NHL Grind Down: Friday, March 24th
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.
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New York Islanders at Pittsburgh Penguins
| New York Islanders | Pittsburgh Penguins | ||||||||
 | Thomas Greiss |  | Marc-Andre Fleury | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 34-26-12 | 46-17-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.92 | 2.99 | 15.80% | 80.60% | Team Stats | 3.46 | 2.72 | 22.30% | 80.30% |
The Islanders shuffled up their lines a bit before beating the Rangers at Madison Square Garden by a score of 3-2 two nights ago. The shuffling continued during the game as the only constant was the duo of John Tavares and Josh Bailey as they saw over 22% of the ice time on the same even strength line while Anders Lee and Andrew Ladd seemed to be the ‘fill ins’ so to speak. The injury to Ryan Strome has a little to do with this as well as he will remained sidelined with a broken wrist he suffered on Wednesday night. The win kept the Islanders in playoff contention as their 80 points has them on the outside looking in as both Toronto and Boston started last night with 83 and 82 points respectively which saw the bruins holding tightly to the eighth and final playoff spot. Tavares is the safest bet here as he has grabbed six of his team leading 62 points over the last seven games. Anthony Beauvillier and Josh Ho-Sang have been starting to gel a little as both have lit the lamp twice while assisting on four other goals over the last seven games. On a short slate like tonight’s it would make sense to throw them into one of your GPP lineups as not only are the Penguins a bit depleted, they will certainly have their best defensive unit against the Tavares line. Defenseman Nick Leddy is the most offensive defenseman the Islanders have and should be considered here. Leddy gets most of the extra time when New York draws a penalty and has grabbed five of his 40 points over the last two weeks.
The Penguins latest casualty has come in the form of Jake Guentzel as he was rammed into by Risto Ristolainen which ended up as a three game suspension for the Sabre’s defenseman while Guentzel suffered a concussion and now is listed as day-to-day. Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin have been out for a few games and did not return in last night’s 2-1 loss against the Ottawa Senators. Sidney Crosby and Conor Sheary saw Scott Wilson skate with them on the top line while Matt Cullen centered Phil Kessel and Patric Hornqvist. Crosby and Sheary or Kessel and Hornqvist are the pairs to play here as they soak up most of the extra ice time when the Penguins go on the power play. You could get a little fancy here as Chris Kunitz is skating on the third line but will more than likely be the first winger to take Wilson’s place if the Penguins don’t like what they see out of him. Justin Schultz mans the point on the top power play unit form the point and makes a decidedly good play here tonight. Schultz has racked up 19 of his 48 points with the man advantage while filling in for the injured Letang. Pittsburgh should have no problem taking care of the Islanders and improving on their 29-4-3 record in front of the home crowd.
Elite Plays
NYI: John Tavares
PIT: Sidney Crosby
Secondary Plays
PIT: Conor Sheary, Phil Kessel, Justin Schultz, Patric Hornqvist
NYI: Anders Lee, Josh Bailey, Josh Ho-Sang, Nick Leddy
Tampa Bay Lightning at Detroit Red Wings
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Detroit Red Wings | ||||||||
 | Andrei Vasilevskiy |  | Petr Mrazek | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 35-29-9 | 29-32-11 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.69 | 2.79 | 22.30% | 80.50% | Team Stats | 2.39 | 2.96 | 14.00% | 81.50% |
The Lightning were very much in the playoff hunt going into last night’s tilt at the Boston Bruins as they trailed them by five points for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The top line of Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat will no doubt be the line that Detroit tries to shut down tonight but the real question is can they? Kucherov had tallied six goals and four assists in the last 10 games before last night’s game and was leading the team with 73 points in 65 games. Defenseman Victor Hedman is enjoying a productive season as well as his 60 points has him second on the team and is 15 points ahead of the next Lightning player. It’s obvious that most of Tampa Bay’s scoring goes through these two players which would give them more of a cash game feel tonight. Alex Killorn and Jonathan Drouin are centered by Vladimir Namestnikov on the team’s second line and could be used for tournament play here. Drouin is the one-off play here however as he finds himself with the top line and Hedman when the Lightning have the extra attacker. 21 of Drouin 45 points have come on the power play as he has played in 63 games so far this season. Tampa will have to ‘keep on keepin’ on here’ as their win last night over Boston has them now three points from playing some extra hockey next month.
The Red Wings come into this one as nothing but spoilers as their 69 points doesn’t look like it will get the job done this season. The Lightning still have a slim chance of making the playoffs but need a bit of help as they trail the Boston Bruins by three points for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Henrik Zetterberg, Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar is the line to target here as they have been together for the past few weeks and Detroit in some games as they have combined for eight goals and 14 assists over the last seven games. With Tampa fresh off playing at Boston last night this looks like a pretty solid play here. Frans Nielsen, Anthony Mantha and Riley Sheahan skate on the team’s second line while Andreas Athanasiou, Dylan Larkin and Justin Abdelkader try their best on the third line. Defenseman Mike Green is the choice on the back line here as he has 32 points to his credit in the 62 games he has suited up for. Niklas Kronwall seems some time on the power play and has seen six of his paltry 11 points come via the man advantage. Look for this game to be pretty sloppy which could yield a few goals.
