NHL Stacking to Win 2-9-16

The Chalk

With a 12 game slate, picking ownership rates is always tough, but I do expect the Caps 1's to still be a popular play tonight. The match up might not sound good on paper, with a road showdown against the Predators and the defensive pairing of Shea Weber and Roman Josi. It's not going to scare me off of the leagues #1 power play unit, and a line that's combined for three goals in their last three games and seven over their last ten. Preds goalie Pekka Rinne has really struggled this year, and hasn't looked like the elite goalie we thought he once was. On the season, he has an adjusted save percentage of 91.64%, putting him near the bottom of the league (via War On Ice). The Predators 24th ranked penalty kill will have their hands full with a potent Caps power play, quaterbacked by one of my favorite plays on defense tonight, John Carlson. If you're looking for Caps exposure that will likely be under 10% owned, look to the second line of Burakovsky, Kuznetsov and Williams. This trio is red hot right now, combining for ten goals over their last ten games, second most of any line over that span (via Left Wing Lock).

I was really hoping this line would somehow fly under the radar tonight, but with the Leafs blockbuster trade of their captain Dion Phaneuf this morning, the match up for the Flames top line couldn't look any better. Go have a look at the current Maple Leafs roster, I dare you to find another lineup in the NHL that looks thinner talent wise. They are really embracing this rebuild, which is the only way to do it if that's your plan. I expect the Flames to pepper James Reimer, and short of him standing on his head, this game could get out of hand in a hurry. This line has combined for 5 goals over their last ten games, and all get significant time on the power play. On defense, Marc Giordano is expensive, but is worth every penny in my opinion tonight. TJ Brodie, Dougie Hamilton and Kris Russell (DK Only) are all solid plays on defense as well. The Flames second line of Frolik, Backlund and Bennett are also a fantastic cheaper stack tonight, as they've combined for six goals over their last ten games and also get time on the power play.

Contrarian Corner

The Blackhawks will probably be the most popular stack of the night, with a home match up against the Sharks. The popular line will be the trio of Panarin, Anisimov and Kane, and for good reason. They are the highest scoring trio together this season by a wide margin, and you will want some exposure to them. Lately though, I've been targeting the line of Shaw, Toews and Hossa who all come in at much lower prices, especially on Draftkings. Toews and Hossa are just beasts when they play together, creating chances at even strength, on the power play, and even on the penalty kill. When they're on the ice together, the Blackhawks have scored almost twice as many goals as they've given up this season (via Puckalytics). Duncan Keith is my top option on defense tonight, slightly edging Marc Giordano because of the cost savings. The Blackhawks are the hottest team in the NHL, fade at your own risk.

If you're like me, you stacked the Lightning early and often last night, and it didn't exactly work out. We are going back to the well tonight though, with a great match up against the Habs in Montreal. Ben Scrivens gets the call for the Habs tonight, and he will be busy. This line has combined for eight goals over their last ten games, so I'm going to ignore last nights stinker in Ottawa knowing they will be wanting to get back on track right away. This trio has an exceptional Corsi For percentage of 59.7% on the season (via Puckalytics), and will likely avoid Montreal's top pairing of Subban and Markov, who will shadow the Stamkos line. This means plenty of ice time against the likes of Emelin, Gilbert and Beaulieu, which is a disaster recipe for the Habs. Don't let any recency bias from last night creep into your brains, fire up this line with Victor Hedman and reap the rewards.