4 Daily Fantasy Hockey Stacks for 1/31/20
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.
Pittsburgh Penguins
We have another addition for the Battle of Pennsylvania, and it's looking like a good spot for stacking.
The most recent meeting between these two teams ended in favor of the Philadelphia Flyers, winning that game 3-0. It lacked a bit of fantasy production overall, but we should be in for a higher scoring game tonight. Both teams haven't played in 10 days due to the All-Star break, giving us a fully rested matchup to start the second half of the season.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are at home and come in with a 3.28 implied goal total tonight, so that's where we'll look for some offense. According to oddsFire, a whopping 91% of the money is on the Over tonight, pointing us in the direction for plenty of scoring.
Since returning from his injury, Sidney Crosby ($8,400) has eight points in five games and is back on the team's first forward line and first power-play unit. For his career against the Flyers, Crosby has a very nice 69 games played, with a total of 102 points scored. He simply gets it done against them, and this is where you want to start your stack.
If you have the salary to spend, the first power-play for the Penguins can win you a tournament. Along with Crosby, that unit is Patric Hornqvist ($5,600), Evgeni Malkin ($7,900), Bryan Rust ($5,800), and Kris Letang ($6,800).
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers come in with a 3.75 implied goal total -- the highest on the slate -- so let's look to them for some scoring tonight.
The Blueshirts are at home to open the second half of the season, and they have a very soft matchup against the lowly Detroit Red Wings, a team we've targeted all season. Detroit is sitting around the middle of the league or worse when it comes to Corsi Against (shot attempts allowed) and Expected Goals Against per 60 minutes. They have allowed 199 goals through 51 games this season, good for 3.9 per game. That shouldn't come as a surprise since all three of their defensive pairings are rated 29th or worse this season.
If they are this bad, we want to look to the Rangers' first power-play unit, who ended the stretch before the All-Star break super hot. Chris Kreider ($6,400), Artemi Panarin ($8,100), Mika Zibanejad ($7,800), Ryan Strome ($5,200), and Tony DeAngelo ($4,900) had a total of 37 points and 74 shots in their last five games. Plenty of scoring, plenty of upside, and a super-soft matchup.
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators are one of the worst teams in the league, but do we want to stack them tonight? Yes.
The Senators are interesting for a few reasons, and I like them in tournaments only. First off, their salaries are pretty affordable, with Brady Tkachuk ($6,500) being their most expensive option. You can legitimately get a four-player stack with only one player over $6K, easing the process of roster construction.
Next, according to KillerSports, four of the last seven games between these two teams have hit the over, putting us in a spot for plenty of scoring. Finally, the Senators are +160 home underdogs tonight, and we shouldn't see too much ownership on them.
Look to Tkachuk, Thomas Chabot ($5,400), Connor Brown ($5,000), and Jean-Gabriel Pageau ($5,300), who don't have full ice-time correlation but are on the two power-play units -- and again, are affordable tonight.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay is on the road, but they have a very solid 3.42 implied goal total tonight.
It was only a matter of time until the Lightning got their act together this season, and they are doing it at the right time. They come in as winners in seven of their last 10 games and have scored three goals or more in six of those 10 games. They should be able to continue that tonight since they are up against the Anaheim Ducks, who hold the seventh-worst Corsi Against this season, the fifth-worst Expected Goals against, and allow the seventh-most High-Danger-Scoring-Chances per 60 minutes. This is nothing new, as the Ducks have been horrible on defense for a few seasons.
Truth be told, any combination of players from their first power-play is viable -- it just comes down to how much salary you have to spend. Steven Stamkos ($8,900), Nikita Kucherov ($8,400), Brayden Point ($7,000), Victor Hedman ($5,700), and Alex Killorn ($5,200) are the five players on the first power-play, so take your pick.
