NHL

3 NHL FanDuel Studs to Target on 4/7/21

Chris Wassel  —  @ChrisWasselDFS Apr 7th, 2021
There are four games on the Wednesday night main slate so let's take a fast look at those studs.

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 features a four-game main slate. Let's find some studs!

Nathan MacKinnon, Center, Colorado Avalanche

FanDuel Salary: $9,100

The Colorado Avalanche center has not been shooting the puck as often against the Minnesota Wild as other teams -- has just 15 shots in six meetings. However, the top center has 2 goals and 10 assists in those games as Minnesota has struggled in key moments as far as how to defend his speed and wingspan. He had three scoring chances on Monday and two ended up in the back of the net -- one goal and one assist.

This is a Minnesota team that just does not match up well against the speed of Colorado's defense. That defense has set up numerous opportunities and odd-man rushes for players like MacKinnon. That borders on almost unfair. Colorado could easily score 3+ goals again on Wednesday night even with limited chances. That is how fast they can strike. They average 3.61 goals per game overall which now tops the NHL.

MacKinnon should enjoy a few more shots on goal on Wednesday night. Also, expect his linemates to be just as involved which means stacking options like Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen among others.

Also, on Monday, there is always Auston Matthews ($8,800) in what expects to be a higher-scoring matchup with the Montreal Canadiens.

Kirill Kaprizov, Wing, Minnesota Wild

FanDuel Salary: $5,800

The Colorado Avalanche defense is vulnerable to players like Kirill Kaprizov. The problem is Kaprizov got caught in the moment a little too often on Monday and had just a couple low quality scoring chances. His previous three games saw him churn up 14 shots on goal, 10 scoring chances, and 3 goals (plus 3 blocks). Minnesota's top forward will have to create on his own mostly and Kaprizov has shown that ability all season.

Do not expect much from the Minnesota Wild power play. It is a rare occurrence. At any rate, Kaprizov makes adjustments better than most forwards in the NHL and expect a much-improved effort on Wednesday. The idea is to look at him with Kevin Fiala ($5,100) as a moderately salaried mini-stack.

Tyler Toffoli going against the Toronto Maple Leafs has some intrigue, and Max Pacioretty ($7,900) versus the St. Louis Blues is also a good choice

Alex Goligoski, Defenseman, Arizona Coyotes

FanDuel Salary: $3,700

The danger here is playing a value play like a stud. Goligoski's price has remained stagnant -- more than most defensemen anyone has seen this year. Over the past four games, he has been one of the best in DFS in terms of overall production -- aside from Jakob Chychrun.

When the Los Angeles Kings and Arizona Coyotes play, Arizona comes to play. They match up very well and again scored five goals on Monday night. No one will guarantee five on tonight's slate but the Coyotes could get off to a quick start again led by Goligoski and Chychrun. The second-pairing defender has eight real-world points (seven assists) in his previous seven contests.

Among the upper echelon in salary tiers, Cale Makar ($5,600) still remains a gold standard from Colorado but again Devon Toews and Alec Martinez lurk around $1,000 less.

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.