NHL Grind Down: Monday, November 16th - Page Two
Winnipeg Jets at St. Louis Blues – 08:00 PM EST
| Winnipeg Jets | St. Louis Blues | ||||||||
 | Ondrej Pavelec |  | |||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 8-8-2 | 11-5-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.67 | 3.22 | 16.70% | 80.50% | Team Stats | 2.76 | 2.41 | 15.50% | 83.10% |
The Jets look to be in total disarray, as they’ve not dropped five straight games and have been outscored 24-8 in the process. Things certainly won’t be easy for them tonight as they head to St. Louis to battle a very tough St. Louis team. Bryan Little centers Andrew Ladd and Blake Wheeler on the Jet’s top line and that trio is clearly the most dangerous offensive weapon at Paul Maurice’s disposal. However, both Alex Steen and David Backes have earned reputations as very disrupting defenders and this just doesn’t look like the spot to pay up for their services in cash games. Mathieu Perreault, Mark Scheifele and Nikolaj Ehlers team up to provide some very capable secondary scoring, but after a fairly hot start to the season, those three have really cooled off lately. Dustin Byfuglien remains a top-tier fantasy defenseman and leads this team with 62 SOG, but he’s very expensive across the industry and is a GPP only option for me in this matchup.
It’s been a pretty bruising schedule for the Blues lately, and while they enter tonight’s game having lost two straight games, they still sport a solid 11-5-1 record and the NHL scheduling gods look to be about to give them a nice break. After a breakout season last year that saw him rack up 37 goals and 36 assists in 77 games, Vladimir once again leads the offensive charge for the Blues and shows no signs of slowing down. The 23 year old sniper is joined by Alexander Steen and Jori Lehtera to form one of the most dangerous lines in the NHL. WIth the Jets allowing 3.22 goals against per game this season, all three are terrific options tonight. With Colton Parayko emerging as an offensive force on the blue-line, the Blues are now blessed with three very capable offensive defenseman. Parayko along with Kevin Shattenkirk and Alex Pietrangelo all locked into 20+ minutes of ice-time per game and provide an offensive spark from the point of both of St. Louis’ power-play units.
Elite Plays
WIN: None
STL: Vladimir Tarasenko, Alexander Steen, Jori Lehtera, Kevin Shattenkirk, Colton Parayko
Secondary Plays
WIN: Bryan Little, Blake Wheeler, Andrew Ladd, Nikolaj Ehlers, Dustin Byfuglien
STL: David Backes, Troy Brouwer, Alex Pietrangelo