NHL Grind Down: Friday, November 25th
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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.
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New York Rangers at Philadelphia Flyers
| New York Rangers | Philadelphia Flyers | ||||||||
 | Henrik Lundqvist |  | Steve Mason | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 14-6-1 | 9-9-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.90 | 2.48 | 22.20% | 86.20% | Team Stats | 3.10 | 3.33 | 25.70% | 80.30% |
Turnabout is fair play as the Pittsburgh Penguins boat raced the New York Rangers in the second period Tuesday night to go on to a 5-1 win at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers will try to get back on track as they take the short trip down I-95 to take on the Philadelphia Flyers. Chris Kreider, Kevin Hayes and Mats Zuccarello look to be the line to target this afternoon as the Flyers will more than likely try to shut down the top line of Michael Grabner, Derek Stepan and Rick Nash. Grabner leads the team with 12 goals so far this season, while Nash and Stepan have tallied 13 points apiece in the first 21 games. Zuccarello and Hayes, however, have combined for four goals and five assists over the last five games. If you want to dive deeper for GPP plays, Brandon Pirri and J.T. Miller make a perfect pair on the road from the third line, as Miller has garnered 18 points in 21 game while Pirri still gets the top minutes on the teams power play. Speaking of extra minutes, defenseman Ryan McDonagh leads the team in assists with 13 of them while logging over 23 minutes of ice time per night. Look for the Rangers to score a few goals here against a leaky Philadelphia defense that has given up 72 goals so far this season.
The Flyers will look to the top line of Claude Giroux, Brayden Schenn and Jake Voracek to carry the team to victory today. So what else is new? All you need to do is add Wayne Simmonds to the mix as he plays on the top power play line with them and you have the Flyers top four scorers on the team. After that, the Flyers lineup is riddled with players that they have been hanging onto hoping that they are going to break through. Matt Read and Michael Raffl are just a couple of those type of players that have had their shot but just have not produced. With the injury to Sean Couturier, Nick Cousins is now getting his shot on the second line with Simmonds to see what he can do and so far the jury is still out. He has tallied two goals over the last five games but I’d like to see him have more than eight shots over that same time period before we go crowning him a top six player. Shayne Gostisbehere gets the extra minutes on the power play from the back line, but it looks like fellow defenseman Ivan Provorov is heating up, as he has tallied three of his nine points over the last five games.
Elite Plays
NYR: None
PHL: Claude Giroux
Secondary Plays
NYR: Jimmy Hayes, Chris Kreider, Rick Nash, Michael Grabner, Ryan McDonagh
PHL: Wayne Simmonds, Jakub Voracek, Brayden Schenn
New York Islanders at San Jose Sharks
| New York Islanders | San Jose Sharks | ||||||||
 | Jaroslav Halak |  | Martin Jones | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 6-9-4 | 11-8-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.42 | 3.05 | 12.30% | 79.50% | Team Stats | 2.35 | 2.15 | 16.90% | 88.20% |
The Islanders have only won two games in the month of November, but thanks to going into overtime in four of their eight losses, they have been able to manage at least a point in those games. This is their last game out west before they head home to face Calgary on Monday, so look for them to still be a little ragged here tonight against the Sharks. Brock Nelson and Ryan Strome skate on the team’s second line while getting the call for duty on the Islanders top power play unit. It is for this reason that they make a nice GPP combination, as surely San Jose will want to try to shut down John Tavares, Josh Bailey and Anthony Beauvillier who make up the team’s top line. The New Yorkers have only scored nine goals over the last six games, so going hog wild here may be a fatal mistake. Tavares leads the team with 14 points in 19 games, so taking him as a one-off in GPPs may not be a bad idea. Nick Leddy leads a defensive unit that has probably seen better days as he leads them in with eight points while getting minutes on the top power play unit. I wouldn’t expect here from a listless Islanders club that sits at the bottom of the Metropolitan division.
