3 Daily Fantasy NHL Stacks for Thursday 2/9/23
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.
There are still some teams on their bye week, but we still have seven games on Thursday with some really exciting teams to stack.
Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers came out of the All-Star break on fire and beat the rival Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday by a score of 7-1. They will be without Aleksander Barkov tonight but should have enough firepower to score in this matchup.
The injury to their top center has seen them make a change to their lines. Sam Bennett ($6,100) is now the first line and is the first power-play center. He'll benefit from playing with Matthew Tkachuk ($9,800), who has been absolutely on fire of late. Tkachuk has multiple points and at least five shots on goal in four consecutive games and was also the All-Star Game MVP. Carter Verhaeghe ($7,500) is the third member of this line and leads the team with 28 goals this season
Florida will face the San Jose Sharks at home tonight. The Sharks allow the fourth-most goals per game and have the league's worst five-on-five team save percentage. That could be costly against the Panthers, who average the most shots on goal at five-on-five per 60 minutes in the NHL.
Florida's implied team total is all the way up at 3.78 goals tonight even without Barkov, so the oddsmakers aren't expecting them to struggle much. Brandon Montour ($7,200) and Aaron Ekblad ($6,700) are also good options on defense to use with this stack, as they both contribute to the team's offense on the power play.
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders are currently on the outside of the playoffs looking in. They have a clear deficiency in the goal-scoring department, which is why they made a move last week to acquire someone who can give them a big boost in that area.
The Islanders made an early trade deadline move to get Bo Horvat ($8,400). Horvat is on pace for a career year, already having scored 32 goals this season. He's playing center and has bumped Mathew Barzal ($6,400) to the wing. They are playing together on the first power-play unit and have an affordable Josh Bailey ($3,800) complimenting them at even strength.
The second line for the Islanders also makes for a decent stack. Brock Nelson ($7,100) has a seven-game point streak going into tonight's game. He's playing with Anders Lee ($6,700) on this line and on the top power play, as well. Kyle Palmieri ($5,100) also isn't a bad third piece to this stack as he had a five-game point streak before Tuesday night.
The Isles will face Horvat's old team, the Vancouver Canucks, at home tonight. Vancouver just played last night and has been one of the worst defensive teams all season long. They've allowed the second-most goals per game this season, and the majority of that was with Horvat, a defensively-responsible center, in the lineup.
Either of these two Islanders stacks is a good option tonight, as they have the highest implied team total on this slate.
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are similar to the Panthers tonight because they will be without a key forward tonight, too. But they can also still be stacked in a favorable situation.
New Jersey will be without Jack Hughes from their lineup tonight, but it actually makes them a bit easier to stack. Now, we have the first line fully correlated on the top power play. Nico Hischier ($7,700) is second to Hughes in goals on the team, while Jesper Bratt ($7,400) is second in points. They are joined by Ondrej Palat ($4,700), who will now be on the first power play. Palat proved over the years in Tampa that he can be a fine addition to a top line with two talented players.
The Devils get a home date with the Seattle Kraken on Thursday. Seattle has performed above expectations but definitely still has some question marks, especially in net. They have the sixth-worst team save percentage in the league and will likely face a barrage of shots from a Devils team that averages the fourth-most shots per game.
New Jersey may go under the radar a bit without their best player, but they still have the fourth-highest implied team total on the slate and can rack up the goals in this game.
Others to Consider: Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames
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.
