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.

Friday night is close to a carbon copy of Wednesday night schedule wise with five contests. Let's take a look at what studs we may find.

Jack Eichel, Center, Buffalo Sabres

FanDuel Salary: $7,900

While most people are talking about Nathan MacKinnon and his missed opportunities on Wednesday night, there is Jack Eichel, who wound up with 18 FanDuel points despite a boatload of squandered chances. The Buffalo Sabres will give up plenty of offense, but their own offense is equally as formidable. That is important when it comes to daily fantasy sports. Defense? That is for everyone else to worry about.

Eichel playing with Taylor Hall is quite the match -- especially on the man advantage. The Washington Capitals were on their heels in the opener almost every time these two were on the ice. Washington's interior defense is "offensive" to say the least. Another half dozen or more scoring chances should be expected from this Sabres duo on Friday night as offense is ahead of the defense for most teams.

Alex Ovechkin, Wing, Washington Capitals

FanDuel Salary: $8,500

Alex Ovechkin still looks comfortable from his office on the power play, and that bodes poorly for Buffalo. He fired only three shots on net on Thursday but had two assists, including one on the power play. It is hard to believe the winger is 35 years old, but Ovi continues to find open spots -- especially versus a Buffalo defense that isn't all that good.

The Capitals should again have ample opportunities on the man advantage against a younger, undisciplined team. This game is expected to be a wide-open affair. Could Ovechkin generate five or six scoring chances again? Absolutely, and we can expect a few more shots on net on Friday from the Russian winger.

Victor Hedman, Defenseman, Tampa Bay Lightning

FanDuel Salary: $7,000

As the top end of defender, we can flip between Victor Hedman and John Carlson without going wrong. We will go with Hedman in this scenario once more as the Chicago Blackhawks are just a better matchup as the 'Hawks are a younger team with little defensive acumen. Tampa Bay, even without Nikita Kucherov, showed their offensive might in the 5-1 win over Chicago on Wednesday night.

Hedman had several opportunities to score a goal himself in the season opener but ultimately recorded a pair of assists. He had a few scoring chances, three shots on net, and four blocks to go along with his two helpers. Hedman will not fly under the radar at all but has the slightly more favorable matchup -- emphasis on slightly -- compared to Carlson, who will also be chalk.

Andrei Vasilevskiy, Goalie, Tampa Bay Lightning

FanDuel Salary: $8,600

Andrei Vasilevskiy is expected to start again on Friday against the Blackhawks after stopping 22 of 23 shots in a 5-1 win against Chicago on Wednesday. The Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender was rarely tested but came up with a couple big saves when needed.

Chicago does have an offense that can be electrifying at times, but Tampa Bay's versatility stifled them in the opener. With a little familiarity, adjustments are expected, and the hope is that Vasilevskiy's shot load will increase a little bit. That could lead to an elevated point potential. Vasilevskiy will likely be the most popular goalie play -- and for good reason.

Chris Wassel is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Chris Wassel also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username chriswassel. 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.