NHL Grind Down: Friday, March 11th
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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Pittsburgh Penguins at Columbus Blue Jackets – 07:00 PM EST
| Pittsburgh Penguins | Columbus Blue Jackets | ||||||||
 | Marc-Andre Fleury |  | Sergei Bobrovsky | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 34-24-8 | 28-31-8 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.70 | 2.48 | 18.10% | 83.50% | Team Stats | 2.58 | 3.04 | 18.20% | 81.10% |
After losing back-to-back 2-1 decisions to the Columbus Blue Jackets earlier this season, Pittsburgh finally picked up two points against them with a rather dominating 5-2 victory against them in their last meeting. With the Penguins battling for one of the last playoff spots in the Eastern Conference, Mike Sullivan will be expecting another strong performance from his squad tonight. While the Blue Jackets have been playing much better lately, they’ve still allowed an Eastern Conference worst 3.04 goals against per game this season so you’ll likely want at least some exposure to this high-flying Penguins offense. Sidney Crosby extended his point streak to six games with an assist against the Islanders on Tuesday and has racked up 11 goals and 14 assists (and a +16) in 18 games since the All-Star break. With Carl Hagelin expected back in the lineup tonight, Mike Sullivan figures to return Chris Kunitz and Patric Hornqvist to the top line alongside Crosby. This leaves Evgeni Malkin to center Hagelin and Phil Kessel on the “second” line. Malkin has posted four goals and two assists in five games this month and has already lit the lamp on three occasions against the Blue Jackets this season. Kris Letang scored yet again in Tuesday’s game against the Islanders and has now racked up nine goals and 23 assists in 28 games since the new year. Alternatively, Justin Schultz has been given a fresh start with this team and has plenty of offensive upside if you’re looking for some value on the blue-line.
It’s too little, too late for the Blue Jackets, but John Tortorella actually has his hockey club playing fairly well down the stretch. Columbus has posted a 11-4-3 record in their last 19 games and have averaged 3.88 goals per game over their last eight games. With a very balanced scoring attack, both of Columbus’ top two forward lines are in play tonight, but likely better suited for GPP use. Scott Harnell and Cam Atkinson find themselves tied atop the team leaderboard with 43 points, while Brandon Dubinsky and Boone Jenner are both well within striking distance. Dubinsky and Atkinson have both tallied 11 points in 16 games since the all-star break and join forces with Boone Jenner on the top forward line. While they’ll likely be asked to help slow down the Crosby line, they’ve been far more productive on home ice this season and they’ll still likely be able to create plenty of scoring chances in what should be a back-and-forth battle. Scott Hartnell can rack up fantasy points in a plethera of ways and is slated to be joined by Alexander Wenneberg and Nick Foligno on the second line. On defense, Seth Jones, David Savard and Ryan Murray should all inherit some extra playing time with Jack Johnson sidelined. All three defensemen see a healthy dose of playing time with the man advantage and are still rather inexpensive across the industry. While Jones is likely the most attractive option, David Savard has shown some upside with three goals and 10 SOG in his last three games.
Pittsburgh Penguins
CF%: 52.1, CP60: 109.1, 5×5 Differential: 13
Elite Options: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Patric Hornqvist, Kris Letang
Secondary Options: Chris Kunitz, Carl Hagelin, Justin Schultz
Columbus Blue Jackets
CF%: 47.7, CP60: 108.5, 5×5 Differential: -12
Elite Options: Cam Atkinson, Scott Hartnell
Secondary Options: Boone Jenner, Brandon Dubinsky, Nick Foligno, Seth Jones, David Savard
Philadelphia Flyers at Tampa Bay Lightning – 07:30 PM EST
| Philadelphia Flyers | Tampa Bay Lightning | ||||||||
 | Steve Mason |  | Ben Bishop | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 31-23-11 | 39-23-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.54 | 2.58 | 18.30% | 79.70% | Team Stats | 2.72 | 2.34 | 16.70% | 83.70% |
The Flyers look to be playing their best hockey of the season right now, and after posting a 6-2-0 record in their last eight games, they’ve climbed right back into the thick of the race for one of the last playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. They picked up a huge win on Monday night in the first half of a home-and-home series with the Tampa Bay Lightning, but will have their hands full tonight as the scene shifts to the Sunshine State. The Flyers will continue to be without Jakub Voracek tonight but that hasn’t slowed down his former partner-in-crime Claude Giroux as he’s posted two goals and nine assists in his last seven games and has poured in six goals and 21 assists in his last 22 games after a very slow start to the season. He’ll be joined by Wayne Simmonds and Brayden Schenn both on the top forward line and #1 power-play unit. Simmonds has scored 12 goals and added eight assists in his last 20 games while the former first round pick Schenn owns 15 goals and 15 assists in 29 games since the calendar flipped to 2016. On defense, the legend of Shayne Gostisbehere just keeps on growing. The rookie scored his 13th and 14th goals of the season against the Lightning on Monday and has now tallied 37 points in 47 games. Mark Streit joins him on the point of the top power-play unit and has chipped in a goal and five assists over his last six games. With all that said, this Tampa team has allowed just 2.32 goals against per game this season at Amalie Arena.
