3 Daily Fantasy NHL Stacks for 2/24/21

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 who 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.

This slate is very similar to what we saw on Monday, with three of the five games being rematches. Let's take what we learned from that slate, without being too reactionary, and use it to our advantage today.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Well, the Toronto Maple Leafs let everyone down on Monday. They were the highest-scoring team in the league before getting shut out against the Calgary Flames.

Well, they get another chance tonight to face the Flames, and this game should go a lot better. Taking a look at the game report on Natural Stat Trick, a few things stand out. The Leafs dominated the shot attempt battle 75-50 and also had 3.53 expected goals. They created 14 high danger chances, too, so it looks like they just got "goalied" by Calgary netminder David Rittich. This performance would be hard to repeat for any goalie, and it would be more concerning for the Leafs if they didn't get the chances.

Before Monday, Auston Matthews ($9,300) was on a 16-game point streak and had eight points in the last two games. Like a star player in baseball going 0-4 in a game, that type of thing happens in hockey, as well. If Matthews' usage or opportunity was down, this could be chalked up to something other than a fluke, but everything seemed to be normal. He played over 24 minutes and had eight shot attempts, so things just didn't break his way in this game.

It's a similar story for Mitch Marner ($8,400), who had seven shot attempts and played over 26 minutes, which is a ton for a forward. The experiment of playing John Tavares on the left wing with these guys seems to be over, as Zach Hyman ($4,900) will be back in the lineup. Hyman is a pretty undervalued fantasy asset if he is going to continue to play on the top power play, as well.

Morgan Rielly ($5,500) is still a good value for a top unit power play quarterback to play with these forwards. You'll want a piece of them, as they have Wednesday's highest implied team total by far despite Monday's disappointing outing.

Arizona Coyotes

A team that didn't disappoint their fantasy managers on Monday was the Arizona Coyotes, although there were significantly fewer fantasy players using them than those who used the Leafs.

The Coyotes had a pretty good matchup with the Anaheim Ducks, and they'll get the same matchup tonight. The Ducks allowed the fourth most scoring chances per 60 minutes and the fourth most high danger chances per 60 minutes. Most of that was with Hampus Lindholm in the lineup, but in the two games without their best defenseman, they've allowed nine goals. They don't have enough defensive talent on their blueline to slow down most NHL teams, and Arizona is no different.

The first line is the one we want to target for the Coyotes. Clayton Keller ($6,300) is the highest salaried player on this line and had two assists in the game on Monday. Conor Garland ($5,400) is a great value for this salary, as he leads the team with 16 points and is tied for 14th in the league in shots on goal. Nick Schmaltz ($4,800) hasn't been as good as Garland but has 14 points and has an even lower salary. This trio is a pretty affordable stack that gets full correlation on the power play, so the upside is pretty good.

It's definitely worth considering playing Jakob Chychrun ($4,300) with this stack. Chychrun is one of the best values at defense. He's tied for 10th in points for defensemen and also tied for 8th in shots on goal for blueliners. He had a goal and an assist in Monday's game and still finds himself on the top power play.

Arizona's implied team total is over three goals, so they are definitely a stack you can use tonight.

Colorado Avalanche

The Colorado Avalanche were another team that let us down on Monday. Unlike the Leafs, though, they get a crack at a different opponent this time.

They also have different line combinations, reuniting their formidable top line. Nathan MacKinnon ($8,600) seems to be getting lost in the discussion of the league's best player due to Colorado's games getting postponed for two weeks and not being able to play against the North Division's weak defenses like some of his peers. He still has 18 points in 14 games and has the second-highest shot attempt rate in the NHL, so he's still a great fantasy asset.

Mikko Rantanen ($7,700) leads the team with seven goals and always meshes well with MacKinnon. They will get Gabriel Landeskog ($6,300) back on their left wing, too. Landeskog's salary and production have fluctuated this season since he's bounced around on different lines, but historically he's been very productive when playing on this top line.

Getting three star players who fully correlate on the power play and at even strength is obviously a great way to go in tournaments. We've seen them put up big offensive games together for a few seasons now, and they all have the ceiling to shoot you up the leaderboard. You could also add Cale Makar ($6,000), who is one of the most offensively gifted defensemen in the NHL and plays with these guys on the power play.

The matchup against the Minnesota Wild isn't ideal based on what some of the defensive metrics are showing. However, going up against the Ducks, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks is a very different proposition than facing the Avalanche. Colorado has the talent to score in any matchup, so I wouldn't hesitate to go back to them here 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.