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 an interesting six-game slate tonight with some great options to stack.
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers continue to be the highest-scoring team in the league. They also have the league's best power play and the two leading scorers. That makes them an attractive stack each night, especially when they face a weak opponent like tonight.
Connor McDavid ($10,700) is doing his best to break the NHL, as he leads the league in points by 27. He's playing with Evander Kane ($6,800) and Mattias Janmark ($3,800) at even strength, but neither of these guys will play on the same power-play unit as him. Kane is still a solid play with McDavid, though, as he had a hat trick last week without getting the power-play time.
The way to get some power-play correlation with McDavid would be to play one or two of Leon Draisaitl ($10,100), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ($8,400), and Zach Hyman ($8,100). These guys are all having fantastic seasons and are all on pace for career highs in points. Then, you can add in Evan Bouchard ($4,400), who remains a fantastic value on defense.
Edmonton will be on the road tonight to face the Arizona Coyotes. These teams played last week, with Edmonton winning 4-3. McDavid scored twice, and Draisaitl added four assists. Arizona ranks as the second-worst team in shots allowed per game, which doesn't bode well against the Oilers.
Edmonton has the highest implied team total on this slate, which currently sits at a whopping 4.68 goals.
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche have moved up to second in the Central Division. With the way they're playing lately, there's no reason that they can't win the division like they did last season. Tonight's spot is a great one for them to continue to move up the standings.
Nathan MacKinnon ($10,300) was finally held off the scoresheet the last game but still has 17 points and 48 shots on goal in his last 10 games. He and Mikko Rantanen ($9,700) form the highest-scoring duo that doesn't play in Edmonton. They have combined for 87 goals and 180 points this season. They are now playing with Valeri Nichushkin ($6,900) at both even strength and on the power play.
Colorado is on the road to face the Anaheim Ducks tonight. Anaheim continues to be the worst defensive team in the league, allowing the most shots and goals per game. They are also on pace to be the worst defensive team we've seen in the salary cap era and could be the first team in the era to allow four goals per game for an entire season.
The Avalanche have an implied team total just below four goals tonight and should be able to punish this leaky Ducks team.
Ottawa Senators
The first two stacks listed here jump off the page, but the Ottawa Senators probably don't to most people. They aren't in as good of a spot as Colorado or Edmonton, but they are in a game that could see fireworks on either side.
Ottawa should feel good about its core moving forward, as young players like Brady Tkachuk ($8,600) and Tim Stutzle ($8,300) are leading the way. They have a veteran presence in Claude Giroux ($7,600) playing alongside them, who's third on the team in points behind these two. Tkachuk and Stutzle play on the top power play and now have fellow youngster Jake Sanderson ($4,600) playing with them as the defenseman on this unit.
The Senators will play against the Florida Panthers tonight. Florida plays some chaotic games, as their goaltending and defense have been suspect all season. They've allowed the ninth-most goals per game in the league and definitely could allow Ottawa's top line to net a few tonight.
This game has an over/under of 7.5, and most people will look to the Panthers' side of this game. Ottawa has players capable of scoring a lot and is good as a sneaky stack tonight.
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.