3 Daily Fantasy NHL Stacks for Thursday 10/28/21
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 updated line information.
There are nine games on tonight’s slate with a whole bunch of moving parts across the board. Let’s see what that means as far as the best stacks tonight.
Tampa Bay Lightning
The start to the season has not been ideal for the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning. They kicked off with a 6-2 loss on opening night, and are 3-3-1 through their first seven games. They lost Nikita Kucherov to injury, although they are somewhat used to that from last season. They'll get a great get-right spot on Thursday night.
The Lightning moved around the lines to compensate for the Kucherov injury. Brayden Point ($7,600) is still centering the top line and has started to produce, with three goals in his last four games. His left wing is still Ondrej Palat ($5,800), whose five points are fourth on the team. Now, the right wing on this line is Steven Stamkos ($8,400), who leads the team with 10 points. Point and Stamkos play together on the top power play and form a dangerous duo.
Second on the team in points is Victor Hedman ($6,900), with seven assists in seven games. He's one of the best offensive talents on the team and has a key role on the power play, so he can be used in any stack.
The Lightning face off against the Arizona Coyotes tonight and are huge home favorites. Arizona has allowed 4.83 goals against per game this season -- by far the most in the league. Their penalty kill has been successful just 35% of the time, so Tampa's power play definitely can get going here. The Lightning's implied team total is a slate-high 3.74. Even without one of their best offensive weapons, they are still a great stack on Thursday.
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks were one of the biggest positive surprises to start the season, winning their first four games. They've hit a bump in the road with two straight losses but now return home looking to get another win. They have some great fantasy assets that come in as good values, making them a great stacking target.
The first line for the Sharks is centered by Logan Couture ($5,500). He's off to a great start to the season, with a point in each of his first six games and nine points total. He plays with Timo Meier ($6,400) on his right wing, who's one of the most underrated wingers in hockey. Meier loves to shoot the puck, with the fifth-highest shot attempt rate in the NHL so far this season, and four goals to go with that. Jonathan Dahlen ($3,900) has been a revelation as a rookie and plays with these two players at even strength and on the power play.
The Sharks will face the Montreal Canadiens in a rematch of a game that took place last week. The Sharks won that game 5-0, and Meier, Couture, and Dahlen combined for seven points. The Sharks scored two power-play goals in that game, punishing Montreal's penalty kill which ranks as the fourth worst in the league. Brent Burns ($5,300) remains a great value, as we know he racks up shots and blocked shots; he also contributes on the top power play.
The Sharks have a healthy implied team total of 3.13 goals tonight, and the correlation the top line offers is great -- especially as all four players are relatively affordable.
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks seemed like a team that could go into early-season crisis mode, but they've steadied the ship a bit. 3-3-1 is not the best record they could've hoped for, but they can build on that. They're set up in a great spot on Thursday night at home.
The Canucks have shifted things around on their lines to create more balance. The line that remains intact includes leading goal scorer Bo Horvat ($5,900) and the leader in points, Conor Garland ($5,600). Tanner Pearson ($4,000) is an affordable part of this line that also plays with Garland on the power play. The second line has J.T. Miller ($6,900) and Brock Boeser ($6,800), and they are a duo that has shown great chemistry in the past.
Neither of these lines include probably the Canucks best player in Elias Pettersson ($6,800). He's slid down to the third line, but will still play on the top power play. If you want to do a Pettersson, Horvat, Miller, and Quinn Hughes ($6,400) power-play stack, that definitely could work.
The Canucks play the Philadelphia Flyers, who are on the second night of a back-to-back. The Flyers are struggling defensively this season, allowing the third-most expected goals per game. Philly is also turning to backup goaltender Martin Jones, who has allowed 38.19 more goals than expected over the last three seasons. Yikes.
With the way the lines are divided, the Canucks could go overlooked tonight, so playing some pieces of them could be a good way to differentiate in tournaments. They do have the second-highest implied team total on the slate, so the oddsmakers are expecting a good offensive performance from them in this game.
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.
