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.
It's Friday the 13th, but let's see if we can still find some good luck in today's NHL slate.
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins fell behind 3-0 on Tuesday and a good spot looked like it was all going wrong. They turned things around, though, and ended up winning 5-4. Their lines will remain the same from that game, and they are capable of repeating that performance.
Sidney Crosby ($8,700) continues to do it all for the Penguins. He's the team's leading scorer and is also tied for second in the NHL in even strength points. He's playing with his longtime running mate Jake Guentzel ($7,500), who is second on the team in goals and points. Bryan Rust ($6,000) had two assists in the last game and hasn't missed a beat since rejoining this line. Crosby and Guentzel will link up on the top power play again.
The second line actually did most of the damage in that comeback win on Tuesday. Evgeni Malkin ($7,100) had two goals and two assists while Rickard Rakell ($6,500) had a goal and seven shots on net. You can use Ty Smith ($4,100) in either stack, as the defenseman will continue to be on the top power play and has a very affordable salary.
The Penguins will face the Winnipeg Jets at home tonight. Winnipeg has been a solid defensive team this year, but they did allow seven goals earlier this week and are now playing on a back-to-back. Pittsburgh's implied team total is the second-highest tonight, and these two lines are both enticing options.
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils looked like world-beaters to start the season. Then they hit a bit of a funk, and it saw them slide down the standings. Now, they've gotten back on track a bit and get a soft matchup tonight.
One of the players in the NHL taking the biggest step forward this season has been Jack Hughes ($9,600). He's been excellent and is on pace for a whopping 52 goals this season. He gets a correlated value piece at both even strength and on the power play in Tomas Tatar ($5,400). Add in Erik Haula ($4,300) and you have a high-upside stack for a relatively low total salary. Dougie Hamilton ($7,300) would be a nice addition, as well, as the power play quarterback on defense.
The Devils are on the road tonight against the Anaheim Ducks. Anaheim is still the worst defensive team in the league and surrendered six goals in their last game. When these teams played in October, the Devils put up 4 goals and 41 shots on goal, and they could easily do the same tonight.
New Jersey's implied team total is the highest on the board tonight, and the opportunity to play a rising star like Hughes with these linemates makes this stack arguably the best.
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers erupted on Wednesday for six goals after letting us down on Monday. They are always going to be a top target, especially on a small slate like tonight.
Edmonton did make a change to their lines from the game on Wednesday. They moved Dylan Holloway ($4,000) up to the first line to play with Connor McDavid ($10,500) and Kailer Yamamoto ($4,100). Holloway is talented enough to warrant rostering for this salary, even if he doesn't get power play correlation with McDavid.
Like the last two slates, you can play McDavid, one of Holloway or Yamamoto, and then play Leon Draisaitl ($10,100) to capture McDavid's upside.
The Oilers are finishing their California swing against the San Jose Sharks tonight. The Sharks allow the sixth-most goals per game and tend to play high-scoring, chaotic games. Those games are when McDavid is at his best, and it could lead to a ceiling performance from him.
Edmonton is always a fun stack, and when you can roster the pieces that have lower salaries, you can build some nice teams while playing the 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.