3 NHL FanDuel Studs to Target on 8/24/20
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 second round of the playoffs is here, and there are some really good matchups between quality teams. Let's see which studs we'll want to pay up for today.
Tyler Seguin, Center, Dallas Stars
FanDuel Salary: $7,500
The Dallas Stars' top line finally got going in Game 1 of this series, and that included a nice game from Tyler Seguin. Seguin had a goal and an assist, as his line scored three goals in the team's 5-3 victory on Saturday. Seguin has been a candidate for positive regression all season long, as his shooting percentage in the regular season was 6.9%, down from his career mark of 10.7%. He was getting a lot of shot volume still, finishing with the ninth-most shots in the NHL this season.
The first game of this series was high-scoring, and the series features lots of good offensive talent. The Stars may feel the need to unleash their offensive weapons to keep up with a scary Colorado Avalanche team that can score seemingly at will. That's what Dallas did in Game 1, and it worked for the team's success, and their players' fantasy success as well. Seguin could have another big game if that trend continues, and he makes for a good tournament play in game stack lineups.
Mikko Rantanen, Center, Colorado Avalanche
FanDuel Salary: $7,800
The Avalanche offense has been dangerous in the postseason, and Mikko Rantanen has been contributing to their attack. He has points in four straight games and is tied for sixth in points in the postseason with 11 in nine games. Rantanen is a part of the Avalanche top power play unit that is ranked first of teams in the playoffs, connecting at a 29.7% clip. This has led to them having huge offensive games, scoring 3.78 goals per game in the bubble.
Colorado's scoring is expected to continue, as they have the highest implied goal total, according to our daily fantasy matchup heat map. Dallas goaltender Anton Khudobin has allowed seven goals in the two games against the Avs in the bubble, as Dallas' defense hasn't been as strong in the postseason as it was in the regular season. Rantanen has numberFire's highest projection for any skater on this slate and makes for a good play in stacks with his Avalanche teammates.
Carter Hart, Goalie, Philadelphia Flyers
FanDuel Salary: $8,600
Carter Hart had a strong first round of the playoffs, with two shutouts as the Philadelphia Flyers won fairly easily. Hart has the highest save percentage of any goalie in the postseason that has played more than two games. His opponents in this series will be the New York Islanders, who have scored 3.33 goals per game in the playoffs. However, that came against the Florida Panthers and the Washington Capitals, two teams that had issues defensively. Now that they are playing the Flyers, their goals per game should come back down towards the 2.78 they averaged during the regular season that had them in the bottom-10 in the league. Hart and the Flyers are -120 favorites, and it makes sense to go to him if you're playing a lot of players in the other game, hoping this one is lower-scoring.
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.
