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 a busy Thursday night in the NHL with 11 games on the slate. Let's try to find three of the best stacks for tournaments tonight.
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins have a few things left to pursue this season. They'll want to lock up the President's Trophy, which would give them home ice throughout the playoffs. They also have a chance for setting the record for most wins in a season and are giant favorites to add another win tonight.
The Bruins have a dangerous top line that isn't too hard to fit into DFS lineups. The center on this line is Patrice Bergeron ($6,600), who has eight points in his last six games.Brad Marchand ($6,800) hasn't scored a goal in a while but has contributed six assists in his last six games. Jake DeBrusk ($7,100) is second on the team in goals per game with 24 in 56 contests. This line all plays together on the first power play, as well.
Boston's second line is also a solid option. It gets you exposure to David Pastrnak ($10,200), the second-leading goal scorer in the league. He'll play on the first power play, and you can get two pieces of the second power play in David Krejci ($5,300) and Pavel Zacha ($4,700). These two are fourth and fifth on the team in points, respectively, but have very reasonable salaries.
The matchup doesn't get much better for Boston than what they have tonight. They'll take on the Columbus Blue Jackets, who sit in 32nd out of 32 teams. They allowed six goals on Tuesday night, and overall, they allow the second-most goals per game in the league.
Boston is a giant -480 favorite and has an implied team total of 4.30 goals tonight. This is a total mismatch in their favor, and we can definitely take advantage of that.
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes suffered two injuries to scoring wingers that could hurt the depth of their lineup. They still have enough firepower to have a solid first line, especially in matchups where they will have a possession advantage like tonight.
The Canes have had to make some changes with the injuries they've had. They moved Martin Necas ($6,900) to the top line to play with Sebastian Aho ($7,100) and Seth Jarvis ($4,800). Necas still leads the team in points with 68. Aho and Necas will play together on the first power play. You also have two options on defense to add to this stack, asBrent Burns ($6,900) and Shayne Gostisbehere ($5,100) are both good offensive defensemen who play on the first power play.
Carolina gets a good spot tonight, as they'll take on a Detroit Red Wings team that is just playing out the string until the season ends. The Wings made their team worse at the trade deadline and have allowed 3.53 goals per game in the month of March since selling some pieces.
The Hurricanes have an implied team total of 3.78 goals and will be able to dominate the shot count in this game.
Seattle Kraken
The Seattle Kraken have a great chance of clinching their first-ever playoff berth in their second season. They have a lot of forward depth and are fourth in the league in goals per game. They'll get one of the best possible matchups tonight.
Seattle's top line is very affordable for the production they've accumulated this season. Jared McCann ($6,400) has 35 goals this season, but his salary doesn't reflect him being one of the NHL's best goal scorers this season. He's playing with potential rookie of the yearMatty Beniers ($5,300) and Jordan Eberle ($5,100) at even strength. These guys rank second through fourth in points on the team, but Vince Dunn ($6,000) leads the team in points from defense and is a great addition to this stack.
The Kraken will face the Anaheim Ducks at home tonight. Anaheim is the only team that allows more goals per game than the Columbus Blue Jackets. Seattle has scored a total of 14 goals in three games against Anaheim this season.
Seattle has an implied team total above four goals tonight, making them one of the best stacks on the board tonight.
Others to Consider: Tampa Bay Lightning, Nashville Predators, Florida Panthers, Ottawa Senators
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.