This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Maybe the NHL was excited to have a weekend without football (neither the Senior Bowl nor the Pro Bowl count), because both Saturday and Sunday were quite busy. However, the fallout of that is a single NHL game on Monday. That means single-game DFS rules. On DraftKings, that means a salary cap of $50,000 for a six-player lineup. One is your Captain, who earns 1.5 times the points, but with an elevated salary.
The game in question? That would be the Nashville Predators hosting the Ottawa Senators at 7:30 p.m. ET. Neither is a top team this year, and neither has a ton of offensive depth, but, of course, there are always options to consider and potential values to be found. Plus, I know it could be Sharks-Ducks and you'd still want to get DFS lineups in for a chance at winning. Here's the lineup I ended up liking the most.
CAPTAIN
Drake Batherson, OTT at NSH ($11,400): To allow myself more salary for the rest of my lineup I went down the list a bit to find my Captain. In terms of potential bang for my buck, I ended up with Batherson. I wanted a Senator because the Predators have allowed 29.2 shots on net per game compared to the Senators' 27.3. Also, Juuse Saros has a .901 save percentage through 39 appearances. Batherson is second on the Sens with 43 points and is tied for second with 114 shots on net through 52 games. Thus, he's my Captain.
FLEX
Jonathan Marchessault, NSH vs. OTT ($9,000): Another salary-saving, talent-distributing decision I made was to eschew Filip Forsberg. Instead, I have his two linemates, the first of whom is Marchessault. Though he doesn't have a point in his last four games, the former Golden Knight had a 10-game point streak before that. Plus, within that four-game stretch, he has an outing with five shots on net and another with a whopping eight shots on net. This is the first night of a back-to-back for the Senators, so there's a chance Anton Forsberg will be in goal, which would change the circumstances quite a bit. For now, though, the expectation is Linus Ullmark will be making his first start back from injured reserve (IR). Of course, that offers up complications as well, though Ullmark had a .915 save percentage at the time of his injury.
Steven Stamkos, NSH vs. OTT ($8,800): And now, the other member of the Forsberg and Marchessault line. Stamkos started his tenure with Nashville slow, but he's up to 17 goals and 16 assists on the season. That includes nine goals with the extra man. The power-play potential is one area I haven't touched on yet, and the Senators have a decidedly average penalty kill.
Tim Stutzle, OTT at NSH ($8,400): Frankly, it's a surprise to see Stutzle's salary this low. He has 52 points through 52 games. Over the last three seasons, he has 212 points through 205 contests. The German is a proper point-a-game player, and he has seven points through his last four outings. Ottawa's offense often goes through Stutzle, so unless Saros can shut them down collectively, he's the best bet for a point in this game.
Thomas Chabot, OTT at NSH ($7,200): Jake Sanderson has overtaken Chabot on the Ottawa blue line, but Chabot remains no slouch. He has 23 points, 111 shots on net and 82 blocked shots through 52 games. Recently, he had a goal on five shots on target plus an assist against the Capitals, a decidedly tougher team to score on. Chabot has also averaged a robust 23:09 per game in ice time. While he plays tougher minutes than Sanderson, Chabot's salary is $1,000 less. That made setting a lineup much easier.
Fedor Svechkov, NSH vs. OTT ($5,000): Even with my salary management, I was left looking for a low-salary upside play to round out my lineup. To be fair, that tends to be the norm when it comes to single-game NHL DFS contests. If you aren't familiar with Svechkov, the 21-year-old rookie was drafted 19th overall in 2021. He's currently serving as a third-line center and as a piece of the second power-play unit. Over his last 12 games, he has four goals, three assists and 23 shots on net. For this salary outlay, there's upside in Svechkov at home Monday.