After a nine-game winning streak, the Lightning will hop over the boards tonight having lost each of their last two games. While it was enough to temporarily drop them below the Boston Bruins in the Atlantic Division, it’s still clear that this Tampa team will be a very tough out in the Eastern Conference playoffs next week. They can deliver a strong counter-punch tonight as they battle a Philly team clinging to their playoff hopes who happened to beat them 4-2 earlier this week. John Cooper has two very dangerous forward lines to throw at the Flyers as Nikita Kucherov joins Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat on one line with Steven Stamkos skating between Ryan Callahan and Alex Killorn on another. Kucherov leads the team with 54 points and has posted 15 goals and 19 assists in just 33 games at Amalie Arena. Johnson saw a four-game point streak snapped in the shutout loss against Boston on Tuesday but has turned things on offensively lately with three goals and four assists in his last five games. While this line is clearly dangerous, Dave Hakstol chose to counter them with the Sean Couturier line in that last matchup meaning leaving the Stamkos line with the better perceived matchup. With that said, Stamkos has been eerily quiet lately with just one point in his last five games. On defense, both Anton Stralman and Victor Hedman both log heavy minutes on the blue-line and run things from the point of Tampa’s power-play. Both players have already eclipsed the 30-point plateau and are strong options considering Philly’s mediocre 79.7% penalty kill.
Philadelphia Flyers
CF%: 50.5, CP60: 113.4, 5×5 Differential: 4
Elite Options: Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds, Shayne Gostisbehere
Secondary Options: Brayden Schenn, Sean Couturier, Mark Streit
Tampa Bay Lightning
CF%: 52.1, CP60: 106.6, 5×5 Differential: 20
Elite Options: Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman
Secondary Options: Tyler Johnson, Ryan Callahan, Ondrej Palat, Anton Stralman
Anaheim Ducks at St. Louis Blues – 08:00 PM EST
| Anaheim Ducks | St. Louis Blues | ||||||||
 | John Gibson |  | Jake Allen | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 37-20-9 | 39-20-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.45 | 2.27 | 23.10% | 86.50% | Team Stats | 2.47 | 2.38 | 22.40% | 86.40% |
The Ducks simply couldn’t solve Semyon Varlamov on Wednesday as they were shutout 3-0 for their second straight defeat. However, they had won each of their last eleven games and now find themselves in a very tight battle with the Los Angeles Kings for the top spot in the Pacific Division. Heading to St. Louis is definitely not an easy task and it’s worth noting that this Ducks hockey club has posted a mediocre 16-12-4 record away from the Honda Center. With that said, there are several options to look at here despite the tough matchup. Ryan Getzlaf has erupted for seven goals, 14 assists and a +12 in 18 games since the All-Star break and has developed a very nice rapport with former Blue David Perron on both the Ducks top forward line and #1 power-play unit. Perron has tallied eight goals, 11 assists and a +13 in 23 games since joining the Ducks and can still be found at a very reasonable price-point. Corey Perry joins those two on the Ducks top power-play unit and the former 50-goal scorer owns a goal and an assist in the two prior meetings against St. Louis this season. On defense, Sami Vatanen was forced to exit Wednesday’s game early with an injury and his status for tonight’s game is unclear. If he’s forced to sit this one out, both Cam Fowler and Hampus Lindholm would see all the minutes they can handle and run the show from the point of the Ducks power-play. However, the Blues do own a terrific 86.4% penalty kill, so temper your expectations.
