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've got just three games tonight, but we can still find some good stacks to use.
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are not the same high-flying team that we saw last season. Their average goals per game has gone down from 3.72 to 3.04. However, some of their best players have been playing better lately, and they'll be in a good spot tonight.
Minnesota was obviously led by the fantastic Kirill Kaprizov ($10,000) last season. He set a franchise record for points with 108. He started off slow this season but has been great lately, with 15 points and 46 shots on goal in his last 10 games.
Mats Zuccarello ($8,000) has also been playing well, averaging more than a point per game and over three shots on goal per game in his last 10. The center for this line is Sam Steel ($4,000), who has an affordable salary and is playing between two great playmaking wingers.
The Wild will face the Detroit Red Wings at home tonight. Detroit isn't the same horrible defensive team they were last season, but they have a few things working against them. They're coming off of a loss last night in which captain Dylan Larkin was injured, and he seems unlikely to play tonight. They also will probably have to turn to Alex Nedeljkovic in net, who has allowed the seventh-most goals above expected this season.
Minnesota has a healthy implied team total of 3.58 goals tonight, and their wingers should be able to help them get there tonight.
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens have not been nearly as bad as many expected. Most people would have been shocked if you told them before the season that they would be only two points behind last season's Presidents' Trophy winners, the Florida Panthers. Montreal is a young, fun team who is also good to stack.
The top line for the Canadiens has had some big games this season. It includes the dynamic duo of Nick Suzuki ($7,900) and Cole Caufield ($8,500). Caufield was drafted with the reputation of being a natural goal scorer, and he has lived up to that reputation. He has 16 goals on the season, more than the likes of Auston Matthews, Matthew Tkachuk, and Chris Kreider. Suzuki is no slouch at center, as well, averaging over a point per game this season.
Kirby Dach ($5,500) had moved down to the third line, but he is now back up on the first line and has chipped in with 19 points in 28 games.
Montreal will take on the Ottawa Senators in tonight's game. Ottawa is dead last in the Atlantic Division and struggles defensively. They allow the sixth-most shots on goal per game and the fifth-most high-danger chances per game.
The Canadiens are underdogs in this game, which isn't too surprising given their own poor defensive play. However, their top line definitely has a shot at being the best stack tonight with this matchup and the full correlation they offer. They might go overlooked because they are underdogs, which makes them a sneaky tournament stack.
Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames are struggling to stay in the Pacific Division race, now sitting in fifth place. They really need to turn things around and pick up points, especially against weaker opponents like tonight.
Calgary's top line is fully correlated and affordable, which makes them a great option to stack tonight. Leading scorer Elias Lindholm ($6,500) missed Monday's game but is back on the ice today and looks set to play. He's joined by Tyler Toffoli ($6,500), who is 2 points behind him in second place with 21 points. Jonathan Huberdeau ($5,300) remains at a low salary and has started to pick things up of late, with five points in his last five games.
Calgary will play against the Vancouver Canucks in a home matchup. Vancouver remains a soap opera, with new drama emerging seemingly every week. What hasn't really changed with them is not being able to keep the puck out of their net, as they allow the third-most goals per game. They also have the third-worst penalty kill in the league.
The Flames have an implied team total of 3.66 goals and come with very affordable salaries. This could lead to them being popular, so you could consider using Rasmus Andersson ($6,600) on defense, as he brings extra correlation, and fantasy players might not use him as a fourth piece of this stack.
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.