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.

Just a five-game main slate closes out the week, but it definitely has some interesting teams to stack.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins were looking great until they hit a snag in their last two games. They still lead the NHL in goals per game and will close out their western Canadian road trip with the easiest of the three matchups.

Pittsburgh has made a change to its top line. They have moved Bryan Rust ($6,800) back up to the first line after he had a lot of success their last season but started this year on the second line. He'll play on the right side with Rickard Rakell ($4,800) on the left and Jake Guentzel still injured. Sidney Crosby ($10,400) has been excellent to start the year, with 11 points in seven games. It's caused his salary to balloon to above $10,000, but luckily his wingers are still affordable for this stack.

The Pens will face the Vancouver Canucks, who are coming off their first win of the season on Thursday. Things have been going horribly for the Canucks, with injuries hurting them up and down the lineup. They've allowed 4.25 goals per game, the fifth-most in the league.

With Vancouver on the second night of a back-to-back and Pittsburgh not playing since Tuesday, it's a clear rest advantage for the Penguins. They also have the talent advantage, making them a great stack to use tonight.

Colorado Avalanche

Only a few teams have defined themselves as clearly a good team this early in the season, and the Colorado Avalanche are certainly one of them. Even though the Avs have had some losses that were unexpected, for fantasy purposes, we usually can rely on them.

Winning the Cup and getting paid in the offseason hasn't made Nathan MacKinnon ($9,900) any less driven. He has 10 points in seven games, one ahead of linemate Mikko Rantanen ($9,200). The third member of this line is Artturi Lehkonen ($6,200), who hasn't had as much success as his linemates but will still play on the first line and top power play with them.

Cale Makar ($7,500) is the most dynamic defenseman in the game and has the highest ceiling for blueliners on any slate that he's on. If you can fit him into this stack, it's certainly something to consider.

Colorado is on the road to play the New Jersey Devils. The Devils have some of the best underlying numbers in the league but still struggle to keep the puck out of their net. The goaltending is suspect as it was last season, and now they have to go against a machine in the Avalanche and the Avs' power play.

Colorado has scored on an absurd 50% of their power plays this season. Obviously, it's a small sample, but teams scoring on half of their power plays over even a seven-game stretch does not happen often. If they can get on the power play a lot tonight, the Avs have the most upside on the slate.

Carolina Hurricanes

The Carolina Hurricanes have been playing exactly how we've expected them to play. They are once again a possession-dominant team, and it has led to them winning four out of their first six games. Tonight, their game has a low total, but it's a matchup where they can impose their will.

The Canes are led by Sebastian Aho ($8,600) up front, as he is tied for the team lead with nine points. His linemates are Seth Jarvis ($5,800) and Teuvo Teravainen ($6,000), who play together on the second power play. These two wingers haven't been as productive, but they are talented and correlate well.

If you want to play Aho with power-play wingers, you can look to Andrei Svechnikov ($8,900) and Martin Necas ($5,600). These three are the top scorers on the team and make up a power-play unit that has been effective. If you need the salary, you can slot in Jesperi Kotkaniemi ($4,500) instead of Aho, as he will be centering Svech and Necas.

The Canes will take on the New York Islanders on Friday night. The Islanders have uncharacteristically struggled defensively to start the year. They are dead last in expected goals against per 60 minutes. Carolina averages the second-most shot attempts per 60 minutes, so they really could cause problems for the Islanders.

Carolina might not be the most popular stack on this slate, but this is certainly a matchup they can dominate.

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.