3 Daily Fantasy NHL Stacks for Wednesday 2/15/23
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.
Wednesday's NHL slate has a plethora of teams we should feel good about stacking. Let's try to find the three best.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs had a decent break after a rather embarrassing blown lead on Saturday to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Tonight, they get another easy matchup and have their star returning to the lineup.
After a three-week absence which didn't see him miss too many games, Auston Matthews ($9,900) will be back in the lineup tonight. Matthews had scored five goals in his last six games before going out of the lineup, so he was really starting to heat up. He will now be playing with William Nylander ($8,800) at even strength and on the power play. Nylander has arguably been the Leafs' best player this season, leading the team with 29 goals. Michael Bunting ($6,000) will be on this line as well, but has lost his role on the first power play.
The Leafs' second line is definitely in play as well. It now has John Tavares ($8,000) and Mitchell Marner ($8,300) playing together here and on that first power play. You can also play an affordable Alexander Kerfoot ($4,500) with this line, and it will likely be less popular than Toronto's first line.
The Maple Leafs will welcome the Chicago Blackhawks to town tonight. Chicago just lost 4-0 to the lowly Montreal Canadiens last night. They are at the bottom of the Western Conference and also allow the fifth-most goals per game this season.
Toronto is a gigantic favorite and has by far the highest implied team total on tonight's slate. They easily look like the top option tonight, so fitting them into lineups tonight should definitely be a priority.
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres aren't totally out of the playoffs, but their recent three-game losing streak certainly doesn't help them. Regardless of if they make the playoffs or not, they are third in goals per game and have a great top line to stack, which are the most important things for our purposes.
The Sabres had to play some time without Tage Thompson ($9,800), but the big man is back in action and ready to keep scoring goals. He's still tied for third in the league with 35 goals and eighth in points. Jeff Skinner ($7,500) actually averages more expected goals per 60 minutes than Thompson, and his results have been good with 50 points in 49 games. Alex Tuch ($8,400) is second on the team with 24 goals this season. This trio is all linked on the first power play unit as well.
Buffalo will be on the road tonight against the Anaheim Ducks. We know what we like to do when teams play the Ducks, and that is to stack them every way possible. Anaheim is on track to be the worst defensive team since the salary cap was implemented prior to the 2005-06 season.
The Sabres have a high implied team total of 3.76 goals tonight. However, it only ranks as the fourth-highest tonight, so they could go a bit overlooked. The stack has perfect correlation between three best forwards, so it's definitely worth considering tonight.
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning are now a team that people tend not to talk about because they have such a sustained period of being a great team. They quietly are fourth in the league in goals per game and have the third-best power play.
Tampa had experimented with some different line combinations but ultimately have went back to a first line that was having success. It contains Nikita Kucherov ($9,700), who is third in the NHL in points per game with 1.47. Brayden Point ($8,500) is first on the team and eighth in the NHL with 32 goals this season. Brandon Hagel ($7,200) has picked up some of the scoring that left the lineup when Ondrej Palat was on this line in previous years, as he already has 22 goals this season.
The Lightning are playing on the road against the Arizona Coyotes tonight. Arizona is already one of the worst teams in the league, but will be holding Jakob Chychrun out of the lineup until they trade him, weakening their defense. They allow the third-most shots and eighth-most goals on a per game basis.
The Bolts may be on a road back-to-back, but the oddsmakers definitely know that and still have them as the second-biggest favorites on the night, and with the second-highest implied team total. For one of the better, fully correlated stacks on the night, we can certainly look at Tampa.
Others to Consider: Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, Colorado Avalanche, Anaheim Ducks
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.
