest sense on Tuesday -- but especially Hoglander's line.
Mikey Anderson, Defenseman, Los Angeles Kings
FanDuel Salary: $3,900
With a three-game real-world point streak, no one knows when the Mikey Anderson streak will end.
Anderson has just two blocked shots in his last three games, but, in that span, his shots on goal average has been two per contest. The more important thing, though, is the two goals and an assist. No one knows where the burst came from, but at his salary, a decent defenseman is hard to find.
He played more than 20 minutes per game in the past seven games -- great news for daily fantasy players. As long as he gets continues to see first-pairing time with Drew Doughty, Anderson will be an asset.
Anton Forsberg, Goalie, Ottawa Senators
FanDuel Salary: $6,500
The pickings are a bit slim from the value side of things, but Anton Forsberg has a chance to get back his form against the Buffalo Sabres.
Forsberg was in good form before injuries and a bout with COVID-19 caused him to miss a month from the Ottawa lineup.
The Senators' goaltender has four quality starts in his last five appearances. That included a shutout versus the Tampa Bay Lightning. He was 5-1-1 in his last seven contests before the NHL paused.
Ottawa can be rough sometimes on the soul, but Forsberg is a minimum-salary goaltender with upside in a solid matchup.
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.