NHL Grind Down: Friday, January 8th - Page Two
St. Louis Blues at Anaheim Ducks – 10:00 PM EST
| St. Louis Blues | Anaheim Ducks | ||||||||
 |  | Frederik Andersen | |||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 23-14-6 | 16-16-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.42 | 2.47 | 22.20% | 85.40% | Team Stats | 1.85 | 2.36 | 19.60% | 89.10% |
The St. Louis Blues have been a very streaky team under Coach Hitchcock, and unfortunately for Blues fans, they find themselves in a bit of a tailspin right now after dropping four straight games. They coughed up a 3-1 lead against Colorado on Wednesday night and will now head to Southern California to continue their three game road trip. For as disappointing as the Anaheim Ducks have been this season, they’ve still allowed just 2.36 goals against per game and represent a fairly tough matchup for St. Louis tonight. With that said, Vladimir Tarasenko has elevated himself to “Superstar” status in the NHL at this point and the freakishly talented winger now leads this team with 24 goals and 19 assists in 41 games. He lit the lamp against Anaheim in their only previous meeting this season and enters tonight riding a three game point streak, making him the top option from St. Louis. He’s now joined two cheap (and young) playmakers in Jori Lehtera and Robby Fabbri at even strength while Alexander Steen joins Paul Stastny and Troy Brouwer on a very dangerous secondary scoring line. On defense, Kevin Shattenkirk oddly finds himself sitting at a -12 on the season, but continues to be an offensive force from the blue-line as the quarterback of their #1 power-play unit. However, his fantasy outlook (as well as fellow blue-liners Colton Parayko and Alex Pietrangelo) is hindered a bit by Anaheim’s league best 89.1% penalty kill.
After taking home the President’s Trophy last season, things have been anything but easy for the Anaheim Ducks in 2015-16. They were just shutout at home by the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night and now own a surprising 16-16-7 record exactly half-way through the season. Luckily for them, however, they’re still very much in the thick of the playoff hunt as they reside in the very weak Pacific Division. While they’re the lowest scoring team in the NHL this season, at least it’s been pretty easy to predict where their limited scoring will come from as both Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry have proven to be their only two reliable scoring options. While that duo (along with Rickard Rakell) will likely be shadowed by the tough defense from both Alex Steen and Troy Brouwer, they’re still fine options on a six game slate. On defense, both Sami Vatanen and Hampus Lindholm continue to see more ice-time due to Cam Fowler absence and are fine options if the price is right. Alternatively, former first round pick Shea Theodore has posted gaudy numbers at the AHL level the last few seasons and has been seeing playing time on the point of the #1 power-play unit and looks like one of the best value plays on the blue-line.
Elite Options
STL: Vladimir Tarasenko, Alexander Steen, Kevin Shattenkirk
ANA: Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Sami Vatanen
Secondary Options
STL: Robby Fabbri, Paul Stastny, Jori Lehtera, Colton Parayko, Alex Pietrangelo
ANA: Rickard Rakell, Ryan Kesler, Shea Theodore, Hampus Lindholm