4 NHL FanDuel Studs to Target on 10/10/19
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 than paying up in sports like NBA or NFL. Someone can be one of the highest-priced players at his position a 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.
This 11 game slate is chock full of studs in great spots, so let's see which ones we want to roster tonight.
Connor McDavid, Center, Edmonton Oilers
FanDuel Price: $9,200
The stud of all studs, Connor McDavid, has been red hot to start the season. He has seven points in his last two games, assisting new teammate James Neal on four of his six goals thus far. The Edmonton Oilers are in a dream spot on Thursday night, facing the turgid New Jersey Devils blue line and goaltending combination that has allowed at least four goals in every game. If the Oilers are scoring goals, chances are McDavid will be involved as he had a point on 42.4% of their goals last season, per ESPN. McDavid will play over 20 minutes against a Devils team coming off a loss last night against the Philadelphia Flyers. On a night where there are many ways to spend your salary, the case for spending all the way up on McDavid is a compelling one.
Nikita Kucherov, Wing, Tampa Bay Lightning
FanDuel Price: $8,800
The Tampa Bay Lightning have gotten off to a slower start than people were expecting after their record-setting season last year. They get another tough game on Thursday as well, going up to Canada to play the Toronto Maple Leafs, but one that could be good for them in fantasy win or lose. This game could become very high scoring as has the total at 6.5 and the over is favored at -135. Nikita Kucherov has also had a slow start, with no points in the last two games, but there are a few reasons to think that he could get going in this game. Tampa Bay will get Brayden Point back tonight, according to reports. Point and Kucherov dominated when on the ice together last season, scoring 4.06 goals per 60 minutes when on the ice together. The Leafs have not been great defensively to start the year, allowing the ninth most expected goals per 60 to start this year. Toronto won't have a shutdown defensive center or a defensive pairing that can slow down Point, Kucherov and Steven Stamkos. Our NHL DFS Heat Map tells us that Tampa's power play is still scoring at 25% through the early part of the season, so that part of their game has not slowed down. Kucherov in this high total game makes sense as a high-priced winger to target.
Patrick Kane, Wing, Chicago Blackhawks
FanDuel Price: $8,400
The Chicago Blackhawks return home from their trip to Europe and have their home opener against the San Jose Sharks. This is another game with a 6.5 goal total, with both teams having the firepower to score and problems keeping the puck out of their own net. In their game in Prague last week, Patrick Kane had a goal and two assists as the Hawks lost 4-3. Facing the struggling Sharks, Kane has multi-point upside again. Sharks goalie Martin Jones has a lowly .854 save percentage after being well below league average last season. Kane is another stud who will play above-average minutes for a forward, he set a career-high in time on ice per game with 22:29. He also had the highest shooting rate of his career and scored the fourth-most points per 60 in the league. Kane checks a lot of boxes when thinking about a stud you want in your lineup.
Jordan Binnington, Goalie, St Louis Blues
FanDuel Price: $8,400
Typically when paying up for a goalie, you should look to one who is playing at home. Exceptions can be made, like if that goalie is playing the Ottawa Senators. That's exactly what Jordan Binnington and the St. Louis Blues get to do on Thursday. The Blues are -195 favorites, the biggest favorite on the slate. Ottawa is a great matchup for any goalie, they were the sixth-worst team in expected goals for per 60 last season, according to Natural Stat Trick. That doesn't bode well for them considering St. Louis was the best team in expected goals against per 60. Binnington and the Blues have a great chance of picking up the win in this game.
Nicholas Vazquez is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Nicholas Vazquez also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username hbyanksman. 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.
