3 Daily Fantasy NHL Stacks for 2/18/21

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 had to wait until Thursday for the first big slate of the week, but it's here and we've got nine games to watch tonight. So let's look at some teams we can stack that can help us make some money.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Well, here we are again. The Toronto Maple Leafs let us down last night, and they are in the same spot tonight against the Ottawa Senators. We can't pretend like last night's 2-1 victory didn't happen, but we also shouldn't let it affect our judgement for this game too much. This is still the fourth highest scoring team with the best record in the league, and they're up against the last-place team that allows the most goals per game. So, it's definitely a good strategy to get on the same Toronto guys we played last night.

It's weird to say Auston Matthews ($9,000) disappointed last night after he scored a goal, but it's fair to say that fantasy managers were not totally thrilled with his output. He had the goal but had just one other shot on goal and no other fantasy points. He still attempted four shots and led the team in ice time, according to Natural Stat Trick, so there aren't any usage concerns with him.

Mitchell Marner ($8,200) was second in ice time and spent two minutes in the penalty box. It's rare to see two forwards lead a team in ice time, so it just goes to show how much the Leafs want to ride this pair. The third wheel on this line, Joe Thornton ($4,500), picked up an assist last night. Over the last few years, Thornton has had one of the lowest shot attempt rates in the league for forwards, and while this season's clip of 7.49 shot attempts per 60 minutes isn't great, he is getting more high danger chances per 60 than the likes of Sidney Crosby, Max Pacioretty and Brock Boeser. Morgan Rielly ($5,300) has a nice salary for a defenseman who plays on the power play with these guys and is good offensively.

The Maple Leafs have by far the highest implied total on tonight's slate, sitting at 4.07 -- 0.49 more than any other team (as of early Thursday afternoon). They will likely be the most popular stack again, but their overall draft percentages should come down a bit due to the bigger slate and their meh night on Wednesday. If the popularity is down on these guys for any reason, we should take advantage of it and roster the best stack out there.

Washington Capitals

After some postponed games, the Washington Capitals have returned to the ice and mostly been the team we know and love. They are tied for fifth in the league in goals per game with 3.5, doing it through the league's fourth best power play.

Alex Ovechkin ($8,300) spent some time on the COVID list, but he still has 13 points in 10 games. He also has 39 shots on goal in those games, so he is still firing the puck relentlessly like we have come to expect from him. He is now centered by Evgeny Kuznetsov ($6,900) and not Nicklas Backstrom ($6,400), although Ovi plays with Backstrom -- and not Kuznetsov -- on the power play. That gives us a few options on how to stack Washington.

Since the power play is what we are targeting with the Capitals, playing Backstrom with Ovechkin instead of Kuznetsov is a route you can go. You can add in T.J. Oshie ($5,700) for even-strength correlation with Ovechkin. A key part to any stack with Ovi is playing John Carlson ($7,100). If you've seen the Capitals power play, you know it's Carlson's job to set up Oveckhin's shot from the spot on the ice where Ovechkin seemingly scores all of his goals. This has contributed to Carlson having three straight seasons of over 68 points -- very high numbers for a defenseman.

The Caps hold the second highest implied team total today for their clash with the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres allow the 10th most goals per game in the league, and in four games against Washington this season, they've conceded 15 goals. The Capitals are always a high-upside stack, and it's no different tonight.

Arizona Coyotes

If you want a stack that won't break the bank and will be unique, you can look at the Arizona Coyotes.

Getting the full correlation on a stack that not many people will have is great, because if you get a goal with all three points, you really can shoot up the leaderboard. Conor Garland ($5,300) is one of the more underrated players in the NHL. He has 14 points in 15 games and is 13th in the league with 53 shots on goal. One point behind him for the team lead is Nick Schmaltz ($4,800), who will center the top line. Perhaps the most well-known player in this stack is also the one with the highest salary -- Clayton Keller ($6,300). His numbers are a bit worse than his linemates', but he had been playing on the third line to begin the season.

The defenseman who plays on the power play with this line is perhaps one of the best values on the slate. Jakob Chychrun ($4,900) has been great this season. He has the 6th most shots for defensemen and the 11th most points for blueliners. He fits well with the forward trio because 5 of his 11 points have been on the power play this year. He's certainly a player to add to this stack as he's a defenseman with a high floor and ceiling who has a salary that's easy to fit into lineups.

The Coyotes have a good matchup against the Los Angeles Kings, one that sees Arizona as -166 favorites. They also have an implied team total of 3.03, which people might not expect given the stigma around this team. It's a good time to stack them 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.