3 NHL FanDuel Studs to Target on 3/23/21
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.
Tuesday night features five games in all. Let's take a look at some studs.
Nathan MacKinnon, Center, Colorado Avalanche
FanDuel Salary: $8,800
The Colorado Avalanche play the Arizona Coyotes again on Tuesday night. Monday night, Colorado was able to easily dispose of Arizona in a convincing 5-1 win. Nathan MacKinnon had just an assist with two shots on goal but had several quality scoring chances. Colorado matches up well against the Coyotes as they have won 8 of the last 11 matchups -- outscoring Arizona by almost double the margin (3.5 goals per game to 1.9).
The good thing is that MacKinnon is on a streak where he has real-world points in 10 of his last 11 games. The one game missing in that was where he fired 10 shots on goal on 15 attempts. Colorado has averaged over 36 shots per 60 against Arizona the past two seasons. Expect the top line of the Avalanche to again have plenty of chances on Tuesday night.
Also, Aleksander Barkov ($7,700) is up against the entertaining Chicago Blackhawks. Many will be on Sean Couturier against a New Jersey Devils team that has lost 11 of their last 12 games at home.
Patrick Kane, Wing, Chicago Blackhawks
FanDuel Salary: $8,100
The Chicago Blackhawks play an engaging brand of hockey with Patrick Kane as the lead. Kane fared better in his last two meetings with the Florida Panthers. He had a goal, assist, and 10 shots on goal in that span with eight scoring chances.
It is likely that the Barkov line will match up against the Kane line again on Tuesday night, which means expect to be able to utilize both sides of the matchup. With just a five-game slate, it is a plausible strategy. With the game in Chicago, expect a spirited effort from Kane and the Blackhawks. Kane could easily top five shots and the potential for point production is high.
Mikko Rantanen ($8,400) enjoys playing against the Coyotes and scored again on Monday night for Colorado. He remains a good alternative play.
Jakob Chychrun, Defenseman, Arizona Coyotes
FanDuel Salary: $4,700
Jakob Chychrun's price keeps inching upward finally. His production is that of a stud at 13.6 FanDuel points per game. Even on Monday night, the Arizona defenseman had four shots on goal and four blocked shots as well. His floor has been excellent with 4+ blocks and shots over the past six games.
The Arizona defense allows a lot of shots and Chychrun will chase Nathan MacKinnon and his linemates around for at least 20 or more minutes tonight. This may be a closer result than expected on Tuesday night.
Some other options on Tuesday may include Cale Makar ($6,300) and Victor Hedman ($7,100). Hedman goes up against the Dallas Stars, which could be the tougher matchup.
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.
