NHL DraftKings Late Slate Stack Attack – Friday January 18th
Welcome to the first ever edition of ‘NHL Late Slate Stack Attack’. These articles will focus on the best lineup stacks for the NHL DraftKings late slate.
There are three games to look at ahead of tonight (Friday January 18th) and two of them lock at 9 p.m. so there isn’t much wiggle room for late NHL DraftKings switches.
I will begin by looking at my favorite line/power play stacks before transitioning to ideal value picks. Let’s start with what should be the most popular game stack.
Detroit Red Wings (18-23-7) @ Calgary Flames (30-13-5)
This is the game I immediately want to attack. Calgary’s offence is performing at historic levels lead by four players who each have 55 points or more–Johnny Gaudreau ($7.7K), Sean Monahan ($7K), Elias Lindholm ($6.8K), and Matthew Tkachuk ($6.4K). Not to mention Mark Giordano ($6.6K) is at 48. The Flames also boast a 15-4-5 record at home which looks great against the Red Wings’ 8-11-3 road record.
Long story short, it’s incredibly hard to fade the Flames’ top guns right now. It would unfortunately be too expensive to stack all five players (aka the top power play unit therefore it’s necessary to pivot from Tkachuk in order to make things work. Normally I would try to squeeze in the full power-play stack but that’s simply not possible here tonight.
Gaudreau/Monahan/Lindholm/Giordano play together virtually all game every game whereas Tkachuk only sees exposure to them on the power play making him the most-ideal fade candidate.
I’m also a huge advocate of trying to combine the top line with the number-one defense-man and the starting goaltender from the same team as a corresponding ‘top-five stack’ (remember this term).
I’ve found that having a successful top line and/or full PP stack can help you finish in the cash regardless, but having the matching goalie in a ‘top-five stack’ can give you that extra push towards the ultimate winnings in tournament play.
If you want to fit Gaudreau/Monahan/Lindholm ($21.5K total) with Giordano ($6.6K) and David Rittich ($8.3K) in the same lineup, you can. You’ll need to get creative with your punt plays as you’ll only have $3.4K available per player for the rest of your lineup, but this is where I will be going tonight and it would be well worth your while to consider this stack too.
Calgary is 7-3 over their last ten games with an eighth-ranked power play whereas Detroit is a bottom-10 team in the league in penalty-killing percentage, total shots against, and goals-against average.
Before we move on, keep in mind that this article was written the night before so it’s possible that Mike Smith could be between the pipes for the Flames instead (although Rittich is the preferred option). Be sure to check the news an hour before lock time just in case.
Pittsburgh Penguins (25-15-6) @ Arizona Coyotes (21-22-3)
The optimal stack in the Pittsburgh-Arizona game lies with the Pens. The Yotes still boast the top penalty-killing percentage in the league (88.2%), however the Penguins have the fifth best power-play and many would argue that Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are match-up-proof.
Arizona is also a non-threatening, non-playoff team in many ways therefore their godly penalty kill isn’t enough reason to fade a Pens stack.
Deciding who to choose becomes a bit trickier as Pittsburgh’s top-nine is much more balanced than Calgary’s. Crosby, Malkin, and Phil Kessel are all on different lines which makes stacking the power play less than optimal.
In this case, your best bet is probably to choose Crosby ($7.8K), Jake Guentzel ($6.5K), Kris Letang ($6.5K), and Matt Murray ($8.1K). This core already leaves you with only $4.2K left per player for your remaining five roster spots which is doable but a little tricky.
You could also add Bryan Rust for $4.9K in order to complete the top-line stack, but he’s not on either power play which leaves better options around his price range.
Downgrading Crosby to Malkin ($6.8K) isn’t the worst money-saving idea if you want to stack the Russian with his wingers Dominik Simon ($3.8K) and Tanner Pearson ($3.6K). Combining those three with Letang and Murray leaves $5.3K per roster spot which allows a lot of flexibility.
