3 Daily Fantasy NHL Stacks for Monday 5/2/22
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.
It's playoff hockey time. The playoffs can be tricky for fantasy because there are no truly bad teams left. We may have to dig a bit deeper into where teams can be exploited, so let's see if we can do that tonight.
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild set many team records this season. They scored the most goals and had the most wins in franchise history. Unfortunately, it didn't get them a division title, so they'll have a somewhat tough matchup tonight. However, it's one where they should be able to score some goals.
Kirill Kaprizov ($9,700) was also a record-setter this season. He was the first player in franchise history to exceed 100 points, and he also set a record with 47 goals. He's shown great chemistry with Mats Zuccarello ($7,400), who has been solid with 79 points in 70 games. Ryan Hartman ($6,700) was another big part of Minnesota's breakout offensive season, as he was second on the team with 34 goals.
There are a few other ways to stack Minnesota. Kevin Fiala ($7,200) has been on fire, with 20 points in his last 10 games. You could add him to the first line as he would correlate with Kaprizov and Zuccarello on the power play. You also can use him on his even-strength line with Matthew Boldy ($6,000) and Frederick Gaudreau ($4,800), as they use less of your salary and also will probably be less popular than the top line.
The Wild face off against the St. Louis Blues in this series. These teams played a crazy season series, with all three games seeing at least seven goals scored. The Blues have a reputation as being a great defensive team, but they allowed the sixth-most expected goals per 60 minutes at five-on-five this season.
Minnesota's implied team total is the second-highest on tonight's slate, and they are certainly one of the best stacks of the night.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs enter the first round as favorites -- what could possibly go wrong? Well, they haven't been able to win a playoff series since 2004. Leafs fans are convinced this team is different, and they'll get a chance to prove that starting on Monday.
Auston Matthews ($10,200) was the first NHL player to score 60 goals in a season in 10 years. Perhaps more impressively, he needed just 73 games to do it. He and Mitchell Marner ($9,200) formed one of the best duos in hockey, as Marner had a career-high 97 points. With Michael Bunting missing, it looks like Alexander Kerfoot ($4,300) will jump up to this top line. Kerfoot has been productive this season, racking up 51 points while not always getting a role as a top-six forward.
The Leafs have drawn a matchup against the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning. It won't be an easy matchup, but Toronto's top line has hardly been stopped by anyone this season. Matthews had seven points in three games against Tampa, and Marner totaled five in that season series.
Toronto is a slight favorite in this game, and their best line has a chance to be a part of winning lineups tonight.
Tampa Bay Lightning
The aforementioned Lightning are putting to test the theory that a team can flip a switch when the playoffs start. They had some mediocre results before the last two weeks, and then they really started playing well. The good news for us as fantasy players is that their best players have been on a tear for that stretch.
The hot streak for Tampa came when they moved around some lines. Steven Stamkos ($8,500) was shifted to a line with Nikita Kucherov ($9,600), and the two have been tearing it up together. Stamkos closed out the season with a hat trick to finish with a stunning 26 points in the last 10 games. It was his best season ever in the 14th year of his career. Kucherov has nearly been as impressive, with 23 points in his last 10 games. He has also led the playoffs in points in each of the last two seasons.
Ondrej Palat ($4,500) will be on this line, as well, and can definitely chip in with some offense.
You could add Brayden Point ($7,000) and Victor Hedman ($7,100) to Stamkos and Kucherov to form a high-powered Tampa Bay four-man stack. This could be a bit unique and also gives you a high ceiling if the Lightning dominate this game.
Tampa comes into Game 1 and the series as underdogs, which may keep their popularity down a bit. They are certainly capable of scoring goals in this matchup, as they beat Toronto 8-1 in their most recent meeting. Toronto also has the worst team save percentage since March 1st, so goaltending is definitely a question mark going into this series.
The Lightning definitely are worth considering on this slate, as we've seen some big games from their top players in recent weeks.
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.
