NHL Grind Down: Friday, October 21st
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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NOTE: Listed team records/statistics are from 2015/16 season.
Chicago Blackhawks at Columbus Blue Jackets
| Chicago Blackhawks | Columbus Blue Jackets | ||||||||
 | Corey Crawford |  | Sergei Bobrovsky | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 47-26-9 | 34-40-8 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.85 | 3.75 | 22.60% | 80.30% | Team Stats | 2.60 | 4.50 | 17.30% | 81.00% |
The Blackhawks come into this one on a two game winning streak after starting out with losses against St Louis and Nashville. Their power play has been starting to take shape as they have scored two goals with the man advantage in each of the last two games. The problem however is that their penalty kill leaves a lot to be desired as they have given up nine goals while a man down and at least a goal of that variety in every game so far. It looks like Marian Hossa will be out for this game so look for Jonathan Toews, Tyler Motte and Richard Panik to be the line to target in GPP play tonight. There’s no doubt Columbus will try to shut down the top line of Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin and Artem Anisimov but may get in trouble if they take some penalties as they also serve as the top power play line. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook join Kane and company to fill out the top power play unit so rostering one of them tonight is probably a good idea.
It’s been six days since the Blue Jackets have had a league game and I don’t know about you, but that’s a lot of time off for this early in the season. This is their third home game in which they have already dropped the first two to both Boston and San Jose by a total tally of 9-5. The only saving grace for the Jackets may be the fact that the Blackhawks have given up nine goals while taking 17 minor penalties in their first four games. At last check we saw Brandon Dubinsky centering Matt Calvert and Cam Atkinson while the second line had Alexander Wennberg between Brandon Saad and ex-All-Star Nick Foligno. The problem with the Blue Jackets is not only are they a bad team, they really don’t have any top skill players. This on full display as you take a look at their top power play unit. Wennberg and Foligno lead the charge with first liner Atkinson while fourth liner Oliver Bjorkstrand and defenseman Zach Werenski round out the team’s top unit. Again, this is a short slate so maybe taking Werenski on the back line over Seth Jones is a decent play here. As far as the top lines go, I’d stick with the pairing of Foligno and Wennberg, who is the team leader in points with three, as they get more time together on the ice. I have no problem using Bjorkstrand or Atkinson as one-offs either, but don’t go crazy as this is a bad team playing on a night with limited options.
Elite Plays
CHI: Patrick Kane
CLB: None
Secondary Plays
CHI: Artemi Panarin, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Jonathan Toews
CLB: Cam Atkinson, Nick Foligno, Zach Werenski, Alexander Wennberg, Oliver Bjorkstrand
Arizona Coyotes at New York Islanders
| Arizona Coyotes | New York Islanders | ||||||||
 | Louis Domingue |  | Jaroslav Halak | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 35-39-8 | 45-27-10 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.54 | 5.00 | 17.70% | 77.30% | Team Stats | 2.77 | 3.00 | 18.30% | 84.50% |
With goaltender Mike Smith injured the burden of keeping the puck out of the net has fallen squarely on the shoulders of Louis Domingue. In the first two games on the road that task has been a trying one as the Coyotes have given up 12 goals in those two games. With the team playing their third game in four nights, it doesn’t look like that trend will be changing any time soon. This is why Arizona makes a good GPP play tonight. They will easily be low owned and if they can somehow manage a few goals, you could be in business. Normally I wouldn’t even consider third liners in any other year but this year it seems teams are trying to make more than two good lines which makes it harder for teams to shut down, especially on the road. This could also be from the influx of young and faster talent as we saw on display not only in the World Cup but so far this season as well. Jordan Martinook and Radim Vrbata are skating on the third line with Vrbata seeing some top power play minutes last night. Martinook leads the team with two goals and two assists in the team’s first three games, so the promotion to the third line seems logical. The teams second line of Shane Doan, Tobias Rieder and Dylan Strome have produced the same number of goals and assists that Martinook has while the top line of Martin Hanzal, Max Domi and Anthony Duclair have registered points of two, one and zero respectively. Oliver Ekman-Larsson is the choice on the back line but Connor Murphy and Alex Goligoski provide cheaper options. Arizona is tough to count on for cash games, but on this four game slate for GPP play, you can fire away.
