NHL Power Stacks - 10-13-15

NHL Line Stacking

The format for this article will be very simple. I will give my favorite forward lines, and sometimes defenseman, and break them up into two groups. I will start by identifying the 'chalky' plays that may end up being popular, but are also great plays. Then I will list my favorite contrarian plays that can help you take down a GPP. You don't always need to go super contrarian to win an NHL GPP, but it's always advantageous to stack players that play together 5 on 5 and on the power play.

The Chalk

Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Cody Eakin – Dallas Stars vs. Edmonton Oilers

This will be a very popular line to target tonight, for cash games and tournaments. Benn and Seguin are among the highest price players on both Fanduel and Draftkings, but they also have a high floor and probably the highest ceiling of any duo tonight. They get a cream puff home matchup against the Oilers, in what should be a high scoring affair. Eakin is the third piece of the puzzle on this line, and has fit in seamlessly with his superstar line mates. Adding Eakin, who is priced much more moderately, allows you some salary cap flexibility after paying up for Benn and Seguin. If you want to add more Dallas players, look at winger Patrick Sharp and defenseman John Klingberg. Both of these players play exclusively on the first unit powerplay, and should be involved in the scoring.

Alex Steen - Paul Stastny - Vladimir Tarasenko - St. Louis Blues vs. Calgary Flames

This newly formed line was dominant in their most recent game against the Wild, accounting for both goals, coming from Steen and Tarasenko. They also play on the first unit power play together, with David Backes and Kevin Shattenkirk. Shattenkirk is my favorite defenseman play of the night, he averages about 22 minutes of ice time, and is always looking to create offense. The match up is a decent one against a Flames team with mediocre goaltending. There should be some fun line matching battles between the coaches, as Ken Hitchcock will try to keep this line away from the Giordano-Hamilton pairing. The Flames will need to stay out of the box, as the Blues had the best power play last year, and have many of the same pieces in play.

Chris Kunitz - Sidney Crosby - Phil Kessel - Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Montreal Canadiens

I usually won't go out of my way to target players against the best goaltender in the world, Carey Price, but this match up is too good to pass up. The Crosby line has shown flashes of brilliance in their first couple games together, but Crosby has actually been held off the score sheet. That will not continue much longer, and the Canadiens have multiple defensive pairings to exploit. With the last change at home, expect head coach Mike Johnson to keep them away from the Subban-Markov pairing, and allow them to attack the weaker defensive pairings. They also play together on the power play with Kris Letang, who is a great play on D. The Penguins will most definitely out shoot and out chance the Habs, so hopefully Carey Price doesn't stand on his head.

Contrarian Corner

Teemu Pulkinnen - Tomas Tatar - Dylan Larkin - Detroit Red Wings vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

This line was put together in the third period of the Wings last game against the Hurricanes to try and spark the offense, and they responded with two goals from Pulkinnen to get the comeback started. They ended up winning 4-3, and new head coach Jeff Blashill has hinted that he will keep the line together. Most DFS players will gravitate towards the top line of Zetterberg, Abdelkater and Nyquist, who are also a great play, but will also have much higher ownership rates. Larkin hasn't looked like a rookie in his first couple games, and his skill set meshes well with Tatar's play making ability and Pulkinnen's great shot. Expect under 3-5% ownership for this line, I love them in tournaments as all three are under priced across the industry.

James Neal - Mike Ribeiro - Filip Forsberg - Nashville Predators vs. New Jersey Devils

On such a large slate, I think this line will be over looked by many, and all three are priced way too low on both sites. The Devils do have a great goaltender in Cory Schneider, but that isn't enough to scare me off of this line. Forsberg and Neal were all over the ice last game creating chances, and Forsberg picked up a goal on four shots on goal. Forsberg leads all forwards in ice time, as he has become Nashville's go to offensive weapon. I also like pairing this line with either Shea Weber or Roman Josi, who both share power play ice with them.

Ondrej Palat - Tyler Johnson - Nikita Kucherov - Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Detroit Red Wings

'The Triplets' were last seasons most productive line, and may fly under the radar tonight with so many games and good match ups to choose from. Their prices on Draftkings are criminally low, especially Palat who comes in under 5K. They also see lots of power play time with Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman, all great plays in their own right. On Fanduel they are priced properly, which actually makes them better plays as you have to pay up for them. I'm hoping their ownership will be under 10% tonight as I will have a lot of exposure in tournaments and cash games.