NHL Grind Down: Monday, February 22nd

by John Britt (jmbwngfn) Last Updated 2016-02-24 02:02:45

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.

Note: As always, if you want to try a new DFS site, be sure to click through a RotoGrinders link and use our DraftKings promo code and FanDuel promo code to receive the best perks in the industry.

Columbus Blue Jackets at Boston Bruins – 07:00 PM EST

Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Columbus Blue Jackets					Boston Bruins
			Joonas Korpisalo					Tuukka Rask
			Record					Record
			23-29-7					31-21-6
Team Stats	2.46	3.07	16.70%	80.20%	Team Stats	2.93	2.74	21.60%	83.40%

The Blue Jackets were shutout in Buffalo on Friday night in the finale of a five-game homestand, and will head to Boston tonight to face a Bruins team that has beaten them in both prior meetings this season. Columbus sits in the cellar of the Metropolitan Division and will likely be sellers at the up-coming trade deadline despite some improved play down the stretch. Scott Harnell, Brandon Saad and Cam Atkinson all find themselves tied for the team lead with 37 points. Saad and Hartnell are joined by Alexander Wennberg but have been rather quiet lately. Meanwhile Atkinson skates with Brandon Dubinsky and Boone Jenner on the second line and they’ve been responsible for the bulk of the Columbus offense lately. With that said, they’ve been shadowed by the Bergeron and Marchand line in the two prior meetings and that’s obviously a significant blow to their fantasy outlooks. On defense, Seth Jones has racked up 10 assists in 18 games with his new team and is averaging nearly five additional minutes of playing time than he was in Nashville.

The Bruins exploded for seven goals against Dallas over the weekend and have no climbed their way back into second place in the Atlantic Division. They’ve posted a 11-5-1 record over their last 16 games and have a nice matchup on tap tonight against a Columbus team that has allowed 3.07 goals against per game this season. Claude Julien has two very dangerous forward lines at his disposal, with Bergeron and Marchand (with Brett Connolly) leading the charge. Marchand lit the lamp two more times on Saturday and has now posted a ridiculous 15 goals over his last 16 games. Meanwhile, David Krejci is the focal point of the second line alongside Loui Eriksson and David Pastrnak. Krejci has posted three goals and eight assists in 10 games since the All-Star break and remains way too cheap for a guy averaging a point-per-game on home ice this season. Torey Krug and Zdeno Chara are the two blue-liners you’ll want to target. Both defensemen see plenty of playing time with the man advantage and have plenty of offensive upside.

Columbus Blue Jackets

CF%: 47.9, CP60: 108.4, 5×5 Differential: -15
Elite Options: None
Secondary Options: Cam Atkinson, Brandon Saad, Scott Hartnell, Brandon Dubinsky, Seth Jones

Boston Bruins

CF%: 48.9, CP60: 110.3, 5×5 Differential: 4
Elite Options: Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Krejci
Secondary Options: Loui Eriksson, Zdeno Chara, Torey Krug

Arizona Coyotes at Washington Capitals – 07:00 PM EST

Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Arizona Coyotes					Washington Capitals
			Louis Domingue					Braden Holtby
			Record					Record
			27-24-6					42-10-4
Team Stats	2.74	3.04	19.50%	77.90%	Team Stats	3.29	2.27	23.60%	84.20%

The Coyotes early season success looks to be long in the rear-view mirror as they’ve posted just a 5-9-2 record over their last 16 games and are now on the outside of the Western Conference playoff race. They were badly outplayed in a 6-4 loss against St. Louis on Saturday and will kick off a daunting looking five game road trip tonight against the NHL best Washington Capitals. Even on a four game slate, it’s probably a good idea to avoid the Coyotes all together in cash games tonight. For GPP purposes, Oliver Ekman-Larsson is the top option from this team. The 24-year old leads the team with 45 points in 58 games and is a major weapon on the point of the Arizona power-play. Alternatively, forwards like Mikkel Boedker, Martin Hanzal, Max Domi and Tobias Reider have enough offensive upside to consider for low-owned tournament options.

With the Arizona Coyotes allowing an atrocious 3.78 goals per game since the All-Star break, you’re going to want plenty of exposure to the Washington Capitals this evening in cash games. Alex Ovechkin leads the NHL with 38 goals on the young season and is obviously the premier play of the evening if you can afford him. Barry Trotz has recently shaken up his forward lines and Evgeny Kuznetsov and Justin Williams now benefit from playing alongside the Russian sniper. Kuznetsov actually leads this team with 60 points through 57 games and Justin Williams is one goal shy of the fifth 20-goal season of his impressive career. While the new lines aren’t ideal for both Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie, both players still get exposure to Ovechkin on the Capitals NHL best 23.2% power-play. With the Coyotes owning an ugly 77.8% penalty kill, they remain fine plays this evening. With that poor Arizona penalty kill in mind, John Carlson shoots up my rankings on the blue-line.

