NHL Grind Down: Monday, November 30th
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.
Colorado Avalanche at New York Islanders – 07:00 PM EST
| Colorado Avalanche | New York Islanders | ||||||||
 | Semyon Varlamov |  | Jaroslav Halak | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 9-13-1 | 12-8-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.96 | 3.04 | 20.40% | 78.40% | Team Stats | 2.79 | 2.38 | 17.90% | 82.90% |
It’s been a disappointing start to the season for Patrick Roy and the Avalanche, and things won’t get an easier for them anytime soon as they start a very tough East Coast road trip tonight in Brooklyn. The Avalanche picked up a much need victory against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday, but still own just a 9-13-1 record through their first 23 games. This is certainly a tough matchup for the Avalanche, but their top line of Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan Mackinnon and Matt Duchene still deserves your attention. All three players have already reached the 20 point barrier on the young season, with Nathan Mackinnon leading the charge with 10 goals and 14 assists in 23 games. While Jarome Iginla is still capable of an offensive explosion, he’s much better suited for GPP use at this point. On the blue-line, Erik Johnson garners most of the fantasy attention, but it’s been Tyson Barrie putting up the most fantasy friendly numbers lately. Barrie has posted a goal and 11 assists in 13 games during the month of November and has the luxury of quarterbacking Colorado’s #1 power-play unit.
The Islanders haven’t been able to get much traction going this season, but they should be hungry to pick up their second straight victory tonight before doing battle with the cross-town rival New York Rangers on Wednesday night. With the Avalanche allowing 3.04 GA/G this season and rating out as the worst puck possession team in the league this season (44.6 CF%), there’s plenty to like from the Islanders tonight. The Islanders benefit from two very capable scoring lines, but it’s the top line headlined by John Tavares that represents the most danger for Colorado. As expected, Tavares leads the team with 11 goals and 10 assists in 21 games, with his linemates Kyle Okposo and Brock Nelson both off to very strong offensive starts as well. Alternatively, Frans Nielsen centers Anders Lee and Josh Bailey and with their ownership levels likely lagging far behind the trio on the top line, all three members of the second line are very appealing GPP targets. Nick Leddy and Johnny Boychuk both average roughly 22 minutes of playing time per game on the blue-line and are the top offensive options, with Marek Zidlicky and Travis Hamonic fine value targets.
Elite Plays
COL: Nathan Mackinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, Matt Duchene
NYI: John Tavares, Kyle Okposo, Nick Leddy
Secondary Plays
COL: Jarome Iginla, Tyson Barrie, Erik Johnson, Francois Beauchemin
NYI: Josh Bailey, Frans Nielsen, Anders Lee, Brock Nelson, Johnny Boychuk, Marek Zidlicky
Carolina Hurricanes at New York Rangers – 07:00 PM EST
| Carolina Hurricanes | New York Rangers | ||||||||
 | Cam Ward |  | Henrik Lundqvist | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 8-11-4 | 16-6-2 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.04 | 2.83 | 13.00% | 76.50% | Team Stats | 2.88 | 2.04 | 19.70% | 84.00% |
After losing 4-1 in Buffalo on Friday night, the Hurricanes will head to NYC for a daunting matchup against the 16-6-2 New York Rangers. The Hurricanes are averaging just 2.04 goals per game this season and no team in the NHL has allowed fewer goals against than the Rangers. The Hurricanes have dropped nine of their last twelve games and, even on just a four game slate, this is a very easy situation to avoid in your cash games. The most appealing fantasy option on this Hurricanes’ team this season has been Justin Faulk, and that remains the case this evening. The 23 year-old defenseman saw his seven game scoring streak snapped on Friday night, but he’s still a top-tier option on the blue-line (specially on sites that don’t penalize for plus/minus). Offensively, Eric Staal remains the most dangerous weapon with Kris Versteeg and Victor Rask also putting up solid numbers.
The Rangers dominated the Hurricanes in their only previous meeting this season; winning 3-0 and outshooting Carolina 33-23. New York was embarrassed by their play in their 3-0 loss to the Flyers on Saturday and have now uncharacteristically dropped three straight games. With Derek Stepan expected to miss at least a month of action, the weight of the Rangers’ offense falls even more heavily on the shoulders of Rick Nash. It was a slow start to the season for Nash, but he’s racked up six goals over the last five games and looks to be as dangerous in the offensive zone as he was in his 42 goal season last year. He’s joined on both the top line and #1 power-play unit by both Mats Zuccarello and Derick Brassard and both players are not only off to fantastic starts to the season, but also come with a much more reasonable asking price on most sites. Stepan’s injury does open the door for Kevin Hayes to see playing time on the top power-play unit, making him an intriguing value play in all formats. Keith Yandle and Ryan McDonagh offer plenty of offensive upside from the blue-line and are the well worth consideration in this plus matchup.
