This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
Saturday there were 15 NHL games. I hope you got your fill, because Sunday is on the exact opposite end of the spectrum. There is exactly one game, which features the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Detroit Red Wings in the second leg of a back-to-back. That means DraftKings contests are all of the Showdown variety. You have to pick a lineup of six players, one of whom is your captain. The captain's points are worth 1.5 times as many points. As such, I have decided to just put together one potential lineup you could use Sunday if you want to play a Showdown contest.
Captain: Ondrej Palat, TAM at DET ($13,500): Palat didn't pick up a point Saturday, though to be fair nobody did in the game between these two teams. However, that ended a seven-game point streak for the winger. He's notched 45 points in 51 games, including 19 on the power play. Andrei Vasilevskiy is going to be in net for the Lightning, so I am definitely going to lean heavily on Lightning players in this one. Also, Jonathan Bernier will likely start for the Wings, and since returning from injury he has a 3.77 GAA and .896 save percentage.
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TAM at DET ($11,000): Vasilevskiy would have had too high a salary for my taste as the captain, especially since the team in front of him will be on the second leg of a back-to-back. However, I definitely want him in my lineup. The Russian is maybe the NHL's best goaltender, and he's shown that with a 2.19 GAA and .929 save percentage. Detroit has only managed 2.17 goals per game, and it only put 15 shots on net against Curtis McElhinney on Saturday, and that game went into a shootout.
Alex Barre-Boulet, TAM at DET ($7,600): After Steven Stamkos went on long-term injured reserve, Barre-Boulet got moved to the top line for the Lightning. That means playing alongside Brayden Point and Ondrej Palat. This is the place to be. Plus, the 23-year-old has started 60.6 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone, which is not surprising. After all, the top two players in the statistic for the Lightning are his linemates Point and Palat.
Erik Cernak, TAM at DET ($7,000): I'm going with Cernak, perhaps an outside-the-box choice, for the sake of saving salary. Besides, Cernak has maybe been a bit more involved than you might expect. He's tallied 15 points and 76 shots on net in 41 games. The Red Wings have allowed 31.8 shots on net per contest, bottom 10 in the NHL, and with Bernier and his 3.03 GAA likely in net that could bode well.
Filip Hronek, DET vs. TAM ($6,200): By going with Palat as captain and grabbing Vasilevskiy as well, this lineup is top heavy. That makes my roster a bit of "stars and scrubs," so to speak. It would be difficult to avoid Red Wings entirely, and Hronek is the Wing I like the most. Hronek is the team's top defenseman and has played 23:28 per game, including 2:36 on the power play. He's also leading the team with 23 points and has put 107 shots on net in 52 games. A few shots on net might be all you need from him at this salary.
Vladislav Namestnikov, DET vs. TAM ($4,600): Why am I going with Namestnikov? Well, for starters he's the player with the highest salary I could afford at this point. However, I wasn't merely trying to spend every cent given to me. Namestnikov is currently centering the first line for the Red Wings, which means more opportunity. At this salary, that's good enough for me. I am definitely not hoping to rely on the Russian for my DFS points Sunday, but you never know.
