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 brings eight games on the schedule. Let's take a look at some more studs.
Connor McDavid, Center, Edmonton Oilers
FanDuel Salary: $10,300
The Edmonton Oilers center enjoys a solid matchup on Tuesday night versus the Vancouver Canucks.
While Connor McDavid has struggled by his standards of late, he remains a must-play on a nightly basis.
The Canucks always seem to allow a ton of shots and high-danger scoring chances. What is odd is that the Edmonton Oilers are projected to only score 2.99 goals on Tuesday night.
Like the Calgary game over the weekend, this contest could escalate quickly in the goal department. McDavid appears to be back.
Jake Guentzel, Wing, Pittsburgh Penguins
FanDuel Salary: $9,300
So, the Arizona Coyotes are playing better? Jake Guentzel does not care. He just keeps on rolling.
The Pittsburgh Penguins forward has three goals and three assists in his last seven games with a few post hits for good measure. Guentzel is averaging more than four scoring chances a game during this span, too.
Arizona is 31st in FanDuel points allowed to wingers. Only the Montreal Canadiens are easier on forwards in that metric. Guentzel has the potential to top five shots and hit the scoresheet with at least a goal or assist -- maybe even both.
The Coyotes are 31st in penalty minutes (12.5) and penalty kill percentage (72.8%). Also, they allow a league-high 3.7 goals per game. That is an open invitation for goal scorers.
Darnell Nurse, Defenseman, Edmonton Oilers
FanDuel Salary: $6,400
The Edmonton defenseman has 23 shots on goal in his last three games? Wait, this may be a good sign.
While real-world points (one goal) may have alluded Darnell Nurse of late, the scoring chances are at five a game.
Again, the floodgates started to open a bit for the Oilers over the weekend against Calgary, scoring five times in all during a 5-3 victory.
The Canucks penalty kill is a league-worst 66.9%. That is nearly six percentage points worse than any other team, and Nurse sees a good deal of power-play time. Do the math.
Ilya Sorokin, Goalie, New York Islanders
The Russian goaltenders in New York are arguably battling for Vezina Trophy support. Both play at that level, and it seems they are more than capable of one-upping each other nightly.
This could be a bit risky considering that the Philadelphia Flyers are on a 12-game losing streak. When bad streaks get this long, there is always a fear that the opposite goalie is a concern. In this case, it is Ilya Sorokin.
Sorokin has been excellent in goal for the New York Islanders. He has four straight wins and has not been tested much. Besides a shutout, the goalie has allowed 6 goals on just 95 shots.
New York is a slate-high 72.8% when it comes to their chances of winning on Tuesday night, per numberFire's model.
Expect a bit more save volume on Tuesday night as Philadelphia tries to end this futility in any way possible. That could pad Sorokin's save count and FanDuel point total.
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.