NHL

3 Daily Fantasy Hockey Stacks for 10/18/19

Thomas Vecchio  —  @Tom_Vecchio1 Oct 18th, 2019
The Capitals are going to be the definition of chalk tonight, as they are one of the top stacks. Who else should you be considering on this six-game slate?

When playing NHL DFS -- much like MLB DFS -- stacking is key. Having multiple players from the same team, who correlate together, can give your lineup upside and help you maximize potential points.

You can roster up to four players from the same team in NHL, and you should look to have players from the same forward line or power-play unit together. Shared ice time is the key, as it will maximize their ability to contribute to real-life goals with each other, ultimately leading to more fantasy points for us.

Generally, we don't see late scratches in the NHL, and the team's lines are confirmed at practice or before the game. Two of the best resources for that are LeftWingLock.com or DailyFaceOff.com. That is where you can find updated forward and power-play lines for each team.

Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals come in as -210 home favorites, have an implied goal total set at 3.75, and are facing a weak defense. They check all the boxes tonight.

The largest home favorite and the highest implied goal total are something that generally goes hand in hand, so welcome to chalk city tonight! There is no doubt the Caps should be one of the most popular teams on the slate, but you shouldn't be fading them.

They are up against the New York Rangers, who are on the second night of a back-to-back. The Rangers also come in second-worst in the league in terms of Corsi Against aka how many shot attempts they allow. This will present the Capitals with a strong floor of points, along with plenty of upside due to their multi-point potential.

Let's start with this: play Alex Ovechkin ($8,500) tonight and don't even question it. I could tell you he has 52 points in 56 career games against the Rangers and has haunted my dreams as a Rangers fan, but I won't do that. You should be starting your lineup with him tonight -- it's almost not up for debate.

He's on the top forward line and the top power-play with T.J. Oshie ($6,400), and Nicklas Backstrom ($6,300), who make a fantastic stack tonight. You can add either Evgeny Kuznetsov ($7,700) or John Carlson ($6,700), but you will need to find some savings elsewhere, as they are very expensive.

Edmonton Oilers

Another home favorite with a high implied team total, time to load up on the Edmonton Oilers.

Let me say this, Connor McDavid ($9,400) is hilariously good at hockey -- he is the Mike Trout of the NHL. McDavid comes into this game with 17 points through three games, and as I said the other day, when he is playing like this you want some exposure to him on a nightly basis. He is the most expensive player on the slate, and things don't get much cheaper with his partner in crime, Leon Draisaitl ($8,700). They could be the best two-man pairing in the league but can be tough to stack with their prices. You truly want to pass on Zack Kassian ($4,400) and go right to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ($6,000) or Oscar Klefbom ($5,600), who are on the first power-play with McDavid and Draisaitl.

This stack could easily outscore any stack on the night, as their matchup is a juicy one. They are up against the Detroit Red Wings, who are bottom-five in Corsi Against and allowing the fifth-most High-Danger-Goals-Against per 60. Detroit is also on the second night of a back-to-back and will likely have their backup goalie in net. It's all Oilers tonight.

Columbus Blue Jackets

The Columbus Blue Jackets are on the road to take on the Chicago Blackhawks in what could be a wild game. We have an over/under set at 6.5 goals tonight, and since both teams aren't particularly good on defense, the offense should be flowing.

First off, the Blue Jackets are a solid team to target tonight simply due to their salaries. Their top line consists of Cam Atkinson ($7,300), Pierre-Luc Dubois ($5,000), and Gustav Nyquist ($5,800), with only Atkinson being truly expensive. If you want to round-out a power-play stack, you could add Alexander Wennberg ($4,400), who is cheaper as well.

I don't expect them to be the highest-scoring stack on the slate, but if you are targeting the Capitals and the Oilers, you need to find some savings. Columbus is in a legitimately good spot against Chicago, who are allowing the most High-Danger-Scoring-Chances per 60 minutes this season.