3 Daily Fantasy NHL Stacks for 1/26/21
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.
After a slow Monday with only one game, we’ve got a 13-game slate on Tuesday. So which stacks stand out on this massive slate?
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers have been hit or miss to start the season, with three wins and four losses. Whether or not they win the game, the top players are usually able to get their fantasy points.
Connor McDavid ($8,900) hasn't been getting a ton of buzz for his start to the season, but he has been his usual excellent self. He's tied for the lead in points with 10 and has good underlying numbers, as well. He is fifth in the league in shot attempts and first in high danger chances, according to Natural Stat Trick. The other star on the team, Leon Draisaitl ($8,400), has just one fewer point. These two don't play together at even strength normally, but they do combine on the power play effectively.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ($7,200) plays with McDavid at even strength and is a great piece to add to this stack. Another component to this stack is the newly elevated Jesse Puljujarvi ($3,500). He played with McDavid and RNH and saw some time on the top power play unit. He is also great salary relief for this expensive stack. You could remove one forward and use the defenseman that plays on the power play in Tyson Barrie ($4,700), but he has yet to show much with his new club.
The Oilers will face the Winnipeg Jets as they did on Sunday when all of the forwards mentioned above had at least 19.2 FanDuel points. The Jets are not a good defensive team, allowing the third-most expected goals per 60 minutes in the league. This is a reason that Oilers have a healthy implied team total in this game, and with how reliant they are on McDavid and whoever plays with him, if they are to hit that total, it's likely coming through this stack.
Nashville Predators
The early returns on the Nashville Predators this season have not been totally inspiring. They are 2-3-0 with just 12 goals scored. However, their five games have been against good defensive teams.
Tonight, they'll play the Chicago Blackhawks, which will be a welcomed sight compared to their other matchups. The Blackhawks have been what we thought they would be, one of the worst teams at preventing goals in the league. They've allowed 3.8 goals per game and five per game against teams that are not the Detroit Red Wings. The Predators' offense isn't the strongest in the league, but it should be able to produce more than Detroit.
Nashville has the highest implied team total on the entire slate at 3.67. The stack we want to target is the first line of Filip Forsberg ($7,100), Ryan Johansen ($5,300), and Viktor Arvidsson ($5,800). Forsberg is off to a great start this season, with four goals in the first five games. Arvidsson has five points, and at least two shots on goal in every game so far. This line also plays together on the power play, so you get the full correlation.
Add in defenseman Roman Josi ($6,400), who was the team's leading scorer last season, and you get another piece to make this stack dangerous. Josi hasn't gotten off to the best start points-wise, but he does lead the team in shots on goal and is seventh in shot attempt rate among defensemen who have played at least 100 minutes.
The Predators might not be too popular tonight, as they haven't shown much offensive upside to start this season, and with how big the slate is the stacks that people use might get spread out. Take advantage of the matchup against Chicago the first time they play, especially if others are not.
Dallas Stars
The start of the Dallas Stars' season was delayed due to a COVID outbreak in training camp, but they didn't get off to a slow start when they finally were able to play. They scored 10 goals in their first two games against Nashville. They did it without Tyler Seguin, who's out from an offseason surgery, and Jamie Benn only played 11:43 of the first game after leaving with an injury.
The players who have been getting it done include Joe Pavelski ($6,400), who has a staggering seven points in the first two games. He's playing at even strength and on the power play with Alexander Radulov ($6,300). The power play has been what has driven Dallas' early success, as eight of their goals have come with the man advantage. That's why a logical third member of the stack is John Klingberg ($5,700), who has four power play assists to start.
The other players you could use in a stack are Roope Hintz ($4,900) and Denis Gurianov ($5,200). Hintz is second on the team with five points and Gurianov leads the team with 10 shots on goal. These two also are on the top power play unit. Playing them with the other two forwards or Klingberg is a good way to get exposure to a power play that's been on fire.
The Stars will play the Detroit Red Wings in this game. Detroit hasn't been quite as bad as last season, but they are still in the league's bottom 10 in goals allowed per game and penalty kill success rate. With how hot Dallas has started the season, we can try to ride the wave against a team they should be able to beat.
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.
