NHL Grind Down: Friday, November 4th
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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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Montréal Canadiens at Columbus Blue Jackets
| Montréal Canadiens | Columbus Blue Jackets | ||||||||
 | Al Montoya |  | Sergei Bobrovsky | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 9-0-1 | 4-3-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.40 | 1.30 | 20.00% | 90.00% | Team Stats | 2.63 | 2.38 | 35.00% | 88.90% |
If it’s Friday, it must be a three game slate, and that’s a good thing. The Canadiens enter the night as the only team in the league yet to lose a game and one would have to believe it has to happen sometime soon. The top line of Alexander Radulov, Brendan Gallagher and Alex Galchenyuk seems to be the chalk here as all three skate on both the top line and the top power play line. Not to mention all three find themselves in the top four in team scoring along with defenseman Shea Weber for the season and also in the last six games. That is a sign of consistency which is exactly what you look for in cash games on a three game slate. I’m not sure what Montreal is doing on their second line as Max Pacioretty finds himself on a line with Andrew Shaw and David Desharnais. This line may need some time to get the chemistry to be successful but was only able to muster two shots against the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night. Some may use Torrey Mitchell as a one-off tonight as he leads the team in goals but his shooting percentage is at 55%, which is clearly unsustainable, just ask Jeff Petry. If you recall, Petry was off to a hot start but has fell off the map as he has just two assist in the last six games.
Head coach John Tortorella is probably lucky he won a Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning back in 2004, otherwise he would easily not be coaching in this league. Sure his teams made the playoffs eight times in 13 years but only twice did they get to the conference finals. Despite being 4-3-1, they have only scored more than three goals just once so it’s obvious they turn to their goaltender, Sergei Bobrovsky, to keep them in the game night after night. With Columbus being the home team we look to the first line for our cash game plays tonight. Brandan Saad, Nick Foligno and Alexander Wennberg each has over four points in the last four games and look to be the line to play here. The only problem is that Montreal has only given up 14 goals in ten games, so finding the back of the net could be a dauntless task tonight. Sam Gagner skates on the top power play unit with Wennberg and Foligno and may be a good one-off here as he has collected three of his four points via the man advantage over the last four games. Defenseman Zachary Werenski is the play here as he has eight points in eight games with half of them coming while skating on the top power play unit. The Jackets have guys like Cam Atkinson, Scott Hartnell and Boone Jenner but seem to be floundering on the bottom two lines.
Elite Plays
MTL: Shea Weber
CBJ: None
Secondary Plays
MTL: Alexander Radulov, Brendan Gallagher, Alex Galchenyuk, Max Pacioretty
CBJ: Alexander Wennberg, Nick Foligno, Zachary Werenski, Brandon Saad, Sam Gagner
Winnipeg Jets at Detroit Red Wings
| Winnipeg Jets | Detroit Red Wings | ||||||||
 | Connor Hellebuyck |  | Petr Mrazek | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 4-6-1 | 6-4-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.40 | 2.90 | 10.90% | 80.50% | Team Stats | 2.73 | 2.55 | 19.00% | 82.00% |
Winnipeg not only lost a tough game to the Washington Capitals in overtime last night, they may have lost forwards Mathieu Perreault and Joel Armia in the process. This will no doubt get Patrik Laine more ice time as he saw the most power play time last night as he clocked in at three minute and thirteen seconds. This was even more than defenseman Dustin Byfuglien where ice time with the man advantage is concerned. The Red Wings will try to shut down the top line of Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele and Nikolaj Ehlers. Washington kept them off the board last night as they combined for just three of the 27 shots Winnipeg had on net last night. With Mathieu Perreault most likely out tonight it’s tough to figure out who will center the second line. Adam Lowry seemed to fill that position as he scored a goal on a nice feed from the aforementioned Byfuglien. Lowry made a decent one-off play for tonight anyways as he skates on the top power play line, but if Perreault is out, then that’s even more of a bonus. Jets beat writer Ted Wyman, no relation to Bill I don’t think, reports that we will have no confirmation on the status of either Perreault or Armia until at least 5pm EST this afternoon.
