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.
Thursday night has 10 games. It is time to save a bit of salary.
Nicolas Roy, Center, Vegas Golden Knights
FanDuel Salary: $4,100
Opportunity knocks with Nicolas Roy and the Vegas Golden Knights.
As of now, injuries to a half-dozen regulars have created opportunities for players to step up in the lineup. That is what Roy has done.
Roy has real-world points in consecutive games for the first time since late January. He has now played at least 16 minutes a night over the past four contests. Roy is also now on the second forward line and second power-play unit.
He even has a solid seven scoring chances in two starts over the past week. Nolan Patrick could be a crazy double-center stacking option from the same line on Thursday as well.
Kyle Palmieri, Wing, New York Islanders
FanDuel Salary: $4,100
Can Kyle Palmieri keep the good times rolling against the New York Rangers?
Palmieri now has three goals and three assists in his last five games.
He has to keep shooting the puck. The winger has hit the net eight times in the last two starts. With his willingness to block shots, Palmieri has a nice, little floor as well.
Though this matchup is tough, Palmieri's salary just hasn't budged. He's still a better option than it indicates.
Cody Ceci, Defenseman, Edmonton Oilers
FanDuel Salary: $4,200
The Edmonton Oilers have a great matchup against a young Buffalo Sabres team on Thursday night at home.
Ceci has looked pretty good of late. He has a goal and an assist his past three appearances. With at least two shots on goal over his last six starts, the defender has a decent enough floor while adding blocks (1.83 per game).
With the defender getting top-pairing minutes at even strength, there should be more chances for Ceci to pick up a cheap assist, too.
There are some other long shot DFS value plays from the blueline, but Ceci feels like a safer option.
Carter Hart, Goalie, Philadelphia Flyers
FanDuel Salary: $6,900
This is another volatile goaltending play for Thursday night.
Carter Hart has often been given no chance from a defensive standpoint for Philadelphia. It is not a secret that the Flyers have a difficult time defending much of anything.
With Philadelphia alllowing 3.42 goals per game and 34 shots on goal per tilt, Hart expects to see a solid amount of volume.
The Flyers can be awful offensively; they muster just 2.51 goals per game. However, tonight is special with Claude Giroux playing in his 1000th game. That should be some added motivation for the Flyers on that end.
When digging deep down the list for a goalie, Hart is worth a flier. Nashville is still no juggernaut.
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.