NHL Grind Down: Friday, March 4th
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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Edmonton Oilers at Columbus Blue Jackets – 07:00 PM EST
| Edmonton Oilers | Columbus Blue Jackets | ||||||||
 | Cam Talbot |  | Joonas Korpisalo | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 24-34-7 | 26-30-8 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.37 | 2.95 | 17.00% | 80.40% | Team Stats | 2.53 | 3.00 | 17.60% | 81.00% |
The Oilers are simply tough to figure out; after dropping 10 of their last 11 games, they’ve now picked up three straight victories and played one of their best games of the season last night in a shutout win over the Philadelphia Flyers. While their inconsistencies make them a little bit risky, each of their top two lines is undeniable talented in the offensive zone. The Blue Jackets may be playing much better lately, but they’ve still allowed 3.00 goals per game this season and Edmonton steam-rolled them 5-1 in their only other meeting. Connor McDavid picked up another assist last night to extend his point streak to four games and has now racked up 32 points in his first 29 NHL games. He scored a goal and dished out two assists in that first meeting with Columbus and is thriving with Jordan Eberle on his wing. With Teddy Purcell shipped to Florida, former first overall pick Nail Yakupov has now been given the chance to join them on the top line. He scored a goal on five shots last night and is extremely cheap on most sites. Taylor Hall still leads this team in scoring with 55 points in 66 games and finally snapped a five game scoring drought with his 21st goal of the season last night. Leon Draisaitl is in the midst of a fine rookie season of his own and has developed a nice rapport with Hall on the second line. He lit the lamp against the Blue Jackets in that first meeting and also carries a very reasonable asking price.
A late short-handed goal by Derek Stepan cost the Blue Jackets at least on point at Madison Square Garden on Monday night. While John Tortorella would have loved to steal a victory from his former team, he does have this Columbus team playing much better down the stretch as they’ve posted a solid 9-3-3 record over their last 15 games. They haven’t been realistic cash game options very often this season, but that changes tonight as they host the defensively challenged Edmonton Oilers on a three game slate. However, the problem with targeting Columbus is that they’re scoring has been very balanced across each of their top three scoring lines this season. Scott Hartnell leads the team with 41 points but he’s also one of seven forwards in this lineup that has topped the 30-point plateau. Hartnell will skate alongside Alexander Wennberg and Nick Foligno on one line, with Brandon Dubinsky centering Cam Atkinson and Boone Jenner on another. Brandon Saad has tallied 17 goals and eight assists in 31 home games this season and is also very much in play as he sees plenty of run on the top power-play unit. Ryan Murray and Seth Jones were both recently named to the Team North America roster for the upcoming World Cup of Hockey and look like fine options on the blue-line tonight as they share the duties on the point of Columbus’ top power-play unit.
Edmonton Oilers
CF%: 48.9, CP60: 109.7, 5×5 Differential: -29
Elite Options: Connor McDavid, Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle
Secondary Options: Leon Draisaitl, Nail Yakupov, Andrej Sekera
Columbus Blue Jackets
CF%: 48.1, CP60: 108, 5×5 Differential: -10
Elite Options: Scott Hartnell, Brandon Dubinsky, Brandon Saad
Secondary Options: Cam Atkinson, Nick Foligno, Seth Jones
New York Rangers at Washington Capitals – 07:00 PM EST
| New York Rangers | Washington Capitals | ||||||||
 | Henrik Lundqvist |  | Braden Holtby | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 37-20-6 | 47-12-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.81 | 2.49 | 17.40% | 77.80% | Team Stats | 3.25 | 2.30 | 23.90% | 84.50% |
The Pittsburgh Penguins took some wind of the sails of the New York Rangers last night, putting an end to their three-game winning streak with an emphatic 4-1 victory. They won’t have much time to recover as they’ll make the trip to our Nation’s Capital to take on the NHL leading Washington Capitals. Needless to say, this is not a matchup you’d usually want to target in your cash games, but on a three game slate, you may just have no choice. With Eric Staal added to the mix, Alain Vigneault now has three very solid forward lines at his disposal. Mats Zuccarello leads the team with 48 points in 64 games and is joined by Derek Stepan and Chris Kreider on the top forward line. Kreider has scored goals in three of the last four games and owns three goals in his three prior meetings against the Capitals this season. Alternatively, Derick Brassard joins those three on the top power-play unit and leads J.T. Miller and Jesper Fast on the second line. However, his home versus road splits are very alarming (just five goals and five assists in 32 road games), rendering him better suited for GPP use only. Both Ryan McDonagh and Keith Yandle are fine defensive options on a nightly basis, however Washington’s superb 84.5% penalty kill is a bit of a buzz-kill.
