NHL

2 Daily Fantasy Hockey Stacks for 2/7/20

Thomas Vecchio  —  @Tom_Vecchio1 Feb 7th, 2020
The Maple Leafs are in an ideal matchup tonight against the Ducks and should be very popular. Should you fade the chalky team on a small 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.

Toronto Maple Leafs

I don't want to exaggerate too much when I say this, but this is pretty much a must-win game for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Toronto has lost two in a row, six of their last 10, and their starting goalie -- Frederik Andersen -- is out with a somewhat serious injury. They need their offense to show up tonight against the Anaheim Ducks, who are truly a bad team. The Maple Leafs come in with a slate-high 3.75 implied team total along with being a -210 home favorite. The Ducks are holding a 57.65 Corsi Against (shot attempts allowed) this season -- the eighth-worst in the league -- along with the sixth-worst Expected Goals against, and the ninth-most High-Danger-Scoring-Chances allowed per 60 minutes. They are a bad defensive team, and you want to stack against them tonight.

We should trust the Maple Leafs' top power-play unit, because if they can't get it done here, they are dead to me this season. Auston Matthews ($8,900), Mitchell Marner ($7,700), John Tavares ($7,200), and William Nylander ($7,000) come in with 23 points and 57 shots across their last five games. If you can afford to pay up for this stack tonight, doing so will give you a shot a taking down a tournament -- that's how good they can be.

Columbus Blue Jackets

For the sake of roster construction, the Columbus Blue Jackets can play a big role.

On this slate, we have the Maple Leafs -- likely the best option overall -- the New York Rangers, who have a great matchup at home, and then the Blue Jackets, a team also in a great matchup. Going to the Rangers should be popular, but their top power-play is expensive, and if you want to pay up at all, you need savings tonight.

Columbus can bring those savings, and they still come in with a 3.40 implied goal total against the lowly Detroit Red Wings, who are on the second night of a back-to-back. I've said it before -- the Red Wings are the worst team in the league and are setting records for how bad they are this season. You should stack against them at every chance.

The first power-play unit for Columbus has Boone Jenner ($3,700), Gustav Nyquist ($5,600), Pierre-Luc Dubois ($6,100), and Oliver Bjorkstrand ($6,000). A bit of savings on a smaller four-game slate can go a long way, especially if it helps you pay up for the best stack.