NHL Grind Down: Friday, March 17th
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 |  | Matt Murray | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 26-31-12 | 43-17-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.21 | 2.87 | 18.10% | 80.80% | Team Stats | 3.42 | 2.77 | 22.50% | 80.20% |
New Jersey was able to boat race the Philadelphia Flyers last night as their six goals represent their highest single game total of the year. Although Pittsburgh is a bit banged up I would not count on encore performance here tonight. Taylor Hall, Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac will more than likely remain as the team’s top line while Joseph Blandisi gets a promotion to the second line to skate with Adam Henrique and Beau Bennett. Look for the Devils to revert back to the non-scoring team they were before going into last night’s game as they had scored just eight goals in the six games they had played before last night’s offensive rampage. Damon Severson and Andy Greene seem to get about equal power play time from the points but I think I’d go with Severson here if I was going to roster a Devil blue liner. Severson’s 29 points is the most be a Devil defenseman and is 14 more points that John Moore has accumulated all season. Moore is second on the team in scoring where the defensemen are concerned. Just because the Devils scored six goals last night doesn’t mean it’s safe to go back in the water.
The Penguins took one on the chin in Philadelphia the other night as the Flyers shut them out by a score of 4-0 on Wednesday night. Even though the Penguins have been decimated with injuries they still have been able to hold on to the second spot in the Metropolitan Conference with 95 points to their credit. Sidney Crosby centers the top line with Conor Sheary and Jake Guentzel while Evgeni Malkin has Phil Kessel to ride shotgun with him along with Chris Kunitz on the team’s second line. It is unclear as to whether or not Patric Hornqvist will be able to return to the lineup tonight as although he has been skating, he hasn’t been cleared from the concussion he suffered earlier this month. Crosby and Malkin are the givens here so it would make sense to pair them with one of their line mates if you are looking for a few cash options tonight. Guentzel and Sheary will give you the most salary relief as opposed to using Kessel with Malkin and both players have combined for seven goals and 10 assists in their last 18 games played. Guentzel has nine points in the last 11 games while Sheary does him a bit better as he has notched eight points in the last seven games he has played in since returning from injury. With defenseman Kris Letang still sidelined Justin Schultz is still very much ion play as he quarterbacks the team’s top power play unit form the point. Pittsburgh should be able to break their two-game losing streak and improve on the 27-4-3 record in front of the home crowd tonight.Now it looks like Malkin is out for tonight’s game making it a bit more difficult for the hobbling Penguins.
Elite Plays
NJ: Taylor Hall
PIT: Sidney Crosby
Secondary Plays
NJ: Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac, Adam Henrique
PIT: Phil Kessel, Justin Schultz, Conor Sheary
Florida Panthers at New York Rangers
| Florida Panthers | New York Rangers | ||||||||
 | Reto Berra |  | Antti Raanta | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 30-28-11 | 44-24-2 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.45 | 2.79 | 16.70% | 86.30% | Team Stats | 3.17 | 2.59 | 18.60% | 80.60% |
After beating Toronto by a score of 7-2 on Tuesday night the Florida Panthers got back to their losing ways last night as they dropped a 2-1 decision to the Columbus Blue Jackets. This will be their third game in four nights and could have a tough time here at Madison Square Garden. Aleksander Barkov, Jaromir Jagr and Jonathan Huberdeau are usually the ones the Panthers rely on to get the scoring going but if they don’t you will more likely see something that resembles last night’s result than that of the one they had on Tuesday night. Vincent Trocheck makes for a decent one-off here as he skates on the team’s second line but gets the majority of the ice time when the Panthers go on the power play. Jonathan Marchessault was able to notch his team leading 23rd goal last night as he plays on an even strength line with Nick Bjugstad and Thomas Vanek. Aaron Ekblad continues to be on the shelf which would make defenseman Keith Yandle as the cash game target tonight. Yandle has seen 14 of his 33 points come with the man advantage as he will get every opportunity to stay on the ice when the Panthers draw a penalty. Florida’s 71 points has them still in the playoff conversation but will have to win games like this one tonight to stay relevant.
The odd thing about the Metropolitan Division is that the New York Rangers 90 points would be good enough to lead the Atlantic Division but is only good enough for fourth place with has Washington leading the way with 97 points. The Rangers have scored a whopping 225 goals so far this season as they have had three lines contribute on a nightly basis. Chris Kreider, Derek Stepan and Mats Zuccarello look to be the line to target here for cash game play as Stepan has 47 points while his line mates each have 48 points so far this season. The only player with more points would be J.T. Miller whose 50 points leads the team coming down the home stretch. Miller has Mika Zibanejad as his center with Rick Nash on his wing which is a bit different than he is used to as he normally skated with Michael Grabner and Kevin Hayes who are still on the team’s third line. Grabner leads the team with 27 goals and looks to be a one-off here tonight. Ryan McDonagh will quarterback the power play from the back line as he has notched 38 points so far this season from his defensive position. Brady Skjei has also become useful where DFS is concerned as he has tallied five of his 32 points over the last 12 games. The Rangers should be able to improve on their 19-15-2 record in front of the home crowd tonight.
