NHL

4 NHL FanDuel Studs to Target on 3/3/20

Sidney Crosby looks to bounce back in a good spot tonight. Who else is worth paying for tonight?

Spending up in any daily fantasy sport 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.

Tuesday brings the first big slate in the month of March, with ten games on the docket. Let's see which stars we want to target tonight.

Sidney Crosby, Center, Pittsburgh Penguins

FanDuel Salary: $8,300

The Pittsburgh Penguins are coming off a brutal stretch in which they lost six games in a row. Sidney Crosby did not produce like normal during that stretch, scoring just one goal and adding no assists.

Luckily, the Penguins return home where they have played well this season. They have won 22 of 32 home games and average 3.44 goals per game, according to NHL.com. Crosby himself has played better at home, recording 30 points in the 18 home games he's played in this season. Despite his recent struggles, he still ranks top 15 in points per 60 minutes and should bounce back tonight.

The Penguins play host to the Ottawa Senators, who were already a lousy team and then moved some of their regular players at the trade deadline. They allow the third-most goals per game at 3.32 and the second-most shot attempts against per 60 minutes. This gives the Penguins a huge implied goal total for tonight, sitting at 4.02 according to our daily fantasy matchup heat map. With lots of stars having better recent performances than him, Crsoby may go under the radar on Tuesday, but he is in the best spot on paper.

Patrick Kane, Wing, Chicago Blackhawks

FanDuel Salary: $7,700

Patrick Kane is the one consistent thing for the Chicago Blackhawks in an otherwise forgettable season. He has the fourth-most even strength points in the league with 56. If the Blackhawks had a better power play, Kane could be among the league leaders in points. He is seventh in the league in shots on goal, as he is looked upon to carry the Blackhawks offense. This is also why he plays 21:19 per game, the second-most ice time per game for a winger. This season may not be going the way Chicago had hoped, but Tuesday night could at least be a good night for the club.

The Blackhawks will face off against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday. The Ducks are another team that sold off pieces at the deadline, making seven deals in February, which weakened an already pretty weak squad. They allow the eighth-most goals per game and are in the bottom half of the league in expected goals allowed per 60 minutes and shots allowed per 60. Chicago has the fourth-highest implied team total tonight at 3.37. Kane is our highest projected winger on the slate tonight, making him in play in all formats tonight.

Kyle Connor, Wing, Winnipeg Jets

FanDuel Salary: $7,100

A player in the league who goes overlooked for how good he has been over the past few seasons is Kyle Connor of the Winnipeg Jets. He may get overshadowed by other bigger names in Winnipeg, but he is one of their most effective players. He has scored over 30 goals in each of his three full seasons in the NHL, including this season with 33. That's as many as Nathan MacKinnon and more than Connor McDavid and Nikita Kucherov, some of the best scorers in the game today. Connor has been firing the puck a ton of late, with 41 shots on goal in his last 10 games.

Tonight, the Jets play the Buffalo Sabres, who have lost three games in a row on their current road trip. The Sabres are tied for the ninth-most goals allowed per game in the NHL. That number jumps up to the fifth-most goals allowed per game when on the road. They also have the second-worst penalty kill in the league this season, so Connor will look to add to his eight power play goals in this game. With the Jets' implied team total at 3.32, their leading goal scorer in Connor will make for a good play at the wing position.

Robin Lehner, Goalie, Vegas Golden Knights

FanDuel Salary: $8,100

For a Vezina candidate last year, Robin Lehner bounces around more than people would expect. He signed with the Blackhawks in the offseason, and now has been traded to the Vegas Golden Knights. The trade was not because of poor play, as he has a stellar .918 save percentage and is 12th in the NHL in goals saved above average. He picked up the win in his first game as a Golden Knight, stopping 32 of 34 shots he faced.

Tonight, Lehner faces the lowly New Jersey Devils, who average the sixth-fewest goals per game in the league. Their implied goal total is the lowest of any of the 20 teams playing tonight, sitting at just 2.29. The Golden Knights are a massive -300 favorite to win, so Lehner should be a safe bet to get you the win bonus that you need in your lineup.


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.