After an immensely important victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night, the Blues will host the surging Anaheim Ducks tonight at the Scottrade Center. They’ll need two points tonight to keep pace for the lead in the Central Division before heading out on a tough five game west-coast road trip that begins tomorrow night in Dallas. Things won’t come easy for St. Louis tonight as the Ducks have allowed an NHL low 2.16 goals against per game since the All-Star break, but overlooking them could be dangerous. Vladimir Tarasenko has cooled off a bit lately, but with 30 goals and 26 assists in 66 games, he still easily remains St. Louis’ most dangerous offensive weapon. He’ll be joined by Jaden Schwartz and Jori Lehtera on the top line that caused opposing goalies plenty of sleepless nights last season. Rookie Robby Fabbri actually leads this team in scoring since the All-Star break with 12 points in 16 games and looks to have found a home alongside Paul Stastny and Troy Brouwer on the second line and #1 power-play unit. Kevin Shattenkirk, Alex Pietrangelo and Colton Parayko have all put up solid numbers offensively this season and see plenty of playing time with the man advantage. While Anaheim’s NHL best penalty kill suppresses their fantasy value to some degree, they’re fine options if they happen to fit into your lineup.
Anaheim Ducks
CF%: 53, CP60: 108.3, 5×5 Differential: -10
Elite Options: Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry
Secondary Options: David Perron, Rickard Rakell, Ryan Kesler, Cam Fowler, Sami Vatanen (if healthy)
St. Louis Blues
CF%: 51.5, CP60: 106.3, 5×5 Differential: 5
Elite Options: Vladimir Tarasenko, Jaden Schwartz, Kevin Shattenkirk
Secondary Options: Jori Lehtera, Robby Fabbri, David Backes, Alex Pietrangelo
Chicago Blackhawks at Dallas Stars – 08:30 PM EST
| Chicago Blackhawks | Dallas Stars | ||||||||
 | Corey Crawford |  | Kari Lehtonen | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 41-21-6 | 40-20-8 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.82 | 2.38 | 24.10% | 78.60% | Team Stats | 3.18 | 2.85 | 22.00% | 79.90% |
The Blackhawks will look to get back on the winning track when they invade the Dallas Stars tonight with first place in the Central Division hanging in the balance. Chicago lost a tightly contested game in St. Louis on Wednesday night and own just a 5-5-2 record in their last 12 games, but there’s simply no denying the talent level of Coach Queneville’s squad. With Dallas having allowed an atrocious 3.50 goals against per game thus far during the second half of the season, there’s plenty of fine option to look at on the Chicago bench. Patrick Kane continues to put up Conn Smythe Trophy winning numbers offensively and Dallas’ up-tempo approach plays right into his hands. He leads the entire NHL with 89 points in 68 games and has already lit the lamp twice against Dallas this season. His linemate Artemi Panarin could also be bringing home some hardware this offseason (Calder Trophy) and has already racked up three goals and two assists in four games this month. Alternatively, Chicago is expecting Marian Hossa to return to action tonight and it looks like he’ll immediately rejoin Jonathan Toews (and Andrew Ladd) on the top line. Toews has picked up points in five straight games and has now tallied five goals and eight assists in 14 games since the break. On defense, both Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith continue to log huge minutes of ice-time and share the duties on the point of the top power-play unit. They won’t come cheap, but with Dallas owning a subpar 79.9% penalty kill, they’re rock solid cash game options.
