3 Daily Fantasy NHL Stacks for Wednesday 3/1/23
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 -- if one player on a line is scoring goals, it's likely that his linemates are getting assists, as well.
Ideally, we want players who 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.
The trades were flying left and right yesterday, and some of them will have an impact on tonight's slate.
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers once again made a huge acquisition. Yesterday, they completed their trade for Patrick Kane, which was rumored basically all season. Kane won't make his debut tonight, but they still have enough firepower for tonight's game.
Since the Rangers traded for Vladimir Tarasenko ($5,800), they've moved him around the lineup. For now, it looks like he will play with Mika Zibanejad ($8,500) and Chris Kreider ($6,500) on the first line. These guys also will be on the first power play together and aren't that high in salary for a dangerous first line. You also might be able to fit in Adam Fox ($7,300) on defense, which would be nice as he is third on the team with 56 points.
The Rangers will face the Philadelphia Flyers on the road. The Flyers are 2-7-1 in their last 10 games, including losing their last three. They also rank in the bottom 10 in most defensive metrics -- such as scoring chances and high-danger chances allowed.
New York has a 3.54 implied team total and should be able to find offensive success in this game.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs made their big move ahead of the trade deadline over a week ago. They made some smaller moves in the past two days that won't have a big impact on fantasy. Their line combinations were already set up nicely for stacking purposes.
Toronto has decided to go back to the first line that had so much success last season. That includes the duo of Mitchell Marner ($7,900) and Auston Matthews ($10,100). Marner is still the team leader in points, while Matthews is still one of the most lethal finishers in the NHL despite the down year this season. They'll play with Michael Bunting ($6,100) at even strength, as they did last season.
The second line sees William Nylander ($8,800) move down to play with Ryan O'Reilly ($4,900) and John Tavares ($7,800). Nylander leads the team with 33 goals and gets nice correlation with Tavares at even strength and on the power play. This line has a lower total salary than the first line and also might be less popular.
The Leafs will face the Edmonton Oilers. Edmonton made a move yesterday to improve their defense group, but they still don't have enough to slow down Toronto. It's also not Edmonton's style to try to play defensive.
This game has a total of 7.0, so we could see fireworks. Toronto's implied total is 3.63, which is second on the slate, and either of the Leafs' top two lines makes sense as a stack.
Washington Capitals
It's perhaps been a surprise to some that the Washington Capitals have been sellers at the trade deadline. They have a realistic shot at making the playoffs but decided to move some pending free agents. They still have the top players we like enough to be a fantasy-relevant squad tonight.
We can look at the same main guy for the Capitals as we have for the past 15-plus seasons. Alex Ovechkin ($8,400) scored a goal last game, his first since returning from personal leave. He's now playing with Evgeny Kuznetsov ($5,200) at both even strength and on the power play. Kuznetsov has been good of late, with five points in his last two games. Tom Wilson ($4,600) is a low-salary part of this stack who is capable of chipping in with some points.
Washington is starting a road trip by facing the Anaheim Ducks. Anaheim allows the most goals per game in the league and also gives up more than four more shots on goal per game than any other team. They have been the worst defensive team in the league by some distance.
The Capitals have the highest implied team total tonight, and this is the perfect opportunity for Ovechkin to rack up some goals in his pursuit of the all-time record.
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.
