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The NHL returned on Wednesday with a five-game slate, but Thursday night is the opener for most of the league with 20 teams taking the ice. Thursday’s 10-game NHL slate locks at 7:00 p.m. ET on DraftKings, beginning with the New York and New Jersey teams. As a reminder — especially on nights with as many games as this one — it’s important to focus on stacking as a way to try to get an edge in GPPs. Today’s article focuses on different categories of line stacks for Thursday night.
Set your DraftKings fantasy hockey lineups here: NHL $150K Puck Drop Encore [$50K to 1st]
Top Stacks
Edmonton Oilers
Connor McDavid ($8,500), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ($7,200), Zack Kassian ($3,400)
Washington Capitals
Alex Ovechkin ($8,500), T.J. Oshie ($5,900), Nicklas Backstrom ($5,100)
Vegas Golden Knights
Max Pacioretty ($6,900), Mark Stone ($6,000), Chandler Stephenson ($3,700)
The Edmonton Oilers disappointed in their opener on Wednesday night, with the top line in particular underachieving in a 5-3 loss. The Oilers face the Canucks at home again on Thursday night, and it’s another good matchup for McDavid, who should be able to bounce back and find the score sheet. The Capitals and Golden Knights are playing their first games of the season on Thursday, and both of their top lines draw strong matchups as well. The Capitals always have upside where Alex Ovechkin is concerned, and the Golden Knights should be able to dominate puck possession — like they usually do — but especially so in a home game against the Anaheim Ducks.
Value Stacks
Columbus Blue Jackets
Oliver Bjorkstrand ($5,100), Pierre-Luc Dubois ($4,700), Mikhail Grigorenko ($2,500)
Vancouver Canucks
Bo Horvat ($6,300), Tanner Pearson ($4,400), Nils Hoglander ($2,800)
New Jersey Devils
Nikita Gusev ($4,600), Pavel Zacha ($3,500), Andreas Johnsson ($2,800)
Looking towards the value on this slate, there are a few lines at the top of their respective depth charts that simply don’t cost very much, and they offer value at their prices despite low-to-moderate quality matchups. The Canucks’ second line jumps out from this group as an obvious value spot, primarily because they already performed well in this same matchup against the Oilers on Wednesday. Horvat, Pearson, and the rookie Hoglander combined to register two goals, three assists, and ten shots on goal while playing a substantial percentage of ice time on Opening Night, and it seems likely that Hoglander in particular will see a price bump sooner rather than later.
Contrarian Stacks
Detroit Red Wings
Anthony Mantha ($6,700), Dylan Larkin ($6,500), Tyler Bertuzzi ($4,800)
Buffalo Sabres
Jack Eichel ($7,800), Taylor Hall ($6,200), Tage Thompson ($3,100)
New York Islanders
Mathew Barzal ($6,600), Anders Lee ($6,300), Jordan Eberle ($5,200)
There are a ton of games scheduled for Thursday night and many top-end players will be low-owned as a result. The Red Wings’ top line always presents an interesting dynamic, as they’re supremely talented and possess tremendous upside, but they play on a team that has been one of the worst in the NHL for the last few seasons. A difficult matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes is likely to keep ownership down, however, and the prices for these guys aren’t all that appealing either. Nonetheless, they figure to be an afterthought for most people playing this slate, and that makes them an intriguing choice in GPPs.
Set your DraftKings fantasy hockey lineups here: NHL $150K Puck Drop Encore [$50K to 1st]
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