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 spending 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 spending salary in the right spots when building our lineups tonight.
Monday night brings us five games on the schedule. Here are a few studs.
Auston Matthews, Center, Toronto Maple Leafs
FanDuel Salary: $9,900
There is a bevy of elite DFS players on a short slate tonight. Auston Matthews will eventually get noticed by many -- and quickly.
His matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets expects to be an exciting one. Both Toronto Maple Leafs and Columbus are in the top-10 teams in terms of most goals allowed since the All-Star Break.
Our model projects Matthews to top the slate at 19.2 points among skaters on Monday. Even that could be low; Columbus is giving up more than 20 FanDuel Points per game to centers since the first of February.
This matchup has a few areas to choose from, but double-check the Maple Leafs' power play for salary refuge. Jason Spezza might end up a prime stacking option with a role there.
Jonathan Huberdeau, Wing, Florida Panthers
FanDuel Salary: $8,500
The Florida Panthers play the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night. A loaded team full against a young team who still makes lots of mistakes. Yikes.
Jonathan Huberdeau has cooled off some after a torrid run. He has two assists in his last three games with 12 scoring chances. That is the good news.
Before that, Huberdeau had two real-world points in each of the four games preceding this little "dry spell". Florida is one of those few teams that can score three or four goals on the road with ease.
The lower salary (than usual) for Florida's forward could help elsewhere on Monday night.
Devon Toews, Defenseman, New York Islanders
FanDuel Salary: $6,700
The New York Islanders may get another reminder of what could have been on Monday night.
Devon Toews faces his former team again -- but this time in Brooklyn as the Colorado Avalanche come to town.
Though New York has one of the better defenses in the league (2.73 goals allowed - 7th), that matters little to the second-ranked Avalanche (3.91 goals per game).
Toews scored a goal and added two assists with five shots on goal in their last meeting for 38.1 FanDuel Points.
The Avalanche's blueliner represents the top DFS option among defensemen when it comes to per-dollar value at just $6,700.
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.