NHL Grind Down: Friday, March 25th
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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Washington Capitals at New Jersey Devils – 07:00 PM EDT
| Washington Capitals | New Jersey Devils | ||||||||
 | Braden Holtby |  | Scott Wedgewood | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 52-15-5 | 36-31-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.15 | 2.35 | 23.20% | 84.40% | Team Stats | 2.26 | 2.47 | 20.80% | 82.10% |
With the President’s Trophy all but locked up, the Washington Capitals don’t have too much left to play for. However, with their net-minder Braden Holtby sitting just four wins from tying Martin Brodeur for the single-season NHL record, they should be motivated to provide him some offensive support. They’ll head to New Jersey tonight for the final battle against a New Jersey team that was in action last night in Pittsburgh and who Washington has easily swept aside in all three previous meetings this season. Alex Ovechkin leads the NHL with 43 goals this season and has scored a pair of goals and added two assists in those three prior games against New Jersey, solidifying him as a top-tier play this evening. With that said, he’s cooled off a bit down the stretch and has admitted to being bothered a bit by a nagging lower-body injury, so it’s a more difficult decision than normal when deciding to pay his lofty asking-price. Ovechkin is slated to be joined by his long-time partner Nicklas Backstrom as well as Justin Williams on the top forward line, leaving budding star Evgeny Kuznetsov to skate alongside T.J. Oshie and Andre Burakovsky on the second line. Kuznetsov leads the team with 73 points in 72 games and his plus 28 gives him a huge boost on sites that reward plus/minus. Oshie has thrived alongside Kuznetsov, scoring his career-high 23rd goal of the season in Ottawa on Tuesday and posting six goals and four assists in 11 games this month. With John Carlson still ruled out for at least the next two games, Matt Niskanen will continue to see plenty of run on the point of Washington’s NHL leading power-play. He’s been quiet lately but does own a goal and two assists in three games against New Jersey and still sports a very reasonable asking-price. Update: T.J. Oshie will not play tonight
The Devils pulled out a surprising 3-0 shutout victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins last night, but it’ll still be hard to trust them in daily fantasy tonight as they host the Washington Capitals. They’re the slowest paced team in the entire NHL (91.4 CP60) and a league low 2.26 goals per game this season. The Capitals have owned them in all three prior meetings, but on a three game slate, they still deserve at least a cursory review. Kyle Palmieri scored two more goals last night and now sits just one goal shy of his first career 30-goal season. The former first-round pick has poured on the offense lately, posting six goals and six assists in his last ten games and has posted a goal and two assists in those three prior meetings with the Capitals. Alternatively, the newly acquired Devante Smith-Pelly has actually thrived with his new team. He skates alongside the talented Adam Henrique on the Devils’ top line and owns seven goals and four assists in just ten games wearing a Devils sweater. His center Henrique has posted eight goals in 11 games this month and looks like a nice option to stake with DSP in a few GPPs. Defensively, this team has not received much offensive production this season and therefore there’s not too much to like. Damon Severson runs the point of the top power-play unit and has chipped in four assists in his last four games, making him the most appealing option of the bunch.
Washington Capitals
CF%: 50.4, CP60: 109.8, 5×5 Differential: 36
Elite Options: Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Niklas Backstrom
Secondary Options: Justin Williams, Matt Niskanen
New Jersey Devils
CF%: 46.6, CP60: 91.4, 5×5 Differential: -22
Elite Options: None
Secondary Options: Kyle Palmieri, Adam Henrique, Devante Smith-Pelly, Damon Severson
New York Islanders at Tampa Bay Lightning – 07:30 PM EDT
| New York Islanders | Tampa Bay Lightning | ||||||||
 | Thomas Greiss |  | Ben Bishop | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 39-24-9 | 42-26-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.72 | 2.46 | 18.80% | 85.40% | Team Stats | 2.73 | 2.33 | 16.50% | 83.70% |
With the Islanders at least now suddenly at least slightly concerned about their playoff chances, tonight’s game in Tampa Bay looms as much more important that it would have seemed just two weeks ago. After having dropped six of their last seven games, New York seemed to finally stop the bleeding with a crucial win on Wednesday night over the Ottawa Senators. This Islanders watched as both the Red Wings and Flyers pulled within two points of them for the last playoff spot, putting some heightened importance on tonight’s game. Captain John Tavares leads this team with 57 points and scored a goal in the first meeting against this Islander’s squad. He scored his 27th goal of the season on Wednesday and centers Ryan Strome and Josh Bailey on the top forward line. Kyle Okposo joins up with Tavares on the #1 power-play unit and trails just behind him with 56 points in 70 games. He’s posted five goals and five assists in 12 games this month and, with Frans Nielsen as his center, provides Jack Capuano with a very dangerous secondary scoring line. On defense, both Nick Leddy and Johnny Boychuk deserve your attention on such a short slate. While the matchup is far from ideal, both players see significant playing time with the man-advantage and have shown plenty of offensive upside.
