NHL

3 NHL FanDuel Studs to Target on 2/26/21

Chris Wassel  —  @ChrisWasselDFS Feb 26th, 2021
Friday night relaxes a bit with three games on the schedule. So, who can you trust in NHL DFS?

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 salaried 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 has three games on the slate. Let's get it on!

Mika Zibanejad, Center, New York Rangers

FanDuel Salary: $6,300

Mika Zibanejad is the cheap, stud alternative on Friday night who has finally begun to bounce back after a brutal start. Think about this. At one point, Zibanejad was still shooting below 4% despite being in the top-10 in quality scoring chances per 60. The boomerang effect was bound to come, and it slowly has. The New York Rangers' center has double-digit FanDuel points in his previous two games.

There are some nice ways to stack New York players on Friday night given that the Boston Bruins are not rested. Chris Kreider comes to mind, and he comes off of a hat trick versus the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night. As for Zibanejad, he has three-plus shots on goal in three of the previous four games with 11 scoring chances created in that span.

Also, look at Nathan MacKinnon ($8,300), whose price has dipped after two sub-par performances. Finally, Anze Kopitar ($7,300) has played a major role in the streaking rise of the Los Angeles Kings.

David Pastrnak, Wing, Boston Bruins

FanDuel Salary: $8,800

So, the "Perfection LIne" or Boston's top line is in play against the New York Rangers -- but especially David Pastrnak. Why? He usually performs extremely well against the Rangers and then had a clunker in their last miniseries two weeks ago -- three shots in two games. That's it. In the last three games, Pastrnak has 15 shots on goal and 11 scoring chances.

The Bruins were walloped by the New York Islanders on Thursday night after giving up five third-period goals. That is not going to sit well, especially with Boston's offense. Their top line was put on their heels, and that is rare, too.

Take a look at Mikko Rantanen ($7,900) from the Avalanche for Nathan MacKinnon exposure again, as well. Finally, Brad Marchand may be obvious, but Phil Kessel might be an intriguing choice given that Colorado gives up a bit more defensively than one would expect.

Devon Toews, Defenseman, Colorado Avalanche

FanDuel Salary: $4,800

This looks like a very risky pick, and yet Devon Toews has pushed his way into the stud conversation for the Colorado Avalanche. He averages more FanDuel points per game than Cale Makar and is second overall on tonight's slate. Only Jakob Chychrun ($4,500) averages more. That will surprise many people.

The floor is still quite encouraging for Toews, and he does not face the brunt of defensive minutes that Makar often does. Most nights, he plays 21-22 minutes a night while averaging a couple of blocks and shots per contest. He has three real-world points in his previous three outings.

Other choices might include Charlie McAvoy ($5,700) from Boston and, yes, even Drew Doughty ($6,000) from Los Angeles.

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.