4 NHL FanDuel Studs to Target on Thursday 3/3/22
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.
Thursday night brings us nine games on the slate. Let's take a look at some studs.
Leon Draisaitl, Center, Edmonton Oilers
FanDuel Salary: $9,800
The Edmonton Oilers draw yet another incredible matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night.
Chicago allows 3.39 goals per game and comes in tied for 28th in penalty kill (75.3%).
Leon Draisaitl has been hot of late again. In his past seven games, the center has four goals and six assists. That includes 18 shots on goal, but with 27 scoring chances, the forward has missed a few more opportunities than usual.
The Edmonton center is projected to score 17.8 DFS points, which is just sixth among centers. He may slide under the radar and be worth an extra look tonight.
Johnny Gaudreau, Wing, Calgary Flames
FanDuel Salary: $8,400
The wing position has beefed up on Thursday's larger slate, but Johnny Gaudreau plays a Montreal Canadiens team that just allowed eight goals to the Winnipeg Jets.
Even without the matchup, the Calgary Flames have been hot for about a month now. So has Gaudreau.
Gaudreau has a goal and eight assists in his previous seven games. Also, the winger has 17 shots and 25 scoring chances that have helped the top line thrive.
The Canadiens have yielded a league-worst 3.81 goals per game and their penalty kill is 31st in hockey (73.1%). They even allow 34.1 shots per game as well. Opportunity knocks.
The Calgary forward, along with stack partners Elias Lindholm, Matthew Tkachuk, and perhaps Andrew Mangiapane, are all on the menu.
Devon Toews, Defenseman, Colorado Avalanche
FanDuel Salary: $6,600
While there is some risk here, Devon Toews dismantled his former team, the New York Islanders, on Tuesday.
Toews fired off a goal, two assists, five shots on goal, and a blocked shot all in 24-plus minutes of work. He's heating up at the right time.
The blueliner has a goal and seven helpers in his last seven games as he hovers around a real-world point a game. A plus-matchup against Arizona Coyotes expects to pad at least the scoring chances and shots. Arizona ranks 30th or worse in goals per game allowed, shots allowed, and penalty kill.
Despite being on the road, Colorado is projected to score a slate high 3.64 goals. Toews may get overlooked on this slate with Cale Makar still looking to get into the goal column (his last goal came January 28th).
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Goalie, Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender has been just okay lately despite winning four straight games. He has allowed 10 goals and posted just a .909 save percentage in that span.
However, Andrei Vasilevskiy is simply a clutch goaltender. When the stakes are raised, the backstop comes up with his best efforts.
With a 16-4-3 mark and a goals-against-average below 2.00, Vasilevskiy figures to elevate his level of play on Thursday night. Do not let his 21.7 point projection fool you; he is the top goalie on the night.
The Tampa Bay schedule starts to ramp up in difficulty starting now, so Vasilevskiy's value should as well.
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.