Elite Plays
TB: Nikita Kucherov
DET: Henrik Zetterberg
Secondary Plays
TB: Victor Hedman, Jonathan Drouin, Brayden Point, Ondrej Palat
DET: Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar, Anthony Mantha, Mike Green
San Jose Sharks at Dallas Stars
| San Jose Sharks | Dallas Stars | ||||||||
 | Martin Jones |  | Antti Niemi | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 42-24-7 | 29-33-11 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.66 | 2.34 | 16.60% | 81.70% | Team Stats | 2.73 | 3.14 | 17.80% | 74.00% |
San Jose will look to get back on track here as their four-game losing streak has them on the verge of being caught by the Anaheim Ducks for the Pacific Division crown. Two points separate the two teams with just nine games left to play so look for the Sharks to maybe shake things up a little here as they have managed just four goals in the last four games. Patrick Marleau has been placed on the top line with Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton which also serves as 60% of the team’s top power play unit. Pavelski leads the team with 28 of his 64 goals finding the back of the net while firing 214 shots on net so far this season. Logan Couture makes for a decent one-off play here as his eight points over the last eight games leads the team in that category. His line mates however are a different story as Joel Ward and Mikkel Boedker have combined for just two points over that same time frame. Couture’s value obviously comes from when he joins the top unit when the Ducks have the extra attacker as he has racked up 11 of his 25 goals with the man advantage. Defenseman Brent Burns has been cold of late as although he leads the team with 70 points in 73 games, three points is all he has been able to muster over the last two weeks. Look for San Jose to break out here and avenge a 1-0 loss to this same team in this building just four nights ago.
It won’t be long now until we can thank the Dallas Stars for participating in the NHL’s 2016-2017 campaign this season. Their 68 points going into last night’s action had the team 15 points behind the Nashville Predators for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference going into last night. With only 10 games left they could only accumulate 20 points so you can see why they are almost done. Dallas is prone to switch lines frequently so sticking with the top guns is usually the way to go. Tyler Seguin is a good place to start for your cash games as he leads the team in goals and assists while skating alongside of Remi Elie and Brett Ritchie. Jamie Benn is second on the team with 63 points and sees Cody Eakin and Ales Hemsky as his line mates. This is how they lined up last night in Chicago so all it takes is for Lindy Ruff to have one of his epiphanies and the whole thing could be blown up by puck drop tonight. Defenseman John Klingberg leads the charge from the back line as he has grabbed 42 points so far this season which leads the next Dallas defenseman by 27 points. You see where this is going. Esa Lindell has seen some power play time but that has dried up because of lack of production. Dallas could be a bit sluggish tonight after playing in Chicago last night.
Elite Plays
SJ: Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns
DAL: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn
Secondary Plays
SJ: Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton
DAL: John Klingberg, Cody Eakin, Patrick Sharp
Winnipeg Jets at Anaheim Ducks
| Winnipeg Jets | Anaheim Ducks | ||||||||
 | Michael Hutchinson |  | Jonathan Bernier | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 33-34-7 | 39-23-11 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.99 | 3.16 | 17.60% | 76.20% | Team Stats | 2.56 | 2.44 | 18.00% | 84.90% |
Winnipeg had won their last three games before playing in Los Angeles against the Kings last night. That game ended terribly as the Jets ended up giving the Kings four power play opportunities in which they were scored upon on three of them in a losing 5-2 effort. Winnipeg’s problem has been defending their own net for most of the season and I would think that would be the case tonight as they play their second game in two nights. Nikolaj Ehlers, Bryan Little and Patrik Laine play on the team’s top line while Mark Scheifele centers Blake Wheeler and Mathieu Perreault on the team’s second line. The Ducks will probably opt to try and shut down Laine as his 33 goals leads the team. This is the only part of the game that Winnipeg has been smart in as Scheifele is on the second line and leads the team with 74 points so far this season. This is a big reason why the Jets have scored the third most goals in the Western Conference, the reason they won’t make the playoffs however is the fact that they have given up 232 goals so far this season. Even if you don’t follow hockey you can see the problem. Defenseman Dustin Byfuglien is the play on the back line as he mans the point when the Jets draw a penalty. Byfuglien has tallied 47 points so far this season as he logs over 27 minutes of ice time per game. I wouldn’t expect the Jets to win tonight, but scoring goals isn’t out of the question.
As mentioned above, Anaheim has been steadily rising to the top of the Pacific Division as their 7-2-1 record over the last 10 games has the team just two points away from the division leading San Jose Sharks. Winnipeg comes into this one fresh off playing late in Los Angeles tonight and that can’t be good for a team that has given up 232 goals so far this season. It looks like the Ducks went back to having just defenseman Cam Fowler on the top power play unit and using Patrick Eaves, Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler and Jakob Silfverberg as the top unit with the man advantage. Rickard Rakell can be added along with Getzlaf and Eaves to be one of the as possibly the safest cash line plays of the night. Getzlaf leads the team with 62 points while Rakell’s 32 goals is the most of and Duck so far this season. Kesler makes for a decent one-off play here as 18 of his 50 points have come with the extra attacker. Skating on the second line with Silfverberg and Andrew Cogliano could make for an interesting GPP play against a team that loves to give up goals. Fowler is usually the play from the back line as he gets the extra ice time but hasn’t been producing of late as the Ducks have seen five different defesneman grab at least a point over the last two weeks with Hampus Lindholm leading the group with three total points. Anaheim is playing solid hockey of late and should have no problem improving on their 24-8-4 record in front of the home crowd tonight.
Elite Plays
WIN: Patrik Laine, Mark Scheifele
ANA: Ryan Getzlaf
Secondary Plays
WIN: Blake Wheeler, Nikolaj Ehlers, Bryan Little, Dustin Byfuglien
ANA; Rickard Rakell, Patrick Eaves, Ryan Kesler, Cam Fowler, Jakob Silfverberg