NHL Grind Down: Friday, October 17th - Page Two
Dallas Stars at Florida Panthers – 07:00 PM EDT
| Dallas Stars | Florida Panthers | ||||||||
 | Kari Lehtonen |  | Roberto Luongo | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 41-31 | 38-29 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.13 | 3.13 | 19.00% | 80.70% | Team Stats | 2.41 | 2.60 | 16.30% | 80.00% |
The Dallas Stars offense is beginning to roll and the rest of the league is certainly taking notes. The Stars have scored nine goals in their past two games. Offseason addition Patrick Sharp played last game alongside stars Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, forming the most talented and dangerous line in all of hockey. While Sharp has yet to hit the scoresheet this season, the points will undoubtedly come as Benn and Seguin continue to produce. Jason Spezza has had back-to-back strong performances playing alongside Ales Hemsky and the duo lead the Stars with six points apiece through the Dallas’ first four games. The matchup against Florida isn’t great as the Panthers have shown they are a stingy defensive team, but I’m not sure anyone can hold the Dallas offense down. Benn and Seguin are always solid cash plays despite their opponent and Spezza and Hemsky could prove to be valuable under the radar tournament options.
The Florida Panthers have started the season incredibly strong, led by the production of ageless wonder Jaromir Jagr. Jagr announced at the beginning of the year that he would be bringing back his iconic 1990s mullet and is certainly playing like he’s in his 20s again. Emerging center-iceman Aleksander Barkov has been Jagr’s partner in crime so far this season as the pair have combined for 11 points in just 4 games. Florida presents a balanced attack with three lines that are all capable of scoring. The Panthers’ depth may present problems for a shaky Dallas defense corps and this game definitely has the potential to be a high-scoring affair on both sides. Look to the 2nd line of Brandon Pirri, Nick Bjugstad, and Reilly Smith to be a very low owned but high-upside tournament option.
Elite Plays
DAL: Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin
FLA: Jaromir Jagr, Aleksander Barkov, Aaron Ekblad
Secondary Plays
DAL: Jason Spezza, Ales Hemsky, Patrick Sharp, John Klingberg
FLA: Jonathan Huberdeau, Nick Bjugstad, Brandon Pirri, Reilly Smith
San Jose Sharks at New York Islanders – 07:30 PM EDT
| San Jose Sharks | New York Islanders | ||||||||
 | Martin Jones |  | Jaroslav Halak | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 40-33 | 47-28 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.73 | 2.76 | 21.60% | 78.50% | Team Stats | 2.99 | 2.73 | 18.70% | 78.00% |
The San Jose Sharks suffered a major loss when it was announced yesterday that Logan Couture suffered a broken bone in his leg in practice and would miss over a month. Nevertheless, the Sharks managed to win a tight road game in the shootout last night against the Devils. The Sharks will take on the Islanders in Brooklyn tonight in yet another back-to-back on the road. The San Jose offense will likely continue to roll in Couture’s absence, but the injury has forced some changes in lines. Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton played last night’s game alongside rookie call-up Nikolay Goldobin while Tomas Hertl replaced Couture by centering Patrick Marleau and Joel Ward. Ward appears to have taken Couture’s spot on the deadly top power-play unit. While this Sharks team has appeared defensively stout (they’ve only allowed two goals on the season), led by Brent Burns and the fantastic play of new goaltender Martin Jones, the matchup against the Islanders tonight isn’t spectacular, particularly on the tail end of the back-to-back.
The New York Islanders handed the Nashville Predators their first loss of the season on Thursday in a performance led by their captain, John Tavares, who had a goal and an assist. Tavares has started the season at a torrid pace with 6 points (3g 3a) in 4 games and looks poised to compete for the NHL’s scoring lead once again this year. Tavares has great chemistry with his linemates Anders Lee and Ryan Strome, as he played the pivot between these two for much of last season. Marek Zidlicky will quarterback the top power-play unit which sees Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen join Tavares and Lee. The Sharks, however, currently sport the top penalty kill percentage in the NHL, having stifled the opposition at an obviously unsustainable rate of 94.5%. Vegas has the Islanders as -160 favorites in this game and I agree with that assessment. Despite the strong defensive record of the Sharks thus far this season, it wouldn’t be surprising if this game sees several goals from both sides.
Elite Plays
SJS: Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns
NYI: John Tavares, Anders Lee
Secondary Plays
SJS: Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Joel Ward
NYI: Ryan Strome, Kyle Okposo, Marek Zidlicky
Columbus Blue Jackets at Chicago Blackhawks – 08:30 PM EDT
| Columbus Blue Jackets | Chicago Blackhawks | ||||||||
 | Sergei Bobrovsky |  | Corey Crawford | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 42-35 | 48-28 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.77 | 3.02 | 21.70% | 80.20% | Team Stats | 2.68 | 2.27 | 17.60% | 83.40% |
The Columbus Blue Jackets were pegged by many to be a playoff team this year. Following a competitive 2014-2015 season in which they lost 508 man-games to injury, the Blue Jackets were supposed to improve substantially. It may be time to throw in the towel on these predictions, however, as the Blue Jackets are nearing panic mode having started the season with five straight losses. Things aren’t likely to turn around for Columbus tonight as they head to Chicago for, yep you guessed it, a back-to-back on the road. The Blue Jackets have shown they can score—-Brandon Saad, Ryan Johansen, and Nick Foligno are all highly talented offensive players and have put up decent numbers to start the season. Nevertheless, facing the Blackhawks in Chicago is always an undesirable matchup as the Hawks deploy the Jonathan Toews – Marian Hossa line in a shutdown role with great success.
