2 Daily Fantasy Hockey Stacks for 8/3/20
The NHL IS BACK! We have a five-game slate to kick things off and plenty of star power to fit into your lineups.
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.
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.
Let's jump in and look at some stacks to target for goals and plenty of fantasy points.
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers scored four goals the other day against the Chicago Blackhawks, but that wasn't enough as they allowed six goals. Still, we got plenty of fantasy production from the Oilers, and we should be looking to stack them again tonight, as they have an implied goal total sitting at 3.46. That total is nearly 0.50 higher than the next team -- Chicago -- with the second-highest total at 3.04. Given what we saw in Game 1 and both teams having implied team totals over 3.00, you could also be looking at this for a potential game stack.
Without a doubt, the top power-play for the Oilers is the spot to target for a stack, and it only comes down to how much salary you have available to spend. Connor McDavid ($8,800) and Leon Draisaitl ($8,600) are the two most expensive skaters on the entire slate, and since we are dealing with only three games, there are limited value options out there. Regardless, if you are going with a multi-lineup approach to tournaments, you should set a few aside to try and jam them in.
To round out the first power-play unit, we see Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ($7,100), Alex Chiasson ($3,700), and defender Oscar Klefbom ($5,600). Chiasson offers plenty of value, but he is on the fourth forward line, while Nugent-Hopkins is on the first forward line alongside McDavid.
Look to spend up for the first power-play stack where you can, but also look for a bit of a game stack. If you want more thoughts on that, check out The Daily Deke podcast.
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins find themselves down 0-1 in the series to the Montreal Canadiens, putting them in a spot where they need to score and come away with the win.
With a 3.00 implied goal total, the Penguins hold the third-highest mark on the slate should be decently popular, considering there are only three games on the slate. The Pens are also the largest favorite (-160), which should push even more people to rostering their skaters.
Another team and another top power-play you want to be targeting -- if you have the salary available. The Penguins are led by Sidney Crosby ($8,400) and Evgeni Malkin ($8,100), who combined for only one point in Game 1, but had 13 shots on goal between them. They are on the first and second forward lines, respectively, and rostering them both would mean taking up both center spots on your roster, just something to keep in mind.
Jake Guentzel ($7,600) is also on the first power-play unit, as well on the first forward line with Crosby, bringing a bit of correlation and upside to your lineups. Neither of the two wingers on the second forward line with Malkin are on the first power-play, which is less than ideal, but just something to take note of.
Patric Hornqvist ($5,200) and Kris Letang ($6,800) are the final two players on the power-play, with the latter being the defender. While it's no small task to get a four-man Penguins' stack into your lineups due to their salaries, they are well worth the goal-scoring upside.
