This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
FanDuel's main contests consist of the seven evening games that start at 7 EST. It's a deep player pool, so it'll be easy to differentiate selections for tournaments. Here are a handful of players across multiple price points to consider for your lineups.
GOALIE
Jake Allen, STL at MON ($8,200): This is a road game for St. Louis, but Montreal has actually traveled more recently. The Blues have been in the Eastern time zone for their last three games, whereas the Canadiens just wrapped up a disappointing two-game road trip against Colorado and Arizona. While this is strictly a high-risk, high-reward nod, Allen is also 3-1 with a .958 save percentage and a 1.25 GAA since Mike Yeo took over coaching duties.
CENTER
Jack Eichel, BUF at TOR ($7,300): While there has been considerable game-to-game offensive inconsistency from Eichel, he's shown plenty of upside (eight multi-point showings) and averages 4.03 shots per outing. Additionally, it's a solid matchup. Despite allowing just two regulation goals through their past two games, the Maple Leafs still allow the third-most scoring chances per 60 minutes in the league (30.23). Eichel's 4.5 shooting percentage through his last six outings has positive regression ahead, too.
Mika Zibanejad, NYR vs. COL ($5,600): With four helpers in his last five games, Zibanejad is beginning to find his footing again after missing 25 games with a leg injury. He's priced for profit and lands in a soft matchup against the league-worst Avalanche. Colorado has allowed the
FanDuel's main contests consist of the seven evening games that start at 7 EST. It's a deep player pool, so it'll be easy to differentiate selections for tournaments. Here are a handful of players across multiple price points to consider for your lineups.
GOALIE
Jake Allen, STL at MON ($8,200): This is a road game for St. Louis, but Montreal has actually traveled more recently. The Blues have been in the Eastern time zone for their last three games, whereas the Canadiens just wrapped up a disappointing two-game road trip against Colorado and Arizona. While this is strictly a high-risk, high-reward nod, Allen is also 3-1 with a .958 save percentage and a 1.25 GAA since Mike Yeo took over coaching duties.
CENTER
Jack Eichel, BUF at TOR ($7,300): While there has been considerable game-to-game offensive inconsistency from Eichel, he's shown plenty of upside (eight multi-point showings) and averages 4.03 shots per outing. Additionally, it's a solid matchup. Despite allowing just two regulation goals through their past two games, the Maple Leafs still allow the third-most scoring chances per 60 minutes in the league (30.23). Eichel's 4.5 shooting percentage through his last six outings has positive regression ahead, too.
Mika Zibanejad, NYR vs. COL ($5,600): With four helpers in his last five games, Zibanejad is beginning to find his footing again after missing 25 games with a leg injury. He's priced for profit and lands in a soft matchup against the league-worst Avalanche. Colorado has allowed the most goals per 60 minutes in the league (3.32), after all.
WING
Nikita Kucherov, TAM at WPG ($7,600): This is the wrong end of a back-to-back set for Winnipeg, and Michael Hutchinson likely will make his first NHL start since Jan. 16. Not a lot has gone right for Tampa Bay this season, but Kucherov has still established himself as an elite scorer. This salary is a little low considering his seventh-ranked 3.05 points per 60 minutes among all skaters with at least 3,000 minutes over the last three seasons.
Chris Kreider, NYR vs. COL ($6,500): A nice stack option alongside Zibanejad, Kreider's power-speed game will be a nightmare for the basement-dwelling Avalanche. Kreider is also cruising along a five-game point streak with four goals and 15 shots, and his 1.62 goals per 60 minutes is the seventh-highest mark among all skaters with at least 800 minutes this season.
Jake Guentzel, PIT at ARI ($4,000): Expect Guentzel to be a popular low-priced target Saturday. He's projected to skate with Sidney Crosby on the No. 1 line, and the 22-year-old rookie has a respectable 2.3 points per 60 minutes through 16 games. Sweetening the deal is Arizona's suspect defense, as the Coyotes allow the most high-danger scoring chances per 60 minutes (13.07) in the league.
DEFENSE
Justin Schultz, PIT at ARI ($5,300): Another avenue to access Sidney Crosby, Schultz quarterbacks the No. 1 power-play unit and owns a second-ranked 2.88 points per 60 minutes among all defenseman with 1,000 minutes this season. As noted, Arizona is a soft matchup, and Schultz has two goals, 13 points, 18 shots and 19 blocked shots while averaging 3:07 of power-play time in his last 11 games. His high ceiling is accompanied by a high floor.
Nikita Zaitsev, TOR vs. BUF ($4,500): Providing his best fantasy results of the season, Zaitsev has a goal, seven points, 11 shots and 18 blocked shots in his last nine games. He's receiving power-play time (2:05 per game) and logging top-pairing minutes (22:27). Toronto generates the sixth-most goals (3.01) and high-danger scoring chances (12.18) per 60 minutes, so being attached to a high-octane offense also helps.
