NHL

4 NHL FanDuel Value Plays to Target on Thursday 4/28/22

Chris Wassel  —  @ChrisWasselDFS Apr 28th, 2022
It is a strange sort of night in the NHL, but let us take a look at some possible values on this DFS slate. Who stands out?

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 of risk, too. The right low-salary plays can give you good production while affording you more chances to roster high-salary studs.

Thursday night gives us nine games to work with. It is time to save a little salary!

Please keep in mind that with all 16 playoff spots clinched, teams may rest more players than usual.

Gabriel Vilardi, Center, Los Angeles Kings

FanDuel Salary: $3,200

The Los Angeles Kings play the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night. With more players being rested, Gabriel Vilardi should get another chance to play a little more than usual.

He took advantage of the opportunity on Wednesday against Seattle, as the young center scored once and added two helpers. This doubled his real-world point total on the season.

Going versus the Canucks cannot hurt considering that Vancouver ranks 31st on the penalty kill (74% at home).

Again, the Kings pivot is typically getting two to three shots on goal a game in April.

Take the risk at what amounts to be just above minimum salary.

Nick Paul, Wing, Tampa Bay Lightning

FanDuel Salary: $3,900

These lower-floor risks are paying off lately in NHL DFS. Nick Paul is enjoying a nice post-trade deadline bump with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The risk is who plays with him in the top-six. However, the matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets is solid, as the Blue Jackets keep allowing 35 or more shots a game at home.

Paul has three goals and four assists over his past six contests. The fact that he is playing nearly 16 minutes a night is significant, as well.

Will there be enough goals here? At the very least, there will be opportunities.

Brett Kulak, Defenseman, Edmonton Oilers

FanDuel Salary: $3,600

Scraping the edges of the barrel reveals some interesting nuggets, err, gems. Brett Kulak is one such player from the Edmonton Oilers.

Now, Kulak can do quite a bit and can play any role -- penalty kill, power-play, or even strength. That is not a problem.

The past couple of games have seen the defenseman average more than 20 minutes a night. He did not look out of place. Kulak has two assists in his past three games overall and can provide some offensive punch.

Typically, he has a decent floor providing a couple of shots and even a some blocked shots, too.

Callan Foote is an interesting target from Tampa and is also salaried at $3.600.

James Reimer, Goalie, San Jose Sharks

FanDuel Salary: $6,900

With the growing uncertainty in lineups, the San Jose Sharks goaltender could benefit on Thursday night. James Reimer stopped 42 of 46 shots in his last start, which was a 5-4 shootout win over the Vegas Golden Knights.

This next game against Edmonton Oilers will not be easy, but the Oilers may not give full effort or a full lineup here. Given that the Sharks' goalie has faced 168 shots in his last five starts, work should not be in short supply.

Some numbers can be thrown out the window, but his cheap salary cannot.

This could be a better chance of victory than numberFire's model indicates for Thursday (34.6%).

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.