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.
Tuesday's slate is much larger than Monday's three-game slate, as we have 24 teams to potentially stack. Let's try to find the three best.
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins fans were upset with the way things were going and not happy with how the trade deadline was handled. However, they have gone 7-2-1 in their last 10 games and look set to make the playoffs again this season.
Pittsburgh's captain has been trying to take things into his own hands. Sidney Crosby ($8,500) has 7 points and 21 shots on goal in his last four games. Jake Guentzel ($6,500) has seen his salary decrease a lot but has picked up the slack a bit lately. He has three goals and five points in his last five games. The Penguins pushed Bryan Rust ($5,200) back to this top line, and his affordable salary makes this stack a great value overall.
The Penguins will play at home against the Montreal Canadiens tonight. This spot can't get much better for Pittsburgh. Montreal just allowed eight goals last night to the Colorado Avalanche and now has to travel down to Pittsburgh to play on a back-to-back. After that game, they now have allowed the league's sixth-most goals per game.
Pittsburgh has the only implied team total above four goals tonight, and they can easily go nuclear in a matchup like this.
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are on tonight's slate, which shifts the dynamic of everything when considering roster construction. They should be in a good enough situation where we'll definitely want to have some exposure if building multiple tournament lineups.
Obviously, the Oilers' stack centers around Connor McDavid ($10,700), who is nearly breaking hockey with how dominant he's been. He has 9 goals and 29 points more than anyone else in the league. He's helping a few of his teammates have career years, including Zach Hyman ($8,000). Hyman is linked up with him at both even strength and on the power play, making him a great stacking partner. Evander Kane ($7,200) is back in the lineup and scored a goal last game, and he will play as the left wing on this line.
The second-leading scorer on the team and in the league is Leon Draisaitl ($10,100), who will only play with McDavid on the power play, at least to start the game. It will be difficult to play them together, but it's worth it if you can make it work. Another correlated piece you can add to a lineup with these two would be Evan Bouchard ($4,300). The new power-play quarterback has six points in his last four games and is a value on defense.
The Oilers will play the Ottawa Senators at home tonight. Ottawa lost two of three games last week, which has seen their playoff chances decrease dramatically. They are a below-average defensive team and will be without number one defenseman Thomas Chabot in this game.
Edmonton is a candidate to break any slate, and tonight's home matchup makes it especially true on this slate.
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are in the midst of a rebuild and sold some of their better pieces at the trade deadline. This has made room for exciting young players who should be able to do damage in tonight's matchup.
The Sharks moved Timo Meier two weeks ago, opening a spot for William Eklund ($3,000) at left wing on the first line and power play. Eklund is one of the Sharks' best prospects and has been getting loads of minutes. On the other wing is one of the players the Sharks got back for Meier, Fabian Zetterlund ($3,800). These two youngsters will play with San Jose's top center Tomas Hertl ($6,500) and come at a very affordable total salary.
San Jose will play the Columbus Blue Jackets at home tonight in a battle between two teams trying to get toward the bottom of the standings. No one is doing a better job of that than Columbus, though, as they sit dead last in the league in points percentage. They also allow the fourth-most goals and third-most shots on a per-game basis.
The Sharks are favored in this game and have a healthy implied team total of 3.42 goals. The value plays could be what you need to fit in the stars who you will want to use in lineups tonight.
Others to Consider: Vegas Golden Knights, Calgary Flames, New York Rangers, Dallas Stars
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.