3 Daily Fantasy NHL Stacks for Tuesday 12/13/22
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 12 days until Christmas, we've got 12 games on this slate. Let's look at some stacks that can help us win some money before the holiday.
Toronto Maple Leafs
It seems like a long time ago that the Toronto Maple Leafs were in a crisis, at least according to their fans and the media. They've been hot since the beginning of November and sit comfortably in second in the Atlantic Division. They have a few players who are really on a roll and who are certainly worth rostering tonight.
The Leafs' top line features Auston Matthews ($10,400) of course. He hasn't been scoring at the same ridiculous rate as he did last season, but he does have 17 points and 47 shots on goal in his last 10 games. William Nylander ($8,600) actually leads the team in goals this season with 17. He'll play on the first line and power play with Matthews. Michael Bunting ($4,800) has also averaged a point per game over his last 10 games.
The second line is interesting for the Leafs, as well. Mitchell Marner ($8,400) now has points in 22 straight games, including eight goals in his last 10. John Tavares ($8,000) plays with Marner here and on the first power-play unit. The new member of this second line is Denis Malgin ($3,900), who is a low-salary way to get exposure to Toronto.
Toronto gets a dream matchup tonight, as they play the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks lost 3-0 to the Ottawa Senators last night and continue to be at the bottom of every defensive metric. They might give a start to Lukas Dostal in goal, as well, who only recently got called up from the American Hockey League.
Toronto is a massive -530 favorite and has a huge implied team total of 4.36 goals. Their first line and second line are two of the best stacks on the slate.
Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers set the salary-cap era record last season, averaging 4.11 goals per game. This season, they are down to 3.34 goals per game. Their underlying metrics do look great, however, as they average the most expected goals per 60 minutes in the NHL. Tonight, they should be able to turn those expected goals into a lot of actual goals.
Florida is somewhat tough to stack with the way they have their lines configured. Matthew Tkachuk ($9,700) has been their best offensive player this season, averaging 1.37 points per game. However, he doesn't have any player who correlates with him on the power play. He's not on the top line, which is centered by Florida's other star forward, Aleksander Barkov ($8,300). Barkov has 19 points in 22 games and is due for some shooting percentage regression, as his current 6.3% mark is well below his career average of 13.8%.
Barkov is playing with Sam Reinhart ($6,500) at even strength and on the first power play. There is also a value option on the first line as Eetu Luostarinen ($5,000) will be up with Barkov for this game. You can consider Aaron Ekblad ($7,200) or Brandon Montour ($7,000) as they are both defensemen on the top power play.
The Panthers get to face the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight at home. Besides the Ducks, the Jackets have been the worst defensive team in the NHL. They've allowed 15 goals in their last three games and 4.07 goals per game this season.
Florida's implied total trails only Toronto's on this slate, and they have the potential to be the best stack on the board tonight.
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals could be a bit of an under-the-radar stack tonight. They have been playing much better of late, winning their last four games. They have some nice, modest-salaried pieces in important roles who we can turn to.
We've seen Alex Ovechkin ($9,200) start to heat up of late, amassing four goals in his last three games. He's now up to 17, which is tied for the seventh-most in the league. He's playing at even strength and on the power play with Dylan Strome ($5,700), who's tied for second on the team in points with 22. Conor Sheary ($4,700) will play with these guys at even strength, and he makes a lot of things work in lineups at this low salary. John Carlson ($7,800) is also usable in this stack, as he is Washington's power-play quarterback.
The Capitals will play the Chicago Blackhawks, who have been the worst team in the league over their last 10 games. They allow the third-most scoring chances against and the fourth-most shots against on a per-60-minute basis. Chicago will also be starting Petr Mrazek in goal. He has allowed 18 goals over his last three full games.
With 24 teams on the slate, it's hard to see Washington being too popular, but they are an excellent stack tonight in this matchup.
Others to Consider: Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks
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.