The only concern there is with Simon and Pearson being on the second power play so you’re kind of half-stacking each power play. There’s nothing wrong with that and the flexibility also allows you to add Kessel with $5K left for each of your last three slots.
You could even add Crosby and a couple of $3.6K-range punt plays if you want to go for 80% the top power play—a solid chance to take in tournaments.
Buffalo Sabres (24-17-6) @ Vancouver Canucks (21-21-6)
The Buffalo-Vancouver game is my least favorite of the three however there’s still upside to be found here.
Despite the Sabres’ superior record, they really haven’t been playing the greatest hockey since their historic winning streak and the Canucks have been pretty average lately as can be expected from a .500 team.
Both teams have a solid power play but the Sabres have a much better penalty-killing percentage. I would be looking to stack Buffalo if anything.
There’s always a high-risk, high-reward factor in a contrarian stack and that’s definitely what you’re getting here in what should be the least popular lineup avenue of the night.
It’s definitely the best top-five value stack of the three with Jack Eichel ($7.6K), Sam Reinhart ($5.4K), Jeff Skinner ($6.3K), Rasmus Dahlin ($4.7K), and Linus Ullmark ($7.5K) leaving you just over $4.6K for each of your remaining four slots.
You can also add Rasmus Ristolainen ($4.8K) in order to have both the top-five stack and the full power play stack while barely moving your remaining salary per slot. You could then add a mid-range player like Kessel or Malkin along with a couple of punt plays to round out your lineup.
Spotting The Value
If there’s one thing the Sabres-Canucks game is good for, it’s finding savings. A mini-value stack that sticks out right away is Casey Mittelstadt ($2.8K) and Conor Sheary ($3.2K) as they play together on both the second line and the second power play unit.
It’s also beneficial to find value in this game as you can look to either side without worry since you probably won’t be stacking it. One of the worst parts of NHL DFS is finding a great value pick on the team facing your goaltender. It never makes sense for one part of your roster to potentially have a chance to hurt another.
On the other end of the equation, there’s Sven Baertschi ($4.5K) who’s on the more expensive side of value however he sees consistent top-line and top power play minutes with Bo Horvat and Brock Boeser.
There’s always Jake Virtanen ($3.7K) who plays on both the second line and the second power play at a very affordable price and the same can be said about defense-man Ben Hutton ($3.8K).
Josh Leivo ($2.6K) is a very volatile punt however that’s as low as it gets in terms of price for a forward who sees time on the top power play. He also plays on the third line and is listed as a centre on NHL DraftKings which is very strange.
If you decide against stacking the Flames, there’s some solid value to be found on Detroit. Tyler Bertuzzi ($3.8K) is a member of both the top line and the top power play and is very cheap given the opportunity he receives.
Frans Nielsen ($4.1K) and Thomas Vanek ($3.3K) both play on the second line and the second power play unit together and their special teams scenario is more ideal than usual as Dylan Larkin is now on the second unit as well.
You could also find a way to spend up on the Anthony Mantha ($4.5K) who’s on the second line and the top power play. As mentioned earlier, both Simon ($3.8K) and Pearson ($3.6K) are viable punt plays as well—even if you can’t afford Malkin.
Sample Lineup
Remember, this is just a re-creation of what an ideal lineup might look like based on my opinion. This is not a surefire NHL DraftKings winner and should not be directly used as your lineup.
Also, remember to check both your lineups and the news as close to lock as possible as starting goaltenders, healthy scratches, and injuries occur constantly. It’s not nearly as bad as basketball but you should still be on your toes. Good luck tonight!
C: Mittelstadt ($2.8K)
C: Monahan ($7K)
W: Gaudreau ($7.7K)
W: Lindholm ($6.8K)
W: Sheary ($3.2K)
D: Giordano ($6.6K)
D: Hutton ($3.8K)
G: Rittich ($8.3K)
UTIL: Virtanen ($3.7K)
Next. NHL DFS Man Advantage Jan 18. dark