NHL Grind Down: Friday, March 23rd

by Ben (benwell311) Last Updated 2018-04-04 01:46:07 Premium Content Part of the product Combo Lite

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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.

Note: As always, if you want to try a new DFS site, be sure to click through a RotoGrinders link and use our DraftKings promo code and FanDuel promo code to receive the best perks in the industry.

Stackability Rating System (Offense):

Green : Friendly matchup at 5v5 and/or on the power play; multiple lines worth stacking
Yellow : Line specific matchup at 5v5 and/or friendly power play matchup
Orange : Stacking is best left for GPPs, secondary scoring units and/or power play in tough matchup
Red : Difficult 5v5 and/or power play matchup, stacking not advisable

Stackability Rating System (Goalies):

Green : Goalie has a plus draw and is playable in all formats
Yellow : There is risk at 5v5 or the penalty kill; iffy for cash games and better for GPPs
Orange : Realistic risk at 5v5 and the penalty kill; not advisable in cash games but viable in GPPs
Red : Elevated risk in all situations and not a recommend crease to chase

Team Ranking Key
CF = Corsi For = shot attempts generated
CA = Corsi Allowed = shot attempts allowed
xGF = expected goals scored
xGA = expected goals allowed
Numbers in parentheses denote the league ranking for the particular metric.

New York Rangers at Philadelphia Flyers

New York Rangers					Philadelphia Flyers
			Alexandar Georgiev					Alex Lyon
			Record					Record
			32-33-8					37-25-12
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.84	3.16	21.86	82.81	Team Stats	2.97	2.88	20.33	75.73

Rangers Offensive Outlook

5v5 (adj): 52.57 CF/60 (30) | 64.39 CA/60 (2) | 2.41 xGF/60 (1) | 2.63 xGA/60 (1)

Apparently nobody told the Rangers they are supposed to have folded it in by now and get run over by their opponents down the stretch. The offense has been plugging away since the trade deadline and hasn’t look terrible. Sure, they still struggle mightily to create shot attempts and carry play at 5v5, but they remain a good team at generating high-danger shot attempts and finish hasn’t been a problem.

Philadelphia is an odd team. They have some very strong defensive metrics, but their forward group falls off relatively fast after the top six and they have been struggling to keep pucks out of the net due to poor goaltending. They do have a solid blueline group and a shutdown center in Sean Couturier, so the matchup shouldn’t be considered favorable for the Rangers.

Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider have been producing of late, impressive as they have had Jesper Fast on their line rather than Pavel Buchnevich. They’ve also been doing well on the power play. Unfortunately for them tonight, they are almost sure to get the Couturier line at 5v5. They have a very tough matchup both up the middle of the ice and on the enemy blueline, so some caution is warranted here. Speaking of Buchnevich, he’s been skating on a productive line with Vladislav Namestnikov and Jimmy Vesey. On home ice this line can skate under the radar a bit with Kevin Hayes, Ryan Spooner, and Mats Zuccarello working against opposing second lines, but that likely won’t be the case here. There’s been a bit of a lack of quality with production (in limited minutes) though shot volume has been healthy. The Hayes line will likely get the best matchup at 5v5 though they also arguably have the lower offensive ceiling. This line has actually been horrific at 5v5, posting a miserable 30.42% CF% in about 70 minutes together, so they can’t be trusted. It would be worse for them if they wind up out against the Flyer second line.

Rangers Special Teams Outlook
The Rangers do not have a favorable power play matchup tonight. Not only do the Flyers go shorthanded at a muted rate (2.8 times per game) but they have been fantastic limiting the scoring chances to opposing power plays. Overall shot attempt quantity and quality isn’t elevated either, so there aren’t a ton of cracks here besides poor goaltending.

Rangers Goaltending Outlook
With the Rangers playing for next year, the Blue Shirts will give another start to Alexander Georgiev. Through seven NHL games this year, Georgiev has a solid .922 all situation save percentage. That’s actually pretty impressive considering the defense playing in front of him. While the Flyers don’t have very strong offensive ratios, they do have some highly skilled forwards in their top six and a dangerous power play. New York has one of the worst defenses in the league, so the matchup really needs to be elite for any Ranger goaltender to be started with confidence.

Flyers Offensive Outlook