3 Daily Fantasy NHL Stacks for 4/5/21
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.
A game got added to the schedule, so we've got seven games on the docket for Monday. Let's see which stacks we can use to attack this slate.
Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets are involved in the game that was moved due to some shuffling of the schedule in the North Division.
That's good news for this slate, as they are in one of the better situations of any team playing on Monday. They'll face the Ottawa Senators, who still sit at the bottom of the North. They also have allowed the most goals per game in the league at 3.71.
The Jets have had success against the Senators this season, as they've won four out of five and scored 20 goals in those games. Some of their best players had very good performances in those games, so let's look at the best way to stack those guys.
The Jets' best offensive player all season has been Mark Scheifele ($7,000). He has consistently been one of the best point producers in the league and is now tied for fifth in points with 44. He has had great success against Ottawa this season, with 10 points in five games.
For fantasy purposes, he's got the best linemates we could ask for. He's paired with the Jets' two other leading scorers, Kyle Connor ($6,400) and Nikolaj Ehlers ($6,600). They both have 36 points and are top 20 in goals this season. Connor and Scheifele will link up on the top power play, where Connor leads the team with eight goals on the man advantage.
Josh Morrissey ($4,200) hasn't produced the number of points we would like for a defenseman on the power play, but he will still be there and has a low salary for his role.
Winnipeg fell to ninth in goals per game after two disappointing performances last week in which they only scored one goal in each game. They should be able to bounce back against Ottawa, as they have an implied team total of 3.77 goals. That's the highest on tonight's slate of games, so they are definitely a team to target. The change in their lines to put the three most talented offensive players together makes it a stack with a lot of upside.
Boston Bruins
It's tough to say this season hasn't been a bit disappointing from the Boston Bruins. They are fourth in the East in points percentage, clinging to the last playoff spot in the division. Their offense has fallen off from last season, going from 3.24 goals per game to just 2.74. They still have their best players producing points, but not quite at the same rates as they did last season. They made a move last week to change their lines, and it could give them the spark they needed.
We usually talk about "The Perfection Line" with the Bruins. Well, they won't be together in this game. Patrice Bergeron ($7,500) and Brad Marchand ($7,500) are now joined by Craig Smith ($4,000). This line was great on Saturday, as Marchand bagged a hat trick and Smith had two assists.
This meant that David Pastrnak ($8,300) moved down to the second line to play with David Krejci ($5,200) and Nick Ritchie ($4,400). This line also had success on Saturday, as Pastrnak scored two goals with an assist, and Krejci and Ritchie also had two points.
Pastrnak and Ritchie play on the first power play with Marchand and Bergeron, so if you want to play four power play guys from Boston, you get a nice mix of even strength and power play correlation there. Matthew Grzelcyk ($4,300) will still man the power play from the blue line, and has a great salary to fit into a stack.
The Bruins will face the Philadelphia Flyers, who have been struggling mightily of late. They are 3-5-2 in their last 10 games and have allowed the second-most goals per game. We've seen them have implosion games over the last few weeks in which they've allowed nine, eight, and six goals. It's not out of the realm of possibility that Boston could do something similar tonight, having just scored seven goals in their last game. That's why no matter if it's the first or second line, Boston is definitely a team to stack tonight.
Colorado Avalanche
A lot of people expected the Colorado Avalanche to be one of the best teams in the league this season. It took a little bit for them to get to their best, but they have just been destroying teams. They have the best goal difference in the league and also now lead the NHL with 3.57 goals per game.
Their advanced metrics are also stellar, as they are the best team at controlling expected goals at both five on five and overall, according to Natural Stat Trick. As long as they keep rolling, we should keep putting them in our lineups.
The Avalanche have their big three forwards who have been doing a ton of scoring in their last 10 games. Nathan MacKinnon ($9,100) returned from a minor injury early in March and has been on a tear. He has 18 points in his last 10 games, with 40 shots on goal, as well. He is now up to fourth in the league in points per game, averaging 1.3 per contest.
Mikko Rantanen ($8,400) has become much more of a shooter and finisher this year, as he is third in the league with 21 goals. The often forgotten man of this stack is Gabriel Landeskog ($7,100), but it may surprise you to learn that he has as many points as MacKinnon over the last 10 games.
The player to have on Colorado in their 9-3 win on Wednesday night was actually Joonas Donskoi ($4,300), who is now the net-front player on the first power play with these guys. He scored a hat trick and added an assist in that game, and for just $4,300, he's a player who's easy to throw into this stack and hope for a few more power play goals.
Cale Makar ($5,600) is always worth considering as a defenseman when stacking the Avalanche. He is now up to 24 points in 25 games, which is the best point per game average for defensemen in the league. The matchup for Colorado against the Minnesota Wild is not an easy one on paper, but the Avalanche did smoke the Wild 6-0 and 5-1 in two meetings in March.
It seems like there is no slowing down Colorado no matter who they play at the moment, so they are certainly a team we will want to stack when building lineups 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.