3 Daily Fantasy NHL Stacks for Tuesday 1/11/22
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.
By now, we should be used to the full slate of games not occurring due to all the COVID postponements. The good news is we still have an interesting seven-game slate on this Tuesday in which we can find at least three suitable stacks for tournaments.
Tampa Bay Lightning
We are seeing something that we haven't seen much of in the regular season in the past two seasons, and no NHL team wants to see it -- a fully healthy Tampa Bay Lightning, or at least close to it anyway. They are insanely dangerous and make for a great stack every night.
The thing that makes Tampa's attack click is a healthy Nikita Kucherov ($8,400). As we saw last year in the playoffs, it doesn't take the former MVP long to get back up to speed, and he had two assists in his return. He set up linemate Brayden Point ($7,800) for a goal, and Point now has goals in his last three games. The same can be said for Ondrej Palat ($6,200), as we've seen this line be very effective in the last two postseasons.
The Lightning will face the Buffalo Sabres, who are not on a good run of late. They've lost eight of their last 10 games and have allowed the sixth-most goals per game in the league. To make matters worse, they have five players on the COVID list, including top center Tage Thompson.
Tampa Bay has an implied total of 3.73, one of the highest on the board. To get a unique, high-powered stack, you could use Steven Stamkos ($8,400) instead of Palat and also plug in Victor Hedman ($7,000). This would be four players all on the same power play who have a ton of upside and can break the slate.
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins saw their winning streak come to an end on Saturday, as they lost 3-2. We saw some of their stars continue point streaks in that loss, and they could easily get back to winning ways today.
There has been a change to the top line that was dominating since the holiday break. Bryan Rust went on the COVID list, and we saw Evan Rodrigues ($6,900) move back to the top line. It's been a breakout season for Rodrigues, as he has 30 points in 34 games, including four multi-point games across his last eight. Jake Guentzel ($9,700) extended his point streak to 16 in a row and has 10 goals in his last 10 games. Sidney Crosby ($7,800) continues to do his thing, with 13 points in his last 10 games.
The Penguins are on a road trip and face the Anaheim Ducks. While the Ducks are having a decent season, they are still exploitable defensively. They allow the eighth-most expected goals against per 60 minutes. In tonight's game, they'll be without starting goaltender John Gibson and top defenseman Hampus Lindholm.
The Penguins' first line has been one of the best in the league and fully correlates on the power play. You can add in Kris Letang ($7,400) to this stack, as he has eight assists in his last four games.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Strangely, things have been mostly quiet around the Toronto Maple Leafs lately.
Even when they blew a 4-1 lead last game, there was no eruption from the hockey capital of the world. It could be because of their solid stretch of play that dates back to their rough start in October. They'll be missing some players tonight, but that creates some interesting stacking possibilities.
The Leafs will be without Mitchell Marner, but they will get Ondrej Kase ($5,700) back. Kase filled in well for Marner earlier in the season, and he's recorded double-digit FanDuel points in each of his last six games. He has always been an analytics darling but has had trouble staying on the ice. Playing with Auston Matthews ($10,200) is a huge opportunity for him. Matthews has been doing his normal thing of late, notching 12 goals and 50 shots on goal over his last 10 games. Michael Bunting ($4,700) has been a respectable member of this line for most of this season and can be used in this stack.
The Leafs' second line of John Tavares ($8,500) and William Nylander ($8,400) remains a strong option, as well. They both are averaging more than a point per game and more than three shots on goal across their last 10 games. They correlate on the top power play with Matthews and Kase, and this foursome forms a dangerous stack.
Toronto is taking on the Vegas Golden Knights on the road. Vegas has been hit or miss of late, losing three of their last four games. They haven't been too scary of a matchup all season long, as they allow the third-most high-danger chances per 60 minutes. Matthews put up two goals in the previous meeting earlier in the season between these two teams.
Toronto's power play has recently overtaken the Edmonton Oilers' for the highest success rate in the league. With other solid options on the slate and maybe a perceived tough matchup against the Golden Knights, the Leafs' popularity might not get too high. That creates a good opportunity for us in tournaments.
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.
