4 NHL Studs to Target on 12/10/19
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 a 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.
We've got a 12 game Tuesday evening with a good mix of games starting throughout the evening. So which stars should we build our lineups around?
Mark Scheifele, Center, Winnipeg Jets
FanDuel Salary: $7,700
Perhaps going a bit under the radar this season, Mark Scheifele has been great for the Winnipeg Jets. He has goals in three straight games, which has brought him up to 13 on the season. He has nine points in his last ten games and has been shooting the puck more than usual, with 28 shots in that time span. He gets a good situation to score more points on Tuesday night.
The Jets are hosting the Detroit Red Wings, who have just been brutal this season. They have allowed the most goals in the league by a margin of 13. All of their underlying metrics are not good either, suggesting this is not a fluke. The Jets have an implied goal total of 3.56, which is the second-highest of any team tonight. Our projections have Scheifele as the third-highest scoring center on the slate. He is a good play in all formats given how likely it is that the Jets are able to score a lot of goals in this matchup.
Jake Guentzel, Wing, Pittsburgh Penguins
FanDuel Salary: $8,100
There were many people saying that Jake Guentzel was a product of playing with Sidney Crosby. Since Crosby has been out of the lineup, Guentzel hasn't missed a beat. He has 17 points in the 13 games that Crosby has missed due to injury. Of course, playing with Evgeni Malkin does help. That line will be at it again tonight and could have yet another big game.
The Pittsburgh Penguins face the Montreal Canadiens at home, and the Habs have been struggling of late. They are 2-6-2 in their last ten games. You wouldn't think of the Canadiens as a bad defensive team, but they have allowed the fourth-most goals against per 60 minutes, per Natural Stat Trick. Going to Pittsburgh will likely not do anything to improve those numbers, and Guentzel has scored 10 of his 16 goals at home this season. He makes for a good play with some of his Pittsburgh teammates to stack for tournament lineups.
Kris Letang, Defense, Pittsburgh Penguins
FanDuel Salary: $6,600
One of those Pittsburgh teammates you could play Guentzel with is Kris Letang. Letang has been great since coming back in the lineup. He has six points in the seven games since returning from the injury and has 25 shots on goal in those games. Letang is our highest projected defenseman on the night but only carries the third-highest salary.
The Penguins have the third-highest implied goal total tonight at 3.55. Their power play has not been good, scoring just above 16% of the time, but the Montreal penalty kill has also been bad. They kill off just 75% of the times they are shorthanded. Since Letang is the power play quarterback for Pittsburgh, he would benefit if they were able to get things working with the man advantage.
Ben Bishop, Goalie, Dallas Stars
FanDuel Salary: $8,900
Ben Bishop and the Dallas Stars are huge favorites at home over the New Jersey Devils tonight. The Devils are the third-lowest scoring team on a per 60-minute basis, with just 2.48 goals per 60. The Stars are the fourth-stingiest defensive team this season, allowing just 2.36 goals per 60. This is a great spot for the Stars and Bishop to get a win, and a shutout isn't out of the realm of possibility. It's not a surprise that Bishop tops our projections at the goalie position, so he is worth spending up for in 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.
