4 Daily Fantasy Hockey Stacks for 1/16/20
When playing NHL DFS -- much like MLB DFS -- stacking is key. Having multiple players from the same team, who correlate together, can give your lineup upside and help you maximize potential points.
You can roster up to four players from the same team in NHL, and you should look to have players from the same forward line or power-play unit together. Shared ice time is the key, as it will maximize their ability to contribute to real-life goals with each other, ultimately leading to more fantasy points for us.
Generally, we don't see late scratches in the NHL, and the team's lines are confirmed at practice or before the game. Two of the best resources for that are LeftWingLock.com or DailyFaceOff.com. That is where you can find updated forward and power-play lines for each team.
Colorado Avalanche
While the Colorado Avalanche are busy unveiling their questionable jerseys for their outdoor game this season, they are shaping up to be a great stack tonight.
The Avs find themselves at home as -210 favorites against the San Jose Sharks, who are one of the biggest disappointments this season. This matchup gives the Avalanche a 3.75 implied goal total and a clear spot to target for upside in tournaments. The top line for the Avalanche is rated as the second-best first forward line in the NHL and bring fantasy points each and every night. Over their last five games, Nathan MacKinnon ($8,700), Gabriel Landeskog ($6,900), and Mikko Rantanen ($7,200) have a total of 16 points and a staggering 58 shots.
There are 13 games tonight and options at nearly every price point for both cash games and tournaments. This is a team I want to prioritize getting exposure to with their high implied goal total, consistency, and slate-winning upside.
Florida Panthers
If you are rolling out multiple lineups tonight, the Florida Panthers should be a team rostering heavily tonight.
With a 3.63 implied goal total -- the third-highest on the slate -- it's no secret the Panthers are going to be popular. The Panthers come in with three goals or more in six of their last 10 games and should be able to continue that trend tonight against the Los Angeles Kings, who are not a team to worry about on defense this season.
In fact, this could be a spot for a bit of a game stack since we have the over/under sitting at 6.5 and have two teams who play at a faster pace. The Kings have the fourth-highest Corsi For (shots attempts created) this season, while the Panthers are sitting at 11th. Two teams who generate plenty of offensive opportunities going back and forth is great for fantasy production.
If that is going to be the case, you want to side with the Panthers' top line -- who have been buzzing lately. In this last 10 game stretch, Jonathan Huberdeau ($7,500), Aleksander Barkov ($7,200), and Evgeni Dadonov ($6,200) have 31 points and 80 shots combined. Those three skaters are all on the first power-play unit together, for the always juicy -- full ice-time correlation.
Vegas Golden Knights
The Vegas Golden Knights are yet another NHL team to fire their coach, but we still want to trust them tonight.
There's a bit of turmoil for the Golden Knights right now with their coaching change, as they are tied for a wild card spot in the Western Conference, but we should be looking to them tonight against the Ottawa Senators. As always, the Senators are a team we've been attacking all season -- they are among the worst in the league in most defensive categories -- and stacking against them in DFS has been profitable this season. The Golden Knights come in with a 3.40 implied goal total tonight on the road and should be somewhat popular even with a larger slate size.
The forward lines and power-play units aren't fully correlated for the Golden Knights, so looking towards the second forward line might be the right call. That line consists of Max Pacioretty ($7,400) and Mark Stone ($6,600) -- who are on the first power-play together -- and Chandler Stephenson ($3,600), who is on the second power-play unit. Not fully correlated, but you get exposure to both units, and Stephenson brings a bit of salary savings, as well.
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins have an implied total under 3.00 tonight, but they are in a good spot.
We know that Sidney Crosby ($8,100) is back for the Penguins and posted four points in his first game since November 9th. Their first power-play is back together and with a 2.87 implied goal total tonight, they might go overlooked, which is great for tournaments.
The Penguins are on the road to take on the Boston Bruins, who are a great team but seriously struggling right now. In their last five games, Boston has allowed three goals or more three times, and that could continue tonight. In their most recent game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Boston starting goalie Tuukka Rask got hit in the head and is out tonight. That means backup Jaroslav Halak will be in net tonight. While Halak is a good goalie, he has allowed three goals or more in seven of his last 10 games.
We have the Penguins powered up with Crosby back and against a struggling defense and a backup goalie. It makes sense to go for the first power-play unit with Crosby, Evgeni Malkin ($8,300), Bryan Rust ($6,200) and Kris Letang ($6,400) tonight.
