NHL Thursday: Line Stacking Strategies

by landsharkhockey Last Updated 2012-01-19 17:20:29

Hockey is undeniably a team game. That certainly carries over to fantasy hockey in a big way. It’s rare to see a player stand out on his own, without a linemate or two either contributed to, or benefitting from that success. Either way you look at it, it makes sense when setting your fantasy lineup on Draftstreet to add players to your roster is pairs or trios. While most teams mix and match lines on a regular basis early in the season, by this point, there are some clear cut lines that have been established. Some of these lines have been quite productive for fantasy players to target. Here are the top ten current NHL line combinations to target on Draftstreet this week:

Top 10 Line Daily Fantasy NHL Combinations

10. Getzlaf / Perry / Ryan (Anaheim)
The Ducks have awakened. It took Coach Boudreau a few weeks to bring this dead offense back to life, but the top two lines are clicking in Anaheim. The success of the second line has given this big three more room to work, and they’re finally starting to produce. Perry in particular is back to his MVP ways lately.

9. Sedin / Sedin / Burrows (Vancouver)
It would be impossible to have an article with this title and not include the Twins. Burrows is along for the ride, as he produced much less than you’d expect with two of the league’s top 5 scorers beside him. If the Canucks ever added a potent power forward on the right wing, this line would be insane.

8. St. Louis / Stamkos / Downie (Tampa Bay)
Stamkos and St. Louis have been working magic together since Stamkos entered the league and ousted Lecavalier to the #2 line. Downie throws in the muscle to free up room for the two snipers up front. It’s been a winning combination and has vaulted Stamkos to the top of the goal leaders and has St. Louis back near a point a game.

7. Moulson / Tavares / Okposo (NY Isles)
Hard to believe the quiet turn around Okposo and the Islanders have managed in the past month or so. They don’t win many games, so this trio flies under the radar, but they feature one of the hottest lines in the league right now. Moulson is the third leading scorer in the NHL over the last two months.

6. Krejci / Lucic / Horton (Boston)
With so many offensive weapons in Boston, you could probably pull names out of a hat and come up with a powerful line. These three have been effective over the last couple of months together.

5. Hartnell / Giroux / Jagr (Philadelphia)
The magic line in Philadelphia has slowed down a bit following their incredible start. Now that Jagr is back in the lineup, they’re starting to ramp back up again. All three are enormous goal scoring threats, with Hartnell currently leading the bunch at 20.

4. Kovalchuk / Henrique / Parise (New Jersey)
After a terribly slow start, Parise and Kovalchuk have been unstoppable since teaming up with rookie Henrique on the Devils top line. It seems doubtful that this line will persist beyond this season with Parise’s contract coming due, so enjoy this hot streak while it lasts.

3. Seguin / Bergeron / Marchand (Boston)
Now that Marchand has served his time, you can expect the top three for the Bruins to get back to dominating the fantasy game.

2. Kane / Toews / Stalberg (Chicago)
With Sharp out, Stalberg has cemented his role with Toews and Kane for the time being. This line has been magical, led of course, by the captain. Toews is making a case for MVP honors again this season. This line is rarely held off the scoresheet.

1. Neal / Malkin / Kunitz (Pittsburgh)
With so many injuries in Pittsburgh, one line has emerged as the go-to force for the Penguins. Malkin has elevated his game to inhuman levels recently and has a sniper (Neal) and a banger (Kunitz) to complement his insane playmaking abilities. Even with the opponents putting all their efforts into stopping the one scoring line in Pittsburgh, this crew has consistently produced. Look for that magic to continue.

Honorable Mentions:

• Fleischmann / Weiss / Versteeg (Florida) – early season magic has faded, but still somewhat effective
• Spezza / Greening / Michalek (Ottawa) – Spezza has carried this line
• Ovechkin / Johansson / Semin (Washington) – reinsert Backstrom after his return and this line will go back to top 5

LandSharkHockey’s Lineup for Tonight

For tonight’s play on Draftstreet, you have plenty of options in net to focus on. A couple of stalemates stand out with the Rangers (Lundqvist) vs the Pens (Fleury), who are both playing well right now, and the Sens (Anderson) vs San Jose (Niemi), who are also both riding huge winning streaks. I’m not willing to pick a horse out of either of those contests. Instead, I’m looking at Halak (St Louis) versus a injury-depleted Edmonton offense. I’m also liking the value pick of Reimer (Toronto) against a Minnesota team that can’t do a thing right these days. At just $11k, I can’t pass up Reimer as my best bet.

In terms of working in some of those line combinations tonight, I’m going to pass on Pittsburgh, as they face Lundqvist. Likewise, the Devils will have a tough time finding success against Tim Thomas and the Bruins. Of the top top trios remaining in action tonight, the best matchup looks like the Flyers versus the Islanders. Neither team seems particularly interested in stopping the puck, so I’ll hoping for a high-scoring affair.

Here’s the rest of my team for tonight: