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.
Tuesday night has six games on the docket. Let's dig into some values!
Sean Kuraly, Center, Columbus Blue Jackets
FanDuel Salary: $3,700
Sean Kuraly has played 17 or more minutes in each of his last four appearances. He has two assists in his last three games.
The Columbus Blue Jackets' center is a risk due to his lower shot volume, but he continues to gain opportunities on the man-advantage along with an increased top-six presence.
He has 10 scoring chances in his past four contests overall and has even chipped in three blocked shots during that span.
For $3,700, Kuraly checks a few boxes.
Marcus Johansson, Wing, Seattle Kraken
FanDuel Salary: $4,100
Marcus Johansson looks more like his old self of late with a goal and two assists over his past three outings.
While Johansson has just five shots and seven scoring chances over those last three games, the woeful New York Islanders come to town, which should be a boost for the Seattle Kraken winger. The Islanders have yielded 18 goals in their last five games.
His ice time has been pretty consistent over the past seven games (at least 15 minutes in each).
There are plenty of reasons to give him a look.
Niko Mikkola, Defenseman, St. Louis Blues
FanDuel Salary: $4,200
The St. Louis Blues' defenseman is seeing some power-play time as his role increases a bit.
This seems to come in waves, but Niko Mikkola is averaging almost 21 minutes of ice time per game across the past four games. The Finnish blueliner has two assists, nine shots on goal and nine blocked shots during that time.
That is a decent floor, and he's going up against a Philadelphia Flyers team that ranks in the bottom third defensively in every major category. The uncertainty of Carter Hart (eye infection) is even more of a reason to look at any and all options from the Blues.
Mikkola is a good way to get a piece of St. Louis on Tuesday night.
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.