3 Daily Fantasy NHL Stacks for Thursday 4/22/21
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.
This 10-game slate has many ways to build lineups, but let's look at three stacks that stand out above the rest.
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins were considered winners at the trade deadline, and that has played out on the ice. They have won five straight since making their moves and have added depth that they desperately needed. They've scored 18 goals in the five games and have a very good chance of extending that streak on Thursday night.
The depth of the forward group now gives us options on which line to stack, too.
The perfection line has been reunited for the last five games with good results. Brad Marchand ($7,800) has five goals in those five games. Patrice Bergeron ($7,500) has been on a good run, as well, with seven goals in his last 10 games. David Pastrnak ($7,600) has been the worst of the three but still has nine points in his last 10 games, so it hasn't been all bad.
This line has been one of the most productive lines in the NHL for the past few seasons, so it's always one of the best stacks. However, they do cost you a big percentage of your salary cap, which the second line will not.
With Taylor Hall ($6,300) in the mix, the second line has been productive, as well. Craig Smith ($4,900) and David Krejci ($5,300) each have five points in the five games they've played together, with Hall chipping in with three. This trio makes up the forwards on the second power play unit as well, so it is fully correlated.
If you want an affordable defenseman to go with this stack on the power play, Mike Reilly ($4,200) also joined at the trade deadline and has three assists and 15 shots on goal in his five games as a Bruin.
The Bruins will face Hall's former club, the Buffalo Sabres. These teams played on Tuesday, and Boston was able to generate 41 scoring chances and 3.61 expected goals, according to Natural Stat Trick. With their implied team total at 3.44, they shouldn't have much of a problem dominating once again. Whether it be the first line or the second line, a Bruins stack makes a lot of sense on this slate.
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are having a strange season on and off the ice.
The off the ice stuff involves players fighting their own teammates, a player missing games due to an allegation from 10 years prior that seemed to be a smear campaign over politics in Russia, and the coaching staff being forced to miss games due to COVID.
On the ice, they have shown flashes of being a great team, but at times they also look bad, such as their 6-1 loss on Tuesday. They have the best goal difference in the East despite not even being in a playoff spot. A lot of that has to do with two games against one opponent, the same one they will face on Thursday.
The Rangers' play has been buoyed by some excellent performances from some players. Mika Zibanejad ($7,800) has been much better after a bout with COVID slowed him down to start the season. He just had a six-game point streak snapped on Tuesday and has 11 points in his last 10 games.
He has a new left wing, as the Rangers look to get their first overall pick Alexis Lafreniere ($3,400) some more ice time with better players. This gives a nice discount if you want to play Zibanejad's line, and you can include Pavel Buchnevich ($6,100), who is tied for the team lead with 19 goals.
Another player carrying the Rangers has been Artemi Panarin ($8,300). He hasn't received the MVP buzz that he got last season, but he's arguably been better this season. His 1.49 points per game is higher than the 1.38 he had last season and is second in the league behind only Connor McDavid.
His center, Ryan Strome ($6,400), was written off by many people before Panarin was placed on his line, and now Strome is one the more productive second-line centers in the league. They are joined by Colin Blackwell ($4,000), who has chipped in with 22 points this season and is a nice salary relief option to add to a Panarin and Strome stack.
The Rangers get to face an opponent that has been kind to them this season. They've scored 27 goals in the six meetings this season against the Philadelphia Flyers, including 9-0 and 8-3 wins. Mika Zibanejad went off in both of those games, with six points in each of them. Adam Fox ($5,800) has eight assists in five games against Philly, and he's usable in any Rangers stack given that he is third in points for defensemen in the league.
The Rangers' implied team total is up to 3.62, so they could have another offensive explosion against the Flyers tonight.
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche have been on such a roll that COVID was the only thing that could slow them down. They had won four in a row and nine of their last 10 before their last three games got postponed. Their dangerous offense will get back at it again tonight, as they average the most goals and most shots on goal per game in the NHL. They will be without some pieces, but that opens up opportunities for other players with lower salaries that will be easier to fit into a lineup.
The Avs' best player, Nathan MacKinnon ($9,000), will carry his 11-game point streak into this game on Thursday. He has the second-highest shot attempt rate in the NHL, so when you combine that with his point output, it makes him one of the best floor and ceiling players in NHL daily fantasy.
Gabriel Landeskog ($6,500) has been productive, as well, as he averages a point per game on the season. He's been better than that over his last 10 games, with 12 points in that span.
With Mikko Rantanen unavailable tonight, Andre Burakovsky ($4,000) will slide up to his spot on the top line and top power play spot. Burakovsky is a capable offensive player, so he's definitely worth playing for $4,600 less than Rantanen's salary. That should allow you to play Cale Makar ($5,700) on defense, which is definitely good because he leads all defensemen in points per game this season.
Colorado will face the St. Louis Blues and has a chance of clinching a playoff spot with a win. The Blues have been all over the place with their play this season, at some points looking like the contender we expected and other times looking bad. One of those times they looked bad was in the first week of the season when the Avalanche beat them 8-0.
All told, Colorado has won five of the six meetings with St. Louis this season. Given that they are currently -164 favorites and have an implied team total of 3.57, they should have no problems winning and putting up useful fantasy scores for our 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.