The Islanders power play can be summed up in one word, putrid. They have had 11 opportunities on the power play and have cashed in just once, with the lone goal coming off the stick of Ryan Strome a week ago today. Head coach Jack Capuano is trying everything from switching up lines to switching up the power play unit to try and save his job. He currently has Strome on the top power play line with the first line of John Tavares, Josh Bailey and Andrew Ladd. On a short slate like tonight the top line just may be the cash play here as they face an Arizona team that is playing their third game in four nights. If you are looking for a GPP pairing, second liners Anders Lee and Brock Nelson fit the bill as they also get the second shot for the team on the power play. The blue line is up in the air right now as it appears Nick Leddy seems to be a bit injured as he did not skate on Friday while his spot on the top power play unit was taken by Ryan Pulock. This doesn’t make sense to me as Johnny Boychuk would be the next best option, but it looks like Pulock is decent punt play on defense as Leddy is definitely out for tonight’s game.
Elite Plays
ARZ: None
NYI: John Tavares
Secondary Plays
ARZ: Tobias Rieder, Shane Doan, Max Domi, Martin Hanzal, Oliver Ekman-Larsson
NYI: Andrew Ladd, Josh Bailey, Ryan Pulock
Nashville Predators at Detroit Red Wings
| Nashville Predators | Detroit Red Wings | ||||||||
 | Pekka Rinne |  | Petr Mrazek | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 41-27-14 | 41-30-11 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.73 | 3.00 | 19.70% | 81.20% | Team Stats | 2.55 | 3.00 | 18.80% | 81.50% |
After splitting a home and home with Chicago and losing to Dallas on home ice by a score of 2-1, head coach Peter Laviolette has decided to go back to what works best. I guess getting outshot 37-28 prompted him to ‘put the boys back together’. Ryan Johansen will be in between James Neal and Calle Jarnkrok while the team’s ‘second line’ see Mark Ribeiro centering Filip Forsberg and Craig Smith. Both lines should be in play on a three game slate as it is up to Detroit to decide what line they want to try to shut down. The Predators have only scored seven goals in three games but the interesting thing here is that five of them have come with the man advantage. The top power play line of Forsberg, Johansen and Neal should have plenty of firepower tonight against a Red Wings team that has found themselves a man short 15 times in the first three games. Roman Josi and Mattias Ekholm man the points on the power play while P.K. Subban rounds out a formidable offensive trio. Detroit has only given up two goals in their last two games and could be tightening up the defense but you know the drill, on a three game slate, anything goes.
After two losses in Florida the Detroit Red Wings came away with a 5-1 win against Ottawa in the last home opener at the Joe Louis Arena. They went on to beat a formidable New York Rangers squad in Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night by a score of 2-1. That brings us to the home game tonight against the Nashville Predators. Mr. Streaky himself, Thomas Vanek, continues to flourish on the team’s third line and top power play unit as he has compiled six points in the first four games where two goals and two assists have come via the power play. Tomas Tatar and Henrik Zetterberg make a decent play here as well as the join Vanek on the power play but skate on the team’s ‘listed’ second line alongside Riley Sheahan. You can go either way with this tonight as I think the Zetterberg line is actually the top line. Frans Nielsen and defenseman Mike Green complete the first power play unit and both can be considered decent one-off plays tonight. Nielsen has grabbed three points with two of them coming on the man advantage as coach Jeff Blashill is looking to spark the second line by inserting Dylan Larkin on a wing along with mainstay Justin Abdelkader. Darren Helm is a decent one-off as well based on his four points from the team’s third as pairing him with Vanek isn’t a bad idea either, especially on a short slate.
Elite Plays
NSH: Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen
DET: None
Secondary Plays
NSH: James Neal, Roman Josi, P.K. Subban
DET: Henrik Zetterberg, Mike Green, Frans Nielsen, Tomas Tatar, Dylan Larkin
Goaltenders
1.Jaroslav Halak – New York Islanders
2.Corey Crawford – Chicago Blackhawks
3.Pekka Rinne – Nashville Predators