NHL

3 Daily Fantasy NHL Stacks for Wednesday 11/24/21

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 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 updated line information.

With no games on Thanksgiving, the NHL has put 14 games onto our plate for Wednesday night. Let's see which stacks stand out above the rest.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins seem to be getting their season on track again. They've won three games in a row and have most of their players back healthy. The matchup doesn't get much better for them than what they will face on Wednesday night.

Pittsburgh's best players haven't been going off lately, so their salaries remain in check. Sidney Crosby ($7,400) hasn't been producing many points, but there isn't a huge reason to be concerned just yet. Jake Guentzel ($7,800) has been good, leading the team with 8 goals and 15 points. Bryan Rust ($6,000) has 8 points in 11 games and is shooting just 3.2%, a number that should regress closer to his average of 12.4%. Kris Letang ($6,000) is also a big part of this offense and would fit any stack nicely.

The Penguins are back home against the Vancouver Canucks tonight. The Canucks have been in crisis mode of late, with many discussions about firing the GM, coach, or both. They've allowed 26 goals in their last six games. They also have the league's worst penalty kill, which has been successful just 62% of the time.

This is a great opportunity for the Penguins to get their power play working, as they struggled without Crosby in the lineup. They have the second-highest implied team total of the night and play a Vancouver team that has shown it can capitulate, so the Penguins have huge upside in this matchup.

Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals continue to thrive this season. They are fourth in goals scored despite some players being out of the lineup for a good chunk of the season. They have the capabilities of breaking any slate, even one of this size.

When we want to stack the Capitals, we always are looking for the same main pieces. Alex Ovechkin ($9,300) is third in the league in points with 30, with his 15 goals being tied for second. Evgeny Kuznetsov ($8,000) continues his bounce-back season and leads the club with 16 assists. John Carlson ($6,400) is up to 16 points, fourth in scoring for defensemen this season. The new addition to this stack is Aliaksei Protas ($3,000), who will be stepping onto the first line and first power play, according to reports from this morning's skate.

Washington will play the Montreal Canadiens tonight at home. It's been a brutal season so far for Montreal, as they are 5-13-2 and have allowed the most goals in the league. Like Vancouver, they are also bad on the penalty kill, sitting under 70% on the season.

Washington's first line gives us full correlation at even strength and on the power play, which is great to help us in tournaments if they can connect on multiple goals tonight. Protas provides great salary relief and could be one of the best value pieces on the slate. This stack is certainly one of the best on the board on the slate.

San Jose Sharks

There are many good options on this gigantic slate, with the Edmonton Oilers definitely being one of them. The top guys carry such high salaries but definitely have the potential to pay it off. However, we are going to look at one that might go overlooked. The San Jose Sharks are in a great spot on Wednesday and come at affordable salaries.

The Sharks had a stretch where their lineup was hit hard by COVID protocols, but they're close to full strength now. Timo Meier ($7,400) is one of the most underrated players in the league and leads the team with 15 points in 13 games. He's also third in individual shot rate, as he has always been a player that loves to shoot the puck. Logan Couture ($5,200) is one of the most under-salaried players on the slate, as a productive, first-line center with a great matchup. Rudolfs Balcers ($3,300) is the third member of this line, and he's basically free at his salary.

The Sharks will play the Ottawa Senators in a good matchup. Ottawa had been dealing with their own COVID issues and had their games canceled last week. In their first game back, they got absolutely played off the ice by the Colorado Avalanche. They allowed 4.11 expected goals and 17 high-danger chances and lost 7-5. Colorado is a better team than San Jose, but the Sharks do have capable players that can capitalize on this matchup.

Erik Karlsson ($4,900) would be the defenseman to play with Meier and Couture, as he is on the top power play with them now. It hasn't been vintage Karlsson, but eight points in 12 games is good for a defenseman at this salary. The Sharks' implied team total is higher than some teams that could be more popular than them. They also work as a secondary stack with another line that has players with high salaries.

Others to Consider: Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs


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.