NHL Grind Down: Friday, December 23rd
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The RotoGrinders NHL Grind Down article will give you an in-depth analysis into the NHL schedule. This article will break down the numbers for every single game and give you analysis on which trends you can exploit. While matchups are a major factor in daily fantasy hockey there are plenty of other factors to consider such as injuries, salaries, and more.
The analysis should point you in the right direction, but it is still up to you to decipher the information and make your own selections. Hockey is an extremely high variance sport. The best choice is not always the right choice but following the trends will win you money over time.
Remember, these writeups are done prior to lineups being released, so make sure to check our Starting Lineups page to ensure the recommended options are playing.
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New Jersey Devils at Pittsburgh Penguins
| New Jersey Devils | Pittsburgh Penguins | ||||||||
 | Keith Kinkaid |  | Marc-Andre Fleury | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 13-13-7 | 21-8-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.28 | 3.00 | 16.00% | 83.00% | Team Stats | 3.45 | 2.76 | 21.80% | 79.00% |
The good news is that the Devils finally were able to come away with a win after going seven games without one but the bad news is that the play a Pittsburgh team that just got smoked by the Blue Jackets by a score of 7-1 last night in Columbus. The top line of Mike Cammalleri, Travis Zajac and Taylor Hall have been a bit quiet of late as they have combined for just five assists over the last five games. Hall may be the one-off here however as he leads the team in shots with 84 while compiling 21 points in the 25 games he has played in. While Pittsburgh is busy trying to shut the top line down Adam Henrique, Miles Wood and P.A. Parenteau should have some room on the ice to get some scoring opportunities. Henrique has garnered five points over the last five games while his line mates have chipped in three points apiece over that same time frame. Wood seems to be fitting in nicely as he has three of his four points since being moved up into the top six. Damon Severson and John Moore are the choices on defense with Severson having the slight edge with 18 points on 49 shots this season. Be cautious here as although the Devils did score four goals against Philadelphia last night, that doesn’t constitute any sign of doing it on a consistent basis.
While I get the fact that Pittsburgh can almost do whatever they want with their lines what I don’t understand is why they don’t stick with what works. Bryan Rust was moved to the top line with Conor Sheary and Sidney Crosby while Evgeni Malkin skated with Patric Hornqvist and Chris Kunitz. This left Phil Kessel to skate with the third line alongside of Nick Bonino and Carl Hagelin. The Penguins have only won one game in the last four and probably should go back to having Hornqvist skate with Crosby and Kessel skate on the second line with Malkin. This is when the team seems at its best, but who am I to question what the Stanley Cup Champions should do with their lineup. Crosby is the easy one-off here if you can afford him as he leads the team with 23 goals and 37 points over the course of the 28 games he has suited up for. Malkin and Hornqvist make a decent duo to use from the second line while Kessel can provide the one-off exposure you may need if you cannot afford Crosby. Defenseman Justin Schultz is the play on the back line as he has found the score sheet six times over the last five games. Schultz joins Malkin, Crosby, Hornqvist and Kessel to form the team’s top power play unit that has scored 11 goals in the last seven games. Look for the Penguins to come back with a vengeance here as they try to get last night’s 7-2 loss at Columbus out of their minds before the holiday break.
Elite Plays
NJ: None
PIT: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin
Secondary Plays
NJ: Taylor Hall, Mike Cammalleri, Travis Zajac, Damon Severson, Adam Henrique
PIT: Phil Kessel, Patric Hornqvist, Justin Schultz
Buffalo Sabres at New York Islanders
| Buffalo Sabres | New York Islanders | ||||||||
 | Anders Nilsson |  | Jaroslav Halak | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 12-12-8 | 12-14-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.19 | 2.52 | 22.80% | 74.70% | Team Stats | 2.63 | 3.09 | 13.50% | 78.70% |
Buffalo continues to struggle as they lost their 12th game of the season last night on home ice by a score of 3-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes. Now they must travel south to Brooklyn to take on an almost equally feeble team in the New York Islanders. The top line of Matt Moulson Kyle Okposo and Jack Eichel were shut out last night but still seem to have that tournament play feel tonight as they still have a combined three goals and seven assists over the last five games. Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen leads the team in points with three goals and 20 assists so far this season. Usually when a defenseman leads you team in points the team isn’t any good or you are the San Jose Sharks. Sam Reinhart and Ryan O’Reilly may be in a good spot here on the road as they anchor the teams second line which has seen Reinhart snag two goals and two assists over the last five games while O’Reilly has seen ten of his 18 points come with the man advantage in the 25 games he has played in. Evander Kane could be used as a one-off here as he skates on the third line as he has registered four of his 11 points in the last five games. Buffalo is a bad team but so are the Islanders.
