3 Daily Fantasy Hockey Stacks for Tuesday 10/11/22
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.
The NHL is finally back. It's just a two-game slate to kick things off, but it's enough to whet our appetite as the season starts. Let's look at the best stacks tonight.
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning fell short at the last hurdle of completing a historic three-peat last year. Still, reaching the Stanley Cup Final after winning it the two years prior is impressive. They kept most of their important players and are looking for another title run.
To start the season, Tampa has loaded up their first line. Brayden Point ($6,800) is centering Nikita Kucherov ($9,500) and Steven Stamkos ($8,600). Point is affordable after a bit of a down season and an injury in the playoffs. Kucherov is the most expensive player on the slate, and it's deserved as he led the team with a stellar 1.47 points-per-game average last season. Stamkos is coming off a career-high 106 points and should thrive playing with Tampa's other two best forwards.
This line will see full correlation on Tampa's first power-play unit. You could add Victor Hedman ($7,500) at defense as the power-play quarterback. Alex Killorn ($5,100) is another player you can add as a fourth piece to this stack, as he will be in front of the net on the power play.
Since it's just a two-game slate, you might need to find value on a lower line. The third line of Vladislav Namestnikov ($5,100), Ross Colton ($4,700) and Cole Koepke ($3,900) is a decent way to do just that. Namestnikov and Colton will link up on the second power-play unit.
Tampa Bay is an underdog in this game against the New York Rangers, and they actually have the lowest implied team total on this slate. But Tampa's first line arguably has the most explosive upside of any line on the slate and also offers the best correlation.
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers made a surprise run to the conference finals last season. Once there, they took the first two games from the Tampa Bay Lightning before dropping the next four. They definitely can hang with the three-time defending Eastern Conference champs.
The Rangers relied on two lines, each with a pair of players who formed real chemistry. The first line had 52-goal-scorer Chris Kreider ($7,900) linking up with Mika Zibanejad ($8,100). This was a deadly duo, particularly on the power play. They will be joined by Kaapo Kakko ($4,000), who offers a nice value for playing with two high scorers.
The second line has seen a bit of change. It will still feature Artemi Panarin ($8,800) and a center who will play together on the first power play. That center will now be Vincent Trocheck ($5,600) instead of Ryan Strome, which is probably an upgrade. This line also has a new right winger, as Vitali Kravtsov ($5,300) has returned from Russia, where he showed a lot of promise and will attempt to bring it over to the NHL.
Both of these lines have a lot of upside, especially through the two forwards who play on the power play together. Adam Fox ($7,300) can be used with either line, as the defenseman had 97 points in 98 games last season between the regular season and playoffs.
It is reasonable to use Alexis Lafreniere ($5,000), Filip Chytil ($4,800) and Barclay Goodrow ($3,600) as a value line. Lafreniere and Chytil showed chemistry in the playoffs last year and will play together on the second line.
New York is a slight favorite in this game, and all of these lines are good options to stack on such a small slate.
Vegas Golden Knights
It was a hugely disappointing season for the Vegas Golden Knights last year. They were expected to be Stanley Cup contenders, yet they failed to make the playoffs. If everyone can stay healthy, they should at least be contenders in the soft Pacific Division.
Vegas made the huge move to acquire Jack Eichel ($7,600) last season. He didn't return until February and was good but not great after recovering from neck surgery. Now fully healthy, he should have a chance to shine. He'll be playing with Reilly Smith ($4,400) and Phil Kessel ($4,800). Those are two nice salaries for players on the first line who play alongside an elite center. Eichel and Smith will also play together on the first power play.
The other usable Vegas line would be the second line. It consists of Mark Stone ($7,400), Chandler Stephenson ($5,100) and Brett Howden ($4,100). Stone and Stephenson are definitely the priorities here as they are the better players and play on the first power play.
The defenseman to pair with either line is Shea Theodore ($6,000). He is the power-play defenseman with the first unit and comes in $100 less than teammate Alex Pietrangelo.
The Golden Knights are playing against the Los Angeles Kings on the road. The Kings were a fairly solid defensive team last year, but their penalty kill can be exploited. Eichel's affordable line partners allow you to stack other lines in the first game that you might want to, and it also has a reasonable chance of being the best stack on this slate.
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.
