NHL

3 NHL FanDuel Studs to Target on 8/21/20

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 from 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 first round of the playoffs is winding down, with only two games on Friday. These are the last two series still playing, so let's see which studs can deliver for their teams when they need them the most.

Ryan O'Reilly, Center, St. Louis Blues

FanDuel Salary: $6,900

One of those stars that has been doing the most to keep his team in the playoffs has been Ryan O'Reilly of the St. Louis Blues. O'Reilly is typically known for his two-way game but has been relied upon by the Blues to score points this season. He led the team with 61 points in the regular season and currently leads them with 10 points in the playoffs. O'Reilly has been doing his best to carry his team over the last four games, with four goals and seven points in that stretch.

The Blues will need to win this game to stay alive, and they are favored to do so according to Fanduel Sportsbook. The Vancouver Canucks have not been great defensively, allowing the fourth-most shot attempts per 60 minutes during this postseason, and are likely to be without a top-four defenseman in Tyler Myers. O'Reilly is third among forwards in ice time per game in the playoffs, so the Blues have not been afraid to ride him when the games mean so much. The Blues have today's highest implied team total on our daily fantasy matchup heat map. O'Reilly could easily continue his great production again tonight, making him a great play in all formats.

J.T. Miller, Wing, Vancouver Canucks

FanDuel Salary: $6,900

Many people scratched their heads when the Canucks gave up a first-round pick for J.T. Miller, but it had worked a lot better than those people imagined. He had 72 points in 69 regular-season games, the most on Vancouver. He has carried this play over to the playoffs, with ten points in nine games. He's currently on a six-game point streak, and a three-game goal streak.

Miller has been part of the Canucks power play that has been great in the playoffs. He has scored six of his ten points in the postseason on the power play. The Blues penalty kill has been not great, the fifth-worst since the league resumed play this August. The Canucks have the second-highest implied team total on the slate behind the Blues, meaning this is the game of the two tonight you'll want to get exposure to tonight. Miller and his linemates make for a great stack and a great way to get that exposure to the game.

Carter Hart, Goalie, Philadelphia Flyers

FanDuel Salary: $8,600

Carter Hart hit a bump in the road in the last game after two straight shutouts but should be able to get back on track in this game. He's had two losses where he's allowed four goals in each game, but hasn't allowed more than one in any other game in the postseason. The Montreal Canadiens offense took a big hit with leading goal scorer Brendan Gallagher out with a broken jaw.

The Canadiens were averaging just 2.33 goals per game with Gallagher already and are lacking any elite offensive talent throughout their lineup. The Philadelphia Flyers are -140 to win, and have the Habs have the lowest implied team total today. Carter Hart has numberFire's best projection for a goalie today, and if you're stacking the other game it makes sense to play Hart and hope he can get you a low scoring win.


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.