NHL Grind Down: Friday, December 30th
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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Chicago Blackhawks at Carolina Hurricanes
| Chicago Blackhawks | Carolina Hurricanes | ||||||||
 | Scott Darling |  | Cam Ward | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 23-10-5 | 15-12-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.73 | 2.38 | 19.20% | 74.80% | Team Stats | 2.59 | 2.62 | 20.40% | 90.60% |
The Blackhawks come in after playing in Nashville last night as they try to improve on their record away from the home crowd. If Carolina has anything to say about it they may not get the result they want as the Hurricanes are sporting a very respectable 10-3-1 record on home ice. Artemi Panarin has racked up two goals and six assists over the last five games which gives him a total of 37 points in 37 games while line mate Patrick Kane has a healthy 35 points of his own. Add center Artem Anisimov to this mix and you are probably looking at one of the higher owned lines of the night. Carolina will do their best to try and shut them down but that is a daunting task even for the best shut down lines in the league. Defensemen Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook join the top line when the Blackhawks have the man advantage with Keith being the choice as he has four more points than Seabrook’s 20 and is outshooting him by a tally of 80-55. If you want to go a bit contrarian, especially for tournament plays, then the second line of Jonathan Toews, Ryan Hartman and Tyler Motte should do the trick here. Toews is having an off year as he has managed just 15 points in 28 games while Hartman has six goals and six assists to his credit. Look for Carolina to play some tough defense making it a bit more difficult for Chicago to score.
Carolina seems to be a team on the cusp of possibly squeaking into the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Their 6-2-2 record over the last ten games has them just three points away from the Boston Bruins who have 40 points and would be the last team to make the playoffs if they were to start today. Jeff Skinner, Victor Rask and Derek Ryan is the line to target here for your cash game plays tonight. They are not only the top line but also get the first crack when the Hurricanes draw a penalty. Skinner has seen 11 of his team leading 27 points come with the man advantage while Rask is right behind him with ten goals and 16 assists. Ryan has come along nicely as he has registered 12 points in the 21 games he has played in so far this season. With defenseman Justin Faulk on the shelf either Noah Hanifin or Brett Pesce make for a decent alternative as both play on the top power play. The second line of Teuvo Teravainen, Sebastian Aho and Lee Stempniak can be used as a GPP play here as they have been the line that has been producing the most lately as evidence of their combined four goals and six assists over the last five games. Look for Carolina to put up a few goals tonight as the try to improve on their impressive home record.
Elite Plays
CHI: Artemi Panarin, Patrick Kane
CAR: Jeff Skinner, Victor Rask
Secondary Plays
CHI: Artem Anisimov, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook
CAR: Derek Ryan, Noah Hanifin, Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen
Nashville Predators at St. Louis Blues
| Nashville Predators | St. Louis Blues | ||||||||
 | Juuse Saros |  | Jake Allen | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 15-14-6 | 19-12-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.79 | 2.76 | 19.60% | 80.50% | Team Stats | 2.86 | 2.92 | 22.30% | 87.00% |
The Predators come into this one with the services of defenseman P.K. Subban, who could be out until at least Tuesday. They also played the Blackhawks on home ice last night so I wouldn’t expect too much out of them tonight here is St Louis. Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen and Viktor Arvidsson make up the team’s top line as they have scored four of Nashville’s last nine goals. They are also 1-2-3 on the Predators scoring chart with Johansen leading the way with seven goals and 17 assists. There are a few decent one-off plays here especially James Neal as he skates on the third line but will see plenty of power play time. Neal leads the team with 14 goals while assisting on six other goals in the 30 games he has suited up for this season. Mike Fisher could also fit the bill here as he centers the second line and has registered nine of his 18 points when Nashville has the man advantage. Defenseman Roman Josi is the choice on the back line as he is second on the team in shots with 104 of them while quarterbacking the team’s top power play unit. Mattias Ekholm could be an alternate choice on defense as he had registered four of his 12 points over the last five games going into the game against Chicago last night. Look for the Predators to struggle a bit here.
After just winning three of their last nine games before the break the Blues came out and took care of business against the visiting Philadelphia Flyers. The win upped their home record to 14-2-4 and should have little problem disposing of a mediocre and tired Nashville team. Alexander Steen and Vladimir Tarasenko will be the chalk plays here tonight as Tarasenko leads the team with 16 goals, 23 assists and 121 shots on goal. Jori Lehtera has just ten points as he completes the team’s top line which is why he is so cheap across the industry. Jaden Schwartz, Paul Stastny and David Perron make a decent GPP play here with Schwatrz and Perron leading the way as they have 21 and 20 points respectively so far this season. You one-off is Robby Fabbri as he was able to net three goals last game from the third line. The advantage that Fabbri has is that he plays with Tarasenko when the Blues draw a penalty. Fabbri is third on the team in scoring with 11 goals and 12 assists. Kevin Shattenkirk feels like the chalk play on the back line as he not only quarterbacks the team’s top power play unit he has seen 14 of his 24 points come with the man advantage. Colton Parayko is your alternative choice on the back line. Look for the Blues to put a few pucks in the net tonight as they improve their sparkling home record.
