This article is part of our DraftKings NHL series.
The remarkable Stanley Cup Finals return to Edmonton all tied up at two games apiece. Game 5 starts, as per usual, at 8 p.m. EDT on Saturday. For DFS purposes, you get a salary cap of $50,000 to work with for a six-player lineup. One is your Captain, who nets 1.5 times the points, but has an elevated salary. My previous strategy has been to go with a value play at Captain (Sam Bennett has worked out a couple times) while then rostering Connor McDavid and then going from there. This time, I wanted to see if I could feasibly build a lineup around a big-time player at Captain, and I do believe I did. Not McDavid, though, but…
CAPTAIN
Leon Draisaitl, EDM vs. FLA ($15,900): For me, I feel like Draisaitl's NHL existence is similar to "What if Brett Hull played in the shadow of being Mario Lemieux's teammate?" After playing the hero (yet again) on Thursday, he's tied with McDavid on 32 points - 11 of those goals. And in five of the last six outings, Draisaitl has notched multiple points with the lone exception being the 6-1 defeat from Game 3.
FLEX
Matthew Tkachuk, FLA at EDM ($8,400): If not for Draisaitl's heroics, Tkachuk would have been the star of the show during Game 4 with two goals on four shots while adding an assist. Tkachuk has also registered at least two points in four of his last eight appearances. And Kris Knoblauch had to once again swap Stuart Skinner for Calvin Pickard, so clearly there's still an issue in net for the Oilers.
Carter Verhaeghe, FLA at EDM ($8,000): Verhaeghe experienced bad luck this season (8.3 shooting percentage), though he's locked in and getting more favorable results on a five-game scoring streak where he's directed 13 shots on net. And since this is my second and final Panther than ended up in my lineup, I'll reiterate Edmonton's goaltending questions. The Oilers may have won two out of the four games, yet they've allowed 18 goals during the Final.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, EDM vs. FLA ($7,000): Though Nugent-Hopkins plays next to Connor McDavid on the top line and first power-play unit, he had been held off the scoresheet for a few matchups. That changed on Thursday when he tallied a goal and assist. RNH has done plenty this postseason with 20 points over as many games. I do like the idea of having someone who gets to skate with that much talent in my lineup.
Corey Perry, EDM vs. FLA ($6,200): The Oilers did some line juggling that saw Perry dip down out of the top-six, yet he remains on the lead man-advantage. While he didn't earn a point from Game 4, the veteran recorded four shots and 5:14 on the PP. And prior to that, Perry had been riding a five-game point run.
Adam Henrique, EDM vs. FLA ($4,400): Closing out my lineup with Henrique after opening with Draisaitl as Captain is a fair tradeoff. Edmonton's third-line center picked up an assist on Thursday and is active at both ends with three points, 11 shots, and nine blocked shots across six outings.
