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.
We follow up Monday's nine games with eight on Tuesday, so let's see which stacks are the best to attack this slate.
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers have been a team we've loved to stack for a few years now. They have two of the most productive offensive players in the league. They don't always give us the perfect correlation, though, so stacking them can be an interesting challenge.
Obviously, when we talk about the Oilers, we want to start with Connor McDavid ($10,400). He's off to a fast start, with four goals and an assist in just two games. He's got Evander Kane ($6,900) on his line and on the top power-play unit with him. Kane scored 35 goals in 57 games with the Oilers between the regular season and playoffs, which is an 82-game-pace above 50 goals. Kailer Yamamoto ($4,500) is also on this line and can be used for salary relief.
We would like to get Leon Draisaitl ($10,000) in with McDavid, but using two players at $10,000-plus in salary will be difficult. Even though they don't play together, their big games often overlap because of the power play. Draisaitl doesn't have a linemate who plays on the power play with him, as Zach Hyman ($6,300) and Jesse Puljujarvi ($4,300) play on the second unit. You could try to fit in McDavid, Draisaitl and Kane, but it might leave you a bit thin at other positions. You can play McDavid with one of them and then use Tyson Barrie ($4,400) as a power-play defenseman.
Edmonton has a home matchup against the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres might be on the way up, but they still have a long way to go. They have one of the worst goaltending tandems in the league and allowed the eighth-most goals in the NHL last season.
The Oilers' have the highest implied team total on tonight's slate, sitting at 4.13 goals. McDavid and Draisaitl are arguably the two highest-upside players of the night, and they can definitely break the slate tonight.
Tampa Bay Lightning
It hasn't been an ideal start for the Tampa Bay Lightning. They are 1-2 in three games and got blown out 6-2 in their last game on Saturday. Tonight, they take on an undefeated team, but it's a squad that probably isn't what their record says they are.
Tampa decided to split up their top line to get more balance in the rest of their lineup. Nikita Kucherov ($9,200) is still playing with Brayden Point ($7,200) on the top line and power play. We know these two have great chemistry from their dominance in playoff runs. Brandon Hagel ($4,200) is now the third member of this line and can contribute at this low salary.
This means that Steven Stamkos ($9,100) moves down the lineup. He'll be playing center between Alex Killorn ($4,900) and Nick Paul ($4,000). Killorn and Paul aren't super exciting options, so it's totally acceptable to just play Stamkos with Kucherov and Point and add in Victor Hedman ($7,200) for a power-play stack.
The Lightning are big favorites and have an implied team total of more than four goals tonight. They'll take on a Philadelphia Flyers team that is 2-0 but has one of the least talented rosters in the league. They allowed the sixth-most goals last season and didn't make many improvements on their defense. Tampa is clearly a team to target as a stack tonight in this matchup.
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets made a huge splash in free agency that no one was expecting. However, it hasn't led to any team success yet, as they haven't won in three tries this season. They will face another winless team, and Columbus may be able to take advantage of that.
The Jackets were able to lure Johnny Gaudreau ($7,300) to Columbus after his 115-point season last year. He has two points in three games to start this season. He's now playing with Gustav Nyquist ($4,300) and Boone Jenner ($5,200) at both even strength and on the power play. Gaudreau has a history of elevating his linemates, and he can do so with Nyquist and Jenner, who are good players but not stars. Getting this stack for a really easy-to-like total salary is the value you may need on this slate.
Columbus is at home against the Vancouver Canucks. Vancouver has also lost all three of its games and allowed 14 goals in those games. Their defense has a few injuries and was already thin to begin with. Now, they have to travel to Columbus after playing last night at the Washington Capitals.
The Jackets have a nice implied team total of 3.22 goals, and despite being underdogs, they have a nice chance of paying off their salaries in this game.
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.