With an enormous battle awaiting them against the Florida Panthers tomorrow night, the Lightning will need to stay focused on tonight’s opponent, the New York Islanders. Tampa Bay is fresh off of a 6-2 beat down of the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday and find themselves in a dog-fight with their cross-state counterparts for the Atlantic Division title. With the Islanders having struggled their way to a 17-15-5 road record this season, Tampa certainly requires your attention on this three game slate. John Cooper’s squad is led by the dangerous duo of Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov (along with Alex Killorn) on the top forward line. While they’ll likely see plenty of Frans Nielsen pestering defense, both players are for the team lead with 60 points this season and have thrived on home ice, combining for 31 goals and 38 assists in 36 games at Amalie Arena. While injuries to both Valtteri Filppula and Ryan Callahan thin them out a bit up-front, Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson still join forces on a very dangerous secondary scoring line. Palat has lit the lamp in back-to-back games and has now posted seven goals and three assists in ten games this month. New York’s impressive 85.4% penalty kill may take some of the allure away from the Tampa Bay blue-line, but both Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman are simply too good to ignore. Hedman has dished out four assists in his last three games and quarterbacks their very dangerous #1 power-play, making him the top option. Leddy has posted an impressive 19 points (two goals and 17 assists) in 25 games since the All-Star break and finally snapped out of a six game scoring drought with an assist on Wednesday.
New York Islanders
CF%: 49.9, CP60: 112.1, 5×5 Differential: 8
Elite Options: John Tavares, Kyle Okposo
Secondary Options: Frans Nielsen, Anders Lee, Nick Leddy, Johnny Boychuk
Tampa Bay Lightning
CF%: 52.2, CP60: 106.9, 5×5 Differential: 19
Elite Options: Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman
Secondary Options: Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, Alex Killorn, Anton Stralman
Vancouver Canucks at St. Louis Blues – 08:00 PM EDT
| Vancouver Canucks | St. Louis Blues | ||||||||
 | Ryan Miller |  | Brian Elliott | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 27-33-12 | 43-22-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.26 | 2.83 | 16.50% | 81.90% | Team Stats | 2.57 | 2.45 | 21.70% | 84.80% |
The Canucks finally managed to score their first goal in nearly 235 minutes of play last night in the Music City, but their futility was still very much on display as they gave up a pair of goals late in the third period to ultimately fall 3-2 in a shootout against the Nashville Predators. Vancouver has now dropped six straight games and are tied with the New Jersey Devils with a league low 2.26 goals per game this season. This is your prototypical one-line team as the Sedin twins are responsible for a disproportionate amount of Vancouver’s offense and are really the only two players I’d be at all comfortable using in cash games tonight. Daniel Sedin has posted a solid 27 goals, 32 assists and plus 10 in 73 games this season and his 236 SOG ranks him 12th in the NHL. Jannik Hansen plays the third wheel on the top line with the Sedin’s, which single-handedly lands him on the fantasy radar. On defense, Ben Hutton has been the beneficiary of injuries to Alex Edler and Yannick Weber. The rookie has been quiet lately, but sports a cheap price tag, mans the point of the #1 power-play unit and has posted a respectable ten assists in his last 21 games.
Two odd back-to-back losses to the Oilers and Flames aside, Ken Hitchock has this St. Louis team playing its best hockey of the season at the right time. The Blues picked up a key shutout victory over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday and have now won eight of their last ten games. With the Dallas Stars in their sites for the crown in the Central Division (and likely the #1 seed in the Western Conference), they should be very motivated to pick up two more points against the visiting Vancouver Canucks before heading to Washington for Saturday’s clash with the NHL leading Washington Capitals. Vladimir Tarasenko is the focal point of this offense (specially with Alex Steen still sidelined) and leads the STL line alongside Jaden Schwartz and Jori Lehtera. Those three have combined for three goals and five assists in the two prior meetings with Vancouver this season and are very fine cash game options tonight. Schwartz has been particularly hot lately, posting three goals and eight assists in ten games this month. Alternatively, rookie Robby Fabbri has emerged as a legitimate scoring threat on the second line. The former first round pick leads the team with 18 points in 22 games since the All-Star break and looks quite comfortable alongside Paul Stastny and Troy Brouwer on the second line. On the blue-line, Kevin Shattenkirk has proven to be the most dangerous weapon, but both Alex Pietrangelo and Colton Parayko sit at 29 points on the season and see plenty of run on the point of the #2 power-play unit. If you can’t afford to roster Shattenkirk, they’re both fine secondary options.
Vancouver Canucks
CF%: 47.3, CP60: 104.3, 5×5 Differential: -22
Elite Options: Daniel Sedin
Secondary Options: Henrik Sedin, Jannik Hansen, Ben Hutton
St. Louis Blues
CF%: 51.8, CP60: 106.7, 5×5 Differential: 10
Elite Options: Vladimir Tarasenko, Jaden Schwartz, Robby Fabbri, Kevin Shattenkirk
Secondary Options: Jori Lehtera, Paul Stastny, David Backes, Alex Pietrangelo, Colton Parayko