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 have 10 games this Thursday evening, so let's see what's the best way to attack this slate.
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are in the mix for a playoff spot in the West. However, it all depends on how they play down the stretch, as their place in the postseason is certainly not guaranteed. They'll need to secure as many points as possible, especially in soft matchups like the one they have tonight.
The Wild went back to the first line that saw them set franchise records in scoring last season. Kirill Kaprizov ($8,900) set the club record for most points with 108, and he once again leads the team in points with 67. He continues to play with the team's second-leading scorer, Mats Zuccarello ($7,500), at both even strength and on the power play. They've now moved Ryan Hartman ($5,000) back to centering this line, and he scored 34 goals last season playing with these elite playmakers.
Minnesota is facing the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight. Columbus continues to be a great matchup to target, as they rank third from the bottom in both goals against and shots against per game. They've recently been holding Vladislav Gavrikov out of the lineup, and he's arguably their best defensive defenseman.
Minnesota's implied team total is not one of the higher ones on the slate, but this stack can definitely score goals given their opponents.
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals are struggling mightily of late. They've lost five games in a row and look set to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2014. They still have time to change that, and tonight they can start a run against one of the worst teams in the league.
The Capitals were without Alex Ovechkin ($8,500) for over a week due to personal reasons, but he is back in the lineup and ready to continue his pursuit of the all-time goals record. He leads the team and is 13th in the NHL in goals with 32 this season. He's playing at even strength and on the power play with fellow Russian Evgeny Kuznetsov ($5,500), who's second on the team with 45 points. Tom Wilson ($4,500) is also on this line. He's been hampered by injuries all season but was the team's second-leading goal scorer last year.
You can add Erik Gustafsson ($5,300) to this stack on defense, as he will do his best to get Ovechkin the puck on the power play.
Washington gets to face the Anaheim Ducks at home. Anaheim is still on pace to be the worst defensive team in the salary cap era. They've allowed a whopping 4.19 goals per game. No team since the 2005-06 has allowed more than four goals per contest.
The Capitals have an implied team total of 3.75 goals, which is second on the slate.
Vancouver Canucks
It's not been a successful season for the Vancouver Canucks. They've had lots of drama, including a lingering coaching change that finally happened last month. Tonight, they are in a game with a high total and have a line stack that looks great on paper.
Probably the best thing that's happened to Vancouver this season has been Elias Pettersson ($9,700) returning to a level of elite production. He's tied for seventh in the league with 72 points. He's found success with Andrei Kuzmenko ($6,400), as the first-year winger has 26 goals this season. After the recent trade involving Bo Horvat, Anthony Beauvillier ($4,400) is now playing on this line and seems to have found his feet in Vancouver, with four goals and seven points across his last six games. This line is fully correlated on Vancouver's top power play, which ranks in the top 10 this season.
The Canucks face another team that has been struggling this season. The St. Louis Blues are not contenders and have already moved pieces ahead of the trade deadline. They got rid of Ryan O'Reilly, one of their best defensive centers and penalty-killing forwards, which boosts the matchup for Vancouver. The Blues already surrender the fourth-most goals per game, and that could get even worse moving forward.
Vancouver is an underdog in this game but still has a healthy 3.42 implied total. Since they are not a good team, the Canucks might go overlooked on tonight's large slate.
Others to Consider: Tampa Bay Lightning, Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues
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.