NHL Grind Down: Friday, January 15th
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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Boston Bruins at Buffalo Sabres – 07:00 PM EST
| Boston Bruins | Buffalo Sabres | ||||||||
 | Tuukka Rask |  | Robin Lehner | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 21-16-5 | 17-22-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.95 | 2.67 | 28.40% | 83.00% | Team Stats | 2.30 | 2.65 | 20.00% | 77.00% |
The Bruins’ struggles continued on Wednesday night as they fell 3-2 to the Flyers and have now dropped each of their last three games. The core of this team is clearly moving past their prime and their 2-7-1 record over their last ten games highlights that this is not the same Boston team of years past. With that said, they’ll wrap up their five game road trip tonight with a very winnable game against the Buffalo Sabres and therefore can’t be overlooked on a six game slate. With the Buffalo Sabres owning an ugly 77.0% penalty kill and the Bruins sporting the league’s best power-play, there’s plenty to like from Boston this evening. Patrice Bergeron scored a goal against Buffalo in their only previous meeting and leads the team with 19 power-play points on the season, making him a top tier option at center. He’ll be joined by the suddenly streaking Ryan Spooner (one goal and seven assists over the last seven games) and Loui Eriksson up-front on the #1 power-plau unit. Bergeron’s even strength partner Brad Marchand sees plenty of run on the second power-play unit and shouldn’t be overlooked here. On defense, Torey Krug has proven to be a dangerous weapon from the point of the top power-play unit and is a solid option in all formats, while both Zdeno Chara and Colin Miller also see plenty of run on the point of the power-play.
After looking like a complete mess and losing six straight games after the Christmas break, Buffalo finished up a three game road trip with two straight impressive victories and look to be gaining some momentum as they return home to face the Boston Bruins. Buffalo will be looking to duplicate their 6-3 victory over the Bruins in their only other meeting this season but are still a tough team to trust too heavily in cash games. While the Sabres top line of Evander Kane, Ryan O’Reilly and Jamie McGinn may own the best offensive numbers this season, Claude Julien choose to unleash the Bergeron/Marchand duo at them at every opportunity in that first game. With one of the most difficult defensive matchups on the board tonight, that pushes them into GPP only territory for me. With his top line looking to be locked down, Dan Bylsma will lean on phenom Jack Eichel and his talented linemates Zemgus Girgensons and Sam Reinhart to pick up the slack offensively. Reinhart flashed his offensive upside with a hat trick on Sunday against Winnipeg and Eichel absolutely torched this Boston team for two goals and two assists in that first meeting. On defense, Rasmus Ristolainen has picked up points in each of the last two games and the former first round pick is in the midst of a breakout campaign as he’s racked up 7 goals and 16 assists over the last 30 games.
Elite Options
BOS: Patrice Bergeron, Loui Eriksson, Torey Krug
BUF: Jack Eichel, Ryan O’Reilly, Rasmus Ristolainen
Secondary Options
BOS: Brad Marchand, Ryan Spooner, Jimmy Hayes, Zdeno Chara, Colin Miller
BUF: Sam Reinhart, Zemgus Girgensons, Evander Kane, Jamie McGinn
Vancouver Canucks at Carolina Hurricanes – 07:00 PM EST
| Vancouver Canucks | Carolina Hurricanes | ||||||||
 | Ryan Miller |  | Cam Ward | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 17-16-10 | 19-18-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.37 | 2.74 | 17.40% | 79.60% | Team Stats | 2.39 | 2.70 | 17.20% | 80.20% |
The Canucks were outclassed last night by the NHL leading Washington Capitals and will head to Raliegh to battle the Hurricanes with some potentially tired legs. It’s been a forgettable season for Vancouver and this team has simply not been able to sustain any type of momentum this season. From a fantasy perspective, the Sedin brothers continue to be the only reliable scoring options on this team. They’ve combined for 28 goals and 49 assists in 44 games and look like they’ll now be joined by Derek Dorsett on the top line. While that news is obviously a big boost for Derek Dorsett fantasy value, he’s better known for his physical play than his offensive talents and is not someone I’m comfortable using in cash games (specially on sites that ignore PIM’s). Bo Horvat scored a pair of goals against the Hurricanes in their only other meeting this season and has now picked up points in five straight games (four goals and three assists in that span). He centers Radim Vrbata and Sven Baertschi on the second forward line and that trio looks like terrific GPP targets. The options on the Vancouver blue-line are not overly exciting, but both Alex Edler and Yannick Weber log a healthy dose of playing time with the man advantage and are very reasonably priced across the industry. With all of that said, Carolina has allowed the fewest shots on goal against per game this season in the league, so keep your expectations in check.
