Thursday's late DraftKings NHL slate is a three-game card: BUF @ ANA, VAN @ SJS and OTT @ LAK. The salary cap is $50,000, and the slate locks at 10:00 p.m. ET (7:00 p.m. PT).
Macklin Celebrini of SJS tops our model's board at $9,300. He carries a ceiling of 28.8 and a DraftKings average of 18.4, the biggest upside number on the slate by a wide margin. In goal, Jonas Johansson of OTT at $7,900 has a ceiling of 20.2 against a DraftKings average of 12.2. Yaroslav Askarov of SJS ($8,300, ceiling 18.9) and Darcy Kuemper of LAK ($7,500, ceiling 17.7) round out the goalie options our model likes.
The value plays sit mostly on defense and in the middle of the salary range. Nick Jensen of ANA costs only $2,700 and has a ceiling of 15.2 with a DraftKings average of 10.4. Elias Pettersson of VAN at $4,900 carries a ceiling of 21.1, and Filip Hronek of VAN at $4,500 offers a 19.6 ceiling. Brandt Clarke of LAK, at $5,700, has the best DraftKings average of that group at 12.7 and a ceiling of 20.4.
The fact sheet gives no ownership figures for this slate, so we can't say where the crowd is headed. Check the lobby before lock, since several of the top-ranked players are likely popular.
Our model's top lineup uses $49,200 of the $50,000 cap. It starts with Celebrini at center, paired with Tage Thompson ($7,900), then wingers Jake DeBrusk ($4,500), Brock Boeser ($4,200) and Jonathan Lekkerimaki ($2,700). Clarke and Hronek fill the defense spots, Johansson takes the goalie slot, and Ridly Greig ($2,500) fills the UTIL.
Several goalies and skaters on this slate carry DraftKings status tags, including Kyle Keyser (SJS), Alex Lyon (BUF), Linus Ullmark (OTT), Thatcher Demko (VAN) and Thomas Chabot (OTT). Confirm your final lineup before the 10:00 p.m. ET lock.
Follow @numeric_dfs on X.