Stacking in NHL DFS is crucial to increase upside for a better chance to win GPPs. Below are Awesemo’s top stacks on the night, followed by additional analysis from myself, Jake Hari aka Tommienation1 on DraftKings and FanDuel.
Columbus Blue Jackets ($17,300 DK/$19,500 FD)
“The Blue Jackets’ top line of Artemi Panarin, Pierre- Luc Dubois, and Cam Atkinson will get matchup with a decimated Bruins team that will be without Patrice Bergeron, Jake DeBrusk, Zdeno Chara, and Charlie McAvoy tonight. On DraftKings, you get them for a mid-tier price, but they have some of the highest upside of the night.”
Awesemo has the Blue Jackets top line listed as a “B” Points Grade tonight, and they should get a solid matchup against the top line for the Bruins, which has allowed almost 10 High Danger Chances Against per 60 (HDCA/60) in the absence of Bergeron. CBJ1 has posted excellent possession numbers on the year, including a 58.6% Corsi For (CF), 36.6 Scoring Chances for per 60 (SCF/60), and 14 High Danger Changes For per 60 (HDCF/60) and the great part about this line is that you get maximum correlation, as they are all on the top power-play for the Blue Jackets. They also come at a discount, especially on DraftKings for only $17,300, making them one of the best bangs for your buck tonight.
Florida Panthers ($20,500 DK/$19,900)
“The top line for the Panthers (Dadonov-Barkov-Bjugstad) is one of top stacks on the night in tournaments against the lowly Montreal Canadiens. They get an “A” Points Grade on my rankings because of their even-strength matchup against the Jonathan Drouin line, the overall power-play matchup, and the fact that they’ve posted phenomenal possession stats at even-strength.”
The possession numbers Awesemo is referring to are nothing short of spectacular, including a 56.4 CF%, 38.7 SCF/60, and over 16 HDCF/60 on the year. The Drouin line, which has hard-matched at evens-strength at home, allows 32.2 SCA/60 and 13.6 HDCA/60. Dadonov and Barkov will get top power-play minutes, while Bjugstad will get minutes on the second unit against the Canadiens’ 30th-ranked penalty-kill. They’re a better value on FanDuel (“B” FD Value), but they are certainly viable on DraftKings with all the other value stacks on the board tonight.
Minnesota Wild ($17,200 DK/$19,100 FD)
“When you talk about lines that are playing well together lately, it’s hard to overlook the second line for the Wild of Nino Niederreiter, Eric Staal, and Jason Zucker. They have exceptional possession stats in their time together, and each of these three guys have a lot of individual upside based on their shot volume. The low Vegas-total on this game may scare some people off in tournaments, but their individual matchup on home ice is one that they can exploit.”
The Staal line (“B” Points Grade) should avoid the Anze Kopitar line for the Kings being that they are at home, and thus, dictating line matching. Jeff Carter is a solid possession player himself, but when he’s been with Tanner Pearson at even-strength this season, those two have allowed 32.7 SCA/60 and 12.9 HDCA/60. A line as talented as Niederrieter, Staal, and Zucker (54.7 CF%, 32.8 SCF/60, 15.8 HDCF/60 in 107 minutes) should have the advantage at even-strength, and they will all be on the top power-play together against a Kings team that has been short-handed the ninth-most times on the year.