Carolina played one of their best hockey games of the season last night and left the Scottrade Center in St. Louis with a 4-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues. The Hurricanes have now won four straight games and have positioned themselves right in the thick of the playoff race in the Eastern Conference. Justin Faulk continues to lead this team in scoring with 32 points, and he looks like a very nice option on the blue-line against the Canucks subpar 79.9% penalty kill. Up-front, Eric Staal headlines the top line with Kris Versteeg and Elias Lindholm but Jordan Staal and Jeff Skinner both deserve your attention as well. Jordan Staal scored a goal and dished out an assist against Vancouver in the first meeting and Skinner has racked up 12 goals and 6 assists over his last 20 games.
Elite Options
VAN: Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin
CAR: Eric Staal, Justin Faulk
Secondary Options
VAN: Bo Horvat, Radim Vrbata, Alex Edler, Yannick Weber
CAR: Kris Versteeg, Jordan Staal, Elias Lindholm, Jeff Skinner, Noah Hanifin
Chicago Blackhawks at Toronto Maple Leafs – 07:00 PM EST
| Chicago Blackhawks | Toronto Maple Leafs | ||||||||
 | Corey Crawford |  | Jonathan Bernier | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 28-13-4 | 16-18-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.84 | 2.36 | 22.20% | 81.60% | Team Stats | 2.46 | 2.71 | 18.00% | 80.50% |
In a very tightly contested game, the Blackhawks left the Bell Centre in Montreal last night with two points and have now pushed their winning streak to nine games. The defending Stanley Cup Champions are clearly playing their best hockey of the season and will head to Toronto tonight as heavy favorites over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Patrick Kane continues to lead the NHL in scoring as he’s posted a ridiculous 25 goals and 38 assists in just 46 games this season. He’s developed a very dangerous rapport with newcomers Artemi Panarin and Artem Anisimov both at even strength and on the #1 power-play unit and all three are terrific options in this matchup. Alternatively, Jonathan Toews enters action tonight riding a four game point streak that has seen him amass three goals and four assists and he, along with Marian Hossa and Andrew Shaw, should be able to focus more heavily on his offensive game with Toronto lacking a true “sniper” to worry about. On defense, both Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith are logging huge minutes on a nightly basis and are dangerous weapons on the point of the #1 power-play.
Just as it started to look like Mike Babcock had this Maple Leafs team making a charge, they’ve now dropped three straight games while being outscored 12-2 in the process. While their 3-1 loss to Columbus was certainly disappointing on Wednesday, it’s worth noting that they did outshoot the Blue-Jackets 42-22 and are somewhat surprisingly now rated as the second fastest paced team in the NHL this season (114.4 CP60). The James van Riemsdyk injury is obviously a big blow, but Mike Babcock still has two very capable scoring lines at his disposal. Leo Komarov and Nazem Kadri form a dangerous duo on the top line (with Michael Grabner) but they figure to be matched by Marian Hossa and Jonathan Toews every time they hop over the boards which really puts a big dent into their fantasy outlook tonight. If that is indeed the route Coach Queneville chooses to go, then Tyler Bozak, P.A. Parenteau and Shawn Matthias look to have a much more favorable matchup. On defense, both Dion Phaneuf and Jake Gardiner have been soaking up all of the playing time on the point of the power-play and could see a few extra scoring chances against the potentially tired legs of the Blackhawks. Alternatively, Morgan Rielly still looks to be the most offensively gifted option and the 21 year-old saw nearly 26 minutes of ice-time in the Leafs last outing.
Elite Options
CHI: Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Artemi Panarin, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook
TOR: None
Secondary Options
CHI: Marian Hossa, Andrew Shaw, Artem Anisimov, Teuvo Teravainen
TOR: Tyler Bozak, Nazem Kadri, Leo Komarov, Dion Phaneuf, Jake Gardiner, Morgan Rielly
Pittsburgh Penguins at Tampa Bay Lightning – 07:30 PM EST
| Pittsburgh Penguins | Tampa Bay Lightning | ||||||||
 | Marc-Andre Fleury |  | Ben Bishop | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 20-16-6 | 22-17-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.33 | 2.38 | 18.70% | 84.80% | Team Stats | 2.53 | 2.30 | 17.70% | 79.20% |
As we entered the 2015-16 season, tonight’s battle between the Penguins and Lightning figured to be an important meeting between two teams jockeying for position among the top of the Eastern Conference. Instead, both teams struggled through the majority of the season and enter tonight’s game fighting for their playoff lives. Pittsburgh will head to the Sunshine state looking to wrap up a tough four game road trip with two very needed points. Tampa Bay has been rather stingy on defense this season (2.30 GA/G) and the Penguins 2.36 goals per game is ranked just 26th in the NHL this season. With that said, the Penguins poured in 13 goals in the three meetings against Tampa Bay last season and have way too much firepower to ignore. Both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin has started to pick up the pace offensively lately and both of Pittsburgh’s top two lines can be very unforgiving if Tampa Bay slips up. Crosby centers Chris Kunitz and David Perron on one line, with Malkin skating between Phil Kessel and Patric Hornqvist on another. On the blue-line, Kris Letang has the luxury of quarterbacking Pittsburgh’s lethal #1 power-play unit and has racked up four goals and eight assists over the last eight games.
