3 Daily Fantasy NHL Stacks for Monday 10/18/21

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 updated line information.

We kick off a new week with four games on Monday. Here are some stacks to use in tournaments tonight.

Toronto Maple Leafs

With the firepower they have upfront, we expect the Toronto Maple Leafs to be one of the best offensive teams in the league. That's certainly been true to start the season with their 3.72 expected goals per 60 minutes ranking second in the NHL so far this season. On Monday, they should get even better, as their best player rejoins the lineup.

The Leafs put up those numbers while Auston Matthews ($8,600) was out of the lineup. He'll make his return to the lineup tonight, slotting right back into being the first line center. Matthews led the league with 41 goals in 52 games last season and is one of the best pure goal scorers in the NHL. His main running mate has been Mitch Marner ($7,700) for the past few seasons, who was fourth in assists in the league last season. Nick Ritchie ($4,200) is the left wing on this line, who will look to benefit from playing with two talented players at even strength.

Matthews and Marner are joined on the top power-play by John Tavares ($7,500) and William Nylander ($7,200). Nylander has points and at least four shots in all three games this season. Tavares is yet to score this season but should feel more comfortable in his normal second line role. Michael Bunting ($4,200) has been a sneaky-good player this season, and if you want to go with a stack of the second line, he makes for a good option.

The Leafs' implied team total is the highest on the slate tonight against the New York Rangers. With just four games on the slate, the first line, second line, and four-man power play stack are some of the best options we have.

Calgary Flames

The Calgary Flames are one of a few teams who have only played one game this season, while other teams have played three. They lost to their arch-rival the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 which was disappointing. However, they had 72 shot attempts and 3.28 expected goals in that game. That's promising going forward, especially in their matchup tonight.

The Flames look to have stuck on one first line that is different from the one they were using in years past. Elias Lindholm ($6,600) is now centering the first line instead of playing on the wing. Johnny Gaudreau ($6,500) is still on the top line, and he led the team with 49 points in 56 games last season. Matthew Tkachuk ($6,700) is now bumped up to the top line, and is a perfect complement to the playmaking style of Gaudreau, as someone will go to the net and score ugly goals.

Calgary is playing their home opener against the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks are projected to be one of the worst teams in the NHL, and even though they won their first game, their underlying numbers are not impressive. In their two games, they've allowed the third-most shot attempts against and second-most expected goals against on a per-60-minute basis.

The Flames should be able to control the puck in this game, which could lead to a lot of goals if things break right. They sport an implied team total of 3.21, the second-highest on the slate. You can get full correlation on the power play between all three of their top-line forwards, making them a solid stack.

St. Louis Blues

Like the Flames, the St. Louis Blues have only played one game this season. They were able to win that game 5-3, against one of the league's best teams in the Colorado Avalanche. Tonight, they'll face perhaps one of the worst teams in the league.

The Blues are now very deep at forward across the lineup. We'll look at the first line because that has their two leading scorers from last season, Ryan O'Reilly ($6,800) and David Perron ($6,800). Perron had two points in the season opener, and O'Reilly chipped in with a goal. They both play together on the power play, which was sixth in success rate in the league last season. They are joined by newcomer Brandon Saad ($4,400), who was buried on a loaded Avalanche team, but certainly can add something to this line.

Torey Krug ($5,600) got a bit unlucky in his first season with the Blues, only scoring two goals on 110 shots on goal. He did 30 assists though, which was second on the team. He has proven to be a great power play quarterback and can be added to this stack.

The Blues take on the Arizona Coyotes in this game. Arizona got whitewashed in their first game 8-2 to a rebuilding Columbus Blue Jackets team and also lost to the Buffalo Sabres, who are expected to be one of the two worst teams in the NHL. Carter Hutton will be in net for the Coyotes against his old team, but he's been below replacement level for three straight seasons since leaving St. Louis.

We could see the Blues explode against this Coyotes team, so this first line stack has a high ceiling tonight.

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.