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 want players who 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.
With 11 games on the slate, we definitely have some good options to stack. Let's look at three of the best.
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are in a fight for their playoff lives. They currently occupy the third spot in the Pacific Division but are hanging on by a thread. Luckily, they'll face one of the coldest teams in the league tonight.
If the Oilers want to make the playoffs, Connor McDavid ($10,000) will be a big part of it. He scored twice on Saturday for his second straight multi-point game, and that was in a tough matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
He's playing with Evander Kane ($6,700) at both five-on-five and on the power play. Kane is known for his high volume of shots and is now finding that with the Oilers, as he has 26 shots on goal in the last five games. Kailer Yamamoto ($3,900) is also on the top line and top power play and has goals in consecutive games.
With the way these lines are set up, the only forward you really should consider in the stack besides those three is Leon Draisaitl ($9,700). Draisaitl is second in the league with 39 goals and third with 81 points, and he would make for a nice fourth member of this stack. It's also worth considering Evan Bouchard ($5,300), as the youngster seems to have an elevated role on the power play and is probably the most talented defenseman the Oilers have for that role.
Edmonton will face the Detroit Red Wings tonight. Detroit has been horrible defensively, allowing 5.6 goals per game in their last eight games. That includes allowing five goals or more five times. The Oilers have the highest implied team total on tonight's slate and could explode in this matchup.
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens have been a different team since Martin St. Louis took over. They are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games, and some players look like they have a new lease on life. Their start to the season was so bad that even the 7-2-1 streak hasn't seen them climb out of dead last in the East. Tonight, they'll have a good chance to keep up their solid play.
The Canadiens' lines have shifted a bit within the last few days. Nick Suzuki ($6,300) is still centering the top line and had three goals in two games this weekend. His new linemates are Mike Hoffman ($4,800) and Brendan Gallagher ($4,100). Gallagher is expected to join Suzuki on the first power play unit.
The second line now has Cole Caufield ($5,300) playing with Rem Pitlick ($4,400) and Josh Anderson ($4,700). Caufield started off the season ice cold but has found his game under St. Louis with 13 points in his last 10 games. Anderson has six goals in his last 10 games and will link up with Caufield on the first power play. This line is a decent value and perhaps a pivot from a first line that may be more popular.
Montreal will face the Arizona Coyotes in a game that won't draw the eyes of many fans who don't have a financial interest in the outcome. Arizona has dragged themselves off the bottom of the league with their 7-3-0 run in their last 10 games. However, they've still been getting shelled defensively. They allowed 4.71 expected goals and 82 shot attempts to the Ottawa Senators last night.
The Canadiens have the third-highest implied team total on the slate. For the low salaries you can get on the top two lines, these are great value stacks you can pair with other stacks.
Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers only managed to score two goals on Sunday. This was surprising because they average a league-leading 4.12 goals per game and had scored at least three in the previous 11 games. Tonight, they'll get a chance to score a lot in a matchup they excelled in earlier this season.
Florida made some changes to their lines after the last game. It looks like Joe Thornton ($3,300) will be on the first line. Thornton is not a great fantasy asset most of the time because he is unwilling to shoot the puck, but he does have four goals playing limited minutes in just 24 games this season. He'll get a boost playing with Aleksander Barkov ($9,500), who has 11 points in his last five games. Carter Verhaeghe ($5,600) will continue to skate on this line, as well.
The Panthers' second line also saw a change. Sam Reinhart ($6,600) has been scoring a lot of late, including a hat trick on Thursday night. That has earned him a bump to the second line to play with Jonathan Huberdeau ($8,700) and Sam Bennett ($6,500). He was already linking up with Huberdeau on the top power play, but this puts him more in play with the even-strength correlation.
Florida continues their West Coast road trip with a visit to the San Jose Sharks. When these teams played on January 29th, the Panthers produced 6.03 expected goals. That was their second most on the season, which is saying something considering they have the best offense in the league.
The Panthers' implied team total only trails the Oilers' tonight, so the oddsmakers are expecting a lot of goals. The first and second lines are both firmly in play as solid stacks.
Others to Consider: New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche
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.