NHL Stacking to Win 12-1-15

The Chalk

It is the most obvious stack of the night, but for damn good reason. The Stars roll into Calgary with the highest goals per game in the league and the 2nd best power play unit. This is bad news for the Flames, who have the worst penalty killing unit in the league at an abysmal 70.8%. Karri Ramo is also in net for the Flames, and of all the goaltenders playing tonight, he has the worst adjusted save percentage (via War On Ice). It's a perfect storm for the Stars, and I put Klingberg in over line mate Patrick Sharp to give props to a defenceman who is tied for 4th in NHL scoring at the moment, a very impressive feat. Benn and Seguin are in the top three in scoring as well, with Benn leading the league in goals with 18. They are both tied for the league in goals at 5 on 5 as well, so they don't solely rely on their dynamic power play for offense. Furthermore, when these three are on the ice together at 5 on 5, they have a Corsi For % of 58.6% (via Puckalytics) with twelve goals for and only five against. Along with Sharp, Jason Spezza, Cody Eakin, Jason Demers and Alex Goligoski all make great contrarian plays that could be overlooked by the masses.

This newly formed line has been lighting it up as of late, and are still affordably priced on both major sites. On Draftkings they will be very popular, and my ownership guess may be a bit under. The Sens 21.4% power play has them ranked 7th in the league, with Turris and Ryan spending time on the first unit with all world dman Erik Karlsson, Mika Zibanejad and Milan Michalek. I also really like the 2nd line tonight for the Sens, with Zibanejad, Mark Stone and Curtis Lazar. I liked it when Stone was on the first line over Ryan, and will be keeping a close eye on how the lines are deployed going forward. Over their last 8 games, the newly formed first line has combined for five goals. The Flyers give up the second most shots per game at 32.8, with the Sens actually leading the league in that category at 34.1.

Contrarian Corner

The Nashville lines seem to be switched up every game, so I've picked three players that play on the power play together, and also have big upside tonight in a home match up against the Coyotes. Mike Smith is confirmed in net for the Coyotes, and his 92.30% adjusted save percentage has him near the bottom of the league, and he will be seeing a lot of rubber tonight. The Predators average the 8th most shots per game on goal, with the Coyotes also giving up the 8th highest amount of shots on net per game. There is so much value with multiple Predators skaters tonight, but it's a tough team to stack with so many weird line combinations. Keep any eye on the pregame skate for updates on line rushes in case of any major changes. I would love to see Forsberg and Neal back together five on five, where they have a CF% this season of 58.4%. Other Nashville skaters to consider tonight are Shea Weber, Mike Ribeiro, Colin Wilson, Craig Smith and Mike Fisher.

This is the line nobody is talking about that's been lighting the league up recently, combining for eight goals over their last ten games. Their goals for per 60 minutes played in a very impressive 3,28 (via Puckalytics), and their priced very reasonably on both sites. Aside from Cammalleri's inflated price on Fanduel, they are solid cash game plays in this home match up against the Avalanche. Their 9th ranked power play has been deadly this season, and should see plenty of opportunities to score against the Avs 22nd ranked penalty kill. If you're looking for a cheap defenseman, Damon Severson is on the first unit power play and logged almost 20 minutes of ice time in their most recent game.