The Chicago Blackhawks get the best matchup of the night as the Columbus Blue Jackets and their 0-0-5 record come to town on a back-to-back. Over the course of their five losses, the Blue Jackets have given up over five goals against a game. Curtis McElhinney is likely to get the start in place of the floundering Sergei Bobrovsky, further improving the matchup for Chicago. Both of Chicago’s top two lines are in play. Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin are on fire to start the season and with the home ice advantage of being able to dictate line match-ups, both are likely to hit the scoresheet tonight. Toews and Hossa have yet to demonstrate much offensive presence this year, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see them break out tonight either. The top defense pairing of Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, anchoring the top power-play unit together, are worth a look in all formats as well.
Elite Plays
CBJ: Ryan Johansen
CHI: Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith
Secondary Plays
CBJ: Brandon Saad, Nick Foligno
CHI: Brent Seabrook, Teuvo Teravainen, Artem Anisimov
Edmonton Oilers at Calgary Flames – 10:00 PM EDT
| Edmonton Oilers | Calgary Flames | ||||||||
 | Ben Scrivens |  | Jonas Hiller | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 24-44 | 45-30 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.35 | 3.37 | 17.70% | 76.70% | Team Stats | 2.89 | 2.60 | 18.80% | 80.60% |
The Edmonton Oilers head to Calgary tonight still searching for their first victory of the season in an all-Canadian matchup. Edmonton has only scored 5 goals over their first 4 games while letting up 13. No player on the Oilers has registered more than a single point yet this season. Despite Jordan Eberle injury, Edmonton has the requisite talent to put the puck in the net on a consistent basis and a matchup with Calgary on the back-to-back may be the proper recipe for a breakout game. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Taylor Hall have played together for several seasons and consistently produced at a high level. Look for them to break out tonight. Connor McDavid has continued to show signs of his ability, but it may take a bit longer for him to completely settle in. Coach Todd McLellan doesn’t appear too worried about the team’s slow start, but indicated that he intends to debut some changes to the team’s power-play units tonight. The matchup with the run-and-gun Flames is a positive one (CGY allows 3.5 goals a game and isn’t particularly impressive defensively), and Edmonton could come out and score multiple goals.
The Calgary Flames have only one victory this season, but will look to attain their second tonight against the perpetually struggling Edmonton Oilers. The Flames offense runs through their top line of Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, and Jiri Hudler. This line has had success to start the year, particularly Gaudreau who has five points over the first four games. Considering the home ice matchup against Edmonton, who fails to possess a shutdown defensive line regardless, the Calgary top line appears poised to hit the scoresheet once again tonight. It is worth noting that a trademark of the Calgary offense last season was their defensemen’s ability to join the rush and contribute substantially to the offense. Mark Giordano, the Flames’ most talented offensive defenseman, has yet to hit the scoresheet this season. Look for him to break out.
Elite Plays
EDM: Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
CGY: Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Jiri Hudler, Mark Giordano
Secondary Plays
EDM: Connor McDavid, Benoit Pouliot, Nail Yakupov, Justin Schultz
CGY: Dennis Wideman, Dougie Hamilton, Sam Bennett
Boston Bruins at Arizona Coyotes – 10:00 PM EDT
| Boston Bruins | Arizona Coyotes | ||||||||
 | Tuukka Rask |  | Mike Smith | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 41-27 | 24-50 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.55 | 2.45 | 17.80% | 82.00% | Team Stats | 2.01 | 3.26 | 20.00% | 76.70% |
The Boston Bruins head to Arizona tonight in a matchup that is slightly hard to predict. While the Bruins have been a stout defensive team over the last few seasons, they are clearly entering a rebuild and have allowed 4.5 goals / game en route to and 1-3-0 record to start the year. The Coyotes started the season with three straight impressive victories, but were beaten handily by the Minnesota Wild on Thursday. I wrote in Thursday’s grind down, “I also think they [the Coyotes] are due to regress. The stellar play of Mike Smith has covered up their defensive liabilities and they will eventually be brought to light. Arizona had the second-worst record in the league last year and I’m not buying the quick turnaround.” Thursday’s game saw Minnesota bury several early goals and Mike Smith exit the game in favor of Anders Lindback. The Coyotes struggle to play defense and Boston has the ability to bury several goals in this matchup. This production could come from either one of the first two lines, but I recommended leaning toward the David Krejci – Matt Beleskey – David Pastrnak combo as the Patrice Bergeron line will most likely be focused on shutting down Max Domi. Also worth noting that Zdeno Chara has made a strong return to the lineup and will likely play the point on the second power-play unit.
The Coyotes will look to bounce back from their first loss of the season when they face the Bruins tonight in Arizona. As I mentioned above, the Bruins struggle to keep the puck out of their own net and Arizona has clearly demonstrated that they have the talent to score. The Martin Hanzal – Anthony Duclair combination has combined for 13 points in 5 games and Max Domi has 6 points in 4 games. While Arizona may not win a lot of games this year due to their defensive liabilities, they may nevertheless score a decent number of goals and afford us some quality DFS options on non +/- sites. Even on the road, Boston coach Claude Julien will likely attempt to pit the Bergeron line up against Arizona’s top line of Domi, Antoine Vermette, and Mikael Boedker. In turn, Hanzal and The Duke may be in the best spot to hit the scoresheet tonight for the Coyotes. Oliver Ekman-Larsson is Arizona’s best defenseman but comes at a high price tag. Look to Michael Stone and Connor Murphy as solid value plays. Both are projected to play the point on a dynamic 2nd power-play unit featuring Domi, Hanzal, and Duclair.
Elite Plays
BOS: David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, Torey Krug
ARI: Max Domi, Martin Hanzal, Anthony Duclair
Secondary Plays
BOS: David Pastrnak, Loui Eriksson, Matt Beleskey
ARI: Antoine Vermette, Mikkel Boedker, Oliver Ekman-Larsson