Thursday's main DraftKings slate has 11 games, running from CBJ @ CAR to OTT @ LAK. It locks at 7:00 p.m. ET (4:00 p.m. PT). The salary cap is $50,000 in classic.
The goalie market sits at the top of our model's rankings. Michael DiPietro (BOS) is $7,800 with a ceiling of 28.8 and a DraftKings average of 18.2. Jesper Wallstedt (MIN) costs $8,200 and has a ceiling of 26.2. Joel Hofer (STL) is $7,600 with a 24.4 ceiling, while Ilya Sorokin (NYI) at $7,200 and Stuart Skinner (WPG) at $7,000 round out the netminders our model likes. Among skaters, Kirill Kaprizov (MIN) carries the highest ceiling on the sheet at 34.0 for $8,800, and Sebastian Aho (CAR) is next at 31.1 for $7,100. Both sit well above their DraftKings averages of 18.4 and 15.2, which is the kind of gap tournament players want.
Value is easiest to find up front. Ryan O'Reilly (NSH) is only $5,500 with a 27.0 ceiling, nearly double his 13.4 DraftKings average. Further down the board, our model's lineup builds around cheap forwards, with Max Sasson and Eric Robinson at $2,500 each and Valeri Nichushkin at $3,500. Kent Johnson at $4,200 fills out the wing group.
Goalie status is worth a check before lock. Kyle Keyser (SJS), Filip Gustavsson (MIN), Alex Lyon (BUF), Linus Ullmark (OTT), Sam Montembeault (MTL) and Thatcher Demko (VAN) all carry an IR tag on DraftKings. Daniil Tarasov (DET) is listed DTD, as is skater Brandon Hagel (TBL).
Our model's top lineup uses $49,000 of the $50,000 cap. It starts with Aho at C and Sasson at the second C spot, then Kyle Connor ($7,900), Johnson and Nichushkin on the wings. Matthew Schaefer ($7,000) and Mikhail Sergachev ($6,100) anchor the defense, Wallstedt ($8,200) is in goal, and Robinson takes the UTIL spot.
Get your lineups set before the slate locks Thursday at 7:00 p.m. ET.
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