4 NHL FanDuel Studs to Target on 3/22/21

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.

Monday night has 10 games on the schedule. Let's find some studs!

Connor McDavid, Center, Edmonton Oilers

FanDuel Salary: $9,300

The Edmonton Oilers center has been firing on all cylinders as Connor McDavid is on a nine-game real-world point streak (20 points!). He plays the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night. The last time McDavid went up against the Canadiens, he had seven shots on goal, five scoring chances, and an assist along with a post and crossbar hit.

McDavid and the Oilers should be ready for Montreal. They play at a higher pace on the road compared to home. Overall, the top power-play unit for Edmonton ranks in the top-three overall in expected goals per 60, and Carey Price has a penalty-kill save percentage of .816. This will be a spot to attack as most North Division teams have throughout the season.

McDavid allows for some stacking options with the likes of Kailer Yamamoto and even Darnell Nurse, who has morphed into a top defenseman with an increasing floor (shots and blocked shots)

Also, Nathan MacKinnon ($8,600) has great peripheral numbers going up against the banged-up Arizona Coyotes tonight. The only risk is he has just two real-world points in three meetings.

Artemi Panarin, Wing, New York Rangers

FanDuel Salary: $7,700

The New York Rangers' winger is playing the worst team in the NHL in the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night. Even on Saturday, Artemi Panarin had four shots and four scoring chances in another low-scoring game versus the Washington Capitals. Monday night expects to see a little more scoring as New York could easily score three-plus goals as Buffalo allows over 3.5 goals per game on the road.

The one luxury with Panarin is his ability to turn nothing into something in all phases. Plays often happen with the winger that most cannot see. Mika Zibanejad could benefit from the man advantage here while his linemates, Ryan Strome and Pavel Buchnevich, are the truest beneficiaries. Panarin had a goal, an assist, four shots on goal, and four scoring chances in his last game versus Buffalo.

Kyle Connor ($7,100) is again another alternative against the Vancouver Canucks. He has multiple-goal potential along with Mikko Rantanen ($8,400) versus the Arizona Coyotes on Monday.

Jeff Petry, Defenseman, Montreal Canadiens

FanDuel Salary: $6,300

The Montreal Canadiens defenseman is still at $6,300 despite his consistency and producing the most Fanduel points per game on the slate. Jeff Petry is Montreal's best defenseman but at times is just not deployed the way he should. Don't worry much about that as Petry is still playing 24-plus minutes a night over the past eight contests.

When picking on the Edmonton Oilers, the one thing to focus on is their lack of ability to play transitional defense. Edmonton's middle-six will give up lots of chances from unblocked shot attempts to the trailer, which is typically the defenseman. Petry possesses great instinct on when to jump in and out of plays. That will be essential on Monday.

Drew Doughty ($6,700) is a safe alternative against the defensively-suspect San Jose Sharks. Also, Dougie Hamilton ($6,500) becomes a reasonable play against a Columbus Blue Jackets team that allowed nearly 34 shots per 60 over its last 10 games played.

Philipp Grubauer, Goalie, Colorado Avalanche

FanDuel Salary: $8,600

Philipp Grubauer is projected to start on Monday night versus the Arizona Coyotes. The Avalanche has one of the best chances to win on the night. Grubauer is on a roll with six straight wins while allowing zero or one goal in each of those starts -- that includes three clean sheets (credit for two shutouts).

Wait to see who else starts when it comes to looking for viable alternatives among the studs. Who starts for the Carolina Hurricanes? Better yet, who starts for the New York Rangers versus the Buffalo Sabres? After that, it comes down to just looking around after morning skate to see if anyone else is confirmed in net. Do watch for COVID-related absences. Those come out around 5:00 pm ET or so.

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.