You wouldn’t really notice it from the results as they’ve lost just twice in their last nine games, but this Washington team is actually struggling a bit right now. They mustered up just 23 shots on goal against the feeble Toronto Maple Leafs in a 3-2 win on Wednesday and have been falling behind early way too often that Barry Trotz is comfortable with. Still this team sits with a double-digit point lead in the race for the President’s trophy, has posted a 26-5-2 record at the Verizon Center, and have steam-rolled this Rangers team in each of their last three meetings. Alex Ovechkin potted his league-leading 41st goal of the season against Toronto on Monday and has already lit the lamp five times in the four prior meetings with the Rangers this season. One a three game night, he’s a dangerous player to fade in cash games. He’ll once again be joined by the very dangerous duo of Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie on the top forward line and #1 power-play unit and both players have been putting up big numbers recently. With an assist on Wednesday, Evgeny Kuznetsov extended his scoring streak to four games and still holds the team lead with 66 points in 63 games and his +30 is the best mark in the entire NHL. He’s joined by Justin Williams whose having a solid season with 19 goals and 25 assists (and a +20) in 63 games and who has also absolutely torched the Rangers for six goals and three assists in their four meetings. With John Carlson out of commission for the next few weeks, Matt Niskanen remains a terrific value on the blue-line. He scored the game-winner against Toronto on Wednesday and has picked up three points in his last four games.
New York Rangers
CF%: 47.7, CP60: 107.4, 5×5 Differential: 36
Elite Options: Mats Zuccarello
Secondary Options: Derek Stepan, Chris Kreider, Derick Brassard, Ryan McDonagh, Keith Yandle
Washington Capitals
CF%: 50.3, CP60: 109.9, 5×5 Differential: 36
Elite Options: Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Matt Niskanen
Secondary Options: Justin Williams, T.J. Oshie, Dmitri Orlov
New Jersey Devils at Dallas Stars – 08:30 PM EST
| New Jersey Devils | Dallas Stars | ||||||||
 | Keith Kinkaid |  | Antti Niemi | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 30-27-7 | 38-20-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.16 | 2.34 | 20.40% | 82.70% | Team Stats | 3.18 | 2.88 | 21.80% | 79.10% |
In a strange battle between two polar opposite teams, the New Jersey Devils will head to Dallas to battle the Stars for the second time this season. While New Jersey has easily been the slowest paced team in the NHL this season (90.6 CP60), they’ll have their hands full trying to slow down a Dallas team that’s ranked as the fastest paced team all season (116.8 CP60). New Jersey exploded for five goals in a win against Nashville last night, but with Michael Cammalleri still watching from the press box and Lee Stempniak in a Bruins uniform, there’s very little to like here from a fantasy perspective. Adam Henrique scored a pair of goals last night and has three in his last two games. He’s the face of this franchise and picked up two assists against Dallas in their first meeting. Alternatively, Kyle Palmieri leads the team with 24 goals and is fresh off of a one goal and two assists performance last night. He scored a goal against Dallas in that other meeting and logs a healthy dose of playing time from the point of the top power-play unit.
There’s a bit of panic in the air in “Big D” as the Stars fell 5-3 in Nashville on Tuesday for their fourth straight loss and have now lost seven of their last eight games. They’ve fallen behind the Chicago Blackhawks for the division lead in the Central Division and are on the verge of losing home-ice advantage all together as the St. Louis Blues sit tied with them in second place. They’ll host the New Jersey Devils tonight hoping to avenge an earlier overtime loss against them in their only previous meeting this season. While New Jersey’s style of clogging up the neutral zone and trying to grind their way to two points makes this a less than ideal matchup, Dallas simply has too much firepower to ignore on the three game slate. It all starts on the top forward line where Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin are ranked second and third in the entire NHL in scoring this season. With Patrick Sharp out of commission, they’re slated to once again be joined by the talented Valeri Nichushkin, making him one of the best value plays on the board tonight. Jason Spezza scored his 22nd goal of the season on Tuesday and has tallied four goals in his last six games. He often goes overlooked, making him a very appealing GPP target. On the blue-line, John Klingberg has racked up 53 points 65 games and quarterbacks the top power-play unit.
New Jersey Devils
CF%: 46.8, CP60: 90.6, 5×5 Differential: -15
Elite Options: None
Secondary Options: Adam Henrique, Kyle Palmieri
Dallas Stars
CF%: 53.5, CP60: 116.8, 5×5 Differential: 3
Elite Options: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, John Klingberg
Secondary Options: Jason Spezza, Valeri Nichushkin, Mattias Janmark, Alex Goligoski, Kris Russell