NHL Grind Down: Monday, February 15th - Page Two
Montreal Canadiens at Arizona Coyotes – 09:00 PM EST
| Montreal Canadiens | Arizona Coyotes | ||||||||
 | Mike Condon |  | Louis Domingue | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 27-25-4 | 25-24-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.70 | 2.70 | 18.60% | 84.10% | Team Stats | 2.62 | 3.05 | 18.80% | 77.90% |
Just as it started to look like the Canadiens were on the road to recovery, they came out flat against the Buffalo Sabres and saw their three-game winning streak snapped with a 6-4 loss. They’re currently sitting five points out of a playoff spot in the very competitive Eastern Conference making tonight’s battle in Arizona nearly a must-win game for them. Tomas Plekanec has tallied three goals and five assists in six games since the All-Star break and is flanked by Brendan Gallagher and Alex Galchenyuk on the top forward line. Meanwhile, Max Pacioretty has been eerily quiet down the stretch this season but scored a goal and dished out an assist against Arizona in their only other meeting and is simply too talented to be held down for long. He’s joined by David Desharnais and Sven Andrighetto both at even strength and on the #1 power-play making all three fine options considering the Coyotes ugly 77.9% penalty kill. With that poor penalty kill in mind, P.K. Subban shoots up my rankings on the blue-line. He extended his point streak to six games with an assist against Buffalo on Friday night and has posted four goals and 13 assists in his last 15 games. Andrei Markov joins him on the point of the #1 power-play unit and finally snapped out of his funk with a pair of power-play assists against Buffalo. His price has plummeted on some sites, making him a fine value option.
Arizona’s solid start to the season looks to be firmly in the rear view mirror at this point as they’ve now posted an ugly 3-8-2 record over their last 13 games and it no longer looks like they’ll be in the playoff hunt down the stretch. With that said, Arizona has averaged a solid 2.86 goals per game at the Gila River Arena this season and tonight’s matchup against the struggling Montreal Canadiens is not too intimidating. Oliver Ekman-Larsson leads the team with 41 points in 55 games and has poured in two goals and five assists in his last five games. He’s topped 20 minutes of ice-time in every single games this season and lit the lamp against Montreal in their only previous meeting this season. Up-front, Dave Tippett has three balanced scoring lines at his disposal. Shane Doan has racked up 15 goals and 10 assists in 25 home games this season making him a fine GPP play. Meanwhile, Mikkel Boedker, Max Domi and Tobias Rieder have each already eclipses the 30 point plateau and are also intriguing tournament options.
Montreal Canadiens
CF%: 53, CP60: 109.2, 5×5 Differential: -2
Elite Options: Max Pacioretty, Tomas Plekanec, P.K. Subban
Secondary Options: Brendan Gallagher, Andrei Markov
Arizona Coyotes
CF%: 46.7, CP60: 107.3, 5×5 Differential: -9
Elite Options: Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Secondary Options: Shane Doan, Mikkel Boedker, Max Domi, Tobias Rieder, Martin Hanzal
Minnesota Wild at Vancouver Canucks – 10:00 PM EST
| Minnesota Wild | Vancouver Canucks | ||||||||
 | Devan Dubnyk |  | Jacob Markstrom | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 23-22-10 | 22-21-12 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.45 | 2.51 | 17.40% | 79.10% | Team Stats | 2.31 | 2.71 | 16.20% | 81.30% |
After a 4-2 loss against Boston on Saturday, the free-falling Minnesota Wild inexplicably fired Coach Mike Yeo. They’ve now dropped eight straight games and appear to be a long shot to get back into the playoff race in the Western Conference. With their recent struggles in mind and a new coach to get used to, it’s probably wise to avoid this team in your cash games this season despite a decent matchup against the Vancouver Canucks. Minnesota has posted an uninspiring 9-12-6 road record on the season and averaged 1.79 goals per game during in their last 14 games (with a 1-11-2 record during that span). Zach Parise torched the Canucks for a goal and two assists in their only previous meeting and remains the most dangerous offensive weapon on this Minnesota team. Mikko Koivu actually leads the team with 37 points and joins Parise both on the top forward line and the #1 power-play unit. On defense, Ryan Suter remains underpriced on several sites for a guy with 35 points on the young season and who’s averaging nearly 29 minutes of ice-time per game. Alternatively, Mathew Dumba has earned a spot alongside Suter on the point of the top power-play and has racked up two goals and four assists in six games since the All-Star break. The former first round pick is an intriguing value play for both cash games and GPPs.
The Canucks saw their mini two-game winning streak snapped with a disappointing home loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. With their playoffs hopes on life support, they simply can’t afford to waste another opportunity tonight as they face a Minnesota Wild team that’s in complete disarray at the moment. The Sedin brothers remain the most consistent fantasy producers on this Canucks team and have combined for six points in the two prior meetings against the Wild this season. They’re easily the top options here and are joined by Jannik Hansen who has picked up points in back-to-back games and has also potted a pair of goals already this season against Minnesota. Alternatively, Bo Horvat has poured in eight goals and eight assists in the last 16 games and teams up with Radim Vrbata and Sven Baertschi on a second line that may be inconsistent, but has plenty of GPP upside. With Alex Edler lost for the next six weeks, blue-liners Yannick Weber and Ben Hutton are both slated for a heavier workload. Both players should see a very healthy dose of playing time with the man advantage which makes them fine value options against Minnesota’s lackluster 79.1% penalty kill.
Minnesota Wild
CF%: 48.5, CP60: 106.3, 5×5 Differential: 4
Elite Options: None
Secondary Options: Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise, Ryan Suter, Mathew Dumba
Vancouver Canucks
CF%: 47.1, CP60: 103, 5×5 Differential: -4
Elite Options: Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin
Secondary Options: Bo Horvat, Jannik Hansen, Radim Vrbata, Ben Hutton, Yannick Weber