Thursday's late NHL slate on DraftKings is a two-game card, with ANA @ EDM and NSH @ COL, and it locks at 8:00 p.m. ET (5:00 p.m. PT). The salary cap is $50,000 in classic.
Edmonton dominates the top of our model's board. Evan Bouchard at $7,500 carries a ceiling of 34.4 from the blue line, which is the kind of upside you rarely find at defense. Connor McDavid ($9,500) has the highest ceiling on the slate at 38.2, and Leon Draisaitl ($8,500) follows at 35.5. In goal, Matt Tomkins costs $8,000 with a ceiling of 30.5 and a DraftKings average of 21.4, the best average among our top plays. Nathan MacKinnon is the lone Colorado forward in that group at $9,300, with a ceiling of 36.0.
The value plays start with Roman Josi. At $6,000, the NSH defenseman carries a ceiling of 28.5, well above what the price suggests, and he is the cheapest of our top-ranked plays. Cale Makar at $7,300 is the other COL option on the back end, with a ceiling of 29.9. Cutter Gauthier of ANA sits at $8,100 with a ceiling of 33.1, a fair price for a wing with that kind of top end.
The fact sheet gives no ownership figures for this slate, so we can't say where the crowd will land. A few DraftKings status tags are worth checking before lock. Jonathan Marchessault (NSH) is tagged DTD, and Josh Manson (COL) is tagged OUT. On the Edmonton side, Tristan Jarry is OUT, while Frederik Andersen, Devon Levi and Zach Hyman all carry IR tags.
Our model's top lineup uses $49,300 of the $50,000 cap. It pairs Jack Drury ($2,900) and Tim Washe ($2,600) at center with Draisaitl and Gauthier on the wings, plus Adam Edstrom ($3,100) at the third wing spot. Bouchard and Josi make up the defense, Tomkins starts in goal, and Nicolas Roy ($2,600) fills the UTIL spot. Lock is 8:00 p.m. ET, so get your lineups set before then.
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