The Islanders broke their five-game winless streak with a 4-2 win at Boston on Tuesday night. There was some concern as to whether team scoring leader John Tavares would be available for this game but after yesterday’s practice he deemed himself fit to play. Anders Lee and Josh Bailey join him on both at even strength and on the team’s top power play unit. Lee has netted four goals and assisted on another goal while Bailey has registered three points over the last five games. This is the line you should target for cash game plays tonight as the Sabres have just won one game in their last eight games away from home. Brock Nelson makes for a nice one-off play here as he has seven goals and 12 assists on 70 shots so far this season while centering Shane Prince and Anthony Beauvillier. Ryan Strome has seen some extra minutes on the top power play unit as both he and line mate Nikolaj Kulemin have found the back of the net twice over the last five games. Kulemin has also added two assists over that time frame so maybe look at these two as a deeper tournament play. Nick Leddy get the lion’s share of the minutes from the point when the Islanders have the man advantage and leads all Islanders defensemen with just 14 points. This is really a hit-and-miss crew with Travis Hamonic and Johnny Boychuk thrown into the mix as well. The Islanders should win this one on home ice but may not score a lot of goals.
Elite Plays
BUF: None
NYI: John Tavares
Secondary Plays
BUF: Rasmus Ristolainen, Kyle Okposo, Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart, Ryan O’Reilly
NYI: Anders Lee, Josh Bailey, Ryan Strome, Nick Leddy
Montréal Canadiens at Columbus Blue Jackets
| Montréal Canadiens | Columbus Blue Jackets | ||||||||
 | Al Montoya |  | Curtis McElhinney | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 21-8-4 | 22-5-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.13 | 2.16 | 19.40% | 81.80% | Team Stats | 3.30 | 2.07 | 27.00% | 81.80% |
Montreal comes into this at the top of the heap in the Atlantic Division with Ottawa five points back. A win here tonight against Columbus would certainly help their cause to stay in first place but more importantly show the NHL that they indeed are better than their 6-5-2 road record would indicate. The Blue Jackets did play last night and are 3-1-3 when the back-to-back situation presents itself. Max Pacioretty, Alexander Radulov and Phillip Danault double as both the top line at even strength as well as the unit that hits the ice the second the Canadiens draw a penalty. Pacioretty has been the one on fire though as he has lit the lamp five times and has two assists in his last five games. Defenseman Jeff Petry has made the most of his promotion to the top power play unit as he has four goals and three assists over the last five games. He only had three goals and six assists before this sudden outburst of offense. Shea Weber is another defenseman that can be used here as he has 18 points on 81 shots so far this season. Brendan Gallagher, Torrey Mitchell and Paul Byron skate on the team’s second line and should see a bit more room on the ice as there’s no doubt that Columbus will try to shut down Pacioretty and Company. Both teams have given up 70 goals or less so far this season so maybe this is one to stay away from tonight.
The Blue Jackets literally dismantled the Pittsburgh Penguins last night as they scored seven goals en route to the six goal win on home ice. Tonight they get another formidable foe in the form of the Montreal Canadiens who are fresh off a 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild on home ice last night. Alexander Wennberg, Nick Foligno and Brandon Saad is the line to target here as they have been very consistent for most of the year. Wennberg has tallied 26 points while Saad is right behind him with 25. Foligno has registered 11 of his 23 points while playing on the team’s top power play with Wennberg. Cam Atkinson makes for a phenomenal one-off play here as he skates on the second line but he is also a power play specialist of sorts as 15 of his team leading 33 points have come right after the Blue Jackets draw a penalty. Boone Jenner and Brandon Dubinsky skate with Atkinson on the second line at even strength but have only managed 22 points between them skating with the talented winger. Sam Gagner has revamped his career as he is being used on the top power play unit and for the most part has done a good job. Not only does he have two goals and four assists over the last five games, he is sitting in a tie for fourth place in team scoring with 23 points so far this season. Zachary Werenski is the play on the points as he gets most of the ice time on the point when Columbus goes on the power play. He has registered six assists in the last five games and has seen 11 of his 21 points come with the man advantage. Columbus goes for their 12th win in a row tonight so look for Montreal to give them a battle.
Elite Plays
MTL: Max Pacioretty, Alexander Radulov
CBJ: Alexander Wennberg, Cam Atkinson
Secondary Plays
MTL: Phillip Danault, Jeff Petry, Shea Weber
CBJ: Brandon Saad, Nick Foligno, Zachary Werenski, Sam Gagner
Tampa Bay Lightning at Washington Capitals
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Washington Capitals | ||||||||
 | Andrei Vasilevskiy |  | Braden Holtby | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 17-14-3 | 19-8-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.82 | 2.73 | 23.80% | 79.30% | Team Stats | 2.65 | 2.13 | 19.40% | 84.30% |
The Tampa Bay Lightning have miraculously been hanging in there despite injuries to Steven Stamkos and more recently Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat and now starting goaltender Ben Bishop. The Lightning took care of the St Louis Blues last night on home ice and are now just two points away from the Boston Bruins for third place in the Atlantic Division. Tonight’s opponent will be a bit tougher than the Blues however as Washington has given up just 69 goals so far this season while going 11-5 in front of the home crowd. Jonathan Drouin, Valtteri Filppula and Brian Boyle have been making the most noise over the past five games as they have eight of the 19 goals the Lightning have scored. Alex Killorn makes for a nice one-off play here as he has recorded three goals and three assists over the last five games which totals out to 33% of his seasonal production thus far. Tyler Johnson and Corey Conacher skate on the second line and get time on the top power play unit that has scored in each of the last six games. Victor Hedman is by far and away the play on defense as he not only quarterbacks the top power play unit, he has registered 10 of his 29 points over the last five games with five of those points coming with the man advantage. Washington is a tough team to play against on the road so it will be interesting to see just how much grit this depleted Tampa Bay team has.
