NHL Grind Down: Friday, December 18th - Page Two
New York Rangers at Winnipeg Jets – 08:00 PM EST
| New York Rangers | Winnipeg Jets | ||||||||
 | Henrik Lundqvist |  | Ondrej Pavelec | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 19-9-4 | 14-15-2 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.91 | 2.25 | 21.60% | 84.00% | Team Stats | 2.74 | 3.03 | 15.20% | 77.30% |
New York’s struggles continued last night as they were thoroughly outplayed by the Minnesota Wild and lost a 5-2 decision. Last season’s President’s Trophy winners own just a 3-7-2 record over the last 12 games, but while this skid is a bit perplexing, their 103.7 PDO (and falling) suggests that this regression was imminent after their hot start. While there’s plenty to be concerned about right now if you’re a Rangers fan, the fact that Winnipeg is the most penalized team in the NHL this season does open the door for some quality options tonight in DFS. After an ice-cold start to the season, Rick Nash has finally picked things up offensively and is one of the most dangerous pure snipers in the NHL. He’s racked up eight goals and five assists over the last 14 games and has lit the lamp on the power-play twice over the last four games. He’s been recently reunited with Mats Zuccarello and Derick Brassard both at even stregth and on the #1 power-play unit and that’s a fantasy boost for all three players. On defense, both Keith Yandle and Ryan McDonagh have proved to be dangerous weapons on the point of the power-play and are nice targets with Dan Boyle starting to heat up and therefore making a fine value option.
The Jets dropped a tightly contested 4-3 decision to the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night and have really cooled off with the weather as they own just a 6-9-1 record over their last 16 games. However, they’re well rested, have played fairly well at the MTS Centre, and look to be drawing the Rangers at the right time. Before you get too trigger happy, Henrik Lundqvist is almost assured to be between the pipes tonight for the Rangers after getting last night off, and with a 15-6-3 record, 2.14 GAA and .933 SV%, he’s clearly not an ideal goalie to pick on. The Jets top line of Ladd, Little and Wheeler will draw the most attention, but it’s been their second line of Mathieu Perrteault, Mark Scheifele and Drew Stafford that has led the charge lately. Those three on the second line have combined for 9 goals and 13 assists in six games this month and are all very reasonably priced across the industry. Dustin Byfuglien has been held off the scoresheet in each of the last two games, but the Rangers will struggle to match his size/strength combo and the blue-liner is very capable of a huge offensive night that can set you apart in GPP’s.
Elite Options
NYR: Rick Nash, Derick Brassard, Mats Zuccarello, Keith Yandle
WPG: Blake Wheeler, Mathieu Perreault, Dustin Byfuglien
Secondary Options
NYR: Chris Kreider, Kevin Hayes, Ryan McDonagh, Dan Boyle
WPG: Andrew Ladd, Bryan Little, Mark Scheifele, Drew Stafford