San Jose is pretty cut and dried when they play at home, and now that they have moved Patrick Marleau to the top line, it’s even easier. Marleau, Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski make up the team’s top line power play unit. Logan Couture joins them from the second line, which makes him a great one-off play here while defenseman Brent Burns continues to pile up the points. Burns has four points over the last four games and five of his team leading 18 points have come with the man advantage. Besides the injured Tomas Hertl anyone else on the team barely has an average of a point for every three games played. This is not what we are looking for even in GPP play so sticking with the top five is the way to go on home ice tonight.
Elite Plays
NYI: None
ANA: Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski
Secondary Plays
NYI: Brock Nelson, Nick Leddy, Josh Bailey
ANA: Logan Couture, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau
Chicago Blackhawks at Anaheim Ducks
| Chicago Blackhawks | Anaheim Ducks | ||||||||
 | Corey Crawford |  | John Gibson | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 13-6-2 | 9-7-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.90 | 2.57 | 17.60% | 68.70% | Team Stats | 2.60 | 2.40 | 21.70% | 83.60% |
Things could get a bit messy here, as Jonathan Toews had left the last game with an injury. If he cannot go today, it’s anyone’s guess as to what head coach Joel Quenville will do. I would imagine that Patrick Kane would return back to the right wing and play with Artemi Panarin and Artem Anisimov. When Anisimov was hurt Marcus Kruger was moved up to the top six, which would make sense here to play with Marian Hossa and the flavor-of-the-week left winger. Unfortunatley Quenville is not into making things easy, as it looks like Vincent Hinostroza and Ryan Hartman will play on a line with Hossa which will make the Kane line ‘sitting ducks’ for Anaheim to easily match up on home ice. Chicago has two games left of this brutal seven-game road trip which has produced eight goals while going 2-3 so far. It should be noted that seven of those goals came against Calgary and Vancouver so maybe, even if Toews plays, they could be in a bit of trouble tonight. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook are the choices on defense, and as always, Keith is the more lucrative of the two. Sticking with Kane, Panarin and Anisimov here would be your best bet, as they are assured a large chunk of ice time when the Blackhawks have the man advantage. All three are also just a point or two away from being point-per-game players.
UPDATE
Good old coach Quenneville. It now appears that he must read my article as Kruger is now with Hossa and Dennis Rasmussen on the line that should have the most room on the ice today.
After two wins against Edmonton and New Jersey the Ducks look to end their five game home stand with a victory after losing to both the Los Angeles Kings and New York Islanders. Rickard Rakell was put up on the top line with Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf, which is probably the smartest move the team could make. Rakell has plenty of talent that was being wasted away on the team’s third line. Ryan Kesler centers the second and gets a bump here as he gets the extra minutes when the team goes on the power play. If you want to pair him with Jakob Silfverberg that wouldn’t be a bad idea for GPP plays as Silfverberg has a goal and three assists over the last four games. Cam Fowler and Sami Vatanen join Kesler, Perry and Getzlaf to form a power play unit that has netted three goals in the last four games when they have the man advantage. Perry leads the team in scoring and shots while Getzlaf has 16 pints in 17 games. There’s no doubt that this duo will have a lot of cash game ownership today.
Elite Plays
CHI: Patrick Kane
ANA: Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf
Secondary Plays
CHI: Marian Hossa, Artem Anisimov, Artemi Panarin, Duncan Keith
ANA: Ryan Kesler, Cam Fowler, Jakob Silfverberg, Sami Vatanen
Pittsburgh Penguins at Minnesota Wild
| Pittsburgh Penguins | Minnesota Wild | ||||||||
 | Marc-Andre Fleury |  | Devan Dubnyk | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 12-5-3 | 10-7-2 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.95 | 2.75 | 22.40% | 80.80% | Team Stats | 2.58 | 1.89 | 15.80% | 85.70% |
The Penguins come into this one with two legitimate lines that can score so it’s just a matter of what line Minnesota tries to shut down as to who may be the better play here. Phil Kessel and Evgeni Malkin made Jake Guentzel feel right at home in his first NHL game two games ago when the rookie tallied the only two goals in a 5-2 loss to the Rangers. Kessel is on a hot streak, as he has seven points over the last five games. Meanwhile Sidney Crosby leads the team with 14 goals while grabbing six points over the last five games. Carl Hagelin and Conor Sheary flank Crosby on the team’s top line and could be used as a full line stack for GPP plays here. Kris Letang is the defensive choice as he quarterbacks the top power play unit along with Crosby, Sheary, Kessel and Malkin. There’s a few ways to go here, but the safest bet is to keep the power play pairs together which would be Crosby with Sheary and Kessel with Malkin.
