3 Daily Fantasy NHL Stacks for Thursday 12/30/21

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.

We've got an interesting seven-game slate that isn't loaded with superstars, so let's see which team stacks can carry our lineups tonight.

Carolina Hurricanes

The Carolina Hurricanes were one the teams hit first and hardest by the new COVID wave. The NHL's break came at exactly the right time for them, as they are now nearing full strength. They also get a great matchup to restart the season.

Returning to the lineup will be Sebastian Aho ($9,700), who leads the team with 32 points. He was on a tear before being placed in the protocols, as he had 12 points in his last five games. He's reunited with Finnish buddy Teuvo Teravainen ($6,700), who's second on the team in points. Nino Niederreiter ($5,200) is the third member of this line and is third on the team in goals this season. Niederreiter won't be on the top power-play but Tony DeAngelo ($5,800) will. The defenseman has been very productive this season, with 21 points in 22 games.

The second line also makes for an interesting stack. Vincent Trocheck ($5,600) and Martin Necas ($5,900) link up on the first power-play and are more affordable than the first line. They are joined by talented goal-scorer Andrei Svechnikov ($6,300), although he's been out of form for quite a while now.

The Hurricanes will face the Montreal Canadiens at home. Montreal is one of the team's currently struggling the most with COVID, and their lineup is a skeleton crew of players filling in after being called up from the AHL. They had a similar situation on Tuesday and allowed a whopping 4.11 expected goals.

Carolina's implied team total is a massive 3.87 goals, so you'll want a piece of them in your lineups.

Calgary Flames

Another team who had their schedule derailed earlier this season because of COVID is the Calgary Flames. Nearly every member of the roster was placed in the protocols at some point, and the team hasn't played a game since December 11th. Hopefully, they'll be able to get on track tonight.

The Flames' first line has been together for the whole season and has been one of the best lines in hockey. Johnny Gaudreau ($6,900) is the team leader in points with 30 and is back to being one of the most productive wingers in the game. Matthew Tkachuk ($6,900) has spent less time trying to be a pest and more time trying to score, and he sits second on the team with 12 goals. Elias Lindholm ($7,100) centers this line and is second on the squad in assists and points. No line has scored more goals than this line at five-on-five this season.

The Flames had their long break and now they play a team off a back-to-back. They are up against the Seattle Kraken, who are coming off an overtime loss last night. Seattle has struggled with goaltending problems all season and has allowed the third-most goals in the league.

Calgary's implied team total ranks third on the slate. We know that we should target this first line when looking at Calgary because of how productive they have been and the full correlation we get, making them an easy choice to stack tonight.

San Jose Sharks

We liked the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night, and they went off for seven goals in regulation. Unfortunately for fantasy purposes, no player had more than two NHL points. They are in another good spot on Thursday.

The first line we liked on Tuesday was on the ice for three of the seven goals. Timo Meier ($10,000) had a goal and an assist in that game. While his salary has ballooned to five figures, Meier's play has warranted it this season, and his stacking partners are still affordable. Logan Couture ($5,500) and Alexander Barabanov ($4,900) also had a goal and an assist in that game. These three were still on the top power-play unit even with Tomas Hertl returning, so they are fully correlated.

San Jose will play host to the Philadelphia Flyers after the Flyers just played an overtime game last night. The Flyers are struggling defensively without key matchup center Sean Couturier and solid defenseman Ryan Ellis. They've allowed the most high-danger chances per 60 minutes in the league and surrendered 10 to the Kraken last night while only having two for themselves.

The Sharks can do damage against this Flyers team. Their implied team total is a healthy 3.18 goals. If they do go off for a big number again, it's likely that this first line had something to do with it.

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.