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.
The time that all fantasy hockey players dream about is here. With the NBA All-Star break, hockey comes into focus, and the prize pools in tournaments are bigger. Let's take a look at some stacks that can help us take down one of those tournaments.
Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers continue to be one of the best teams in the NHL. They are in first in the Eastern Conference and are the only team to average more than four goals per game. Tonight's matchup could be a total shootout.
The Panthers' captain Aleksander Barkov ($8,900) has eight points in his last five games. He now leads the team with 22 goals this season. His linemate Anthony Duclair ($5,900) has 19 goals and will also play with him on the top power play. Carter Verhaeghe ($5,500) is a complimentary piece to this line and is fine to add in a stack.
The second line also makes for a good stack. Jonathan Huberdeau ($9,000) is only behind Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in points with 66 on the season. His center Sam Bennett ($6,900) is second on the team with 20 goals. It seems that now Patric Hornqvist ($5,000) will play on this line. He's a net-front presence on the power play and correlates with Bennett on the second unit. Using Aaron Ekblad ($6,700) with this stack is a good way to get two pieces from each power play unit. Ekblad is sixth in points for defensemen this season, so he can be used in any Florida stack.
The Panthers are on the road against the Minnesota Wild tonight. The Wild aren't the same boring team that's very solid defensively like we used to see from them. Instead, they rank in the middle of the pack in most defensive metrics, which includes being right in the middle of the league in goals allowed per game.
This game has the rare seven-goal over/under, with Florida's implied team total currently sitting at 3.67. You can't get full correlation in stacking one line, so you may have to get creative when building teams with Florida pieces.
The stack that may have the highest upside would be Barkov, Duclair, Huberdeau, and Ekblad. That allows you to play the best players and have a first power play stack.
Minnesota Wild
We have to look at the Wild on the other side of that game with a high total. They are third in the league in goals per game and have had some truly explosive performances. In this game environment, it wouldn't be too shocking to see them do it again.
The Wild became an exciting team last season when Kirill Kaprizov ($8,400) joined the team. He won the rookie of the year and has been even better this season. He's seventh in the league in points and has 14 over his last 10 games. He's revitalized 34-year-old Mats Zuccarello ($7,600), who's on track for a career year with 48 points in 39 games. Ryan Hartman ($6,000) is also having the best season of his career with 19 goals.
We saw Monday's slate get broken by Matthew Boldy ($5,500). He's on the second line but plays on the top power play with Kaprizov and Zuccarello. Kevin Fiala ($6,300) is on Boldy's line and is on a good run with 12 points in his last 10 games. Frederick Gaudreau ($5,100) will center this line and correlate with Fiala on the power play. You may need the value of this line if you want to stack this high-total game.
As good as the Panthers are, they certainly aren't a suffocating defense. They don't play that style of hockey, and like Minnesota, they are about in the middle in goals allowed per game. The Wild have the third-highest implied team total on the slate, making this a great game to target on both sides.
Vegas Golden Knights
It's been a rough go over the last two games for the Vegas Golden Knights. They've been shut out in back-to-back games for the first time in franchise history. They'll look to break out of their mini-slump tonight.
The return of Jack Eichel ($5,600) did not result in any fireworks on Wednesday. He had just one shot and took two penalties in 17 minutes on the ice. He played with Max Pacioretty ($9,300) at even strength and on the power play. A change in lines will now see Chandler Stephenson ($5,200) become the winger with these two. Stephenson has shown that his speed makes him an asset when playing with good players.
It remains to be seen if Stephenson will jump on the power play with his two linemates or not, but either way, he's a good value. Combine that with Eichel still having too low of a salary, and you have some nice value options. Pacioretty still has a high salary and hasn't been good of late, but hopefully, that will keep his popularity down in tournaments. Pacioretty has been one of the most consistent goal scorers in the NHL, so he should bounce back soon.
Vegas will face the Los Angeles Kings on Friday. This isn't an easy matchup, but it might be better than facing the Calgary Flames and Colorado Avalanche like they did in the past two games. The implied team total and moneyline suggest that the Golden Knights have a significant advantage in this game.
If recency bias creeps into people's minds, Vegas might go overlooked. This would be a great spot to get back on them if that is the case. Either way, you won't get this much upside with two value pieces like Eichel and Stephenson anywhere else on the slate, making them a great stack.
Others to Consider: Dallas Stars, Carolina Hurricanes
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.