Arizona Coyotes

CF%: 46.8, CP60: 107.6, 5×5 Differential: -5
Elite Options: None
Secondary Options: Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Max Domi, Mikkel Boedker

Washington Capitals

CF%: 50.3, CP60: 109.1, 5×5 Differential: 36
Elite Options: Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Justin Williams, Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson
Secondary Options: T.J. Oshie, Marcus Johansson, Matt Niskanen

Nashville Predators at Montreal Canadiens – 07:30 PM EST

Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Nashville Predators					Montreal Canadiens
			Pekka Rinne					Mike Condon
			Record					Record
			27-21-10					28-27-4
Team Stats	2.60	2.60	19.60%	79.40%	Team Stats	2.66	2.75	18.40%	83.30%

The Predators dropped a tightly contested battle against the Kings in overtime on Saturday night and are now hanging on the the last playoff spot in the Western Conference. They’ve struggled a bit down the stretch and have not picked up back-to-back wins since the All-Star break. With that said, they’ll head to Montreal to take on a sputtering Canadiens team that has allowed 3.25 goals against per game since the calendar turned to 2016. James Neal and Ryan Johansen are likely the most dangerous offensive weapons for the Predators and join forces on both the top forward line and #1 power-play unit. While they’re fine plays, it’s been the 21 year-old Filip Forsberg turning things on offensively lately. Forsberg has posted six goals and three assists in his last seven games and has clearly joined a nice rapport with his linemates Mike Ribeiro and Craig Smith. On defense, both Shea Weber and Roman Josi are elite options on a nightly basis. The duo has combined for 26 goals and 52 assists in 59 games this season and see all the workload they can handle. Both players scored goals against the Canadiens in their only previous meeting this season and should be well worth the investment if you can afford them.

It’s been a disastrous last couple months for the Montreal Canadiens, but they finally stopped the bleeding a bit with a shootout victory over the Flyers on Friday night. Still this team has posted an ugly 9-23-1 record over their last 33 games and hopes of a turn around keep diminishing by the week. Tomas Plekanec has posted three goals and six assists in nine games since the break and teams up with Brendan Gallagher (and Alex Galchenyuk) on the top line. Meanwhile, Max Pacioretty may be in the midst of a very forgetable season by his standards, but remains a very dangerous weapon on the wing alongside Lars Eller and Sven Andrighetto on the second line. Pacioretty scored his 21st goal of the season on Friday night and his 225 SOG is the fourth highest total in the NHL. With Nashville owning the league’s 22nd ranked penalty kill, both P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov are solid targets on the blue-line. P.K. Subban actually leads this team with 46 points and quieted some of his critics with a two assist performance on Friday night.

Nashville Predators

CF%: 53.3, CP60: 105.2, 5×5 Differential: 2
Elite Options: James Neal, Filip Forsberg, Shea Weber, Roman Josi
Secondary Options: Ryan Johansen, Colin Wilson, Mike Ribeiro, Mattias Ekholm

Montreal Canadiens

CF%: 52.7, CP60: 109.2, 5×5 Differential: -4
Elite Options: Tomas Plekanec, P.K. Subban
Secondary Options: Max Pacioretty, Brendan Gallagher, Andrei Markov

San Jose Sharks at St. Louis Blues – 08:00 PM EST

Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
San Jose Sharks					St. Louis Blues
			Martin Jones					Brian Elliott
			Record					Record
			31-21-5					34-17-9
Team Stats	2.89	2.67	22.20%	80.50%	Team Stats	2.40	2.27	20.30%	87.00%

The Sharks saw their three-game winning streak come to an end with a 5-2 loss against the Carolina Hurricanes. While they were humbled a bit in that meeting, they still own an impressive 13-3-3 record over their last 19 games and look like they’ll be a tough out in the Western Conference this spring. They picked up a 3-1 victory over the Blues in their first meeting this season and will look to send another message to St. Louis this evening. The duo of Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton have both already cracked the 50 point plateau and join forces on the top forward line as well as the #1 power-play unit. Thornton scored a goal against the Blues in that first meeting with Pavelski picked up a pair of assists. While they’ll likely see a heavy dose of the pestering defense of the Steen/Backes combo, they’re still very nice options on a short slate. Alternatively, Logan Couture looks to finally be back to full speed and has racked up three goals and six assists in nine games since the All-Star break. Brent Burns scored his 19th goal of the season against Carolina on Friday and has now tallied 49 points in 57 games. He’s 249 SOG trails only Alex Ovechkin for the NHL lead and his a uniquely talented offensive weapon on the blue-line.

With a 6-4 victory in the desert on Saturday night against the Coyotes, the Blues extended their winning streak to five games and are now within two points of the Central Division leading Chicago Blackhawks. The Blues offensive attack centers around Vladimir Tarasenko who has posted 28 goals and 23 assists in 59 games. He broke out of a mini-slump with a goal and an assist against Arizona on Saturday and should benefit from having Jaden Schwartz back on his wing. Schwartz has lit the lamp in three straight games and has now tallied four goals and an assists in five games since returning to the lineup. On defense, the Alex Pietrangelo injury has opened the door for both Kevin Shattenkirk and Colton Parayko to play as many minutes as they can handle. Both defenseman see a very healthy dose of playing time on the point of the power-play and are fine options against the Sharks middling penalty kill.

San Jose Sharks

CF%: 51.1, CP60: 106.8, 5×5 Differential: 4
Elite Options: Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns
Secondary Options: Logan Couture, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Tomas Hertl, Marc-Edouard Vlasic

St. Louis Blues

CF%: 50.7, CP60: 105, 5×5 Differential: 10
Elite Options: Vladimir Tarasenko, Alexander Steen, Jaden Schwartz, Kevin Shattenkirk
Secondary Options: Jori Lehtera, David Backes, Colton Parayko