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 kick off the week with a six-game slate that has some interesting spots to target.
Ottawa Senators
Many expected the Ottawa Senators to be a team that traded goals back and forth this season. They have quality forward depth but are lacking on defense and have suspect goaltending. It hasn't quite worked out the way they had hoped in terms of winning, but their games do typically involve a lot, and they are still a fun team to stack this season.
The Senators have loaded up their top line with their three leading scorers. Brady Tkachuk ($9,200) is on pace for a career-high in points while also being sixth in the NHL in shots on goal. His linemates are fairly affordable, starting with Tim Stutzle ($6,900) at center. Stutzle is having a third-year breakout and averaging a point per game for the first time in his career. The oldest player on the line is still having a good season; Claude Giroux ($6,700) has 12 goals in his first 27 games with Ottawa.
Ottawa has a great matchup tonight against the Anaheim Ducks. We know what the Ducks are all about by now. They remain the worst defensive team in the league from a goals-allowed and shots-allowed perspective. The Sens played them just over two weeks ago and won 5-1 with Tkachuk and Stutzle each having a goal.
The Senators have the highest implied team total on the slate tonight. This line is not too difficult to fit into lineups and has the potential to be the best stack on the slate tonight.
Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators are currently out of the playoffs and haven't had much to write home about this season. They don't seem to be clicking on the same level they were last season, but they do make for an intriguing team to stack tonight for fantasy purposes.
The Predators have gone back to the first line that was working for them last season. Filip Forsberg ($7,500) is always the forward we want to target most from Nashville; he leads the team with 23 points. Matt Duchene ($5,800) hasn't lived up to his 43 goals last season but still has 21 points and a nice salary. Mikael Granlund ($5,700) is basically in the same boat as Duchene -- underperforming last season but with enough upside to justify the salary.
The most exciting part of stacking Nashville is getting access to Roman Josi ($8,300). He is one of the best fantasy defensemen in the league. He nearly hit 100 points last season and leads all blueliners in shots on goal this season. He joins that top line to form a fully-correlated power-play unit.
Nashville faces off against the St. Louis Blues tonight. The Blues have been an extremely streaky team this season, and right now, they are going through a bad streak. They've gone 2-7-1 in their last 10 games and allow the fourth-most goals per game overall. The last time the Preds played the Blues, they were able to beat them 6-2. Josi, Duchene, and Forsberg each had three points in that game, and Granlund also chipped in with a goal.
This is a spot to buy low on Nashville against a Blues team that has the worst penalty kill in the NHL.
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are on this slate, so they obviously deserve some attention -- like they do every night they play. They've started to play better as a team, winning their last pair of games and 6 of their last 10. They average the fifth-most goals per game, and their best players have been fantastic.
It's rare that an elite athlete can keep getting better, but that seems to be what happens with Connor McDavid ($10,700). He has 20 points in his last 10 games and is averaging a ridiculous 1.93 points per game this season. Leon Draisaitl ($10,200) ranks second in the league to his teammate with 46 points. It's extremely difficult to play these two together, but worth it if you can make it work. Zach Hyman ($8,200) is another option to play with McDavid; he plays on the first line and top power play. Tyson Barrie ($5,900) is also on the first power play and is worth playing with any of these guys.
Edmonton will play the Minnesota Wild for the second time in four days. McDavid and Draisaitl each had two points in the 5-2 win. Hyman and Barrie chipped in one each. The Wild are a decent defensive team that has suspect goaltending, leaving them as an average team in goals against per game. The Oilers are a team that can score against anyone, so the matchup isn't too much of a concern here.
The Oilers' power play is clicking at a clip above 30%, which is the best in the league. If the calls go their way and they get a lot of power plays, they can really rack up goals and break the slate tonight.
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.