NHL

3 NHL FanDuel Studs to Target on 3/10/21

Chris Wassel  —  @ChrisWasselDFS Mar 10th, 2021
Wednesday night's five-game slate reveals some interesting big plays to make. Do we trust Connor McDavid against Ottawa again?

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.

Wednesday night has five games on this slate. Let's look at a few studs.

Connor McDavid, Center, Edmonton Oilers

FanDuel Salary: $8,800

The Edmonton Oilers center had a few off games by his standards and then fired off against the Calgary Flames on Saturday (over 36 FanDuel points). Connor McDavid followed this up with another multiple-point effort and five more shots on goal on Monday versus Ottawa. The two teams face off against each other again on Wednesday night.

There are a few ways to stack Edmonton. Keep an eye on who stays on the line with McDavid. The problem comes down to time allotment with the forward. Whoever has the most time on his right-wing (not named Leon Draisaitl), will carry the most potential to exceed value. Power-play stacking may just be a viable plan. Does anyone expect five combined goals between these two games again? The probability is low.

Also, the "Freeway Faceoff" gives us Anze Kopitar ($7,600), who plays against the Anaheim Ducks again on Wednesday.

Mikko Rantanen, Wing, Colorado Avalanche

FanDuel Salary: $8,300

The good news is that Mikko Rantanen should get the return of Nathan MacKinnon on Wednesday versus the Arizona Coyotes. This will allow Rantanen to play at his accustomed right-wing position.

Colorado faces an Arizona squad that has some real trouble containing the top line. Rantanen has five real-world points against Arizona in three meetings. The key for the Avalanche is getting off to that early, fast start with their top trio.

The Vegas Golden Knights' wingers will be looked at, but instead, we turn towards Tyler Toffoli ($6,600) from the Montreal Canadiens. The four-plus shot potential and goal likelihood are too high not to be an alternative tonight.

Tyson Barrie, Defenseman, Edmonton Oilers

FanDuel Salary: $5,200

This option carries danger, but Tyson Barrie has 14 shots in his last two games with 10 scoring chances and a bunch of high-danger chances assisted as well as created. The Ottawa Senators allow the most shots in the league and the second-most unblocked shot attempts from the point in all phases.

The floor (shots plus blocked shots) has intensified again for Barrie, and the matchup lends itself again to the elevated total and projections. Barrie blocking a shot or two is just a bonus when he can get to that five-plus shot total. There is a likely chance he gets there again on Wednesday night, as he's due for a goal (just three on the season).

Some other options may include Jeff Petry ($6,300) from Montreal and Jakob Chychrun ($4,500) again from the Arizona Coyotes because Chychrun's salary just will not budge.

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.