NHL

3 NHL FanDuel Studs to Target on 1/27/20

Roman Josi has been a star for the Predators all season. Who else is worth paying up for 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 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 paying up in the right spots when building our lineups tonight.

The All-Star break is over, and while some teams are on their bye week, there is still a six-game slate on Monday with some stars we can roster.

Auston Matthews, Center, Toronto Maple Leafs

FanDuel Salary: $8,600

Auston Matthews has been soaring up the scoring leaderboard in the NHL, now up to second with 34 goals. Matthews missed the All-Star game due to a small injury but will return to the lineup for the game tonight. His calling card since he joined the league has been his fantastic shot, and he hasn't had any trouble getting it off in recent weeks. He has at least four shots on goal in each of his last ten games, with 56 in total over that span. Matthews has also scored ten goals in the last ten games, so he has also been converting on the shooting opportunities.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are away tonight against the Nashville Predators. Toronto has the third-highest implied goal total on today's slate, according to our daily fantasy matchup heat map. Another mismatch is the Leafs' power play, as it ranks third on the slate and faces the worst penalty kill in action tonight. Matthews is our highest projected player tonight by over a point, making him a great play in all formats.

Nikita Kucherov, Wing, Tampa Bay Lightning

FanDuel Salary: $8,400

A player nearly as hot as Matthews has been Nikita Kucherov. Before the All-Star break, Kucherov had five goals in three games, including back to back two-goal outings. He has scored 12 goals in his last 17 games to vault him up to 22 total this season. Kucherov is up to ninth in the NHL in points per 60 minutes, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Kucherov's Tampa Bay Lightning take on the Dallas Stars in what isn't the easiest matchup on paper. Dallas has a reputation as a stellar defensive team, and it's well deserved, as they allow the fewest goals per game in the league. However, they allow the seventh-most shot attempts per 60 minutes and are in the bottom half of scoring chances against per 60 minutes. Tampa is averaging 3.6 goals per game, which is third-best in the league, so they are better than most teams the Stars are used to facing. Kucherov has numberFire's best projection for a winger on this slate and is the wing to spend up on tonight.

Roman Josi, Defense, Nashville Predators

FanDuel Salary: $6,700

Roman Josi is desperately trying to keep the Nashville Predators in the playoff race and is doing so better than any of his teammates. Josi has 48 points as a defenseman, while the next closest player is winger Filip Forsberg with just 32. He's also second in points and goals for a defenseman. He hasn't scored a goal in his last ten games but has still been productive in fantasy with 12 assists.

The Predators have an implied goal total of 3.32 tonight, which is the second-highest on the slate. They face Toronto, who have allowed the seventh-most shots against per game and the fifth-most goals against per game. Josi is the highest projected defenseman tonight. It's a night with many of the league's best defenseman in action, but Josi's form and matchup make him stand out above the rest.


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.