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.
Friday night has five games on the docket. Let's have some fun!
Alex Newhook, Center, Colorado Avalanche
FanDuel Salary: $4,200
The Colorado Avalanche center has looked better of late with real-world points in three straight games.
This stretch is the first time the center played 16-plus minutes in three weeks. He has seven shots and nine scoring chances over this span (with a blocked shot), too.
Newhook has some excellent middle-six potential but has to stay engaged more often when the puck is not near him. The home and home with the Pittsburgh Penguins showed that the center could be relied on to create chances -- and produce a little too.
With Winnipeg expected to see a 6.0 or 6.5-goal total on Friday night, Colorado could see depth production as their team pours in multiple goals.
Kyle Palmieri, Wing, New York Islanders
FanDuel Salary: $4,000
Kyle Palmieri is the quintessential up and down player. When he is on, he is on. When he is off, the New York Islanders forward is way off.
He has two goals and four assists in his last eight contests, yet the winger's salary keeps hovering around $4,000.
The Carolina Hurricanes are the unrested squad this night. That should give the top-six forward chances to get open for opportunities.
The winger has 16 shots and 23 scoring chances in his last eight games; he just has to get more pucks on the net to produce.
Radko Gudas, Defenseman, Florida Panthers
FanDuel Salary: $3,700
Normally, Radko Gudas is not the most offensive defenseman in the world.
However, lately, the Florida Panthers defenseman has double-digit FanDuel points in three of his past four starts.
The veteran blueliner expects to play about 17 minutes per night and have several opportunities to hit the opposition and block shots. He does have eight shots, nine scoring chances, and six blocked shots during this run.
Gudas is just one of those defensemen that can thrive against an unrested team like Buffalo with extra ice time. Depth defensemen like Gudas (and even Gustav Forsling) are options on a Friday night with plenty of stars.
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.