Elite Plays
NSH: James Neal
STL: Vladimir Tarasenko
Secondary Plays
NSH: Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen, Mike Fisher, Viktor Arvidsson, Roman Josi
STL: Alexander Steen, Robby Fabbri, Kevin Shattenkirk, Jaden Schwartz, David Perron
Philadelphia Flyers at San Jose Sharks
| Philadelphia Flyers | San Jose Sharks | ||||||||
 | Steve Mason |  | Martin Jones | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 20-13-4 | 22-12-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.95 | 3.00 | 22.10% | 80.90% | Team Stats | 2.51 | 2.20 | 16.40% | 83.70% |
It seems that the ten game win streak the Flyers put together has had an adverse effect on them in the five games since then. They have only won one game since then while only scoring seven goals in those five games. Michael Raffl at least a week and that meant that Tyler Leier took his place on the top line next to Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek. Giroux was on a hot streak there for a while as he has racked up 31 points while Voracek leads the team in assists and points with 24 and 35 respectively. Both play on the top power play line that has only scored once in the last seven games. The second line is the one you want to target here as Brayden Scheen centers Wayne Simmonds and Travis Konecny. The stronger two plays are Simmonds and Schenn as they join Giroux and Voracek on the top power play unit. Simmonds leads the team with 17 goals while eight of them have come with the man advantage. Meanwhile Schenn has registered 14 of his 23 points with the man advantage. Shayne Gostisbehere gets the call to quarterback the top power play unit but only has 17 points so far this season while the cheaper Ivan Provorov has three goals and 13 assists. The Flyers need to get back on the scoring trail but until they do the safe plays are Simmonds and Schenn.
Usually the Sharks are pretty easy to figure out but it looks like there had been some shenanigans going on in yesterdays practice. Patrick Marleau and his 13 points in 35 games have seem to finally fallen out of favor as it appears he will be replaced by Joel Ward on the team’s top power play. Now, I know a lot of folks go Joel Ward crazy but this time he actually may be worth rostering. Anytime you get exposure to Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns, especially with the man advantage, you should be considered very rosterable. Pavelski, Joe Thornton and Marleau will remain as the team’s top line which has Thornton leading the team in assists with 22 while Pavelski has lit the lamp 12 times while collecting 21 assists. Logan Couture always makes a decent one-off play whether it be on the road or at home as he centers the second line with Kevion Labanc and Mikkel Boedker. Couture skates with Pavelski and Thornton on the team’s top power play unit and has registered seven of his 23 points with the man advantage. Brent Burns leads the team from the back line as he has 14 goals and 34 points in the 35 games the Sharks have played. On a four game slate it may be wise to pay up for him tonight as that may give you a huge advantage over those who choose to fade him. San Jose should have no problem protecting their Pacific Division lead while improving on their 12-4 record in front of the home crowd.
Elite Plays
PHL: Jakub Voracek
SJ: Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski
Elite Plays
PHL: Wayne Simmonds, Claude Giroux, Brayden Schenn
SJ: Logan Couture, Joe Thornton, Joel Ward, Patrick Marleau
Anaheim Ducks at Vancouver Canucks
| Anaheim Ducks | Vancouver Canucks | ||||||||
 | Jonathan Bernier |  | Ryan Miller | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 17-12-7 | 15-18-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.69 | 2.81 | 24.10% | 80.80% | Team Stats | 2.36 | 3.03 | 14.00% | 80.20% |
The Ducks thought it would be a good idea to split up Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf for last night’s game at Calgary as this is what happens when you chalk up just two wins in your last seven games. Perry will stay with Rickard Rakell but will have Antoine Vermette as their center while Getzlaf will have Nick Ritchie and Ondrej Kase as his wingers. Perry and Getzlaf make decent one off plays here as they no doubt will get the majority of the minutes when the Ducks have the man advantage. The only line that stayed together is the one you probably want to target for your cash game plays tonight. Ryan Kesler centers Jakob Silfverberg and Andrew Cogliano with Kesler leading the team in both power play and total points with 14 and 29 respectively. Silferberg has added two of his ten goals over the last five games before last night’s game in Calgary. Cam Fowler is the choice on defense as he has racked up 22 points so far this season while quarterbacking the team’s top power play unit. Vancouver has given up 110 goals so far this season and should add to that total tonight.
It seems a long time ago since the Canucks won the first four games of the season. It’s been so long in fact that they have only won two games in a row just once since those four games. Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin have a new winger in ex-Penguin Jayson Megna as Jannik Hansen will miss four to six weeks with a knee injury. Daniel leads the team in goals with ten while Henrik’s team leading 15 assists has him at the top of the Canucks scoring list with 23 points. Bo Horvat, Sven Baertschi and Alexandre Burrows can be used as a decent GPP play here as Horvat leads the team with two goals and five points over the last six games while Baertschi has been promoted to the top power play line. Brandon Sutter is a decent one-off play here as he centers Loui Eriksson and Markus Granlund but gets the call to skate on the top line when the Canucks draw a penalty. Troy Stecher is the play on the point as he is third on the team with 71 shots while grabbing three assists in his last six games. Stecher also completes Vancouver’s top power play unit. Caution needs to be taken here as they have only scored four goals in their last three games.
Elite Plays
ANA: Ryan Kesler
VAN: None
Secondary Plays
ANA: Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Cam Fowler, Rickard Rakell
VAN: Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Bo Horvat, Troy Stecher, Sven Baertschi