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When I build entries for the fantasy hockey previews on NHLTradeRumor.com, I start with deployment, not reputation. Managing our hockey pools and playing in dynasty leagues has taught me that a player’s actual linemates and power-play assignment can matter more than last week’s point total. That is particularly true for Saturday’s Ottawa Senators–Pittsburgh Penguins matchup.
Ottawa’s Tim Stützle enters with 24 points in 20 games, while Pittsburgh defenseman Erik Karlsson has 19 points in 19. The more actionable development: Pittsburgh practiced with Rickard Rakell, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin together, but Malkin was on the second power-play unit. My approach is to prioritize Stützle’s cross-category workload and Karlsson’s top-unit role, then decide how much of Pittsburgh’s star-studded first line I can afford once the starting goalies are official.
- Core: Stützle offers Ottawa’s clearest combination of first-line minutes, shots and PP1 access.
- Defense value: Karlsson controls Pittsburgh’s projected PP1 despite Malkin playing on the top five-on-five line.
- Wait on goalies: Ullmark and Murashov are prominent projections, but neither start was confirmed at the time of writing.
Senators vs. Penguins Game Time, Venue and TV Channels
- Matchup: Ottawa Senators (away) at Pittsburgh Penguins (home)
- Date and puck drop: Saturday, November 14, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. ET
- Arena: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- United States: SportsNet Pittsburgh locally; NHL Power Play on ESPN+ for eligible out-of-market viewers (blackout restrictions apply).
- Canada: Sportsnet One (SN1) and TVA Sports 2 (French); streaming through Sportsnet+ and applicable TVA Sports access.
- Radio: 105.9 The X and the Penguins app; visit our NHL TV schedule hub for other games.
Ottawa Senators vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Injury Report — November 14
The following is the pregame injury-board snapshot, not a replacement for official warmup lineups. Trevor van Riemsdyk appeared in Friday’s practice pair rotation despite an injured-reserve listing; recheck his status before lock.
| Team | Player | Reported injury | Status | DFS effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OTT | William Eklund | Ankle | IR | Less top-nine wing depth |
| OTT | Andre Burakovsky | Lower body | IR | Opportunity for replacement winger |
| OTT | Warren Foegele | Knee | IR | Reduced wing rotation |
| OTT | Nick Cousins | Upper body | Out | Fourth-line combinations unsettled |
| PIT | Bryan Rust | Lower body | IR | Rakell/Malkin carry top-line usage |
| PIT | Ryan Graves | Knee | IR | Shifts defensive-pair minutes |
| PIT | Elmer Söderblom | Upper body | IR | Less bottom-six depth |
| PIT | Trevor van Riemsdyk | Lower body | IR listing* | *Possible game-day change; verify |
Injury verification: CBS Sports game preview and PensBurgh’s Nov. 14 lineup report. Statuses can change.
Senators vs. Penguins Betting Odds: Moneyline, Puck Line and Total
| Market | Ottawa Senators | Pittsburgh Penguins / opposite side |
|---|---|---|
| Moneyline | −128 | +106 |
| Puck line | −1.5 (+186) | +1.5 (−235) |
| Total: 6.5 goals | Over −104 | Under −118 |
Source: PuckOdds’ FanDuel market snapshot. These are time-stamped reference prices, not live or guaranteed lines. Compare your available book and check for goalie-driven movement.
Senators vs. Penguins DFS Picks: Projected Lines and Power-Play Matchups
Senators vs. Penguins DFS Line Combinations: Crosby, Malkin and Rakell
Friday’s Penguins practice put Rickard Rakell–Sidney Crosby–Evgeni Malkin together at even strength, with Tommy Novak–Ben Kindel–Egor Chinakhov on line two. The reported defense pairs featured Spencer Stastney with Erik Karlsson, Sam Girard with Kaedan Korczak, and Declan Carlile with Kris Letang. Pittsburgh’s projected power play was PP1: Karlsson, Crosby, Rakell, Novak, Kindel; PP2: Letang, Malkin, Chinakhov, Lapierre, Brazeau.
That split creates an unusually useful distinction. Crosby and Rakell correlate at five-on-five and on PP1. Malkin correlates with them at even strength but not on the primary man advantage. In a three-player tournament stack I would rather pair Crosby–Rakell–Karlsson than blindly pay for all three first-line forwards, unless Malkin’s salary is meaningfully discounted or the power-play units change.
Ottawa’s Stützle–Cozens line and Sanderson’s PP1 floor
Ottawa’s latest NHL-reported lineup before this game had Fabian Zetterlund–Tim Stützle–Dylan Cozens up top, followed by Philip Tomasino–Shane Pinto–Drake Batherson and Michael Amadio–Ridly Greig–Claude Giroux. Jake Sanderson–Artem Zub formed the first defensive pair; Thomas Chabot–Jordan Spence the second. The Senators’ prominent PP1 pieces include Stützle, Cozens, Batherson and Sanderson, while the fifth slot has varied across projection providers. Confirm the exact fifth skater during warmups.
Stützle has 10 goals, 14 assists and 47 shots through 20 games. That is a meaningful shot-and-point baseline even when Ottawa’s five-on-five finishers go cold. For stacking, Stützle with Cozens creates even-strength and PP1 overlap; adding Sanderson captures primary-unit assists without paying for another forward. Batherson is a different construction: second-line even-strength exposure but a route to Stützle points on the power play.