Elite Plays
CAR: Justin Faulk
NYR: Rick Nash, Mats Zuccarello, Derick Brassard, Keith Yandle
Secondary Plays
CAR: Eric Staal, Kris Versteeg, Victor Rask, Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin
NYR: Kevin Hayes, Chris Kreider, Ryan McDonagh, Kevin Klein
Edmonton Oilers at Toronto Maple Leafs – 07:30 PM EST
| Edmonton Oilers | Toronto Maple Leafs | ||||||||
 | Ben Scrivens |  | Jonathan Bernier | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 8-14-2 | 7-11-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.54 | 3.08 | 20.30% | 79.50% | Team Stats | 2.22 | 2.70 | 19.70% | 79.70% |
In a battle of two teams sitting in the cellar of their respective divisions, the Oilers will head east to battle the struggling Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs had looked to be trending upwards at the end of last week, but they were defeated by Washington on Saturday after being swept in a home-and-home series against the Bruins to have now lost three straight games and fall to just 7-11-5. The Oilers shocked the Penguins on Saturday night, but they’ve lost eight of their last eleven games and own just a 4-9-1 record on the road this season. Taylor Hall and Leon Draisaitl have been a dynamic offensive duo since being lined up together. They’ll be joined by Teddy Purcell on the top forward line and all three look to be very nice options on this short slate. Todd Mclellan’s desperate search for some secondary scoring since the Connor McDavid injury looks to now have resulted in Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle being split apart on the second line, damaging the fantasy value of both players just slightly. On the blue-line, former first-round pick Oscar Klefbom has been quiet lately but owns 11 points on the young season. The Oilers were also very excited to welcome Justin Schultz back to the lineup on Saturday but it’s tough to expect much from him until he re-secures his playing time on the point of the power-play.
The Toronto Maple Leafs aren’t often one of the more appealing teams on the board to target in DFS hockey, but with Edmonton coming to town on a short slate, they’re very much in play tonight. The Oilers have allowed an ugly 3.08 GA/G this season and continue to victimize themselves with defensive miscues on a nightly basis. With Cam Talbot sporting an ugly 3.17 GAA and .889 SV% on the young season, Toronto should be able to force some pucks across the goal crease. Despite just a pair of goals on the season, Nazem Kadri remains one of the Maple Leafs most dangerous scorers and his slow offensive start has simply kept his asking price in check. The 25 year-old already has a 20 goal season under his belt and his 89 SOG ranks 7th in the entire NHL. He’s joined on the Maple Leafs top line by James van Riemsdyk and Leo Komarov and all three are very solid (and reasonably priced) options tonight. Alternatively, Tyler Bozak leads Toronto forwards with 14 points in 19 games and centers a very capable second line with P.A. Parenteau and Shawn Matthias. Joffrey Lupul sees plenty of run on the #1 power-play unit and that makes him a fine target in this one as well. On defense, it’s DIon Phaneuf and Morgan Rielly that deserve your attention. Both players are off to fine starts offensively and are locked into 22+ minutes of ice-time per game.
Elite Plays
EDM: Taylor Hall, Leon Draisaitl, Jordan Eberle
TOR: Nazem Kadri, James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak, Dion Phaneuf
Secondary Plays
EDM: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Teddy Purcell, Oscar Klefbom, Andrej Sekera, Justin Schultz
TOR: Shawn Matthias, P.A. Parenteau, Joffrey Lupul, Morgan Rielly, Jake Gardiner
Vancouver Canucks at Anaheim Ducks – 10:00 PM EST
| Vancouver Canucks | Anaheim Ducks | ||||||||
 | Ryan Miller |  | Frederik Andersen | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 9-8-7 | 8-11-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.83 | 2.67 | 20.40% | 77.60% | Team Stats | 1.92 | 2.67 | 19.10% | 87.00% |
The Canucks haven’t been able to win consecutive games since Oct. 13th and will continue their road trip tonight in Southern California against the underperforming Anaheim Ducks. Despite a very mediocre start to the season, Vancouver still finds themselves just four points out of the lead in the Pacific Division and finishing off their road trip with a pair of wins could go a long way towards positioning themselves for another playoff run. Vancouver picked up a shootout victory over the Ducks in their only previous meeting this season and hope Anaheim’s early season struggles continue for at least one more game. Vancouver is one of the easiest teams to break down from a fantasy standpoint as a very disproportionate amount of their offense is centered around the Sedin twins on the top line (along with Jannik Hansen). The matchup is not ideal, but those three have combined for 26 goals and 39 assists on the young season and make it tough to look elsewhere in cash games. Radim Vrbata really struggled early on this season, but he looks to be turning things on lately; picking up points in four straight games and racking up three goals and a pair of assists in the process. His value would skyrocket if he could find his way back alongside the Sedins, but for now he’s at least a compelling GPP target. On defense, Alex Edler has been the most consistent producer and sees plenty of run on the top power-play unit, making him a solid, but low ceiling cash game option.
The Ducks lost in overtime to the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night and now sport a very disappointing 8-11-5 record after 24 games. However, this is essentially the same team that was one game away from advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals last season, and it still seems that it’s only a matter of time until they get rolling once again. However, with Ryan Kesler and Jakob Silfverberg combining for just four goals on the season, Bruce Boudreau has been simply unable to find some secondary scoring to help lessen the offensive burden on his super-stars Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. Both Perry and Getzlaf were very slow out of the gates this season, but they’ve teamed up with Rickard Rakell on the top line and #1 power-play unit and that trio has been buzzing in the offensive zone for the last few weeks. With the Canucks struggling on the penalty kill (77.6%), all three look like terrific options. On defense, both Sami Vatanen and Cam Fowler join that trio as the point-men on the power-play and both are putting up very solid offensive numbers thus far.
Elite Plays
VAN: Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin
ANA: Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Sami Vatanen
Secondary Plays
VAN: Jannik Hansen, Radim Vrbata, Alex Burrows, Alex Edler
ANA: Rickard Rakell, Ryan Kesler, Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm