3 Daily Fantasy NHL Stacks for 4/20/21

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.

Of the seven games on Tuesday, three of them are repeats of Monday games and one of them is a repeat of matchup from Sunday. So let's use the information we have from those games to build solid lineups with stacks.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Every once in a while, the Toronto Maple Leafs have a stunning loss that provides good entertainment for the rest of the hockey world. It happened last season when they lost to a Zamboni driver playing goalie. It happened in the bubble, when they blew a 3-0 lead, and it happened earlier this season when they let a 5-1 lead slip to the lowly Ottawa Senators.

This past Sunday, they had a loss that could top those recent embarrassments. They lost to the Vancouver Canucks, 3-2, with Vancouver having played their first game in 24 days after a layoff due to COVID. The Canucks were still dealing with the virus and kept some of their players out of the lineup, which made them the biggest home underdogs in more than 10 years. The Leafs will look to avenge that loss and will definitely have a good chance of doing that on Tuesday.

Toronto will play the Canucks again, and despite the loss, the Leafs dominated the game on Sunday. They had 21 high-danger chances and 4.69 expected goals, according to Natural Stat Trick. Auston Matthews ($8,700) scored his league-leading 33rd goal of the season and also put up a whopping 15 shot attempts. Mitch Marner ($7,500) is tied with Matthews for the team lead with 54 points, which is the fourth most in the league. New linemate Alex Galchenyuk ($3,800) has a goal and two assists in the last five games since he joined the line, so for that salary, he's definitely a player you can play alongside the two stars.

The Leafs' power play has really struggled of late, and they are looking for ways to get it going. They've added John Tavares ($6,700) to the first unit to help score more goals, but it hasn't worked yet. It's still worth playing Tavares in some lineups with other Leafs power-play guys. He has multiple points in three straight games, and using him is a way to capture most of the upside on the team.

With Toronto having a slate-high implied team total of 4.09, you'll definitely want a piece of them. Sunday's embarrassment aside, the Leafs are definitely the team in the best spot on this slate.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins had their own embarrassing loss on Sunday, as they fell to the Buffalo Sabres. It was their first loss to the team at the bottom of the East division in six meetings versus the Sabres this season. Luckily for them, it wasn't too damaging of a loss as the Penguins are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games and sit fairly comfortably in a playoff spot. Tonight, they'll face a New Jersey Devils team that's been even worse than Buffalo of late.

With Evgeni Malkin still out, the Penguins have one line that we'll want to stack. It's led by Sidney Crosby ($7,900), who's having a good season, which seems to be going slightly overlooked because it's what we expect of him. He's 12th in NHL in scoring and on a pace that would have him just under 100 points in a full season. Jake Guentzel ($7,400) has been benefiting from playing with Crosby for most of his career, and this season is no different. He leads the team and is tied for 11th in the league in goals with 20. Not too far behind is Bryan Rust ($5,800), who is tied with Crosby with 17 goals. Third in points is Kris Letang ($6,100), who makes a great fourth piece to this line as a defensemen, and he will fit nicely with the three forwards on the same power-play unit.

The Penguins and Devils just had a two-game set last weekend, and Pittsburgh scored 11 goals in the two games. Guentzel picked up a hat trick in one of them, so he definitely has the upside we crave. Those two games were a part of the Devils' poor form of late, as they have lost six in a row and are 1-8-1 in their last 10 games.

Pittsburgh has the slate's second-best implied total (3.98), so they are a great option for stacking.

Dallas Stars

This is a key week for the Dallas Stars if they want to make the playoffs. It's also a key week for fantasy players who want to roster Dallas players. We liked them last night against the Detroit Red Wings, and tonight they will face the Wings again in the second of four meetings this week. It took a shootout for Dallas to win yesterday, so it was a bit disappointing on that front, but the performance was good enough to justify going back to the Stars today.

Last night the Stars had 74 shot attempts compared to just 43 for Detroit. They also had 3.31 expected goals, so they definitely controlled the game. Roope Hintz ($6,400) gutted through his injury and produced a goal and an assist. Jason Robertson ($4,900) also had a goal and now has points in four straight games. Joe Pavelski ($7,400) didn't have any real-world points but had six shot attempts and was part of this line that dominated possession at even strength.

Dallas has two stud defensemen who both play on the top power play and are worth considering. Last night was a Miro Heiskanen ($4,400) game as he had two assists. He comes in with a salary $1,000 less under the salary for John Klingberg ($5,400), who has produced more points all season long. Klingberg was the more popular player on last night's slate, so if you can get Heiskanen at both a lower salary and lower draft percentage, he's a great leverage option.

Dallas seems to be on a bit of a roll with three straight wins and a 6-2-2 record in their last 10 games. They are big favorites against Detroit and have an implied team total of 3.32, so it's definitely worth using them again.

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.