3 Daily Fantasy NHL Stacks for 2/1/21

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.

We kick off the week with a five-game slate, so let’s see what teams we want to stack on Monday.

Boston Bruins

One of the best lines in the NHL over the past few seasons has been the Boston Bruins' first line. It's been so good that it's received the nickname "The Perfection Line." They played their first game of the season with all three together on Saturday, and the results were about what you would expect.

David Pastrnak ($7,500) did not miss a beat in his first game back, as he had an assist, 5 shots on goal, and a whopping 14 shot attempts, according to Natural Stat Trick. The other wing on this line is Brad Marchand ($8,200), who wasn't far behind with 12 shot attempts and buried one in the net. Center Patrice Bergeron ($7,800) was the setup man, dishing out three assists. The Bruins have a chance to do the same thing on Monday night.

Boston will face the same Washington Capitals team that they faced on Saturday. They dominated in that game, with over five expected goals in all situations. The Capitals are not a strong defensive team, allowing the fifth-most shot attempts per 60 minutes and the eighth-most expected goals per 60. This doesn't bode well against the first line of the Bruins, known for being a line that is dominant in possession.

The top line comes with full power play correlation, and the Bruins' power play was the second-best in the league last season. Charlie McAvoy ($4,800) has stepped on to the first power play as of late and has seven points in his last four games. Washington has not been good on the penalty kill, as they are in the league's bottom 10.

With the talent involved, the matchup, and the full power play correlation, this is clearly one of the top lines to stack on the night.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins are usually one of the teams we'll look to target every time they play because of the firepower on the team.

However, it hasn't all clicked for them so far this season, ranking 15th in goals per 60. They did score five goals on Saturday, though, and have a good matchup to do it again tonight.

Sidney Crosby ($7,900) is still doing his thing, with eight points in nine games, and now he has two wingers who he can count on to score goals. His connection with Jake Guentzel ($7,300) has been well established, as Crosby had 100 points and Guentzel had 40 goals in the 2018-19 season when they played together. The other member of the line is Bryan Rust ($5,500), who is coming off a career-high 27 goals in 55 games last season. He only has two goals, but he's averaging over three shots on goal per game, so he is due for some regression in shooting luck.

They'll play the same New York Rangers team that they did on Saturday. Each player had a point in that game, and Guentzel was able to put up seven shots on goal. Crosby hasn't had a right wing who plays on the power play with him in a long time, but now Rust will do that, so all three of these players correlate on the man advantage.

With normal power play quarterback Kris Letang set to miss this game, the first power play duties will seemingly go to John Marino ($3,600). Marino hasn't impressed with his offensive game in his two NHL seasons, but he is a nice salary relief play who could contribute to a goal on the power play and should see elevated ice time.

The Penguins have an implied team total of 3.31 tonight, the third-highest on the slate. Crosby and Guentzel have high salaries, but if you include Rust and Marino, you get four players on the first power play for a reasonable percentage of your salary cap.

Calgary Flames

People may forget how good the Calgary Flames were in the 2018-19 season, and specifically the first line. The five players that made up the first power play all had over 74 points, but it's forgotten because the team lost in the first round of the playoffs and then fell back to a slightly above average team last season.

They've found some success to start this season, although the lines are a bit different. The connection between Johnny Gaudreau ($7,600) and Sean Monahan ($7,000) has been key for the Flames for a long time, and they look good again. Gaudreau has a point in each of Calgary's seven games, for nine total. Monahan had a stretch of four games with over 15 FanDuel points before cooling down a bit.

This line has had a rotating door of right wingers, and it looks to be Andrew Mangiapane ($3,500). Mangiapane has had a slow start to the season but is coming off a 17-goal campaign, so for the dead minimum salary, he's worth adding to Monahan and Gaudreau lineups.

Perhaps the most appealing aspect of rostering Calgary tonight is the matchup. The Winnipeg Jets are struggling defensively again this season, allowing the sixth-most shots per game and eighth-most expected goals per game. They are also bottom 10 on the penalty kill.

That brings us to the Flames' new power play quarterback, Rasmus Andersson ($4,700). Andersson is fourth on the team with five points in seven games and comes at a nice salary for his role.

Calgary may go overlooked on this slate because they haven't had any eruption games yet this season, but they have the second highest implied team total tonight. A team that the oddsmakers like that won't be popular is always a good situation when building tournament lineups.

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.