NHL Grind Down: Monday, February 26th

by Tom Woollam (elctrceye) Last Updated 2018-02-27 00:02:44 Premium Content Part of the product Combo Lite

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.

Washington Capitals at Columbus Blue Jackets

Washington Capitals					Columbus Blue Jackets
			Braden Holtby					Sergei Bobrovsky
			Record					Record
			35-20-7					31-26-5
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	3.08	2.95	21.74	80.00	Team Stats	2.53	2.74	14.62	76.73

Much like yesterday, please be cognizant of today’s 3pm trading deadline as they are a few teams on tonight’s slate that have been holding players out of the last few games in hopes of trading them for pieces that they can use either for the playoff run or in the future. Thomas Vanek of Vancouver is a good example of this as he is expected to be traded but if the Canucks cannot move him then he will obviously suit up tonight.

The Capitals relinquished their lead in the Metropolitan Division for about five hours on Saturday night as the Flyers came up with a big win which put them in first place until Washington was able to dispose of the Buffalo Sabres by a score of 5-1 that night. The team is 5-7 in the month of February so far and need to stay focused if they don’t want to drop one to the surging Blue Jackets. Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson skate on the top line while Brett Connolly received a promotion of sorts as he now skates on the second line with Evgeny Kuznetsov and T.J. Oshie. Subtract Wilson and Connolly and you have 80% of the team’s top power play unit that has scored in the last three games. Ovechkin is the centerpiece here as he has grabbed 12 of his 70 points over the last eight games while Kuznetsov’s 59 points is good enough for second on the team. You could pair these two up as they play together on the top power play unit and it will also almost guarantee you some kind of scoring. Andre Burakovsky could be a GPP one-off here as he has notched six of his 17 points over the last two weeks and gets a little extra time on the team’s second power play unit. John Carlson is the chalk play on the back line as he has gathered 22 of his 49 points while quarterbacking the top power play unit. Matt Niskanen or Dmitry Orlov can be used for some salary relief as they have each registered four points over the last eight games. Washington has been tough all season and there’s no reason to turtle up now.

Columbus was able to get by the slumping Blackhawks on Saturday night and keep the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference in their possession. Their 31-26-5 record has yielded 67 points so far which makes the Islanders the closest team to them just two points behind. The top line of Artemi Panarin, Pierre-Luc DuBois and Cam Atkinson will stay intact while Josh Anderson jumps up to skate with Boone Jenner and Alexander Wennberg on the second line. This leaves Brandon Dubinsky and Oliver Bjorkstrand to try amnd do some damage from the team’s third line.