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.
Friday night brings us four games as the 2022 NHL Playoffs shift locations. This should be fun.
Connor McDavid, Center, Edmonton Oilers
FanDuel Salary: $10,000
The Edmonton Oilers started slow but roared to life with six goals in a little over 30 minutes of real time in Game 2.
Connor McDavid chipped in with a couple of helpers and a couple of shots on goal. It was an odd sort of game, as the center did not quite generate the usual number of chances. Give the Los Angeles Kings credit because they slowed one of the big two a bit.
Unfortunately, McDavid is inspired heading into L.A. to prove something. That may spell disaster for the Kings.
Friday could see a Hollywood-like performance out of McDavid, who will play way more than 16 minutes.
Steven Stamkos, Wing, Tampa Bay Lightning
FanDuel Salary: $8,400
David Pastrnak had 13 shots in Carolina. By contrast, Steven Stamkos had just two in Toronto. That does not make sense.
The winger had just one scoring chance in Game 2 even though Tampa Bay scored five goals.
The killer is that one gets the feeling that Stamkos could explode at any time offensively. Could it be Game 3 at home?
Stamkos had a 42-goal season and had 9 goals in his final six games of the regular season. It feels like only a matter of time.
Charlie McAvoy, Defenseman, Boston Bruins
FanDuel Salary: $6,200
Arguably, Victor Hedman will be too high-utilized on Friday night against Toronto. At $7,600, it is not a bad idea to save a little salary.
Cue up Charlie McAvoy, who like several Boston players has generated chances but just hasn't seen enough results.
The defenseman does have assists in each of his past three games. He continues to block shots at two per game and gets two shots on goal per contest, which provides a solid floor.
Since the scene ships up to Boston, maybe that ignites something in the Bruins. They have been outscored 10-3 over the first two games in this series.
If the Bruins are to avoid an even further "blue" feeling, they will need this blueliner to ignite some offense Friday night.
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.