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.
It's a typical Tuesday night in the NHL, with nine games on the slate. Let's see which stacks stand out above the rest.
Philadelphia Flyers
It's been a good start to this season for the Philadelphia Flyers, especially compared to how last season ended. They are 4-2-1 and are easily in the playoff hunt in the Metropolitan division at this early stage of the year. The offense has yet to really click, but that could change on Tuesday.
The nice thing about stacking the Flyers is the clean correlation through both the first two lines. The top line is still Sean Couturier ($7,600) with Claude Giroux ($6,300) and Travis Konecny ($5,500). Couturier leads the team with nine points and also plays the most minutes of any of the forwards, with Giroux being second in both of these categories. All three of these guys play on the power play with Keith Yandle ($4,600) quarterbacking, and he's one of the best values at defense with that low salary.
The second line is also in play, with Cam Atkinson ($6,400), Derick Brassard ($4,100), and Joel Farabee ($5,600) all having solid starts to the season. They join forces on Philly's second power-play unit, as well.
We'll want to target power-play stacks for the Flyers against the Arizona Coyotes tonight. The Coyotes' penalty kill has been successful just 58% of the time, the worst percentage in the league. Overall, they allow 4.22 goals per game, the most in the league. The Flyers' implied team total is currently 3.23, and with how Arizona has played, it wouldn't be a surprise if they exceeded that number.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs finally got somewhat on track in their past two games, getting two wins and scoring eight goals in the process. The fans can finally stop being in crisis mode as the team finally looks like its old self again. They still have some work to do, but they can thrive tonight.
The Leafs' top line was not what got the job done on Saturday. They had a good game on Wednesday night, with William Nylander ($6,800) scoring a goal on five shots. Auston Matthews ($8,400) had an assist on that goal, but he continues to slump with just two points in six games. He has 25 shots on goal, so he's getting opportunities. There's little reason to expect this downturn to continue, as his career shooting percentage is 15.9% -- this season it's all the way down at 4%. Michael Bunting ($4,200) continues to skate with this line and is tied for the team lead in goals with three.
The second line of John Tavares ($7,400), Mitchell Marner ($6,800) and Alexander Kerfoot ($3,800) combined for six points on Saturday. They looked better than the first line and come in at a discount, so they are in play, too.
Coming into the season, this would have appeared to be a tough matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights, but things have drastically changed just three weeks into the campaign. Vegas has been depleted by injuries and has not played well. They've allowed the most expected goals per 60 minutes in all situations.
The Leafs' implied team total is the highest on the slate. Matthews should be due for a big game soon if he keeps getting this shot volume, so this is a great spot to go back to him and his line.
Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames have been one of the hottest teams out of the gate, and it's not just because of their name. They've won six games in a row, even after going on a long road trip. There were a lot of questions about how good this team would be and if their style would be fantasy-friendly. They've done a good job answering those questions so far.
The first line for the Flames has been one of the best in hockey to start the year. Elias Lindholm ($7,500) has seemingly found his form from 2018-19, as he now has seven goals in eight games. We could say the same thing about Johnny Gaudreau ($7,000), who has been back to his playmaking best with nine assists so far. The new addition to this line is all-action Matthew Tkachuk ($6,700), who leads the team with 32 shots on goal.
The matchup isn't the easiest against the Nashville Predators, but it shouldn't really scare anyone off. Nashville is 11th in goals allowed per game, so they are beatable. Right now, you want to ride with Calgary, as they are second in the league in shots on goal per night.
The power-play defenseman with the three forwards is Rasmus Andersson ($4,100), who is a significant value for his role.
This stack could go overlooked as people fail to adjust to this line and their rising salaries. Calgary has nearly as much upside as any team on the slate but might not have the popularity to match it.
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.