3 Daily Fantasy NHL Stacks for Thursday 10/21/21

In daily fantasy hockey, stacking is a key strategy in tournaments. We want to correlate our lineups with up to four players to maximize 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.

There are 10 games on Thursday night, so there are plenty of options to stack. Let's try to figure out which are the three best.

San Jose Sharks

The San Jose Sharks have come out of the gates hot, showing that some of their older players still have gas left in the tank. They also have added some exciting youngsters to the lineup. They've scored nine goals in their first two games, and get their best matchup of the season tonight.

One of the most appealing things about stacking the Sharks tonight is their salaries, especially their first line. Logan Couture ($4,900) comes in at a great salary for a center on the first line and first power play. Timo Meier ($5,900) comes in closer to a fair salary, but is definitely viable as a player with four points in the first two games this season. The third man on this line is rookie Jonathan Dahlen ($3,000), who picked up his first two NHL goals on Tuesday night. This trio plays together on the first power play unit, so they'll have full correlation.

The Sharks will play the Ottawa Senators on the road. Ottawa is expected to be an improved team, but they still have some struggles on defense. They've allowed the third-most shot attempts per 60 minutes and the ninth-most expected goals per 60, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Another player to add to the Sharks' stack would be Brent Burns ($5,000). Burns was once the most valuable defenseman in fantasy hockey because of his shot volume, blocks, and point production. He's been back doing his thing, with an assist, three shots, and at least three blocked shots in the first two games. For just $5,000, he makes a great fourth piece to the first line.

San Jose has an implied team total of three goals, which is not bad when you consider the total salary of the stack. You can fit this stack in with some other high-powered offenses for a highly correlated tournament lineup.

Washington Capitals

Another year, another good start to the season for the Washington Capitals. They've got five points in the first three games, answering many questions on if they can still be contenders for the Metropolitan Division this season. Their big players are carrying a lot of the load and have a chance to do some damage in this game on Thursday.

The Capitals are of course led by Alex Ovechkin ($8,900), who hasn't shown signs of slowing down at age 36. He has four goals in the first three games of this season, as he continues his chase for the most NHL goals of all time. His fellow Russian linemate Evgeny Kuznetsov ($7,000) looked shot out of a cannon on Tuesday, scoring two goals and adding an assist. If he can regain the form that saw him score over 70 points three times in a four-year span, he'll be a great pairing with Ovechkin all season. Tom Wilson ($5,600) had three assists in that game on Tuesday and is a good addition to this stack, too.

Washington will play the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night. The Devils have been good to start the season, but they have yet to truly be tested in their two games. They will be without Jack Hughes in this game and will be starting Scott Wedgewood in goal. Wedgewood got his first NHL action in three years last season and was a below-average goaltender.

The key defenseman to play with this stack is John Carlson ($6,700). Carlson has just two assists in three games, but his job on the power play is to set up Ovechkin for one-timers, so that assist total should go up. This stack is one of the best options on the board tonight, as Washington could erupt in this game against a weakened Devils team.

Edmonton Oilers

We have to talk about the Edmonton Oilers as the best stack on the board tonight in one of the best matchups in hockey. They will be the most popular stack in tournaments --and for many good reasons. We'll have to try to get unique around the main pieces of this stack, and there are a few different ways to do that.

The Oilers' main stars have been lighting things up to start the season. Connor McDavid ($9,300) had another three points on Tuesday, bringing him up to eight points in the first three games. Leon Draisaitl ($9,000) did him one better with four points in that game on Tuesday, and equaled him with eight points on the season. These two are the unavoidable part of the Oilers' stack as they are the two best players, but they also play together in all situations. Getting unique around them will be the key.

Looking at Tuesday's draft percentages, the third-most popular option was Jesse Puljujarvi ($5,700), and I would expect that to continue as the Fin has six points in the first three games of the season. He isn't full time on the power play with the two superstars, so he can be left out in some stacks to try and differentiate.

The options you can play with Draisaitl and McDavid at forward would be Zach Hyman ($5,800) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ($6,200). These two will play on the first power-play unit, so if the goals are coming on the power play, they could leapfrog Puljuarvi at lower popularity.

Another way to get unique is to play Tyson Barrie ($5,600) instead of Darnell Nurse ($5,800), as Nurse was more popular Tuesday despite having a higher salary and seeing less power-play time.

The Oilers are facing the Arizona Coyotes, who have allowed over seven goals in two of their three games this season. The Coyotes don't seem to be too interested in putting out a competitive team, so McDavid and Draisaitl could easily feast tonight. They are an obvious play with a 3.75 implied goal total, so pay attention to which players you draft around them when building lineups.

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.