Minnesota continues to play good defensive solid hockey and that is the reason they are situated in third place in the Central division. The Penguins do tend to give up some goals so targeting the first line here may be the way to go.
Zach Parise was put on the top line with Eric Staal and Charlie Coyle a few games ago to help Staal rack up more points than he already has. This is an optimal top line for the Wild as all three players can put the puck in the net and that’s what you look for when a team is playing on home ice. The second line of Mikko Koivu, Mikael Granlund and Tyler Graovac has helped Granlund lead the team with four points over the last five games. That’s not bad when you consider Minnesota has only scored eight goals over that time period. Nino Niedereitter is your one-off here, as he skates on the team’s third line but sees extra minutes when the Wild have the man advantage. Ryan Suter is usually the play from the back line, but Jared Spurgeon has been put on the top power play unit as well as he leads the team with 16 shots on goal over the last five games.
Elite Plays
PIT: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin
MIN: Eric Staal
Secondary Plays
PIT: Conor Sheary, Phil Kessel, Kris Letang
MIN: Charlie Coyle, Zach Parise, Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon
Buffalo Sabres at Washington Capitals
| Buffalo Sabres | Washington Capitals | ||||||||
 | Robin Lehner |  | Braden Holtby | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 7-8-5 | 12-5-2 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 1.85 | 2.35 | 21.20% | 80.60% | Team Stats | 2.74 | 2.21 | 16.10% | 81.70% |
The Buffalo Sabres have taken a step backwards from last season, as their goal differential is starting to swing the other way once again. 38 goals is all they have mustered through 20 games, while 50 pucks have found their way into the net they were defending. The top line of Kyle Okposo, Ryan O’Reilly and Matt Moulson should be pretty well wrapped up against a Washington defense that has given up just seven goals in the last four home games. This would leave the second line that features Sam Reinhart and Evander Kane as decent GPP plays if you are of the ilk to multi-enter. Reinhart has three points over the last five games, while defenseman Tayler Fedun has four assists in his first four games this season. Rasmus Ristolainen has managed just one assist over the last five games on 16 shots on goal. As a side note, Okposo continues to shoot the puck on net, as he has 23 of them over the team’s last five games. Buffalo is the only team yet to score 40 goals, so be careful as they are on the road tonight.
Since the injury to T.J. Oshie it would appear that the Washington Capitals are hanging in there as evidence of their 3-1 record in the last four games. Tonight, they finish up a five-game home stand against a team that has given up 50 goals in 20 games. Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Andre Burakovsky are the top line and get the first crack on the ice when the Capitals draw a penalty. Nicklas Backstrom joins them from the second line and makes for a great one-off play here, as he has registered nine points in the last five games. Justin Williams and Marcus Johansson are his line mates on the second line and could be used as a GPP line stack play only. John Carlson has been seeing time on the top power play unit that has struck twice in the last two games, but it’s been Matt Niskanen, who is leading the Washington defenseman in scoring with nine assists so far this season. Of course, you can always use Ovechkin as a one-off as well, as he leads the team with 12 goals in 19 games played.
Elite Plays
BUF: None
WSH: Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom
Secondary Plays
BUF: Kyle Okposo, Ryan O’Reilly, Matt Moulson, Taylor Fedun
WSH: John Carlson, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Andre Burakovsky