4 NHL FanDuel Studs to Target on 1/29/20
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.
12 teams that aren't on their bye week hit the ice to make up a six-game Wednesday slate. So which stars do we want to play tonight?
Tyler Seguin, Center, Dallas Stars
FanDuel Salary: $7,700
Tyler Seguin isn't having the fantastic year that most players in this column usually are having to make the list of studs we want to roster. He only has 11 goals this season and has none in his last 10 games. However, there are reasons to believe that he can turn things around. He is still able to get his shot off, ranking 20th in the league for shot attempts per 60 minutes for forwards, according to Natural Stat Trick. His 6.3% shooting percentage is well below his career average of 10.8%, suggesting that there should be some positive regression coming his way.
Seguin has a good opportunity to start getting goals tonight when his Dallas Stars take on the Toronto Maple Leafs at home. Seven of Seguin's 11 goals have been scored on home ice this season. The Leafs allow the sixth-most shots on goal per game, so it should give Seguin lots of chances to get pucks on net and bag a goal tonight. Dallas has a 3.07 implied goal total, which is the fourth-best on the slate. Seguin may go overlooked since he hasn't been scoring like a lot of the high-priced centers but could break out of a slump tonight.
Steven Stamkos, Wing, Tampa Bay Lightning
FanDuel Salary: $8,500
As the Tampa Bay Lightning begin to soar, so does Steven Stamkos. He has 13 points in his last ten games, including a two-goal game last time out in Dallas. He ranks in the top 15 in shot attempts per 60 minutes in the league. Stamkos has been playing with Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov, forming one of the most dangerous lines in hockey. That line could cause havoc in tonight's game.
The Lightning are facing the lowly Los Angeles Kings on the road tonight. They have a 3.46 implied goal total in this game, the second-highest total on the slate. Tampa Bay has the second-best power play in the NHL, coming in at a 26.8% success rate this season. That bodes well for them as they go up against a Kings penalty kill that is the second-worst in the league. Stamkos has a good chance of lighting the lamp again tonight, making him a good play in all formats.
John Carlson, Defenseman, Washington Capitals
FanDuel Salary: $7,000
Still ranking in the top ten in points and leading the first-place Washington Capitals in points is John Carlson. As good of a season as Roman Josi is having, Carlson has a 12-point lead over him for the top-scoring defenseman. He's having one of the best scoring seasons for a defenseman in recent NHL history. The Capitals use Carlson a lot in all situations, as he is ninth in ice time per game.
The Capitals face the Nashville Predators at home tonight, in what should be a high-scoring game. The Capitals 3.55 goal total is the highest on the slate, as they welcome back Alex Ovechkin from a one-game suspension. This benefits Carlson, as he gets a lot of assists on the power play by passing to Ovechkin. They will get to face the Predators penalty kill unit that is the third-least successful in the NHL at 74%. If the Capitals get a lot of power play opportunities, Carlson and company could run wild tonight, making him the top spend option at defense.
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Goalie, Tampa Bay Lightning
FanDuel Salary: $9,000
His personal ten-game winning streak came to an end on Monday night, but Andrei Vasilevskiy is in a good position to bounce back on Wednesday. He will face the Kings, who score the third-fewest goals per game in the league. After struggling to start the season, Vasilevskiy is now leading the league in wins. He hasn't lost a game in regulation since December 14th against the Capitals. With Tampa Bay sitting as a -210 favorite, that stretch isn't likely to come to an end tonight. The Kings have the lowest implied goal total on the slate, meaning Vasilevskiy is a safe play and the goalie to pay up for when making lineups tonight.
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.
