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 finally got the first big slate of 2023, so let's see what stacks make sense tonight.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning are once again one of the best teams in the NHL and are one of our favorite teams for fantasy purposes. They average more goals per game and shots per game than last season and also have a line that is friendly for stacking.

It's always fun to roster Nikita Kucherov ($10,000), as he has been one of the most productive players in the NHL for the past five seasons. He's tied for the league lead in assists with 40 this season. Brayden Point ($8,300) has been on a tear lately, scoring five goals in his last four games. Brandon Hagel ($6,500) has been a revelation since being slotted in with these two stars, and he has six goals in his last 10 games. This trio is all connected on the first power play unit, as well.

The Lightning will face the Chicago Blackhawks tonight. Chicago is now at the bottom of the league standings and allows the fourth-most goals per game. They are 1-9 in their last 10 games, including losing four in a row, and they're in complete freefall.

The Bolts have the highest implied team total on the slate tonight, sitting above four goals. If you want to get a stack that has great correlation with very high upside, you have to look at Tampa.

Florida Panthers

This Florida Panthers team has been hugely disappointing and not nearly as fun as they were last season. They still average the most shots on goal per game, though, and have a great matchup tonight.

Some of the difficulties for the Panthers occurred when Aleksander Barkov ($7,700) was out of the lineup. He came back with a bang on Thursday, scoring a hat trick and adding two assists. Matthew Tkachuk ($9,300) also had a big game that night, recording two goals and an assist. These guys weren't even on the same line to start that game, but they will be tonight.

Carter Verhaeghe ($6,400) also had a goal and an assist in that game. He won't be on the top power play but still will play with Florida's two best offensive players at even strength.

Florida gets the dream matchup against the Arizona Coyotes tonight. The Coyotes aren't the complete basement team that we might have expected, but their underlying defensive metrics are still very poor. They allow the third-most expected goals per 60 minutes, as well as the second-most scoring chances and high-danger chances per 60.

The Panthers' implied team total comes in just behind Tampa's and is also above four goals. We could see another eruption like we did last week when they were the slate-breakers.

Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers seemed like they were past the period of time when making the playoffs was a struggle, but they are on the bubble once again. They have a matchup against a team they've had recent success against and one they're fighting with for a playoff spot.

It's not too notable when Connor McDavid ($10,800) has a good game these days, but his five-point effort on Friday was one of his best of the season. He's now up to 72 points, 15 more than any other player in the league.

Leon Draisaitl ($10,200) is the player directly behind McDavid in scoring, and he didn't play in that game. It was Zach Hyman ($8,800) who benefited, with two goals and an assist. You can play McDavid with Hyman and not force in Draisaitl because the two stars are no longer on the first line together. You can also use a near-minimum salary Jesse Puljujarvi ($3,600), who's getting a chance on the first line once again.

This is the same matchup from that Friday game, as the Oilers are at home against the Seattle Kraken. Seattle was a team to attack last season because of weak goaltending, and that's true again this season. They have the fourth-worst team save percentage in the league, and they allowed seven goals on 32 shots to the Oilers just last week.

Edmonton's implied team total isn't at top of the board tonight, but 3.57 is still high enough to consider them in tournaments tonight.

Others to consider: Washington Capitals, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs

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.