Elite Plays
FLA: None
NYR: Chris Kreider, Derek Stepan
Secondary Plays
FLA: Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Jonathan Marchessault, Vincent Trocheck, Keith Yandle
NYR: Mats Zuccarello, J.T. Miller, Mika Zibanejad, Michael Grabner, Ryan McDonagh
Dallas Stars at Calgary Flames
| Dallas Stars | Calgary Flames | ||||||||
 | Antti Niemi |  | Brian Elliott | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 28-32-10 | 39-27-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.76 | 3.21 | 18.40% | 73.80% | Team Stats | 2.70 | 2.69 | 19.90% | 80.90% |
The Stars have seen their season go up in flames as injuries hit them hard almost all season. Jiri Hudler and Ales Hemsky were supposed to be permanent fixtures in their line up but have only played in 37 games between them so far this season. Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Jason Spezza skated on the top line last night in Vancouver while Hemsky was able to grab a goal playing on the second line with Remi Elie and Cody Eakin. Radek Faksa and Patrick Sharp skate on the team’s third line which could be looked at as a deeper GPP play here as both players have some talent but just haven’t put it together so far this season. The Stars certainly give up a lot of goals but they do have the ability to score some goals as well. Over the past few weeks defenseman Esa Lindell has been receiving most of the minutes on the team’s top power but it may be best to stick with John Klingberg here as his 40 points so far this season is the most by a Dallas defenseman. Klingberg also collected two assists last night while being inserted back on the top power play unit. Dan Hamhuis has found the score sheet just 15 times so far this season which really isn’t much to write home about. You can see why Klingberg is the easy choice here. Dallas is also playing their third game in four nights and may have a tough time keeping up with the upstart Flames.There is a possibility that Benn doesn’t play tonight as he was injured in last night“s game. Check the lineups page here at Rotogrinders for the latest update on this situation.
The Flames are right in the thick of things where the playoffs are concerned in the Western Conference. They finally dropped a 5-2 decision to the Bruins on Wednesday night which was their first loss in the last 11 games. Their 39-27-4 record has the team in third place in the Pacific Division and are a full nine points up of being in any danger of not making the end of the season tournament. Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and Michael Ferland skate on the team’s top line and should be looked at very heavily here for your cash game options tonight. The Stars have given up over 227 goals so far this season and really have no reason to stop that trend now. Gaudreau’s 14 points over the last 11 games has shot him up to take the team scoring lead with 15 goals and 34 assists while Monahan leads the team with 22 goals. Matthew Tkachuk, Mikael Backlund and Michael Frolik skate as the team’s second scoring line and could be a borderline cash play but more so a play for your tournament action tonight. Backlund has done well to keep pace with Gaudreau as his 11 points over the last 11 games have kept him just one point behind the team leader. Gaudreau has appeared in 10 less games than Backlund but that doesn’t mean he won’t find the score sheet tonight. T.J. Brodie gets the call from the back line to take charge of the team’s top power play unit while Dougie Hamilton is the safer play. Hamilton’s 195 shots on goal leads the team as he has grabbed 11 goals and 34 assists as a result of directing all of those shots on net. Calgary should get back up and dust themselves off here tonight as Dallas does not pose a real defensive threat.
Elite Plays
DAL: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn
CGY: Johnny Gaudreau
Secondary Plays
DAL: Jason Spezza, John Klingberg
CGY: Sean Monahan, Mikael Backlund, Dougie Hamilton, Matthew Tkachuk, T.J. Brodie
Buffalo Sabres at Anaheim Ducks
| Buffalo Sabres | Anaheim Ducks | ||||||||
 | Anders Nilsson |  | Jonathan Bernier | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 28-31-12 | 37-23-10 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.54 | 2.82 | 23.40% | 76.40% | Team Stats | 2.57 | 2.47 | 18.60% | 85.10% |
Buffalo completes the cycle here as they are the fourth away team to be playing in their third game in the past four nights. The Sabres have played a bit better this season as their 68 points was just nine points away from the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. This is still almost an impossible mountain to climb as they would have to win at least 75% of their games from here on out while some of the other team’s that they are in contention with would have to flat line the rest of the way. Buffalo has been another team that was hit by injuries with the main one being the injury to Jack Eichel that kept him out of the team’s first 21 games. Eichel makes for a decent one-off play here as he leads the team with 49 points going into last night’s game. Matt Moulson and Sam Reinhart skate with his at even strength while Ryan O’Reilly skates on the top line with Evander Kane and Brian Gionta. Rasmus Ristolainen is one of the better plays from the point tonight as he has notched 43 points so far this season. 24 of those goals have come with the man advantage as he is the only defensemen to skate on the team’s top power play unit. Buffalo plays tough at times but just doesn’t have enough to compete on a nightly basis.
The Ducks look to build on their 23-8-3 record in front of the home crowd as they take on the Buffalo Sabres in a battle of east vs. west tonight. The acquisition of Patrick Eaves has given the team something they have needed for a long time and that is the ability to have more than one line as your main source of scoring. Eaves skates on the top line with Ryan Getzlaf and Rickard Rakell and for all intents and purposes should be the line you target tonight for your cash game plays. Getzlaf and Rakell have each notched nine or more points over the last nine games with Getzlaf leading the team with 13 points in those nine games. Ryan Kesler makes for a decent one-off play almost on any night as he gets the top minutes on the team’s top power play unit while skating with Jakob Silfverberg and Andrew Cogliano on the team’s second line. 18 of Kesler’s 50 points have come with the man advantage which is tied with third liner Corey Perry for the team lead. Speaking of Perry, he has been shuffled down to the third line and does not skate on the top power play unit which makes him more of a one-off play as well. Perry ranks third on the team with 47 points while he skates with Nick Ritchie and Antoine Vermette at even strength. Cam Fowler is the defenseman of choice here as he quarterbacks the team’s top power play unit and has notched 12 of his 33 points with the man advantage. Sami Vatanen could also be used here as he has been afforded the same opportunity that Fowler has had over the past few weeks. The Ducks should be able to come out of this one with a win as Buffalo plays their third game in four nights.
Elite Plays
BUF: Jack Eichel
ANA: Ryan Getzlaf
Secondary Plays
BUF: Rasmus Ristolainen, Ryan O’Reilly, Evander Kane, Sam Reinhart
ANA: Patrick Eaves, Rickard Rakell, Ryan Kesler, Corey Perry, Cam Fowler