3 Daily Fantasy Hockey Stacks for 2/23/21

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.

On Monday this article contained the Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Avalanche, and St. Louis Blues, and they all got shut out. You can't shoot the moon, and there's no booby prize in DFS, so this obviously was not great. The only thing we can do is try to do better the next night, so we'll move on to Tuesday's slate.

Edmonton Oilers

When the Edmonton Oilers are rolling, they are perhaps the most fun team to watch in the league. They beat the Calgary Flames 7-1 in the Battle of Alberta on Saturday. Connor McDavid ($9,200) had a hat trick and two assists to extend his lead in the scoring race to seven over Mitchell Marner. McDavid now is averaging 1.85 points per game, which would put him on pace for 151 points in an 82-game season. The most points we've seen in a season since the 2004-05 lockout was 128, so McDavid is blowing that away.

In that game on Saturday, McDavid was able to bring Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ($6,500) up with him, as RNH scored two goals and had an assist for 37.1 FanDuel points. His salary is too low for someone who plays this much alongside McDavid and has this kind of upside. Jesse Puljujarvi ($4,300) seems to have lost his spot on the power play but is still playing with McDavid at even strength and has a low enough salary to warrant throwing him in a lineup if stacking the Oilers.

Edmonton will face the Vancouver Canucks, which is a great spot for them. Vancouver is still allowing the most expected goals per 60 minutes and the most scoring chances per 60, according to Natural Stat Trick. Their shot metrics are brutal across the board, and the goaltending has not been good, either -- all of which has led to them allowing the third most goals per game in the league. McDavid had his first hat trick of the season the last time these two teams played, so he obviously likes the matchup.

If you want more exposure to the Oilers, you can also use defenseman Tyson Barrie ($5,500). He plays on the power play with McDavid and has been remarkably consistent, notching more than 10 FanDuel points in 11 of his last 12 games. The Oilers have the second highest implied team total tonight, and with a superstar like McDavid leading the way, they are clearly the best stack of the night.

Montreal Canadiens

If the Oilers have the second highest implied total, who has the highest? Well, that would be the Montreal Canadiens, as the high totals in the no-defense North Division continue. This division might drive coaches crazy, but as fantasy players, we love to see it.

The Canadiens are a tricky team to stack, for a few reasons. They don't have any superstar forwards and don't tend to ride one line hard when needing a goal. It's also hard to get full correlation with a three-man forward stack, so the best you can really hope for is two. In this matchup, you'll definitely want some exposure to Montreal, so let's look at the ways you can stack them.

The Canadiens face the Ottawa Senators, the team in last place and one that allows the most goals per game. So how do we attack them? Well, you could use the second line of Nick Suzuki ($5,500), Jonathan Drouin ($4,300) and Josh Anderson ($5,000). Suzuki leads the team in ice time for forwards and is second on the team with 13 points. Drouin plays on the power play with him, and while Anderson plays on the other power-play unit, Anderson's nine goals are second on the team, so he's worth getting in, as well. This is a very affordable stack for a team that has an implied total of 3.82.

If you want to get a bit off the wall, you could stack the third line. Jesperi Kotkaniemi ($4,100), Tomas Tatar ($5,200) and Joel Armia ($3,600) saw power-play time together on Sunday, and while currently only Kotkaniemi and Tatar are slated for man-advantage time, Armia is affordable enough that you can add him in, too. If you play these three, you get nice correlation on a team with a huge implied goal total, and you can fit in essentially whoever you want around them.

No matter which way you go, Montreal is clearly a great stack against Ottawa, with Sunday's game against the Sens notwithstanding. It's possible to pair either of these lines with the McDavid line, so that's an interesting route to go in tournaments.

Nashville Predators

The Nashville Predators have been brutal to start this season. It's tough to make them look good in any way, as they have scored the third fewest goals and allowed the fifth most goals. So why are we talking about them tonight? They get a matchup against the Detroit Red Wings, the only team lower than them in the Central Division. Detroit allows the ninth most goals per game and has the fourth-worst penalty kill in the league. This is a decent get-right spot for the Predators, and their new lines could pay off nicely.

With Ryan Johansen back in the fold, Nashville has shaken up their lines to something that is actually worth considering in DFS. We shouldn't have much interest in Johansen himself, but Filip Forsberg ($7,600) is now on the top line with Viktor Arvidsson ($5,300) and Mikael Granlund ($4,900), who is playing center. Arvidsson and Forsberg have had no trouble getting shots off, as they are 10th and 11th, respectively, in shot attempts per 60 minutes. You can also use Roman Josi ($6,200), who is a shot-machine as a defenseman. Last season's Norris Trophy winner isn't getting the same amount of points as he did last season, but he is still sixth in shot attempt rate for blueliners, so he is getting opportunities.

Forsberg and Granlund are playing on the top power-play unit with Josi, and while Arvidsson is on the second unit, he shoots so much for his salary that you'll want to include him in these stacks. People may be starting to become fed up with Nashville given how often they've let down fantasy managers this season, but their implied team total is more than three goals. This is a great time to jump back on them, especially if others are jumping off.

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.