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 six games on tonight's slate, so let's see if we can find the best stacks.
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks have not been a contender for the past three seasons, which is not a good thing for a team with a lot of highly-paid veterans. They do have some younger players who contribute on offense the most, though. Tonight, they'll have a great chance to do just that.
Two Sharks' forwards particularly stand out when looking at their performance this season. The first would be Timo Meier ($9,000), who leads the team in all offensive categories. He picked up a hat trick on Saturday, which was his second of the season. Tomas Hertl ($6,200) recently signed a contract extension and is having a decent year for himself with 54 points in 65 games, including 26 goals. Alexander Barabanov ($4,800) is fifth on the team in points and sees power play time, so he's a good piece of this stack for a low salary.
The Sharks will face the Arizona Coyotes on the road tonight. Arizona just conceded six goals on Monday and allow the most shots on goal per game. These two teams played an 8-7 game back in December, so the potential for a wild one is there.
The Sharks' first line is affordable and definitely has upside, as they have a healthy implied team total of 3.29 goals tonight. If you want more exposure to the Sharks, Brent Burns ($5,700) can certainly be used on defense, even if he's not the fantasy monster he once was.
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are one of the most overperforming teams based on what their underlying numbers say. Luckily, for our purposes, they still are capable of producing in fantasy despite what the numbers say. They should be able to put up points in their matchup tonight.
The Rangers were one of the more active teams at the trade deadline, even if they didn't make a major acquisition. This has changed their lines around from what they were for a while.
Mika Zibanejad ($8,000) has picked up 11 points in his last 10 games. He's playing with Chris Kreider ($8,300), who picked up his 45th goal of the season last night. The newcomer on this line is Frank Vatrano ($4,200). He's been on fire of late, with five goals in his last five games. He doesn't get time on the top power play, but for just $4,200, he's a great value.
The second line also has a new addition to it. With Ryan Strome out of the lineup, Andrew Copp ($5,000) is filling in for him on the second line and first power play. Playing alongside Artemi Panarin ($7,100) has been great for Copp, who has six points in four games with his new team. Adam Fox ($6,600) is third in points for defensemen this season and can be played with either of these two stacks.
The Rangers will travel to play the Detroit Red Wings tonight. The Red Wings allowed 11 goals on Sunday, making it the second time they've allowed double-digit goals this season. They have now allowed the most goals per game in the league, and are an interesting target every time they take the ice.
New York's implied team total is 3.47 goals tonight, but if things get really off the rails with the Red Wings, they might be able to blow that away.
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers took care of business on Monday, winning 6-1. They need all the points they can get with the playoff race as tight as it is currently. Tonight, they'll have a chance to win points in a game against one of their direct rivals in the standings.
That 6-1 win was rare for the Oilers, as Connor McDavid ($10,200) only had one goal and no assists. Evander Kane ($7,700) also was quiet on the scoresheet with no points. Jesse Puljujarvi ($5,400) skated with this line at five-on-five and also picked up some power play time. He had two assists for the best performance of anyone on this line.
The second line was a bit more productive. Leon Draisaitl ($10,100) had a goal and an assist as he closes in on 50 goals and 100 points. Zach Hyman ($6,800) also chipped in with a goal. Hyman is the only winger who plays with either McDavid or Draisaitl at both even strength and on the power play currently, so he's a key cog in this stack. Tyson Barrie ($5,900) can also be used as the team's power play quarterback.
Edmonton does not have an easy matchup against the Los Angeles Kings tonight, as they allow the fewest shots against per game. However, they are still without Drew Doughty on defense and just gave up six goals to the Seattle Kraken on Monday. They are also weak on the penalty kill, with the ninth-worst success rate when shorthanded.
The oddsmakers don't believe the Oilers will struggle in this matchup, as they are both the biggest favorite and have the highest implied team total on the slate. McDavid and Draisiatl could feast on the power play against any team, so if you can fit them in together, that's a good route to take 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.