3 Daily Fantasy NHL Stacks for 4/12/21
In daily fantasy hockey, stacking is a key strategy in tournaments. We want to correlate our lineups with up to four players to maximize our upside, as if one player on a line is scoring goals, it's likely that his linemates are getting assists as well. Ideally, we'll want players that will get a lot of ice time together on an even-strength line and a power-play line. Two good resources for line combinations are LeftWingLock.com and DailyFaceoff.com, so be sure to check those sites for up-to-date line information.
Things are changing in the NHL with the trade deadline going on today, so let's be sure to stay on top of all the moving parts when building lineups for our stacks.
Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets have won three games in a row, including a 5-0 dismantling of the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. They scored at least four goals in all three of those wins, and they now have 3.27 goals per game, the sixth-most in the league. Tonight, they'll be in a great matchup, one that we've targeted all season long.
The Jets will face the Ottawa Senators for the second consecutive Monday. Ottawa continues to be the whipping boy of the North division, as they've lost four in a row. They've also allowed the most goals per game in the league, allowing 3.76 goals per contest. So, this is a dream matchup for the Jets and some of their forwards have a chance at some big games tonight.
Winnipeg was forced to change up their lines in the last week because of the injury to Blake Wheeler. This meant that Andrew Copp ($4,100) moved up to the first line. At first, this may seem like an unexciting move, but Copp has earned his new role. He has eight goals in his last 10 games and points in four straight games. Now, he'll play with Mark Scheifele ($7,100) and Kyle Connor ($6,500) at even strength. Connor leads the team in goals and Scheifele leads the team in points, and they will play together on the power play. This makes them the best stack on the team, and Copp's salary is low enough that not being on the power play doesn't hurt as much.
Another affordable piece of the stack would be defenseman Josh Morrissey ($4,100), who's on the power play with Scheifele and Connor. Morrissey hasn't had the best offensive season, but does have points in two straight games and is definitely a good value to play with this stack. The Jets have an implied team total of 3.71 goals tonight, that's the highest on the slate. This makes Winnipeg a team that you'll want to get some pieces of in your lineups.
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes have been one of the most fun teams over the past three seasons, both on and off the ice. On the ice, their young talent and possession-dominant style has made them both good in real hockey and good for fantasy as well. Their recent 7-2-1 stretch has them in first place in the Central division, and they are within striking distance of first overall in the league. People could say they are inflating their point totals against the soft underbelly of the Central, and they'll get another chance to do that today.
Carolina is playing against the Detroit Red Wings in a rematch of Saturday night's game. The Red Wings won that game 5-4 in the shootout, but most of the Hurricanes' top players had pretty good games. Sebastian Aho ($7,400) had a goal for the second straight game, which was good news after he was on a small slump. Speaking of slumps, Aho is playing with Andrei Svechnikov ($5,600) at even strength and on the power-play. Svechnikov has gone cold with only one goal in his last 10 games, but he is still shooting the puck a lot, with the 21st highest shot attempt rate in the league, according to Natural Stat Trick. Playing on the first line with Aho and on the league's best power-play should see him break out of his slump soon. The other player on this line is Jesper Fast ($3,700), who is solid but unspectacular and is an option for salary relief with this stack.
Carolina is not a one-line team, as the second line is also viable to stack. Vincent Trocheck ($6,300) has been perhaps their most impressive offensive player, as he leads the team in points per game. Martin Necas ($5,000) had two points in the game against Detroit on Saturday and has been one of the breakout players of the season thus far. Nino Niederreiter ($4,200) joins Necas on the second power-play unit, which is still effective for the Canes. Trocheck plays with Aho and Svechknikov on the top power-play, so if you want exposure to that unit, you could do that unconventional stack with those three. If doing that, definitely consider playing Dougie Hamilton ($6,400), who's sixth in points for defensemen and leads all blueliners in shots on goal with 132.
Carolina's current implied team total is currently sitting at 3.55 goals, tied for the second-highest on the night. Detroit allows the eighth-most goals per game in the NHL, so Carolina's high-powered offense should be able to put up goals against them once again.
Colorado Avalanche
The old saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. That's a good reason to keep going back to the Colorado Avalanche stack. They won their two games over the weekend after a blip on the radar with an 8-3 loss last Wednesday. They lead the league in many categories, including points percentage, goals per game, and shots per game. With the way they've played this season, they can go off in any matchup, but the one they have on Monday could give them a boost.
The Avalanche stack has to start with their best player, Nathan MacKinnon ($9,100). MacKinnon had another solid game on Sunday, with a goal, an assist and seven shots on goal. He has NHL points in 9 straight games and has 40 shots on goal in those games. Gabriel Landeskog ($7,200) continued his good season with a goal and two assists in yesterday's win. Mikko Rantanen ($8,600) only had an assist but is still tied for second in the league in goals with 23. Cale Makar ($5,700) continues to shine, as he leads all defensemen in points per game with .96.
Colorado will face the Arizona Coyotes on Monday night. The Avs demolished the Yotes the last time these two teams met, winning 9-3. Arizona has been propped up by good goaltending this season, because their defense hasn't been too good, allowing the fifth-most expected goals per 60 minutes this season. Well, the goaltending might not be there to save them tonight, with rumors that Ivan Prosvetov will get his first career NHL start. Provestov has allowed six goals in 72 NHL minutes, so that doesn't bode well against the NHL's best offense. Colorado is once again a top stack given how often they erupt for tons of goals, so definitely get some exposure to them in lineups tonight.
Nicholas Vazquez is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Nicholas Vazquez also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username hbyanksman. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.
