NHL DFS Thursday's Top Stacks for DraftKings & FanDuel Fantasy Hockey

The 2021 NHL season is officially underway. Like many sports, the easiest way to maximize your ceiling is through stacking, and that couldn’t be any truer in hockey. For reference, each goal averages 1.7 assists. In this article I’ll help you find the best stacks and NHL DFS picks to make for DraftKings and FanDuel fantasy hockey lineups using Awesemo’s Top Stack Tool.

[SportsbookAffiliates]

Top Stacks: DraftKings + FanDuel NHL DFS Picks | Feb. 4

Top Stack: WAS1

With just an eight-game slate, it’s hard to find top-tier players at low ownership but we get that with Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals top line. Getting under a 10% share on both sites their leverage, along with matchup, make for a great upside play as well for NHL DFS.

Going up against a poor defensive team that lacks any sort of shutdown line, there’s not much in the way of stopping the Caps. The New York Rangers defense has not impressed thus far this year, with no ranks or metrics in the top 10. As for this top line, they are strongly correlated with Nicklas Backstrom and Ovechkin on the top power play. And with Tom Wilson being on the second power-play line, the Rangers’ lack of discipline (over 4 power plays against per game) will come into play.

Ownership starts to become more important on a slate of this size and this line meets all the criteria.

Awesemo’s Top 2 Stack Percentage: 13.55%

Awesemo’s Ownership Projection: 7.9%

Leverage: 5.65%

Latest NHL DFS Content

Over-Owned Stack: TOR2

There are plenty of great options on this slate, and running out a second line that isn’t fully correlated should come with some pause. No matter how cheap Wayne Simmonds makes this line, the opportunity cost is measurable.

The first issue with using this lines means you are directly decreasing your exposure to TOR1. Now, of course, in any MME scenario you can still play both, but with the worst leverage on the slate, limiting TOR2 is pivotal. At just $14,300 on DraftKings, it makes sense to why they are so popular in NHL DFS, but their upside is limited. It may simply come down to the lines time on ice. In comparison to Auston Matthews, John Tavares is averaging nearly 4 fewer minutes per game and has been moved to the second power play. A similar story could be made for William Nylander, who is averaging nearly 7 fewer minutes per game than Mitch Marner and is also now on the second power-play unit.

Toronto is going to be popular regardless, but if I’m going under on any line, I’ll be starting with TOR2.

Awesemo’s Top 2 Stack Percentage: 7.95%

Awesemo’s Ownership Projection: 13.1%

Leverage: -5.15%

Follow us on all of our social channels! Check out our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for more great Awesemo content.

Looking for more NHL DFS picks content? We have loads of articles, data, cheat sheets and more on the Awesemo NHL home page. Just click HERE.

Author

Josh Anderson

"gottagetthiswiiin" - Born and raised in Wisconsin with a degree in Marketing. DFS has been a big part of my life since 2016 and has changed my career path and quality of life so much I can't not love it. I enjoy all sports and I'm definitely not a diehard Packers fan, or any team for that matter besides maybe the Wild. Love to travel with the wife and kid - Germany if I'm picking a favorite place. Hope to help people make more thoughtful, and informed, DFS decisions.