If the playoffs were to start today the Capitals would be the eighth seed as they have a seven point lead over the next closest team, the Tampa Bay Lightning. Although Alex Ovechkin joined T.J. Oshie and Nicklas Backstrom in the third period last game he will be back with his usual line mates in Justin Williams and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Marcus Johansson joins Oshie and Backstrom at even strength as well as on the top power play unit making them the line to target tonight in cash games. Backstrom leads the team in points with 27 points while Oshie has lit the lamp ten times in the 25 games he has suited up for. Ovechkin can always be used as a one-off as he leads the team with 14 goals and 122 shots on goal so far this season. Defensman John Carlson has garnered four assists over the last five games as he is the final piece of a power play unit that has scored six goals in the last seven games. Matt Niskanen is a nice punt play here as he has seen five of his 14 points come over the last five games.
Elite Plays
TB: Victor Hedman
WSH: Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Ovechkin
Secondary Plays
TB: Jonathan Drouin, Valtteri Filppula, Alex Killorn, Tyler Johnson
WSH: Marcus Johansson, T.J. Oshie, John Carlson, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Justin Williams
Minnesota Wild at New York Rangers
| Minnesota Wild | New York Rangers | ||||||||
 | Darcy Kuemper |  | Henrik Lundqvist | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 20-8-4 | 23-11-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.90 | 1.87 | 16.50% | 85.70% | Team Stats | 3.23 | 2.31 | 20.40% | 84.40% |
Zach Parise will miss yet another game due to injury. This means that Nino Niederreiter will move to the top line with Eric Staal and Charlie Coyle while Jason Zucker gets the call to skate with Mikko Koivu and Mikael Granlund on the team’s second line. Backed by their current nine-game winning streak the Wild are just four points behind the Chicago Blackhawks for the conference lead. Tough defense and good goaltending have been the key as the team is easily buying into whatever head coach Bruce Boudreau is selling them. Eric Staal looks to be a nice one-off here as his seven points over the last five games are just a fraction of his team leading 26 points through the first 32 games Minnesota has played. The second line has been the most productive over the last five games as Granlund has registered six points while Zucker and Koivu each have two goals and two assists over that same time period. Ryan Suter and Mathew Dumba play on the back line on the top power play unit while Coyle, Staal and Niederreiter play the forward positions. The good thing about a team on a winning streak is that it seems everyone gets in on the scoring and that is the case on the back line for the Wild. Jonas Brodin and Jared Spurgeon have actually been more productive than their power play counterparts over the last five games as each has scored a goal and assisted on two others. The Rangers are a bit depleted and it looked it in the last game as they gave up seven goals to the Pittburgh Penguins.
Clearly this is an aberration as to the way New York had been playing so look for a tight hard fought battle tonight.
The Rangers look to rebound from a 7-2 thrashing at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night. Rick Nash will sit another game with a groin injury and that certainly can’t help matters as the Rangers have scored just eight goals in their last five games. Chris Kreider, Derek Stepan and Mats Zuccarello will be called on to provide some of the scoring punch from at even strength and on the power play. They may get a break as Devan Dubnyk started for the Wild last night so it’s quite possible that Darcy Kuemper will be in between the pipes tonight. Michael Grabner leads the team in goals with 14 while his line mates in Kevin Hayes and J.T. Miller have each eclipsed the 20 point mark so far this season. Brandon Pirri looks to be back on the top power play unit if you need a one-off for GPP plays as six of his 12 points have come with the man advantage making it very difficult to use him as any more than that. Ryan McDonagh is tapped to quarterback the team’s top power play unit as he leads all defensemen with 18 points on the season. Nick Holden could also be considered here as he has been a little more consistent of late as he is just two points away from McDonagh. The Rangers haven’t been scoring much lately and going up against a team that gives up about two goals a game may not be the best way to go tonight.
Elite Plays
MIN: Eric Staal
NYR: None
Secondary Plays
MIN: Mikko Koivu, Jason Zucker, Ryan Suter, Charlie Coyle
NYR: Chris Kreider, Derek Stepan, Mats Zuccarello, Ryan McDonagh, Michael Grabner, Jimmy Hayes