3 Daily Fantasy NHL Stacks for 1/22/21

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 up to date line information.

We’ve got a Friday slate that has more games than Thursday’s slate, a rarity in the NHL. Let’s break down the stacks that can win us money in tournaments tonight.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins have not gotten off to best start this season, starting with two wins in four games, one of which came in a shootout. However, those four games were against playoff teams from last season -- the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers -- and the Pens were still able to score three goals per game in that stretch.

Sidney Crosby ($8,300), to no one's surprise, has been Pittsburgh's best player with five points in the first four games. His main partner in crime is Jake Guentzel ($7,500), as these two have been playing well together for years. Guentzel scored 40 goals in the 2018-19 season and netted 20 goals in 39 games a year ago before getting injured. These two will connect at both even strength and on the power play. The other player on the line is a new addition (as of yesterday), with newcomer Kasperi Kapanen ($4,200) playing with the top line at five on five.

The Penguins will welcome the New York Rangers on Friday, a team that was one of the worst defensive squads last season, allowing the most expected goals per 60 minutes, according to Natural Stat Trick. The oddsmakers must be taking this into account, as the Penguins have a high implied team total of 3.52 on tonight's slate.

There are other players that you could add to this stack, as well. You could play Evgeni Malkin ($7,700) and Bryan Rust ($5,200), because they also are on the top power play. And Kris Letang ($6,100) is still one of the best offensive defensemen in the league and has always correlated well with Crosby and Malkin.

This iteration of the Penguins has been seen for years, so the fact that they are not a shiny new toy may keep their popularity down a bit despite them being in a great spot.

Edmonton Oilers

In a rematch of a Wednesday night game that disappointed many NHL fans and fantasy players alike, the Edmonton Oilers will play the Toronto Maple Leafs. These teams will play eight more times this season, and with the offensive talent on display, we should see more goals than we saw last game.

Connor McDavid ($8,700) was buzzing all night in that game and was the best player on the ice. He has six real-world points in his first five games of the campaign, and even though he normally isn't a high-volume shooter, he is currently second in the league in shots on goal. Teammate Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ($7,300) is fourth in shots on goal, and when you play with McDavid at five on five and on the power play, you're always going to have value in DFS.

An interesting way to stack the Oilers is to play Leon Draisaitl ($7,900) with McDavid, even though they are both centers on different lines. They occasionally play together at five on five, and they drove the Oilers to having the league's best power play last season. When McDavid had his big four-point game earlier in the season, Draisaitl also had points on all of those goals. If you want another piece of the power play, defenseman Tyson Barrie ($4,900) gets another chance for a revenge game after Toronto fans and pundits essentially ran him out of town after last season.

The Oilers haven't quite gotten off to the start they wanted, but they are creating chances, as they have the second best expected goals for rate in the league. If this game is the high-scoring affair we expect from these teams, there could be a lot of fantasy points scored from the Oilers.

Chicago Blackhawks

If you want what's known in some DFS circles as a "vomit stack," you can load up on the Chicago Blackhawks tonight.

The early returns for Chicago have not been pretty, with just one point in the first four games. The good news is that Patrick Kane ($8,000) is still doing his thing, with two goals in four games and a high shot attempt rate, with over 16 attempts per 60 minutes. He is the highest-projected winger by numberFire's model for tonight. His running mate this season is Alex DeBrincat ($5,700) who has matched Kane with two goals and an assist this season. DeBrincat had a down year last campaign but scored 41 goals in his sophomore season in 2018-19.

These guys correlate on the power play, as well, as two of the only guys who Chicago can trust. The center on this line is Pius Suter ($3,000), who is an intriguing player at the dead minimum salary as he was the MVP of the Swiss National league last season.

The reason why a bad Chicago team can be used tonight is because they are playing another bad team, the Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings haven't been as bad at the start of this season as they were last year, but they are still in the bottom half of most defensive metrics. Chicago lost it's first two games to the reigning champion Tampa Bay Lightning and then also lost two to the Florida Panthers, so playing Detroit is a real step down in the competition. They have the third highest implied goal total tonight at 3.48.

The Blackhawks might not make you feel comfortable when you click them, but that's probably true for every fantasy manager tonight, so the popularity could be low. Patrick Kane against the Red Wings blue line is an enticing proposition, so stacking the Blackhawks does have upside.

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.