4 NHL FanDuel Studs to Target on 10/25/19
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.
We've got five games on the main slate for Friday night, and a good amount of stars we can spend our salary on. So let's look at who we want tonight.
Auston Matthews, Center, Toronto Maple Leafs
FanDuel Price: $8,400
Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs host the San Jose Sharks on Friday. Matthews is off to a good start to the season, with his eight goals tied for the third-most in the league. He has seen his ice time jump up since John Tavares has been out injured, hitting over 20 minutes in two of those three games, while only reaching that mark once in the eight games prior. Matthews is leading the team in shot attempt rate as the main trigger man on the Leafs first line and top power play unit. The Sharks are an older team coming off a back to back, and the line from reflects that. Toronto is a -180 favorite and has an implied goal total of 3.63. Martin Jones should be in net for San Jose, and he has struggled since last season, giving Matthews another advantage on tonight's slate.
Alex Ovechkin, Wing, Washington Capitals
FanDuel Price: $8,600
Alex Ovechkin stands out in a tier of his own tonight at the wing position. There isn't another player at the position who can match his shot volume and goal upside. Now with four goals in the last three games, Ovechkin is second in the league with nine goals. He has at least five shots in the last four games and has a point in nine straight. The Russian machine leads the league in shot attempts per 60 minutes, per Natural Stat Trick. These are the things we have come to know Ovechkin is capable of in his career, and it's amazing to see him keep it up at age 34. The Washington Capitals are implied to score 3.25 goals tied, which is tied for the second-most on the slate with their opponent, the Vancouver Canucks, which could make for a back and forth game where Ovechkin sees more ice time to try to get the victory.
John Carlson, Defenseman, Washington Capitals
FanDuel Price: $7,300
The points just keep on coming for John Carlson this season. He still sits atop the NHL leaderboard with the most points and assists. Like his teammate Ovechkin, he has a point in nine straight games. The pace he is on is incredible and probably unsustainable. Still, we do know that he has been one of the top point-producing defenseman in the league over the past few seasons, reaching a career-high 70 last season. His role on this well established Washington Capitals power play is one that other defenseman around the league probably covet. It's very advantageous and fantasy-friendly to play on the same power play as an elite goal scorer in Ovechkin and one of the best passers in the game in Nicklas Backstrom. He has produced a lot better so far this season than the San Jose defensemen that are priced right below him, so Carlson's price above them at the top of the defense position is warranted.
Frederik Andersen, Goalie, Toronto Maple Leafs
FanDuel Price: $8,800
If you're paying up at goalie tonight, Frederik Andersen is really the only option that makes sense. The goalie priced right below him, Carter Hutton, is possibly going to be sitting this game out as he just played last night. Then the third-highest priced goalie is Antti Raanta, who is a road underdog to the New Jersey Devils. Andersen's Leafs are the biggest favorite on a slate that is filled with games that the odds say could really go either way. The Sharks have tied for the second-lowest implied goal total on the slate as well. Andersen checks a lot of boxes for a goalie to spend on, especially when there are no really good options elsewhere.
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.
