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. 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.
We've got five games on Monday with some high team totals, so let's see which teams are the best to stack.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are at the point of their development as a team where the regular season is pretty irrelevant as long as they make the playoffs.
The playoffs have been so disappointing for them as a club, so they will only be judged on how far they go in the postseason. Meanwhile, they are putting together a pretty solid season. They are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games and have won three straight.
The Leafs were juggling their lines a bit, but now they are pretty much back to normal. Auston Matthews ($10,100) remains the best fantasy asset on the team. He has 12 points and 44 shots on goal in his last 10 games. He's back playing with Mitch Marner ($6,800) at even strength, and the two have put up great numbers when playing together over the past few years. The third member of this line was the hero on Saturday for Toronto. Michael Bunting ($4,900) scored a hat trick in a 7-4 win.
The second line is back together and can be used as a stack tonight as well. John Tavares ($8,300) and William Nylander ($8,100) are both point-per-game players and they link up on the first power play. Ilya Mikheyev ($5,800) is also on the line and has scored six goals in 11 games this season.
Toronto is in a great spot against the New Jersey Devils tonight. The Devils have been sinking of late, losing their last four games and 8 of their last 10. It looks like New Jersey will be starting Akira Schmid in goal tonight, who has a brutal .824 save percentage in four appearances this season and has yet to face a team with as much firepower as the Leafs.
Toronto's implied team total is all the way up to 4.11 goals tonight, making them an elite stacking option.
Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers continue to look like one of the best teams in the NHL. They are 8-2 in their last 10 games and are one of two teams to average over four goals per game. They are set up nicely on Monday.
There have been some shifts to the Panthers' lines, but it's definitely not bad for fantasy purposes. Their two best forwards are playing together at five on five now. Jonathan Huberdeau ($8,800) now leads the NHL in points with 62. Aleksander Barkov ($9,100) has five goals in his last six games and has at least four shots on goal in those games. The right-winger on this line will be Carter Verhaeghe ($5,700), who has been a fine complementary player with 36 points in 44 games.
The Panthers will play against the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are traveling back home after playing on the road Sunday. Columbus has allowed the third-most goals per game this season and got pummeled 9-2 the last time these teams met on January 15th.
Florida's team total even exceeds Toronto's at a massive 4.32 goals tonight. You could add in Aaron Ekblad ($7,000) to this stack; he is one of only three defensemen with at least 10 goals this season. He'll also play on the top power play with Barkov and Huberdeau.
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings seemed like playoff contenders at the start of the season but have since fallen off. This season is encouraging for them because of the development of their young players, and tonight, they could be a sneaky stack that pays off in tournaments.
Detroit has a few standout players that are good fantasy options. Dylan Larkin ($8,000) leads the team with 22 goals this season. He's playing alongside rookie Lucas Raymond ($5,700), who could be the rookie of the year this season. Now they've added Vladislav Namestnikov ($4,400) to this line, and he is a respectable vet that offers some salary relief.
The second line is also in play as it has two players on the top power play. Tyler Bertuzzi ($8,000) has been right there with Larkin for the team's most productive player this season. Robby Fabbri ($5,300) has been solid since Bertuzzi moved to his line with six points in seven games. Pius Suter ($5,200) isn't on the power play with these guys, but he did have seven shots on goal on Saturday, so he's not a bad option.
The reason why Detroit is so appealing tonight is the matchup. They'll play the Anaheim Ducks, which may not seem like it's that good of a matchup until you look at some of the Ducks' recent underlying numbers. They allowed 4.29 expected goals to an Ottawa Senators team without two of their top three forwards, and before that, they lost the shot attempt battle to a Montreal Canadiens team that can barely ice an NHL roster.
In four of their last seven games, Anaheim has allowed over four expected goals.
Detroit might be able to have their way with Anaheim tonight, and people might not see it coming. The fact that they are underdogs might make them go overlooked, but you should definitely consider them in tournaments 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.