NHL Grind Down: Friday, November 27th - Page Two
Pittsburgh Penguins at Columbus Blue Jackets – 07:00 PM EST
| Pittsburgh Penguins | Columbus Blue Jackets | ||||||||
 | Marc-Andre Fleury |  | Sergei Bobrovsky | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 13-8-0 | 9-14-0 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.29 | 2.33 | 15.60% | 83.60% | Team Stats | 2.48 | 3.13 | 19.00% | 81.90% |
The Penguins seem to be picking things up offensively lately, after a surprisingly bad start (2.2 goals per game in October). They have won three of their past four games and scored four goals in each of those games. Both of the Pens’ top lines have been scoring lately, with the line of Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel and David Perron being more consistent. On defense, Kris Letang plays big minutes and especially on the power play, and using him is a great way to exposure to both lines.
The Blue Jackets have been an improved team in November as well (7-4 record, 8th ranked for goals per game in the month), and have scored at least three goals in their past five home games. After a lot of line shuffling this year, the Blue Jackets seem to have stabilized their top two scoring lines and are getting results. The resurgence of Ryan Johansen (with eight points in as many games) is also big reason why, and he is the top target from the team.
Elite Plays
PIT: Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel, Kris Letang
CBJ: Ryan Johansen
Secondary Plays
PIT: Sidney Crosby, Pascal Dupuis, David Perron
CBJ: David Savard, Jack Johnson, Brandon Saad, Boone Jenner
Carolina Hurricanes at Buffalo Sabres – 07:00 PM EST
| Carolina Hurricanes | Buffalo Sabres | ||||||||
 | Cam Ward |  | Robin Lehner | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 8-10-4 | 8-12-2 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.09 | 2.77 | 13.30% | 76.00% | Team Stats | 2.05 | 2.68 | 20.00% | 75.00% |
The Sabres and Hurricanes are both improved teams from last season, where they ranked last and 5th last respectively (or perhaps not) in points. Considering how far down they were last year though, their improvement is still to a below average team, and closer to last than to the middle of the pack.
Carolina has been the better team of late, and the top line of Eric Staal, Victor Rask and Elias Lindholm is a potential under-the-radar tournament stack. On defense, Justin Faulk has a seven-game point streak going and he’s another strong play tonight. Despite an 8-10-4 record, the Hurricanes are a very good puck possession team, and ranking second in the league in Corsi For percentage.
Even though the Sabres are home, there isn’t much to like about them. It’s been six games since they’ve even scored three goals, and none of their offensive players have been consistent.
Elite Plays
CAR: Justin Faulk, Eric Staal
BUF: None
Secondary Plays
CAR: Cam Ward, Elias Lindholm, Victor Rask, Jordan Staal
BUF: Jack Eichel, Evander Kane
Montreal Canadiens at New Jersey Devils – 07:00 PM EST
| Montreal Canadiens | New Jersey Devils | ||||||||
 | Carey Price |  | Cory Schneider | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 11-9-1 | |||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.61 | 2.17 | 24.40% | 86.40% | Team Stats | 2.33 | 2.43 | 21.10% | 84.20% |
Montréal recently put their team (and league) MVP Carey Price on injured reserve again and will once again go with backup Mike Condon, who has been steady with a 2.16 goals against average and .911 save percentage. The emergence of Condon and continued goal scoring (league leading 3.6 goals per game) have kept the Canadiens in first place in the NHL with an impressive 17-4-2 record. Surpringsly, the Habs have been an even higher scoring team when on the road, averaging 3.9 goals. Special teams have been a major strength for them as well, ranking in the top three for both power play and penalty killing.
For daily fantasy, this game is all about the Canadiens, with several players in play for cash game lineups, and top lines or power play units for stacking in tournaments. The updated top line (after an injury to Brendan Gallagher) with Devante Smith-Pelly joining Max Pacioretty and Tomas Plekanec is a top option.
Elite Plays
MTL: Max Pacioretty, P.K. Subban
NJ: None
Secondary Plays
MTL: Mike Condon, Andrei Markov, Devante Smith-Pelly, Tomas Plekanec, Alex Galchenyuk
NJ: Michael Cammalleri, Kyle Palmieri, Adam Henrique
Edmonton Oilers at Detroit Red Wings – 07:30 PM EST
| Edmonton Oilers | Detroit Red Wings | ||||||||
 | Ben Scrivens |  | Jimmy Howard | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 7-14-1 | 11-8-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.55 | 3.09 | 19.20% | 79.10% | Team Stats | 2.32 | 2.50 | 17.10% | 84.90% |
The Oilers have now fallen to the basement of the NHL, which has been a familiar place for them for the past several years. Even after all their top draft picks, the team hasn’t been able to sustain a level of success. The news about phenom Connor McDavid likely returning from his injury earlier is very welcomed at this point. For today though, the Oilers are an easy fade in this road matchup in Detroit, especially considering they’ve lost four straight road games (with five goals scored). On some sites though, Leon Draisaitl (with 17 points in 12 games) is way under-priced still, and he makes a great plug-and-play option for saving salary in your lineups.
Detroit is finally healthy and their offense suddenly looks very deep, with three lines very capable of scoring. Perennial All-Stars Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk center the two lines, and they’re paired with talented wingers with upside, who are quite inexpensive overall. Any of their top lines or top power play units are stack options for tournaments, and having a Red Wing player or two in cash game lineups is also a good strategy. Goaltender Jimmy Howard is definitely in play for all game formats.
Elite Plays
EDM: Leon Draisaitl
DET: Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Dylan Larkin, Jimmy Howard
Secondary Plays
EDM: Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Oscar Klefbom
DET: Tomas Tatar, Justin Abdelkader, Mike Green, Teemu Pulkkinen
New York Islanders at Florida Panthers – 07:30 PM EST
| New York Islanders | Florida Panthers | ||||||||
 | Jaroslav Halak |  | Roberto Luongo | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 11-8-3 | 8-9-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.82 | 2.41 | 15.90% | 81.70% | Team Stats | 2.57 | 2.62 | 22.10% | 76.50% |
The Islanders are road favorites tonight as they travel to Sunrise Florida to play the Panthers. New York has been alternating wins and losses lately and they are a mediocre road team overall (4-4-2), which makes their players not the best targets for cash game lineups. That said, we know the Islanders can explode for big games (usually led by John Tavares and Kyle Okposo) so their top line at least is worth stacking in tournament play.
Florida finish their five-game homestand tonight, and have lost the past three games. They are off our radar tonight for daily fantasy, unless you want to go with a contrarian stack in tournaments using their top power play unit, which is ranked fourth in the league (and led by Jonathan Huberdeau and Aaron Ekblad).
Elite Plays
NYI: John Tavares, Kyle Okposo
FLA: None
Secondary Plays
NYI: Brock Nelson, Frans Nielsen, Nick Leddy, Anders Lee
FLA: Aaron Ekblad, Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov