3 FanDuel NHL Studs to Target on 10/11/19

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 than paying up in sports like NBA or NFL. Someone can be one of the highest-priced players at his position a 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.

We head to the weekend with just a three game on Friday night. Let's see which studs we want to play on this small slate.

Jack Eichel, Center, Buffalo Sabres

FanDuel Price: $8,400

Jack Eichel has carried the Buffalo Sabres to an impressive start to the season. He has seven points in the first four game as the Sabres are 3-0-1. Eichel is getting the shot volume that you like to see, attempting 25 shots in the four games.

The Florida Panthers have not been too strong defensively this season, allowing the seventh most expected goals per 60 minutes, according to Natural Stat Trick. Using numberFire's DFS matchup heat map, it shows how Eichel is set up nicely. The Panthers' penalty kill has converted at just a 71% clip so far this season, and their acquired goaltender has struggled to start the year, with an ugly save percentage of .859.

Eichel will be a popular way to spend up on this small slate, but the reasons for rostering him are solid.

Sebastian Aho, Center, Carolina Hurricanes

FanDuel Price: $7,300

Sebastian Aho and the Carolina Hurricanes look to be continuing the form they showed in the second half of last season, which led them to the conference finals, as they are third in percentage of expected goals at 57.25%.

Aho was the team's leading scorer and is due for some early positive regression. He has just one point in the team's first four games this season, despite leading the team with 29 shot attempts. He is still a dominant possession player, with 59.09% of the shot attempts going in the Canes' favor when he's on the ice at five on five.

Going against the New York Islanders tonight, Carolina should be able to control the puck as the Islanders have been just a 45.23% corsi team this season. Add in a goaltender in Semyon Varlamov, who has been shaky to start the young season, and things could go really well for Aho and the Hurricanes on Friday night. agrees with that, making them a -175 favorite in this game.

Cam Atkinson, Winger, Columbus Blue Jackets

FanDuel Price: $7,600

After a summer of the Columbus Blue Jackets losing star free agents, Cam Atkinson is one of the better players who remains with the team. It seems as if he has taken it upon himself to make up for the lost players, leading the team in shot attempts with 20 over three games. He's scored twice on the power play so far and also had over five shots on goal in two games. The game he didn't score was the second of a back-to-back against the Pittsburgh Penguins, but rest will not be a problem here.

This time, the opposing Anaheim Ducks will be the tired team. They had a game in Pittsburgh last night, while the Jackets haven't played since Monday. The betting line reflects that as Columbus is a -140 favorite.

The Ducks have started off well in the standings, but they are still the leaky defensive team we saw last season. They've allowed 59.62 shot attempts against per 60 minutes at five on five, the seventh worst in the league. Atkinson could take advantage of this tired team that is already not great defensively and have a multiple-point performance with a good amount of shots on goal.

Nicholas Vazquez is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Nicholas Vazquez also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username hbyanksman. 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.