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.
After a nice warmup slate last night, we get a six-game slate with many of the NHL's best players and teams on it. Let's look at the best stacks to attack this slate.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The center of the hockey universe is where we'll start this slate. The Toronto Maple Leafs set lots of team records in the regular season last year. Some individuals had the best seasons in team history and will look to build on that this year.
The player who set the record for most goals in a season by a Leaf was Auston Matthews ($10,100). He became the first NHL player in 10 years to score 60 goals in a season. Having a consistent line that was great at setting him up was one of the keys to his excellent season. Mitchell Marner ($9,000) had 97 points, including 62 assists. Michael Bunting ($5,800) was a revelation on this line last season and nearly won rookie of the year because of it.
The Leafs had the best power play in the NHL last season, with Marner and Matthews running the show. They also had Morgan Rielly ($6,700) contributing on defense, and he's definitely a piece of this stack on the blueline who you can add. Using four Leafs in this matchup would make a lot of sense.
Toronto is playing the Montreal Canadiens to open the season. Montreal finished dead last a season ago and also allowed the most goals in the league: Their defense is arguably worse this season, with four of their six defensemen having a combined 14 NHL games played.
Toronto has an implied team total of 3.90 goals, the third-highest on tonight's slate. This line was one of our favorites to roster last season, and it should be no different to begin this campaign.
Colorado Avalanche
The defending Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche kick off their season at home tonight. They scored the fourth-most goals last season and had some truly explosive performances. Tonight, they'll start the season in a great spot.
We have to start any Avalanche talk with Nathan MacKinnon ($9,700). He led the team in playoff goals during their run to the cup, and he had the highest points-per-game average in the regular season. He's playing with Mikko Rantanen ($9,400) once again at even strength and on the power play. The newcomer on this line is Artturi Lehkonen ($4,800), who came over at the trade deadline last year and had eight goals in the playoffs. This line is fully correlated on the top power play after some subtractions from the lineup due to free agency and injury.
The Avalanche could not have asked for a better matchup to start the season, as they will face the Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks were already the sixth-worst team in the NHL last year and decided to tear things down and get rid of a lot of their better players. It has resulted in the team being completely dreadful in the preseason. They also will be starting Petr Mrazek in net. He allowed 12.85 goals above expected in just 20 games played last season.
Colorado has the highest implied team total on the slate, sitting at 4.21 goals. You can try to fit Cale Makar ($7,900) in with this stack, as the Norris Trophy-winning defenseman has more upside than anyone else at the position. Even if you aren't able to fit him in, Colorado's first line is a terrific stacking option tonight.
Seattle Kraken
There are other teams that are better to stack by themselves, but if you are looking for a value stack to pair with either the Leafs or the Avs, we need to look at the Seattle Kraken. Things didn't go as well as they hoped in their inaugural season, but some additions in the offseason should help them improve in Year 2.
Seattle's hopes of having an elite forward rest on Matty Beniers ($5,900), the second pick in the 2021 draft. He's got talented wingers in Jared McCann ($5,000), the team's leading scorer last year, and Andre Burakovsky ($5,300), a recent Stanley Cup winner with Colorado.
The second line for the Kraken offers even more value. Alexander Wennberg ($3,800) is very affordable for a second-line center who's also on the first power play. He's joined on both units by Oliver Bjorkstrand ($5,200), who could be one of the most underrated wingers in the league. These two know each from their time together with the Columbus Blue Jackets, so the chemistry should be there. Jaden Schwartz ($4,600) is the third member of this line and is also a good value.
Seattle will play the Anaheim Ducks on the road to start the season. The Ducks were bad down the stretch last year and seem to be in something of a rebuild now. Seattle shouldn't be overmatched in this game, and one of these lines can help alongside a high-salary stack.
Others to Consider: Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes
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.