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 nine games on the docket. It is time to save a bit of salary.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Center, New York Islanders
FanDuel Salary: $4,100
The New York Islanders have no tomorrow as they try to climb towards the playoff conversation.
Colorado will give up some goals. They have yielded 10 in the last three starts of Darcy Kuemper.
The struggles of the Isles' offense is well documented, but Jean-Gabriel Pageau has been moved up into the top-six by Barry Trotz. The desperation has paid off the past two games, as the center has a goal and an assist.
There are some downsides even though Pageau is playing 15-plus minutes on a regular basis. Pageau sometimes forgets to hit the net with his shot and, again, that 27th-ranked offense.
However, the center can add more than a blocked shot a night to his shot totals, and that creates a little bit of value on Tuesday night.
Brendan Gallagher, Wing, Montreal Canadiens
FanDuel Salary: $4,000
Can the Montreal Canadiens do it again? This time, they play the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday.
One of the bigger beneficiaries of a more fun Montreal offense has been Brendan Gallagher. His spatial creation is yielding results for his linemates and himself.
He may have just two assists in his past three games, but his ceiling is improving. Gallagher had 11 shots and 14 scoring chances in this span and, most importantly, looks the healthiest he has all season.
The Jets are lost since Paul Maurice walked away from the team. Also, Winnipeg allows nearly three goals a game and their penalty kill has slipped to 23rd. This is one way to attack tonight.
Andrew Peeke, Defenseman, Columbus Blue Jackets
FanDuel Salary: $4,100
Andrew Peeke is an interesting option because of who they play -- the New Jersey Devils.
If Jon Gillies does start, New Jersey is going to give up goals. After all, Gillies has a save percentage of just .887. He has allowed a whopping 19 goals in his last four starts.
With more ice time due to injuries, Peeke did see more chances. He had four shots on goal and two blocked shots over the weekend against Pittsburgh while playing more than 27 minutes. He could carry that workload again versus a New Jersey team that has allowed 3.5 goals a game since December 1st.
James Reimer, Goalie, San Jose Sharks
FanDuel Salary: $7,200
Goaltending has been patchy of late for even the San Jose Sharks. James Reimer has won two of his last three starts.
These starts have been brutal, but Reimer has stood tall. He has stopped 117 of 124 shots during that span.
This is not as daunting of a task as it normally would be for San Jose. Vegas is equally struggling and is just 4-5-1 in their last 10 games.
Typically, two struggling teams may have some issues offensively while trying to generate it desperately. That bodes well for volume and maybe even the chances of a Reimer win (38.3% is a bit higher than usual on the road).
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 FanDu