Tampa Bay dominated Colorado on Tuesday to pick up their third straight win and this team can make a big statement in the Eastern Conference if they can pick up two points tonight from the Penguins. The Lightning should be excited to be back on home ice after a four game road trip and John Cooper finally looks to regained his two-headed scoring attack that led this team to the Stanley Cup Finals last season. Steven Stamkos headlines the top line alongside Ondrej Palat and Vladislav Namestnikov and that trio was sizziling on Tuesday night. With that said, Nikita Kucherov somewhat surpringly leads the Lightning with 34 points and teams up with Tyler Johnson and Alex Killorn to form one of the league’s best secondary scoring lines. Kucherov has picked up points in three straight games and, after a eerily slow start to the season, has posted 14 goals and 18 assists over the last 32 games. Meetings between these two teams tend to turn into track meets and with Pittsburgh allowing the third most shots on goal per game this season, I’m expecting these two forward lines to create an abundance of scoring opportunites. On defense, both Anton Stralman and Victor Hedman see a healthy dose of playing time with the man advantage and are the two blue-liners that require your attention. Stralman is a fine option, but Hedman is the more talented of the two and looks to be coming alive lately as he’s scored a goal and dished out four assists over the last three games.
Elite Options
PIT: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel, Kris Letang
TAM: Steven Stamkos, Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman
Secondary Options
PIT: Patric Hornqvist, Chris Kunitz, David Perron, Olli Maatta
TAM: Alex Killorn, Vladislav Namestnikov, Anton Stralman
Winnipeg Jets at Minnesota Wild – 08:00 PM EST
| Winnipeg Jets | Minnesota Wild | ||||||||
 | Ondrej Pavelec |  | Devan Dubnyk | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 19-21-3 | 22-13-8 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.60 | 2.86 | 15.80% | 77.30% | Team Stats | 2.63 | 2.35 | 17.70% | 79.60% |
The Jets picked up an overtime win against Nashville last night, but will have very little time to recover as they head north to play the Minnesota Wild tonight in Saint Paul this evening. The Jets find themselves in last place in the very tough Central Division and are quickly running out of time if they want to climb back into the playoff race. These two teams have split their previous two meetings, but with the Jets owning just an 8-14-2 road record on the season and Minnesota being quite stingy in their defensive end (2.35 goals against per game), it’s tough to get too excited about Winnipeg tonight. With that said, they do have two very strong forward lines and Dustin Byfuglien enters as one of the most fantasy friendly defenseman in the league. Blake Wheeler scored a goal and added an assist last night against Nashville and now leads this team with 43 points in 44 games, making him the top option. He’s joined by Bryan Little (37 points) and Drew Stafford on the top line that will likely plenty of attention from Zach Parise pestering defense.
It’s been a disappointing homestand for the Wild thus far as they’ve dropped back-to-back games against the Devils and Sabres respectivally, but they better be hungry for two points tonight against Winnipeg before heading off on a very brutal four game road trip. The Wild have posted a very solid 14-7-2 record at the Xcel Enery Center but have lost two of the three meetings against Winnipeg this season. Up-front, Mike Yeo has shuffled up his forward lines a bit lately, but Zach Parise continues to be the top option and will now be joined by Mikael Granlund and Jason Pominville on the the top line. However, with the Jets owning an ugly 77.3% penalty kill, I’ll be focusing my attention towards the Minnesota power-play. Mikko Koivu, Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville join Parise up-front on that #1 power-play, which gives them all plenty of fantasy appeal against the penalty happy Winnipeg Jets. Ryan Suter scored a goal and added an assist against Buffalo on Tuesday and now owns 30 points in 43 games from the Minnesota Wild. He averages nearly 29 minutes of ice-time per game and is still well underpriced on a few sites (ie: FanDuel) making him one of the best cash game blue-line options on the board.
Elite Options
WPG: Blake Wheeler, Dustin Byfuglien
MIN: Zach Parise, Mikko Koivu, Ryan Suter
Secondary Options
WPG: Bryan Little, Drew Stafford, Andrew Ladd, Mathieu Perreault
MIN: Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville, Mikael Granlund, Jared Spurgeon