NHL

​3 NHL FanDuel Studs to Target on Thursday 5/12/22​

Chris Wassel  —  @ChrisWasselDFS May 12th, 2022
Will Victor Hedman and the Lightning respond to adversity again in Game 6?

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 spending 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 spending salary in the right spots when building our lineups tonight.

Thursday night brings some huge Game 6s. Here are some studs.

Connor McDavid, Center, Edmonton Oilers

FanDuel Salary: $10,100

Connor McDavid has risen above $10,000 because the center went off on Tuesday night in a losing effort.

The Edmonton Oilers center anchors a team that may need four-plus goals on Thursday night on the road versus the Los Angeles Kings. They're on the brink of elimination despite the best efforts of McDavid. The league's best player has been critical of his defense and goaltending. Who could blame him?

McDavid is the top play on Thursday night -- even with Tampa Bay at home. The idea that the pivot could end up with 25-plus FanDuel points with ease has to be helpful.

Expect Edmonton to get a helping hand on Thursday; Los Angeles may feel a bit of pressure closing the series out. Look to stack him with Zach Hyman or Evander Kane, and perhaps add Evan Bouchard or Cody Ceci from the blue line.

Kirill Kaprizov, Wing, Minnesota Wild

FanDuel Salary: $9,400

Since Game 1 of the series, Kirill Kaprizov has been on fire. Kaprizov has topped 20 FanDuel points in each contest since.

He's posted seven goals and an assist, largely aided by a hat trick coming in Game 2. Kaprizov has 20 shots and 25 scoring chances in this span.

He also scored a power-play goal in Game 2 and then two more on the man advantage in Game 5. Kaprizov has been a one-man wrecking crew as he tries to keep the Minnesota Wild in this series on Thursday night.

Nikita Kucherov is another alternative from the wing on Thursday night at home versus the Toronto Maple Leafs, but Kaprizov is a more concentrated source of offense.

Victor Hedman, Defenseman, Tampa Bay Lightning

FanDuel Salary: $7,400

The options decrease some on Thursday, but Victor Hedman had his second 30-plus FanDuel point game of the series on Tuesday in a losing effort.

The Tampa Bay defenseman, who is also a Norris Trophy Finalist, has two goals and five assists in five games. That's come on 21 shots, 25 scoring chances, and 9 blocked shots.

Tampa Bay's top defenseman has a safe floor, but he will be in high demand given the lack of options and how explosively the Bolts have bounced back from losses in this series.


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.