NHL

3 NHL Studs to Target on 12/4/19

John Carlson has been racking up the points on defense. Where else should you pay up tonight?

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.

A four-game Wednesday slate still features a few NHL superstars. Some stand out above the rest, so let's see who they are for these games.

Connor McDavid, Center, Edmonton Oilers

FanDuel Salary: $9,000

The spot doesn't get much better than the one Connor McDavid is in on Wednesday night. He gets to face the Ottawa Senators in a back to back situation, coming off a 5-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night. McDavid has already reached 50 points this season after his two-point outing against Vancouver on Sunday, now taking over the league lead in scoring. He is second in our projections for fantasy output and first at the center position.

The Edmonton Oilers are big favorites at home tonight at -210, with an implied goal total of 3.9. The Senators have been bad defensively all year, allowing the fourth-most expected goals against per 60 minutes, according to Natural Stat Trick. Now they are a tired team coming off the loss last night and will face a rested Oilers team -- having not played since Sunday. McDavid should feast against Ottawa, as he does against most teams anyway. He is the top play at the center position in all formats with the situation he is in tonight.

Mikko Rantanen, Wing, Colorado Avalanche

FanDuel Salary: $7,600

Mikko Rantanen made his return to the lineup on Saturday night, and it was like he never left. He had a goal and three assists against the Chicago Blackhawks in that game. He also sat in the third period just due to precautionary reasons after missing a lot of time, so his production was in just ten minutes of ice time. Of players that have played at least 150 minutes, he is first in points per 60 minutes, with 5.32.

The Colorado Avalanche are in Canada to face the Toronto Maple Leafs, who are just coming back home after losing 6-1 against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night. The Leafs have not been good defensively this season, allowing the eighth-most goals per 60 minutes and the seventh-most expected goals per 60 minutes this season. They have also been weak on the penalty kill, able to kill off just 75% of times shorthanded. Colorado's power play has been nothing to write home about so far this year, but Rantanen's return could improve the man advantage immensely.

John Carlson, Defense, Washington Capitals

FanDuel Salary: $7,200

It was another three-point game for John Carlson on Tuesday night against the San Jose Sharks. The hype has died down since the time he was leading the entire NHL in scoring, but he is still sixth in points and first among defensemen. A benefit to paying all the way for Carlson is that he isn't leaving the ice often, as his 25:07 minutes per game are fifth in the league.

Even though the Washington Capitals are on a back to back, the spot they are in is too good to ignore. They are traveling down to Southern California to face the lowly Los Angeles Kings. The Kings have allowed the fifth-most goals per game this season. According to the Daily Fantasy Matchup Heat Map, the Kings have the worst penalty kill on the slate tonight, at just 74%. Kings goalie Jonathan Quick has a terrible save percentage of just .882, among the worst for starters in the league. All of this gives the Capitals an implied goal total of 3.42. Carlson is a fine spend up at defense, as he has shown a great ceiling this season -- able to rack up points like no other defenseman in the league.



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.