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 four games on Friday, and there are some nice teams to stack on this slate.
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are headed to the playoffs for the second season in a row. They still have things to play for, though, with an outside chance at winning their division. If they want to win the division, they'll have to win games like tonight.
The Rangers have a deep forward group that has a lot of potential stacking options. The first line withMika Zibanejad ($8,300) andArtemi Panarin ($7,400) will use the most salary, but it also gets you the team's two leading scorers. Zibanejad has been excellent of late with 13 points in his last nine games. These two will also play on the first power play together and alongside Vladimir Tarasenko ($5,600) at even strength.
The second line is also a good candidate for stacking. It has two members of the first power-play unit in Chris Kreider ($6,100) and Patrick Kane ($6,700). Kreider is second on the team with 33 goals. Vincent Trocheck ($6,400) is also on this line and has been solid with 59 points this season.
New York will face the Buffalo Sabres, who are hanging on to their playoff hopes by a thread. They are not in the playoffs solely because they can't keep the puck out of their net, as their offense has certainly been doing its job. Buffalo ranks as the fourth-worst team in goals allowed per game, and they will be using Devon Levi in goal for his first career NHL game.
The Rangers have the highest implied team total on this slate, and either line could find success in this matchup.
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are in a fight to win the Central Division. They'll likely want to avoid playing the Colorado Avalanche in the first round, so winning games like tonight's easy matchup is still important for this playoff-bound club.
Dallas' first line hasn't been as productive lately, but they are still one of the top stacks in hockey. Jason Robertson ($9,100) has eight games to record nine points, which would see him hit the century mark for the first time in his career. Roope Hintz ($7,400) is second on the team with 33 goals and is a fairly underrated center on both sides of the ice. Joe Pavelski ($7,100) has scored four goals and seven points in his last five games and will play with Hintz and Robertson on the top power play.
The Stars will face the Arizona Coyotes tonight. This will be the fourth meeting between these teams, with Dallas having scored 15 total goals in the previous three. They should be able to get a lot of shots against this Arizona team that allows the second-most shots on goal per game.
Dallas is the second-biggest favorite tonight, and their first line definitely has slate-breaking potential.
Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets are currently in a playoff spot but by just two points. While they've gone into a free fall in the past two months, they should be able to play well on Friday.
With the team's struggles, many line changes have been made. Luckily, they've made it easy on us fantasy players to know which to stack.
We'll definitely want to use the first line, as it has the team's three leading goal scorers. Mark Scheifele ($6,500) is going to move to the wing to play with Kyle Connor ($7,300) and Pierre-Luc Dubois ($6,700). Scheifele leads the team with 38 goals, and a move to the wing could allow him to focus on offense even more. This trio makes up three parts of the first power play, as well.
Winnipeg is playing against the Detroit Red Wings tonight. The Wings just played last night and allowed 85 shot attempts against the Carolina Hurricanes. That matched a season-high, which occurred the last time they played the Jets.
The Jets' first line makes for one of the best stacks on the slate, and they are set up nicely against a team that played last night and has little incentive to win.
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.