3 Daily Fantasy NHL Stacks for Wednesday 12/1/21
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.
It's an intriguing six-game slate, with nearly every team having some stacking viability. Let's pick out the three best.
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers have been off since Saturday and return home tonight. They continue to be one of the best teams in the NHL and are a stacking candidate every night they play.
The Oilers switch up whether they will have their two superstars on the same line or not depending on matchup. Tonight, it looks like they are going to be separated at even strength. Connor McDavid ($10,300) will play with Zach Hyman ($6,400) and Zack Kassian ($3,900) at five-on-five. Leon Draisaitl ($10,500) is on the second line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ($6,700) and Kailer Yamamoto ($3,700
Even though it takes up a huge chunk of your available salary, it's still viable to play McDavid and Draisaitl in the same stack. They have 34 points combined on the power play this season and have the number one power play unit in the league.
Hyman or Nugent-Hopkins would be good to add to this stack, and you could play Tyson Barrie ($5,500) with them, too. Barrie has seen an increase in ice time with Cody Ceci and Duncan Keith out of the lineup.
The Oilers will face the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight in what could be a very exciting game. It's the only game that has a 6.5 over/under, and the Oilers have a 3.37 implied team total, so they're a great stack on this slate.
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche had a few losses early in the season, and some people were a bit concerned with that and the injuries they had. It seems silly now to look back and think people were worried about them, as they've gone 7-2-1 in their last 10 games and now lead the league with four goals per game. Tonight, they'll get even more firepower into their lineup.
Colorado was making things work without Nathan MacKinnon ($9,000), but they are definitely happy to see him back in the lineup.
He'll play with his normal wingers, Gabriel Landeskog ($8,600) and Mikko Rantanen ($8,400), to reunite one of the most high-powered lines in the NHL. Rantanen has been on fire, with seven goals in his last 10 games, including a hat trick last time out. Landeskog has been good, as well, with six points in his last four games. With MacKinnon driving the bus again, this stretch of good play should continue.
The Avalanche are underdogs to the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight in a matchup between two of the best teams in the NHL. The Leafs have been strong defensively and are on a four-game winning streak. This could make Colorado a less popular stack than normal, especially with all the options on this slate.
The Leafs haven't faced a team that will challenge their defense as much as the Avalanche will tonight. If there is even a chance that Colorado will come in at a low roster rate, they make for a great tournament stack.
Vegas Golden Knights
The Vegas Golden Knights were somewhat like the Avalanche. They got off to an even worse start and had worse injuries. Now, their forward group is almost fully back, and they are in a good spot tonight.
The first line was missing its two star wingers since the second game of the season. Now Max Pacioretty ($8,000) and Mark Stone ($7,400) are back in the lineup. Pacioretty had two assists and nine shots on goal in his two games since returning to the lineup. This line is centered by Chandler Stephenson ($5,200) and fully correlated on the power play.
The second line provides more value and could possibly be paired with one of the stacks with a higher total salary. That line consists of Jonathan Marchessault ($6,600), Reilly Smith ($5,200) and Nicolas Roy ($3,600). This line also has full correlation on the power play.
Vegas will face the Anaheim Ducks, who just played an overtime game last night. The Ducks have been surprisingly solid this season, but they still allow the eighth-most expected goals per game. They also will turn to Anthony Stolarz, who is a major downgrade from normal starter John Gibson.
Vegas's first line will likely go under the radar with Edmonton and others being popular. The second line will be a great source of value to play with one of those other stacks.
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.