Special teams are the swing factor, not just the 6.5-goal total
Pittsburgh entered with a roughly 21.1% power play, versus Ottawa’s roughly 11.7% on the season, according to the game preview statistics. Ottawa’s penalty kill has been vulnerable enough to keep Crosby, Rakell and Karlsson together in my preferred correlated Penguins stack. Yet Ottawa’s top line can attack a Penguins club allowing around 3.4 goals per game. A total of 6.5 implies interest in scoring but does not automatically make every power-play specialist a value.
The game-specific trap is name recognition: Malkin is on the premium even-strength line but outside projected PP1, while Karlsson has the PP1 quarterback job and a team-leading 19 points. On a DFS slate, that difference can matter more than choosing the biggest celebrity.
Start ’Em and Sit ’Em: Best Ottawa–Pittsburgh DFS Targets
Start ’Em: Players I would build around
- Tim Stützle (OTT, C) — premium core. His 24 points in 20 games, 47 shots and heavy all-situations usage give him a stronger multi-category floor than a pure finishing winger. Stack with Cozens at five-on-five and Sanderson for PP1 correlation. Best for cash games and single-entry builds if salary permits.
- Erik Karlsson (PIT, D) — priority defenseman. His 3 goals and 16 assists in 19 games, PP1 quarterback role and roughly two shots per game justify paying for a defenseman with genuine assist equity. He is my preferred bridge into a Crosby–Rakell stack.
- Rickard Rakell (PIT, W) — correlation play. Projected to skate with Crosby and Malkin at even strength and Crosby on PP1. That makes Rakell a better shared-exposure option than simply choosing three Pittsburgh forwards with different man-advantage assignments.
- Ben Kindel (PIT, C) — salary-sensitive tournament value. A projected second-line center with PP1 access can outperform a conventional bottom-six price tag. Only use as a value if his site-specific DFS salary is genuinely below the comparable PP1 alternatives.
Sit ’Em or limit exposure: Where the DFS risk hides
- Evgeni Malkin (PIT, C/W) — underweight at a premium price. First-line even-strength minutes are a real plus, but projected PP2 deployment reduces full-game correlation with Crosby and Rakell. This is a pricing fade, not a claim that Malkin cannot score.
- Kris Letang (PIT, D) — tournament-only when expensive. Letang has a three-game point streak, but Karlsson is projected to lead PP1. At a similar salary, I prefer Karlsson’s offensive role; Letang becomes interesting when the discount is significant or the units shift.
Tim Stützle vs. Erik Karlsson: Fantasy Hockey Player Stat Comparison
OTTAWA SENATORS · CENTER
Tim Stützle
DFS edge: First line + PP1; 47 shots and 22:00 average ice time through Nov. 12.
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS · DEFENSE
Erik Karlsson
DFS edge: Top power-play quarterback; connects with Crosby and Rakell on PP1.
Statistics entering Nov. 14: CBS Sports (Stützle) and Penguins official game notes (Karlsson).
Projected Starting Goalies: Save Volume vs. Shot Quality
Ottawa: Linus Ullmark is a leading projection, not a confirmed starter. He returned Thursday after a nine-game injury absence and stopped 26 of 29 shots against Colorado. His season line entering Saturday is approximately 8-1-0, .938 save percentage and 1.52 goals-against average. The caveat for DFS is volume: Pittsburgh’s recent shot generation is closer to the high-20s than a reliable 35-shot barrage. Ullmark’s win and goals-prevention potential may be excellent, but his ceiling at a premium salary could require a shutout or a surprising shot spike. If Samuel Ersson starts instead, reevaluate Ottawa’s goalie floor and the Penguins’ scoring potential.
Pittsburgh: Sergei Murashov and Arturs Silovs both appear on pregame projection boards, without a confirmed starter. Murashov’s season line is approximately .891 save percentage and 3.26 GAA; Silovs has been around .873 and 3.35. Ottawa has several ways to generate dangerous looks through Stützle, Cozens and its PP1. There is a plausible save-volume path for a cheap Penguins goalie, but quality-against and win risk are significant. I would not use either as a cash-game anchor unless an extreme discount creates a compelling salary trade-off.
Before DFS lock, verify the starter and both power-play units through official team reports or a confirmed goalie tracker. A one-goalie substitution can change the best cash play, the value of Ottawa stacks, and your willingness to target the over.
My Final DFS Build for Senators at Penguins
Cash-game foundation: Start with Stützle’s usage and Karlsson’s PP1 role; add a reasonably priced winger with genuine top-six minutes rather than forcing a third expensive star. Single-entry tournament: Choose one primary correlation path—Stützle/Cozens/Sanderson or Crosby/Rakell/Karlsson—then use a one-off from the other team if your roster construction permits. Large-field tournament: Kindel is a meaningful PP1 leverage candidate if the salary reflects his second-line five-on-five assignment. I would lower Malkin exposure if he remains on PP2 at a star price.
For more pregame player projections, see our fantasy hockey predictions hub and the recent Senators fantasy breakdown. Follow the Senators team hub and Penguins team hub for roster changes, plus our Erik Karlsson trade-rumor analysis for his bigger-picture role in Pittsburgh.
Senators–Penguins Fantasy Hockey FAQ
Who is the best DFS pick for Ottawa?
My first choice is Tim Stützle because of his top-line and top-power-play role, playing time and established shooting volume. Salary and confirmed deployment still determine lineup fit.
Who is Pittsburgh’s best fantasy defenseman tonight?
Erik Karlsson has the clearest fantasy ceiling among Penguins defensemen if the projected first power-play unit holds. Kris Letang offers a less reliable PP1 path.
Are the Senators and Penguins starting goalies confirmed?
No, not in the verified pregame sources at this article’s publication preparation. Ullmark is a leading Ottawa projection; Pittsburgh reports vary between Murashov and Silovs.
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