In a game that could go a long way in determining the matchups for the first round of the playoffs next month, the Stars will have to try and obtain two points tonight without the services of key contributors Patrick Sharp, John Klingberg and Jason Demers. Dallas will be happy to return to American Airlines Arena where they own a 21-10-1 record but this team has been struggling lately (3-5-3 record in their last 11 games) and are about to embark on potentially the toughest stretch of their season’s schedule. While tonight’s matchup is very tough, they have defeated the Blackhawks in two of the prior three games this season and simply have too much firepower to ignore on a five game slate. Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin still both find themselves in the top five in the NHL in scoring and are fine options on a nightly basis, but if yesterday’s practice was any indication, Lindy Ruff look ready to shake things up and split his top scoring options across his top three lines. While that’s slightly concerning, Chicago has posted an NHL worst 66.7% penalty kill since the All-Star break, so it’s the Dallas power-play that should probably have our attention regardless. Seguin and Benn are joined by Jason Spezza up front on the top power-play unit with Kris Russell and Alex Goligoski now getting a crack at running things from the point. Russell and Goligoski have both proved to have plenty of offensive abilities in the past and look to be too cheap considering their newfound responsibilities
Chicago Blackhawks
CF%: 50.6, CP60: 109.8, 5×5 Differential: 0
Elite Options: Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin, Duncan Keith
Secondary Options: Jonathan Toews, Artem Anisimov, Andrew Ladd, Marian Hossa
Dallas Stars
CF%: 53.3, CP60: 116.4, 5×5 Differential: 3
Elite Options: Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin
Secondary Options: Jason Spezza, Ales Hemsky, Alex Goligoski, Kris Russell
Arizona Coyotes at Calgary Flames – 09:00 PM EST
| Arizona Coyotes | Calgary Flames | ||||||||
 | Louis Domingue |  | Joni Ortio | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 28-32-7 | 28-34-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.63 | 3.12 | 18.50% | 77.90% | Team Stats | 2.67 | 3.09 | 15.70% | 74.20% |
It’s been a steep descent for the once 22-16-4 Coyotes as they’ve completely fallen apart as the season’s matured. They’ve posted an ugly 6-16-3 record in 27 games since and have coughed up a NHL worst 3.56 goals against per game since the All-Star break. While a meeting against the defensively inept Calgary Flames gives them a fantasy boost, it’s tough to get too excited about them at this point in the season. Oliver Ekman-Larsson not only leads the team in scoring with 49 points, but he’s also tallied five goals and ten assists in 17 games during the second half of the season. OEL has torched the Flames for three goals and two assists in their three previous meetings this season and is really the only player i’m comfortable targeting in cash games. He missed their last game, so make sure to check his status before deploying him into your lineups. Up-front, Alex Tanguay looks to have found new life with his new team as he’s posted two goals and three assists in his first three games wearing an Arizona sweater. While it’s unlikely sustainable, he does play on the top power-play and is worth a look tonight considering Calgary’s terrible 74.2% penalty kill. He’ll be joined by Antoine Vermette and Shane Done on the top power-play unit with Martin Hanzal, Max Domi, Tobias Rieder and Anthony Duclair all seeing time on the second unit.
It’s been a disappointing season to say the least for the Flames this season, but this team is still very much fantasy relevant when they hit the ice at the Saddledome. This was in full affect as they defeated the streaking Nashville Predators on Wednesday night and the matchup tonight against Arizona only adds to the fire. While they may have lost all three prior meetings against the Coyotes this season, the duo of Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan should be very popular selections tonight. Gaudreau broke out of his scoring funk with a pair of goals and an assist against Nashville and has now posted a ridiculous 23 goals, 25 assists and +24 in 33 home games this season. Monahan hasn’t been too shabby himself as he’s chipped in nine goals and 23 assists in those 33 games. On defense, Bob Hartley has three very dangerous weapons at his disposal in Mark GIordano, T.J. Brodie and Dougie Hamilton. All three see plenty of run on the point of the power-play where they should benefit from Arizona’s ugly 77.9% penalty kill. Giordano puts a four-game scoring streak on the line tonight and owns a goal and two assists in the three prior meetings against the ‘Yotes, making him favorite option of the three.
Arizona Coyotes
CF%: 47.4, CP60: 109.1, 5×5 Differential: -13
Elite Options: Oliver Ekman-Larsson (if healthy)
Secondary Options: Martin Hanzal, Alex Tanguay, Max Domi, Tobias Rieder
Calgary Flames
CF%: 47.9, CP60: 110.9, 5×5 Differential: -12
Elite Options: Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Mark Giordano
Secondary Options: Mikael Backlund, Sam Bennett, Dougie Hamilton, T.J. Brodie