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.
We've got a six-game slate on Wednesday, so let's look at the best stacks for this slate.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs look set to win the North Division. They could even do it tonight if they win and get some help. That said, they haven't been in great form, going 5-3-2 in their last 10 games. They'll want to fine-tune their game with a lineup that has seen changes due to additions at the trade deadline and subtractions due to injuries. They have eight games left in the regular season starting tonight, so it's the perfect time to build chemistry with their new lines.
Any Leafs fantasy discussion begins with Auston Matthews ($8,900). He is on the hunt for personal milestones, as if he could hit 40 goals in this 56 game season, that would certainly be impressive. He currently leads the league with 34. Mitch Marner ($7,700) is the only player on the team with more points than Matthews, and these two have been a pair we've wanted to play all season long.
Their new linemate is Nick Foligno ($4,200), who came over at the trade deadline. Foligno has a point in each of his first two games with the Leafs, so he hasn't been a bad fit with this line.
Morgan Rielly ($5,200) has seen his fantasy production drop off, but he is still Toronto's top power play defenseman and could click on some goals with Marner and Matthews on the man advantage.
Toronto is taking on the Montreal Canadiens in what could be a preview of the first round of the playoffs. Montreal looked to be a contender for a higher seed in the division early in the season, but their play has fallen off dramatically. While their defensive metrics are in the middle of the pack, they have been very inconsistent in their play of late. Matthews hasn't had any trouble against them this season, with 10 points in their six meetings.
Toronto has an implied team total of three goals tonight, and their star players have as much upside as anyone in the league.
Los Angeles Kings
We haven't wanted to stack the Los Angeles Kings many times this season. They are second to last in the West and are an extreme longshot to sneak into the playoffs at this point. They have shown improvement this season compared to last, as they are up to 20th in goals per game instead of 30th. They do have some players who can produce for us in fantasy in the right spots, and Wednesday presents one of those spots.
The Kings' top line all season has been led by Anze Kopitar ($7,100). He's having a bounce-back season and is averaging a point per game for just the second time in his career. Dustin Brown ($4,900) is also having a better year this season compared to last, as he has the same number of goals (17) in 22 fewer games. Alex Iafallo ($4,300) recently signed a new contract and is third on the team in scoring for forwards.
This line is fully correlated on the top power play, and it's relatively affordable compared to other lines that we usually see with the full correlation. Drew Doughty ($5,500) is the second in points on the team and has over half of his points on the power play, so he can be played in this stack.
The Kings take on their crosstown rivals in the Anaheim Ducks tonight. The Ducks have done their best to increase their draft lottery odds of late, as their five-game losing streak has them just two points ahead of the Buffalo Sabres for last place in the entire league. They've been making questionable lineup decisions, including starting journeyman goaltender Anthony Stolarz, which makes it possible that the lottery odds are the thing on their mind.
The Kings took advantage of that in Monday's game, winning 4-1, and could easily do the same thing tonight.
Edmonton Oilers
We liked the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night, and they won 6-1, so we can go right back to them tonight. They have the same matchup against the Winnipeg Jets that they have thrived in all season long. They've won six of the eight meetings with Winnipeg and scored 31 goals in those games. This is their final game against the Jets, so hopefully, they make it count for those of us who want to roster them tonight.
Obviously, Connor McDavid ($9,300) is the guy we want to play on the Oilers. He had a hat trick and an assist on Monday, good for 55.2 FanDuel points. He now has 19 points in eight games against Winnipeg, and has multiple points in all eight of those games.
Jesse Puljujarvi ($3,800) had two assists on Monday, so he was the closest to being elevated by McDavid, as the Oilers superstar mostly did it on his own. Leon Draisaitl ($8,500) had two points on the goals McDavid didn't have a hand in, but this pair could still do damage on the power play together so they are worth stacking. If playing those two, throwing in Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ($5,600) and Tyson Barrie ($6,300) would make for a fine power play stack.
The Jets' propensity to give up high danger chances burned them on Monday against McDavid. Another bad situation for Winnipeg is the fact they will be without Nikolaj Ehlers and Adam Lowry in this game. Ehlers is key to transitioning the puck through the neutral zone, and Lowry was one of the Jets' best penalty killers.
The Oilers have the highest implied team total tonight, as it sits at 3.37 goals. Given what we've seen from them against Winnipeg this season, it wouldn't be surprising to see them blow that total out of the water.
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.