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 three games on Friday, but there are still some fun teams we can stack tonight.
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche are still a bit of an enigma this season. They had just won six games in a row before losing handily 5-2 on Wednesday. This inconsistency is part of the reason they aren't atop the Western Conference like they were last season, but they'll have a great chance to get back to winning tonight.
Colorado has had to deal with injuries all season long, even this week. Evan Rodrigues suffered a concussion on Monday, which saw Denis Malgin ($4,500) get bumped up to the top line. It was apparently an earned promotion after he had three points on Monday. Nathan MacKinnon ($10,200) upped his point streak to 10 games despite the loss on Wednesday. Mikko Rantanen ($9,600) had his streak of games with a goal end at five, but he's third in the league in goals, so it doesn't seem like he will slow down at any point.
The Avs will welcome the Arizona Coyotes to town on Friday night. Arizona is playing its third game in four nights and now travels to the Denver altitude. They are also a bottom-five team in nearly every defensive metric, including expected goals against, scoring chances against, and high-danger chances against.
Colorado's implied team total is all the way up to 4.23 goals tonight -- the highest on the slate.
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders are on the playoff bubble in the East, so every point matters to them. They aren't usually a team we get too excited about stacking, but they come with low salaries and have a good matchup tonight.
The Islanders have Bo Horvat ($7,400) centering their top line. Things have not gone well for him of late with two points in his last 10 games. However, he's proven that he can be a dangerous scorer, and this is a good chance to buy low on him. He's playing with Anders Lee ($6,500) at even strength and on the power play. Lee is second on the team with 27 goals. You can also get an affordable youngster with this stack, as well. Simon Holmstrom ($3,800) has taken the spot on the right wing here.
If you stack the second line, you can play the Islanders' leading scorer, Brock Nelson ($7,000). He's playing with Kyle Palmieri ($5,200) here and on the top power play. Pierre Engvall ($3,900), who has been a revelation since joining the team, rounds out the second line. This line is easy to fit into lineups and has a decent correlation just like the first line.
New York will face the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight. Columbus is last in the Eastern Conference and has the second-worst goal differential in the NHL. They've allowed the second-most goals per game and third-most shots per game this season.
The Isles will definitely be motivated in this game, and the matchup has lifted their implied team total all the way up to 3.72 goals tonight.
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils went from a team that wasn't good but had promising players to one of the better teams in the East in one year. Those promising players and some newcomers have formed some great lines that we can certainly stack tonight.
The Devils made one of the biggest splashes at the trade deadline, acquiring Timo Meier ($8,400) from the San Jose Sharks. He's up to 35 goals on the season between both teams. He's playing with fellow Switzerland native Nico Hischier ($7,200), who is in the middle of a career year. They also have Jesper Bratt ($6,700) on this line at even strength but not on the power play.
The second line has the Devils' best player in Jack Hughes ($9,800), leading the team with 37 goals and 81 points. He has affordable linemates in Dawson Mercer ($5,700) and Erik Haula ($4,200). Mercer has had a breakout year and also will play on the first power play.
New Jersey will face the Buffalo Sabres on the road. Buffalo has cratered defensively this month, allowing a whopping 54 goals in 11 games in March. That includes allowing seven goals in each of their last two games.
Either of the Devils' top two lines make for a great stack on this slate.
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.