Monday's late NHL slate on DraftKings is a two-game card: COL @ CHI and CGY @ SJS. The salary cap is $50,000, and the slate locks at 8:00 p.m. ET (5:00 p.m. PT).
The top-ranked play by our model is Nathan MacKinnon (COL, C/UTIL) at $9,500. His ceiling of 33.2 is the highest on the sheet by a wide margin, well clear of Macklin Celebrini (SJS, C/UTIL), who costs $9,000 and tops out at 27.7. Cale Makar (COL, D/UTIL) at $7,500 has a 24.7 ceiling, which is strong production for a defenseman. In goal, Yaroslav Askarov (SJS) at $8,000 carries a 20.4 ceiling, a bit ahead of MacKenzie Blackwood (COL) at $8,400 and 19.5.
The value plays start with Connor Bedard (CHI, C/UTIL). At $6,500, he has a 25.8 ceiling, which is better than Makar's at a lower price. Artturi Lehkonen (COL, W/UTIL) at $5,700 brings a 21.9 ceiling, and Joel Farabee (CGY, W/UTIL) at $5,100 reaches 19.6. Farabee's DraftKings average of 12.0 is close to what players at much higher salaries have posted.
Our fact sheet has no ownership figures for this slate, so we can't say where the crowd will land. A few DraftKings status tags are worth noting. Bowen Byram (CHI) and Josh Manson (COL) are tagged OUT, while Kyle Keyser, Alexander Wennberg, Igor Chernyshov and Logan Couture (all SJS), plus Devin Cooley and Jonathan Huberdeau (both CGY), carry IR tags.
Our model's top lineup uses $49,500 of the $50,000 cap. It starts with C Nathan MacKinnon at $9,500 and C Connor Bedard at $6,500, then adds W Artturi Lehkonen at $5,700, W Matvei Gridin at $4,100 and W Tyler Toffoli at $3,400. On defense it goes with Jacob Trouba at $4,500 and Devon Toews at $4,100, with Yaroslav Askarov in goal at $8,000. Darnell Nurse fills the UTIL spot at $3,700.
Lineups lock at 8:00 p.m. ET.
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