3 Daily Fantasy Hockey Stacks for 1/15/21

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, as if one player on a line is scoring goals, it's likely that his linemates are getting assists as well. Ideally, we'll want players that 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 up to date line information.

Friday's slate will probably feel familiar to most people, as four of the five games are rematches from Wednesday or Thursday. It's part of how the NHL schedule will work this season. So let's see how we can take advantage of what we saw already, or adjust based on how the field might react to one game.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning were popular on Wednesday, and they didn't disappoint. The first line of Steven Stamkos ($8,600), Brayden Point ($7,900) and Ondrej Palat ($5,600) each scored a goal, with two of them being on the power play. Overall, the team dominated the Chicago Blackhawks, controlling 63.68% of the expected goals, according to Natural Stat Trick. It's something that Chicago fans will have to get used to, unfortunately, as their circumstances have left them lacking talent, especially on the defensive side of the rink.

Tampa Bay is again expected to roll in this matchup. Our daily fantasy matchup heat map shows that their implied goal total is nearly four, the highest on this Friday slate. Palat's salary remains low for his role, and it helps balance the average dollar cost of this stack. Unlike other players who are low-salary options with the first line, Palat does play on the power play with his even strength linemates, so the full correlation gives this stack an edge over some of the others on the slate.

Victor Hedman ($7,000) was also on that first power play, and he chipped in with two assists and also had five shot attempts. He's a nice piece to add to the stack as a defenseman.

The Tampa Bay stack will certainly be popular but for good reason. Perhaps playing all four will be somewhat unique and will give you high upside, especially if the power play is clicking.

Buffalo Sabres

Here's a contrarian stack that people may overlook with lots of other good options out there.

Buffalo Sabres fans were thrilled with the addition of Taylor Hall ($7,300) in the offseason, and he didn't disappoint in his first game on Thursday. He had a power-play goal and an assist in his debut with the club. Fans around the league were excited to see what he could do with Jack Eichel ($7,900), as Hall is the best linemate that Eichel has ever had. Eichel was able to pick up two assists himself in the game last night, so the chemistry appears to already be there. The last piece of this line is Tage Thompson ($3,600), who also had an assist and attempted four shots. He doesn't play on the power play with Eichel and Hall, but for just $3,600, he's worth adding to Buffalo stacks.

The Sabres get a rematch against the Washington Capitals after playing them last night. Buffalo actually controlled the play at even strength, having more expected goals and shot attempts than Washington. Buffalo has a younger team than the Capitals, so they may be more fresh for this quick turnaround.

A young player who also fits with this stack is defenseman Rasmus Dahlin ($4,800). Dahlin led the team in time on ice with 25 minutes last night and had four shots on goal. He quarterbacks the power play and has a ton of talent, especially for passing the puck. He's a good value for the role he has and fits nicely as the blueline component of this stack.

Buffalo is an underdog tonight, but they still have a 3.05 implied goal total. They will likely not be too popular tonight but have enough upside to win a tournament.

Philadelphia Flyers

The Philadelphia Flyers went off for six goals against their in-state rivals the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday in the NHL opener. They'll see them again on Friday, looking to do the same thing. The Flyers actually have a few lines that are viable for stacking. We are going to look at the third line, which played a part in the first two goals on Wednesday.

The line of James van Riemsdyk ($4,600), Nolan Patrick ($4,100) and Jakub Voracek ($6,500) is appealing for a few different reasons. Van Riemsdyk and Patrick each picked up a power-play goal in the first game. These three linemates all play on the power play together, which is something rare for a third line. The total stack will cost you just $15,200 and will allow you to fit in another expensive stack in your lineup. Throw in Erik Gustafsson ($4,500), who has been a very good power play quarterback over the past few seasons and had two assists on Wednesday, and you've got yourself a full power-play stack for under $20,000 in salary.

The Penguins have question marks over their defense and goaltending, so we should look to attack them early in the season. It's not always going to be viable to use a third line on a bigger slate, but the circumstances are right to use this line 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.