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.
10 games on this Tuesday slate, let's find some great stacks that we can use.
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning have been one of the best teams in the NHL for the past handful of seasons. This year might not be their best, but they are still true contenders and have a clean stack that we like to roster.
Tampa's first line has been great since being put together. We know that Brayden Point ($8,200) and Nikita Kucherov ($9,800) are a dynamic duo, one of the most productive in the league when together. Kucherov is sixth in the NHL in points, and Point is on pace for 47 goals. The addition of Brandon Hagel ($6,600) to the top line has been surprisingly effective, as he's third on the team in goals with 15. This line plays together on the first power play, as well.
The Lightning get a juicy matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Columbus continues to be terrible defensively, ranking third from the bottom in goals against per game and also allowing the second-most shots on goal per night. They will now be without Vladislav Gavrikov, who was one of their better regular defensemen.
The Bolts have the highest implied team total on this slate -- more than a half-goal higher than any other team's. If you want a high-upside stack in a good matchup, you have to look at Tampa.
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins have been one of the streakiest teams in the NHL. They started December by winning seven games in a row, but they recently went on a winless streak of six games. They won on Sunday against a weak opponent, and the Pens get to face another one tonight.
Pittsburgh did make a shift to their top line recently, and it benefits us in fantasy. Bryan Rust ($5,900) got the bump back up to the top line after being on the second line for a while. He's back with Jake Guentzel ($7,600) and Sidney Crosby ($8,600), the team's two leading scorers. This line is fairly easy to get to salary-wise given their production, talent and the matchup they will see tonight. With defensive injuries for the Penguins, Ty Smith ($3,500) is now the blueliner seeing time on the power play, and he comes at the minimum salary.
The Penguins have a great matchup against the Vancouver Canucks. Vancouver recently fell to the second-worst team in goals allowed per game after they conceded seven on Sunday. They also have the worst penalty kill in the league, with a success rate of just 68.1% when shorthanded.
Pittsburgh has the second-highest implied team total tonight and is clearly a stack we can expect big things from in this spot.
Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets were not expected to be much of a contender this season -- maybe a playoff bubble team at best. But they have won five games in a row and have the best points percentage in the Central Division. They are 10th in goals per game and have had a lot of injuries to some key forwards.
The Jets got Nikolaj Ehlers ($8,400) back from injury, and he scored a goal and had two assists in just his second game back in the lineup on Sunday. At both even strength and on the power play, Ehlers is skating with Kyle Connor ($9,200) and Pierre-Luc Dubois ($8,400). Those are Winnipeg's top two scorers, and Connor has been in great form, totaling seven goals over his last 10 games.
Winnipeg's second line of Mark Scheifele ($7,100), Blake Wheeler ($6,300) and Cole Perfetti ($5,000) is also a fine stack. Perfetti and Wheeler will link up on the second power play, and this line comes for a lower salary than the first line does
The Jets will take on the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night. Detroit has lost three games in a row and seven of their last 10. They also rank in the bottom half of the league in goals against per game and on the penalty kill.
Winnipeg's top line has three players looking great of late, and they may go overlooked on this slate with Pittsburgh and Tampa likely to be the two most popular stacks.
Others to Consider: Colorado Avalanche, San Jose Sharks, Buffalo Sabres
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.