NHL Grind Down: Monday, January 2nd
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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Chicago Blackhawks at St. Louis Blues
| Chicago Blackhawks | St. Louis Blues | ||||||||
 | Corey Crawford |  | Jake Allen | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 23-11-5 | 19-13-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.72 | 2.38 | 19.00% | 75.00% | Team Stats | 2.78 | 2.95 | 21.60% | 86.00% |
The NHL kicks off the second day of the year with a decent match-up that is to be played outdoors in a less than weather optimal Busch Stadium in St Louis. Rain is predicted for early in the day put should taper off, so we will see how that goes. Chicago will look to keep their slim one point lead of the Minnesota Wild in the Central Division while the Blues will look to make up some ground as they are eight points from the first place Blackhawks. On such a short slate there is no doubt that the top line of Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin and Artem Anisimov will be high owned in your cash game plays today. Panarin leads the team with 38 points while Kane is right behind him with 37. The top line also doubles as the team’s best power play unit that has been tinkered with a bit for today’s game. Instead of using two defensemen on the back line Chicago has decided to use Jonathan Toews up front while Brent Seabrook is relegated to the second unit when the Hawks draw a penalty. This obviously will make Toews a decent one-off here as anytime you get exposure to the top line should net you a few extra points. While Seabrook still makes a decent play from the point Duncan Keith is the play here as eight of his 25 points have come with the man advantage. Vincent Hinostroza and Ryan Hartman skate with Toews at even strength and make for a decent play if you are using a few lineups in tournament play today.
The Blues are 14-3-4 in front of the home crowd but you can probably throw that out the window today ad they play outdoors on a surface that has been rained on over the past few hours. This may be a slower game than usual so it will be interesting to see how the faster skaters adjust to the slower track. Vladimir Tarasenko, Alexander Steen and Jori Lehtera comprise the team’s top line at even strength and are the first unit on the ice when the Blues go on the power play. Tarasenko leads the team in both goals and assists with 16 and 23 respectively. The Blues have also changed up their top power play unit as now Jaden Schwartz will move up from the second line while defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk stays on the point as the top dog. Shattenkirk is the one to target here on the back line as he has registered 14 of his 24 points after the Blues draw a penalty. Robby Fabbri is the odd man out here as a lot of his value was predicated on playing next to Tarasenko either on the top line or on the team’s first power play unit. He still makes a good one-off here though as he does have 12 goals and 11 assists so far this season. Paul Stastny and David Perron are Schwartz’s line mates on the second line and can be used for tournament play as Perron has netted three goals over the last five games. Defensman Alex Pietrangelo is a decent alternative to Shattenkirk but will see his value drop as he skates on the team’s second power play unit. This should be an interesting game to say the least with the elements possibly playing a big factor in the outcome.
Elite Plays
CHI: Artemi Panarin, Patrick Kane
STL: Vladimir Tarasenko
Secondary Plays
CHI: Artem Anisimov, Duncan Keith, Jonathan Toews
STL: Alexander Steen, Kevin Shattenkirk, Jaden Schwartz, David Perron
Boston Bruins at New Jersey Devils
| Boston Bruins | New Jersey Devils | ||||||||
 | Tuukka Rask |  | Cory Schneider | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 20-15-4 | 14-16-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.38 | 2.38 | 14.30% | 87.00% | Team Stats | 2.24 | 3.03 | 14.10% | 83.20% |
With David Backes still on the shelf the Bruins are sticking with Ryan Spooner, David Krejci and Frank Vatrano as their second line which just happens to be the line to target for your GPP plays tonight. Vatrano has done very well in the absence of Backes as he has lit the lamp twice while assisting on two other goals since his promotion five games ago. Spooner is another intriguing play as he has apparently found a way out of Claude Julien’s doghouse to not only play in the top six but join the top line on the team’s best power play unit. Spooner leads the team with three goals and seven points over the last seven games which make him one of the better one-off plays of the day. Torey Krug completes the top power play unit from the back line that has scored four goals in the last five games. Krug has compiles seven of his 21 points over the last seven games as he is second on the team with 113 shots on goal. The top line of David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand make for a strong play in either GPP or cash game formats as Pasrtnak leads the team with 19 goals while Marchand leads the team in scoring with 31 points in 39 games. New Jersey has only won two of their last 12 games giving the Bruins a decent chance to win this one tonight.
