NHL

3 Daily Fantasy NHL Stacks for 2/5/21

The Tampa Bay Lightning are giant favorites tonight against the Detroit Red Wings. Which other stacks can help us win on Friday's NHL slate?

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 nice little five-game Friday slate to sink our teeth into. Let's look at which stacks can help us win some money heading into the weekend.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning, unsurprisingly, are off to a good start this season. They are 6-1-1 and in first place in the Central Division. They are fifth in the league with 3.63 goals per game.

Their lines have mostly remained intact, especially at the top. Steven Stamkos ($7,900) hasn't shown any ill effects from missing nearly the entire playoffs, as he has four goals and six assists in eight games. Brayden Point ($7,500) comes in just behind him with nine points and has just one game under 14 FanDuel points so far this season. Ondrej Palat ($5,300) is very affordable as the right wing on this line and has four goals in eight games.

These guys all play together on the power play, and the defenseman who plays with them is a key part to the stack. Victor Hedman ($7,100) is tied with Stamkos for the team in points, and his 1.25 points-per-game average is tied for the highest among defensemen who have played at least three games.

The reason this stack will especially stand out tonight is because of the opponent. The Lightning are facing the Detroit Red Wings in a rematch of their game on Wednesday. Tampa Bay won that game 5-1, making Detroit 2-7-2 on the season. Their defense hasn't been as bad as some teams in the no-defense North Division, but they still have allowed the fifth-most goals per game in the league, allowing 3.64 per contest, according to NHL.com. They also have the third-worst penalty kill, so the power play stack matches up very well against them.

The Lightning are massive -400 favorites with a 3.54 implied team total. They will be a popular team to stack, but it's difficult to ignore them given the spot they are in.

Boston Bruins

With the Boston Bruins' "Perfection Line" reconnected, they haven't missed a beat. The team has scored at least three goals in all three games with them all playing and went 2-0-1 so far.

David Pastrnak ($8,300) seems to be attempting to make up for his time missed to begin the season, as he has five goals in the first three games, including a hat trick on Wednesday. It's a small sample size, but he's just been shooting the puck at will, attempting 37 shots already in just three games, according to Natural Stat Trick. That's more than players like Claude Giroux, Evgeni Malkin, and high volume shooter Evander Kane have all season long.

Patrice Bergeron ($8,200) must be pleased with Pasta's return, as well, as he has two separate games with three assists since he's been back. Never one to be overshadowed, Brad Marchand ($8,200) has also been good this season, with 14 points in 10 games.

This line has been able to dominate in any matchup throughout the years, and they showed that on Wednesday. They scored four goals against the Philadelphia Flyers in that game, who were one of the best defensive teams in the league last season. However, without Sean Couturier in the lineup to match up against other team's top lines, they haven't been as good, allowing the 10th-most shot attempts per game and the 12th-most goals per game. They also have struggled on the penalty kill, with the fourth-worst success rate in the NHL. That brings Charlie McAvoy ($5,200) into play, as well, being the defenseman who plays on the power play with Boston's top line.

The Bruins 2.93 implied team total feels low, but it is still the third-highest on the slate. We've seen them go off for big games for years now, so there aren't many reasons to think they can't do it again.

Vegas Golden Knights

The Vegas Golden Knights had some unscheduled time off due to COVID but now finally get to play again. They were 5-1-1 before they had the break, showing they were one of the best teams in the Western division.

They still lead the league in expected goals per 60 minutes, and much of that is due to the play of their top line. Max Pacioretty ($8,100) had a big game the last time Vegas was on the ice, with a hat trick and eight shots on goal. It should come as no surprise to anyone that has followed his career that Patches is one of the highest volume shooters in the league once again this season.

Mark Stone ($7,700) had three assists in Pacioretty's hat trick game, and leads the team with 11 points. The center on this line remains Chandler Stephenson ($3,600), who isn't the best fantasy asset but will help save salary if trying to stack this line.

The Golden Knights will do battle with the Los Angeles Kings in their first meeting of the season. The Kings are fresh off allowing 70 shot attempts and 4.61 expected goals to the Anaheim Ducks, one of the least talented offensive teams in the league. Vegas should have their way with them, as they tend to dominate in those categories. Shea Theodore ($6,400) would thrive if Vegas does carry the play in those areas, as he has at least three shots on goal in every game this season. He also should see increased ice time with Alex Pietrangelo out of the lineup.

The oddsmakers are expecting Vegas to win easily, as they are -290 money line favorites and implied to score 3.37 goals. That makes this stack incredibly enticing on tonight's slate.


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.