3 Daily Fantasy NHL Stacks for Thursday 3/17/22
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.
There are 10 games on Thursday, and there are some great teams to stack.
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks have an outside chance at making the playoffs. That was deemed impossible after they started the season 8-15-2. They have some players who are playing really well and driving that push to the playoffs.
Perhaps the hottest player in the NHL is J.T. Miller ($8,600). He has 27 points in his 13-game point streak, which are the most points in the NHL since that streak began. He's playing with Conor Garland ($5,000) and Tanner Pearson ($4,900). They are both fine players in their own right, and Pearson has been good with 10 points in his last 10 games.
The Canucks' second line is also interesting. Bo Horvat ($6,800) has been the other player besides Miller carrying the team. He has 8 goals and 14 points in his last 10 games. Brock Boeser ($6,200) is third on the team in goals behind Horvat and Miller and will link up on the top power play with these two. If you want to get the most dangerous Vancouver stack, Miller, Horvat, and Boeser would give you access to the highest ceiling.
We want to target Vancouver tonight because of the matchup. The Canucks will face the Detroit Red Wings tonight. Detroit's defensive struggles continued on Tuesday when they allowed another seven goals. That makes it 52 goals conceded in their last nine games for an astounding 5.8 goals allowed per game.
Vancouver is trending in the right direction and Detroit is going in the wrong direction. That's why their implied team total of 3.72 is definitely warranted in this spot.
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals are holding the last wild card spot in the East. Luckily, they are 11 points clear of the closest competitor. They have a chance to increase that gap tonight and could rack up the goals in the process.
While Alex Ovechkin ($9,900) slowed down from his fast start, he's picked things up again. He's scored 6 goals in his last 10 games and has 22 shots on goal in his last three games. That's enabled linemate Evgeny Kuznetsov ($7,300) to put up some points, as well, with 11 in his last 10. Conor Sheary ($4,700) is very much the third wheel on this line but can still chip in with some offense and gives salary relief on this stack. John Carlson ($6,700) makes for another good piece of this stack. The blueliner is third on the team in points and seventh in the league in scoring for a defenseman.
Washington is playing the team they are trying to hold off for the last playoff spot in the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Jackets are not making a push to the playoffs because of their defensive play. They allow the most shots per game and the third-most goals per game. Now they are coming off a back-to-back after playing in Ottawa last night.
The Capitals are in a great spot as the team with a rest advantage against a team that is wide open defensively. They truly have the upside to break the slate in this matchup.
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers came through big time on Tuesday. They were the team that put seven pucks in against Detroit. While the matchup couldn't possibly be as good, it's not much worse.
The Oilers seem to be clicking, which they'll need to continue if they want to make the playoffs.
Connor McDavid ($10,000) has two points in each of his last three games, showing the form that he had at the start of the season when he got multiple points in nearly every game. Evander Kane ($7,100) scored twice on Tuesday and now has 31 shots on goal in his last six games. With Kane playing with McDavid at five-on-five and on the power play, Kane is almost an automatic play when using McDavid.
Kailer Yamamoto ($4,300) is also on this line and has now scored goals in three straight games.
Tuesday's game showed that you don't need to include Leon Draisaitl ($9,800) in the Oilers' stacks. His two assists certainly didn't hurt, but for his salary, it wasn't necessarily a big win for those who played him in tournaments. If you can fit him in, though, he's certainly worth playing with McDavid and Kane, as he is second in the NHL with 39 goals.
Tyson Barrie ($4,300) seemed to regain his top power play role on Tuesday, and his low salary makes him a decent value play in Edmonton stacks.
Edmonton will play the Buffalo Sabres at home tonight. The Sabres have allowed the seventh-most goals per game and the third-most shots per game. They have been playing better of late but don't have the defensive players to shut down McDavid and company.
The Oilers carry the highest team total on tonight's slate. Every game is critical for them in the playoff race, so they cannot take this game lightly. This means McDavid could push for about 25 minutes if needed, making him and his linemates arguably the best stack of the night.
Others to Consider: Florida Panthers, New York Rangers, Nashville Predators, Dallas Stars
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.