New Jersey is just one point away from being the worst team in the Eastern Conference. They will be without the services of defenseman John Moore and possibly Travis Zajac as he did not skate this morning due to illness but is still listed as a game time decision. This news will certainly make the Devils situation a bit unclear as we make our rosters today. The good news is that Taylor Hall will be in the lineup tonight as he will skate alongside P.A. Parenteau and Sergey Kalinen while Adam Henrique will move up and center Mike Cammalleri and Kyle Palmieri. Hall leads the team in shots with 85 despite only having played in 27 games where he has compiled eight goals and 15 assists. New Jersey has only scored 19 goals in their last 12 games so maybe it’s best to use the Henrique line as a line stack and use Parenteau and Hall as either a pairing or a one-off. Damon Severson will take over the point on the power play which isn’t a bad thing when you consider eight of his 18 points have come with the man advantage. It’s a small slate with almost no room to move where the Devils are concerned so I would use them sparingly.
Elite Plays
BOS: David Pastrnak
NJ: Taylor Hall
Secondary Plays
BOS: Ryan Spooner, Torey Krug, Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci
NJ: Adam Henrique, Kyle Palmieri, Damon Severson, Mike Cammalleri
Colorado Avalanche at Vancouver Canucks
| Colorado Avalanche | Vancouver Canucks | ||||||||
 | Calvin Pickard |  | Ryan Miller | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 12-23-1 | 17-18-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.06 | 3.36 | 13.10% | 79.00% | Team Stats | 2.37 | 2.97 | 13.80% | 80.40% |
What we have here is two teams that are almost out of the playoffs barring any miracles. Colorado has has scored a league low 74 goals in 36 games while their 25 points is the worst in the league. Once again they have shuffled up their lines to where their top two right wingers have a combined age of well over 75 years old. One has to assume that the Canucks will shut down the top line of Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Rene Bourque leaving the second line of Matt Duchene, Mikko Rantanen and Jarome Iginla to have a bit more room on the ice tonight. With three games on the slate this game could very well propel folks to the top of the charts in GPP play tonight so it’s just a matter of unlocking the right combination. Matt Duchene makes for a decent one-off play here as he leads the team in goals and has collected a total of 24 points in the 32 games he has suited up for. Instead of pairing Duchene with one of his line mates maybe it’s best to match him up with defenseman Tyson Barrie. Barrie has six points over the last six games while he leads both Rantanen and Iginla in points with 19 of them. His 89 shots on goal is second on the team next to MacKinnon’s 122. Speaking of MacKinnon, his line is probably the one to target for your tournament plays tonight as they will no doubt be one of the lower owned top lines of the night. MacKinnon leads the team with 25 points while Bourque has managed nine goals but only four assists so far this season. Colorado doesn’t score a bunch of goals and it’s a shame they are on this three game slate.
Vancouver isn’t as bad as the team they are hosting as they at least have 37 points and are five points away from fourth place Calgary in the Pacific Division. They also look to tie their best winning streak of the season as they have won their last three games albeit by scoring seven goals in those three wins. Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin and Jayson Megna will skate on the top line while Brandon Sutter, Markus Granlund and Loui Eriksson skate on the second line. Both Sedin brothers and Sutter are joined by third liner Sven Baertschi and defesneman Troy Stecher on the team’s top power play unit that has found the back of the net twice over the last three games. Bo Horvat skates with Baertchi on the third line but look to make an interesting pair here as they have combined for seven points over the last four games. Horvat leads the team in both goals and assists with ten and 15 repsectively while Baertschi is a decent one-off play as he gets the extra ice time when the Canucks draw a penalty. Vancouver should win this one as they not only have had good goaltending, but it seems that the Avalanche have trouble finding the back of the net as they have scored just 11 goals in the last eight games.
Elite Plays
COL: Matt Duchene
VAN: Bo Horvat
Secondary Plays
COL: Nathan MacKinnon, Tyson Barrie, Mikko Rantanen
VAN: Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, Sven Baertschi, Brandon Sutter, Troy Stecher