2026 Olympics Men's Hockey DFS Strategy: USA vs. Denmark Showdown Picks for Feb 14
DraftKings opted for two possibilities on Saturday. The first was a three-game slate starting at 6:10 a.m. EST. The other one was a Showdown-style contest for the United States against Denmark at 3:10 p.m. EST.
I know enough to know that a slate starting very early in the morning isn't conducive to most, so here's a lineup for USA-Denmark. It operates under the usual single-game slate. You pick six players with $55,000 to spend. Your Captain earns 1.5 times the points, but at an elevated salary. Here's the lineup I landed on. Spoiler alert: it's pretty much all Americans. I mean, this is going to a rout, right?
CAPTAIN
Tage Thompson, USA vs. DEN ($13,200): The "hmm…that's interesting" lineup decision from the matchup against Latvia was the deployment of Thompson. There are a lot of big, strong hockey men on Team USA, yet Thompson still stands out as he got power-play time with the first unit and potted a goal on three shots. Whoever gets the call in net for Denmark won't be terribly imposing - and neither should their lineup - especially a theoretical penalty kill that won't be able to withstand a formidable American man-advantage.
FLEX
Quinn Hughes, USA vs. DEN ($8,400): The talk about US-Latvia was heavily on brotherly combos as it made for easy storytelling, but also spoke to the quality of both the Hughes and Tkachuk siblings. Quinn Hughes is, you know, Quinn Hughes. Perhaps the best puck-moving defenseman in the NHL and top player to cover the point on the power play. Denmark couldn't keep Germany in check. I can't see them stopping the United States much more than Latvia did, which wasn't at all. Let's not forget the USA scored five goals against Latvia with two others disallowed. Hughes dished out two assists during that outing and is in line to see as much ice time as anyone on Saturday.
Matthew Tkachuk, USA vs. DEN ($8,200): I mentioned the brotherly thing. And as much as it is a storyline, it did weirdly seem relevant in the opener. Matthew and Brady played alongside Jack Eichel and received significant minutes. It felt like the USA was hoping the Tkachuks would stand out from a narrative perspective. And to be fair, they did as Matthew picked up two assists and four shots. He is as prolific as anybody at putting pucks on net when healthy and is excessively competitive, which will motivate him to do well against Denmark and produce enough DFS points.
Nikolaj Ehlers, DEN vs. USA ($7,400): It couldn't be all Americans. Ehlers is the best Danish player, and it isn't even close. Do you want to have Oliver Bjorkstrand instead? Ehlers registeres an assist and three shots against Germany. This is only about not having only USA reps on your lineup. Take the top Denmark option and hope he does a bit of something.
Dylan Larkin, USA vs. DEN ($6,400): Larkin ended up here not because I'm a Red Wings fan, though more due to how the salaries are laid out. I wanted Americans as the United States will likely score at least four goals on Saturday and likely won't allow more than one. You've seen what Canada has done thus far? The US wants to keep the pace. Larkin crushed it at 4 Nations, even if he was unremarkable against Latvia. But it's more about wanting an American who I know will see real ice time against Denmark.
Brock Nelson, USA vs. DEN ($6,200): Maybe the matchup against Latvia was a fluke…but what if it wasn't? Nelson scored two goals. He was active in key situations. There was a level of trust there, even after he was responsible for being offside for a goal that should have counted. Nelson is probably feeling good and will be facing Denmark. All things considered, the United States of America should mop the floor with Denmark on the hockey front. It would be disingenuous to pretend like that wasn't the reality of the situation. I'd rather have any significant American over any Danish player other than Ehlers and Bjorkstrand. Roll with it and hope for another rout, which is the likely result.
