3 Daily Fantasy NHL Stacks for Thursday 3/24/22
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 -- if one player on a line is scoring goals, it's likely that his linemates are getting assists, as well.
Ideally, we 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 updated line information.
With 10 games on tap for Thursday, there should be some good stacks that can help us do well in tournaments.
Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers were active at the trade deadline -- as if they needed more firepower. They already led the league in goals per game with 4.06. The big addition they made definitely makes things fun for fantasy going forward.
The Panthers did have a need at right-wing to play with Aleksander Barkov ($8,900). Insert Claude Giroux ($6,100), who fits perfectly in that hole for Florida. It also gives Barkov a linemate who will also play on the power play with him. Carter Verhaeghe ($5,300) is on this line, too, and has 21 goals with a relatively modest salary.
The second line remains the same as before. Jonathan Huberdeau ($9,000) continues to try to climb the leaderboard for points, currently sitting in third. Anthony Duclair ($6,000) is third on the team in goals with 24, just behind the center of this line, Sam Bennett ($6,300). Duclair and Huberdeau are on the first power play, as well. Giroux is replacing the injured Aaron Ekblad, as the Panthers experiment with the rarely used five forwards on the power play.
Florida will test out their acquisition and power-play unit against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday. Montreal has shown signs of life a bit lately, but they have still allowed the most goals per game in the NHL. They also significantly weakened their team by selling pieces at the trade deadline.
The Panthers' implied team total is the highest on tonight's slate at 4.01 goals. The first line is a nice stack that won't break the bank too much, as Giroux is good value for his role.
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are in a playoff spot after they swept a five-game homestand. Their short road trip wasn't as good, with one point taken from a possible four. They're back home. Their best players were productive in the recent homestand and will look to continue that tonight.
Connor McDavid ($10,000) is showing close to the form that we saw from him to start the season. He has multiple points in six games during his current seven-game point streak. Evander Kane ($7,800) has fit nicely with McDavid, scoring nine goals in his last 10 games. Kailer Yamamoto ($5,000) has also been great, with 10 points in his last 10 games.
Leon Draisaitl ($9,700) hasn't played with McDavid at even strength in a while. However, the two correlate well because of how good they are together on the power play. With the new lines, neither star center has an even-strength linemate who plays on the power play with them. You could go with these two and Yamamoto to save some salary, while also throwing in Tyson Barrie ($5,900) on defense for extra power-play correlation.
The Oilers will be at home against the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks allow the second-most shot attempts against per 60 minutes. It looks like they will start Kaapo Kahkonen in net. He has been below average and lost his last six games with the Minnesota Wild before being traded.
Edmonton has an implied team total of 3.88 goals, making them a great stack in this game.
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are an under-the-radar stack on this slate. They put up six goals in their last outing and have a great situation tonight. They haven't been in the spotlight for much of the season, so they are likely to go overlooked today.
The top line for the Kings is fully correlated on the power play. Adrian Kempe ($5,800) has gotten out of his recent scoring funk with three goals in his last three games. He's the team leader with 28 on the season. Anze Kopitar ($6,200) is far and away the leader in points with 54. He also went through a slump but has rebounded with three points in three games. Alex Iafallo ($4,700) is the third member of this line and is definitely worth rostering at this low salary.
The Kings will face the Chicago Blackhawks, who will be on the second night of a back-to-back. The Hawks had to sell at the trade deadline and weakened their team a bit. That's especially true in net, as they will either have to play Kevin Lankinen for the second night in a row or start career journeyman Collin Delia. Lankinen has allowed 12.32 goals above expected this season, making him one of the worst goalies in the league this year.
The Kings' first line has not been good for a while, which will keep their popularity down. They have an implied team total of 3.49, so the oddsmakers seem to believe in them. Whenever you can get a modest-salaried, fully-correlated stack in a spot where they are likely to not be utilized by the masses, that is a good spot to attack.
Others to Consider: Winnipeg Jets, Minnesota Wild, St. Louis Blues
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.