Detroit lost a tough one in Philadelphia on Wednesday night when they had one on the line but let it go. With a 3-2 lead the Flyers scored with just a minute four left in regulation to tie the game and then again a minute 41 seconds into overtime to win. The Red Wings return home tonight to play a Winnipeg team that played a tough Washington team last night, so as it may be easier for the Jets on the ice, they will still be a bit tired. Thomas Vanek has not played in a few games because of injury so taking the line of Tomas Tatar, Henrik Zetterberg and Justin Abdelkader may be the play here as they have been working out as the first unit when the Red wings go on the power play. Gustav Nyqvist jumps up as the fourth winger to join them but taking him with his line mates in Dylan Larkin and Frans Nielsen is a decent play here as well. Nyquist leads the team in points while defenseman Mike green receives the lion’s share of power play time. Be careful here however as Green needs to get back on track as he has tallied just one assist in the last five games. On a three game slate like this sometimes you need a punt play or two and Andreas Athanasiou may fit the bill here. ‘Double A’ has garnered three of his four points over the last five games.
Elite Plays
WIN: None
DET: None
Secondary Plays
WIN: Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele, Dustin Byfuglien, Adam Lowry
DET: Gustav Nyquist, Dylan Larkin, Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Tatar
Arizona Coyotes at Anaheim Ducks
| Arizona Coyotes | Anaheim Ducks | ||||||||
 | Justin Peters |  | Jonathan Bernier | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 4-6-0 | 4-5-2 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.00 | 3.89 | 9.10% | 76.30% | Team Stats | 2.36 | 2.55 | 23.70% | 82.60% |
For all the static I have been hearing about how bad the Arizona Coyotes are, they have won three of their last four games by beating Philadelphia, San Jose and Nashville last night in a 3-2 shootout. With Martin Hanzal out of the lineup Jordan Martinook took over the top spot Centering Radim Vrbata and Max Domi and while this line should be doing much better, they are hanging in there. Anthony Duclair scored his first goal of the season last night so maybe playing him with Dylan Strome is not a bad GPP play on tonight’s short slate. Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson has be the only constant on this team for the past three years or more and this season is no different as he currently sits second on the team in scoring with seven points in ten games and five in his last five. Brad Richardson makes a decent one-off play here as he leads the team in scoring with eight points while averaging four points every five games. Arizona had a brutal six game road trip in which they went 1-5 and just because tonight’s game is on the road, they still have a shot of winning tonight, especially if Getzlaf is out for the Ducks. Stay tuned.
The Ducks got run over by the Pittsburgh Penguins Wednesday night and look to get back to their winning ways. Ryan Getzlaf was a late scratch on Wednesday and did not skate yesterday due to his lower body injury. A lot of Anaheim’s offense runs through him, so I will keep you posted where his status is concerned throughout the day. The top line without Getzlaf is Michael Sgarbossa, Corey Perry and Rickard Rakell and should be considered in play tonight. Ryan Kesler makes a great one-off play here as he skates on the second line with Jakob Silfverberg and Andrew Cogliano but sees a lot of top minutes with the man advantage. So much so that three of his last five points have come via the power play. Cam Fowler and Sami Vatanen are the choices on the blue line with Fowler holding the slight advantage as he has three goals and three assists on the power play. It appears Fowler is off to a good start and the trick is to keep it going.As per Eric Stephens, the Ducks beat writer, Getzlaf nor Nick Ritchie skated in this mornings practice which would make the line with Perry and Rakell a bit more enticing.
Elite Plays
ARZ: Oliver Ekman-Larsson
ANA: Corey Perry
Secondary Plays
ARZ: Radim Vrbata, Max Domi
ANA: Ryan Kesler, Cam Fowler, Sami Vatanen, Rickard Rakell