NHL Grind Down: Monday, March 14th - Page Two
New Jersey Devils at Anaheim Ducks – 10:00 PM EDT
| New Jersey Devils | Anaheim Ducks | ||||||||
 |  | John Gibson | |||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 33-29-7 | 37-21-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.19 | 2.39 | 20.80% | 82.60% | Team Stats | 2.45 | 2.31 | 23.30% | 86.70% |
The Devils have done the Ducks a huge favor by defeating both the Sharks and Kings in the first two games of their tour of California, but it’s still very tough to get excited about anything from New Jersey in daily fantasy hockey… particularly tonight against an Anaheim team that has allowed just 2.12 goals against per game at the Honda Center all season. With that said, John Hynes has managed to scrape together two capable scoring lines that are, at the very least, worth a look as contrarian GPP plays. Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac look to be heating up with a combined five goals and four assists in their last six games. Meanwhile, the newly acquired Devante Smith-Pelly has taken kindly with his new role alongside Adam Henrique on the New Jersey’s top forward line, scoring three goals and adding two assists in his first five games wearing a Devils sweater. It’s been a fantasy wasteland on the blue-line in New Jersey all season and there’s not much of a reason to expect that to change tonight against the Duck’s NHL best 86.8% penalty kill.
After winning 11 straight games to close out the month of February, the Ducks have now dropped each of their last three and find themselves sitting two points behind the Los Angeles Kings in the race for the Pacific Division title. While I expect them to get back on track tonight against the Devils, this may not be quiet as good of a matchup as it appears at first glance. The Devils are not only playing well lately, but are also the slowest paced team in the NHL by a fairly wide margin (90.7 CP60). The Ducks did pick up a 2-1 victory against them in their only previous meeting this season, but it was ugly as they were only able to muster up 18 shots on goal. With that said, Ryan Getzlaf has caught fire lately; posting eight goals and 14 assists in 19 games since the All-Star break. David Perron (and Nick Ritchie) will join him on the top forward line and has thrived since being acquired by the Ducks; racking up eight goals, 11 assists and a plus 13 in 24 games. Corey Perry joins Getzlaf and Perron on the Ducks’ top power-play unit and will be looking to snap out of a four game pointless drought. Former first round pick Rickard Rakell joins him on the second line and is fresh off of a two point performance in St. Louis on Friday night. On defense, Sami Vatanen was forced to miss Friday’s game with an upper-body injury and his status is in doubt for tonight. If he’s unable to lace things up, both Cam Fowler and Hampus Lindholm would see a very heavy workload and make for rock solid mid-priced cash game targets.
New Jersey Devils
CF%: 46.6, CP60: 90.7, 5×5 Differential: -19
Elite Options: None
Secondary Options: Adam Henrique, Kyle Palmieri, Devante Smith-Pelly
Anaheim Ducks
CF%: 53.1, CP60: 108, 5×5 Differential: -13
Elite Options: Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, David Perron
Secondary Options: Ryan Kesler, Rickard Rakell, Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm, Sami Vatanen (if healthy)