NHL Grind Down: Monday, October 19th
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.
San Jose Sharks at New York Rangers – 07:00 PM EDT
| San Jose Sharks | New York Rangers | ||||||||
 | Martin Jones |  | Antti Raanta | ||||||
| Team Record | Team Record | ||||||||
| 4-1-0 | 3-2-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.73 | 2.76 | 21.60% | 78.50% | Team Stats | 3.02 | 2.28 | 16.80% | 84.30% |
With both teams off to solid starts this season, the San Jose Sharks will head into Madison Square Garden tonight to take on the President Trophy winning New York Rangers. The Sharks saw their undefeated record come to an end down the street on Saturday night as they lost 6-3 to the New York Islanders, but they’re likely still content with a 4-1-0 record to start the season. With that said, the Sharks lost arguably their most important player, Logan Couture, for the next 4-6 weeks and his absence really thins out this San Jose team up front. Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton still team up to create a very dangerous duo on the Sharks’ top line (alongside Nikolay Goldobin) but their fantasy value takes a slight hit as they’ll likely be shadowed by the very solid defense of Chris Kreider up front and Ryan McDonagh down low. Patrick Marleau is clearly still a dangerous offensive threat, but with San Jose depending on a secondary scoring line, the verdict is still out on whether he can get anything going with Joel Ward and Tomas Hertl. On the blue-line, Brent Burns is given about as much offensive freedom as any defenseman in the league these days, and with Couture absence leaving behind an offensive void, we may even see another uptick in his aggressiveness. With Henrik Lundqvist getting the evening off, this whole team gets a small boost as Antti Raanta is set for his first start in a New York uniform.
The Rangers dropped a disappointing 2-1 decision to the very beatable New Jersey Devils yesterday afternoon, and while playing in back-to-back situations is usually a bit concerning, it’s very early in the season still and is largely offset by the added motivation of avenging an embarrassing loss. New York dominated this San Jose team last season as they won both meetings and outscored the Sharks 7-1 in the process. There’s no secret that this offense runs through 40+ goalscorer Rick Nash, and with the Sharks owning an ugly 78.5% penalty kill last season, the sniper is an elite option. Joining him both at even strength and on the top power-play line are Derek Stepan and Mats Zuccarello ,with both players already tallying three goals on the young season. Defensively, if you’re a believer that playing time = fantasy points, then Ryan McDonagh has to be on your radar. The workhorse defenseman leads the team in average ice-time per game and already has a 40+ point season under his belt. With that said, the true fantasy threat on the Rangers blue-line is Keith Yandle. Yandle quarterbacks the team’s #1 power play and is one of the best breakout passers in the league.
Elite Plays
SJ: Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns
NYR: Rick Nash, Derek Stepan, Keith Yandle
Secondary Plays
SAN: Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, Tomas Hertl
NYR: Mats Zuccarello, Chris Kreider, Ryan McDonagh