4 Daily Fantasy Hockey Stacks for 11/25/19
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.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Another day, another chance to stack against the Ottawa Senators, but it's a little different tonight.
I've mentioned this before, but I'll say it again. The Senators are horrible on defense and allow way too many shot attempts from the opposing team, which sets up that offense for a solid floor of points. They also allow the ninth-most High-Dangers-Scoring-Chances per 60 minutes, which gives upside to the opposing offense. It's basically everything you are aiming for in NHL DFS -- floor and upside in one.
Attacking the Senators is nothing new, but the Columbus Blue Jackets present us with an interesting question tonight. What do we do with their first forward line?
Normally, this would be the spot to trust, but they offer very little correlation. That line consists of Pierre-Luc Dubois ($5,700), Emil Bemstrom ($3,400), and Sonny Milano ($3,200). The latter two being as close to 'free squares' as you can get in terms of salary. They are on the first forward line and yet barely above the minimum salary, but they aren't on the power-plays together. Dubois in on the first power-play unit, Bemstrom on the second one, and Milano not on either. You lose out on full correlation, but gain an immense amount of salary relief.
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins have been dealt a rough hand this season, but they are playing it as best they can.
Injuries on top of injuries for the Penguins, but they are making it work and have a sneaky good lineup right now. Three of their four forward lines are rated seventh or higher, a bit surprising given the line shuffling they've done to start the season, along with losing Sidney Crosby. Tonight, they are at home and facing off against the Calgary Flames, giving them an implied team total of 3.00. The Flames are off to a shaky start, which has the Penguins coming in -160 favorites -- the third-highest on the slate. They are projected to win this game and we should see some offense.
Calgary has been in the negative when it comes to xGoal Differential this season and is a team worth attacking. The first forward line for the Penguins has full ice-time correlation, meaning they are all on the first power-play together, which maximizes their potential upside: Evgeni Malkin ($8,600), Jake Guentzel ($7,600), Bryan Rust ($5,000), along with defender Brian Dumoulin ($4,200). A home-favorite, ice-time correlation, and against a weak defense should make them somewhat popular tonight.
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are coming off a massive 6-5 comeback win after being down 0-4 to the Montreal Canadiens.
The Rangers' offense isn't known for being able to post a ton of scoring, but they showed a bit of new life the other night and can keep that rolling against the Minnesota Wild. With a 3.25 implied goal total, being a home-favorite, and having reasonable salaries, the Rangers are a stack to consider tonight. The Wild are around the league average or better in most defensive metrics we would look at, but they aren't actually good at all. They have the fourth-fewest points in the league this season, hold a negative goal differential, and don't generate a ton of offense.
It's as if they should be better than their record currently indicates, but show no signs of turning it around. If that is the case, we want to continue to stack against them, starting with the Rangers' top power-play unit. Artemi Panarin ($8,400), Ryan Strome ($5,500), Chris Kreider ($5,500), and Tony DeAngelo ($4,600) are who you want to stack. Panarin is the only expensive player, which makes this stack a bit easier to add in a lineup tonight.
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks shouldn't be too highly owned tonight and make a great GPP option.
Vancouver got off to a very hot start this season, and while they've cooled off a bit since then, this is still a good offense. They are facing off against the Philadelphia Flyers tonight, who will have Carter Hart in net, a young goalie worth attacking. He has allowed two goals or more in five of his last six games and is having the usual ups and downs you would expect from a young goalie. The Canucks are top-10 in Corsi For, xGoals For (Expected Goals For), and High-Danger-Scoring-Chances created per 60 minutes. While a slight dip in production is happening on the ice, their offense is still elite and should be scoring more goals than they are.
The first power-play is the spot to go and nowhere else on this team. Elias Pettersson ($7,400), Brock Boeser ($7,300), J.T. Miller ($5,300), and Quinn Hughes ($4,600) are the players to consider stacking for the Canucks tonight.
