4 NHL FanDuel Values to Target on 1/15/21

Spending lower in any daily fantasy lineup is a way to incorporate some diversity into your roster. In NHL DFS, there is typically more value in this strategy but also a good deal more risk. This is especially true on tonight's larger slate, where there are lots of lower-salaried plays. Plugging in these options will afford you more chances to play some studs, as well.

Friday night features five more games. Let's take a look at what values we can find.

Robert Thomas, Center, St. Louis Blues

FanDuel Salary: $4,300

The vision of the St. Louis Blues' center is what catches most people's eyes, and on Wednesday night, that was on full display. Robert Thomas set up a slew of opportunities as St. Louis skated to a mostly dominant win against the Colorado Avalanche.

His two assists were plays where Thomas not only found the right player but put pucks in places where anyone could score. Getting Mike Hoffman on his line on Friday only increases the scoring potential of Thomas on the power play as well at even strength. His salary is still reasonable for now, but that may not last long. Thomas takes on the same Avs tonight and is a great value target.

Oskar Lindblom, Wing, Philadelphia Flyers

FanDuel Salary: $3,500

There was this feeling that Oskar Lindblom would be eased into the lineup, and his minutes were about what we expect for a middle-six forward. He did score a goal on Wednesday with two shots and three blocked shots. It is Lindblom's floor that is helpful, especially during the early portion of the season. Can people rely on the Joel Farabee line to keep contributing? That is a great question. One could argue that Lindblom is a bit more consistent when it comes to potential.

Lindblom expects to see easier matchups with the Philadelphia Flyers having last line matchup preference. The Pittsburgh Penguins showed a lack of ability to defend the middle portion of the ice in the opener as any attacks featuring speed were not repelled much. Lindblom has an excellent first stride and acceleration. That should bode well once more tonight as Pittsburgh focuses on Philly's other scoring threats.

Jake McCabe, Defenseman, Buffalo Sabres

FanDuel Salary: $3,600

With the Buffalo Sabres deciding to give Jake McCabe a higher amount of minutes (20-plus in the opener), it is at least worth considering a player with a normally higher defensive floor (two-plus shots and two-plus blocks). This is especially true against a Washington Capitals team that scored six times on Thursday night against this very same Buffalo squad. Does anyone expect McCabe to get a goal and assist again? That answer is absolutely not.

However, the Buffalo defenseman does have a pretty good shot on net, and that could bode well for him. His salary is just above the FanDuel minimum for defensemen, which makes him attractive given Washington's inability to block shots from the point. Buffalo got plenty of shots through on Thursday night.

Linus Ullmark, Goalie, Buffalo Sabres

FanDuel Salary: $7,300

Linus Ullmark inherits a difficult task tonight as he has to try to slow down the Washington offense. The good news is that he saw the Caps' might firsthand on Thursday night from the bench as Carter Hutton was beaten five times.

Ullmark played only 34 games during the 2019-20 season but did show a ton of potential in his final four starts. His season-finale performance against these same Capitals drew notice and resulted in a 30-point fantasy night. Ullmark faced 134 shots in said four-game stretch and stopped 126 of them. That was good for a .940 save percentage. His athleticism could be an important asset against a very active Capitals offense tonight.

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.