NHL Grind Down: Monday, October 26th
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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Calgary Flames at New York Islanders – 07:00 PM EDT
| Calgary Flames | New York Islanders | ||||||||
 | Joni Ortio |  | Jaroslav Halak | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 45-30 | 47-28 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.89 | 2.60 | 18.80% | 80.60% | Team Stats | 2.99 | 2.73 | 18.70% | 78.00% |
After battling the New York Rangers last night, the Calgary Flames will take a quick drive across the Brooklyn Bridge to take on the New York Islanders tonight. The Flames faded down the stretch in last night’s contest and ultimately were fairly easily swept aside by the Rangers 4-1. After pushing their way into the Western Conference playoffs last season, there’s a bit of panic in the air in Calgary now that the Flames have dropped five of their last six games and own just a 2-6-0 record. Breaking this team down from a fantasy standpoint is pretty straight forward; They have one very explosive forward line and several key offensive contributors from their defensive unit. Johnny Gaudreau leads the charge with a goal and nine assists already on the young season, and his linemates Jiri Hudler and Sean Monahan are each off to solid starts as well. Bob Hartley is desperately trying to find a source of secondary scoring, but nothing seems to be working just yet. On the blue-line, the trio of Mark Giordano, Dougie Hamilton and Dennis Wideman all possess solid offensive skills and see plenty of playing time with the man advantage. This could bode well for each of them considering New York’s ugly 78% penalty kill last season.
The Islanders picked up an impressive win in St. Louis on Saturday night and have now won five of their last six games since dropping both halves of a home-and-home series against the Blackhawks to open the season. The Islanders defeated the Flames in both of their two meetings last season and should benefit from some fresher legs in this matchup. John Tavares is the undoubted leader of this offense, and he not only has tallied five goals and six assists in the first eight games this season, but he also torched Calgary for a pair of goals and an assist in their two meetings last year. He’s joined on the top line (and #1 power-play unit) by the talented duo of Ryan Strome and Anders Lee and all three are excellent option on this short slate. A major reason for their recent success has also been the emergence of some consistent secondary scoring as Frans Nielsen centers a line alongside Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey that is certainly capable of generating scoring chances if the opposing team puts too big of a focus on slowing down the Tavares line. Defensively, both Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy eclipsed 35 points last season and are both locked into 20+ minutes per game and ample playing time with the man advantage. Their joined by power-play specialist Marek Zidlicky as fine options against the Flames mediocre 80.6% PK from last season.
Elite Plays
CGY: Johnny Gaudreau, Jiri Hudler, Mark Giordano
NYI: John Tavares, Ryan Strome, Johnny Boychuk
Secondary Plays
CGY: Sean Monahan, Dennis Wideman, Dougie Hamilton
NYI: Anders Lee, Frans Nielsen, Josh Bailey, Kyle Okposo, Nick Leddy, Marek Zidlicky
Arizona Coyotes at Toronto Maple Leafs – 07:30 PM EDT
| Arizona Coyotes | Toronto Maple Leafs | ||||||||
 | Mike Smith |  | Jonathan Bernier | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 24-50 | 30-44 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.01 | 3.26 | 20.00% | 76.70% | Team Stats | 2.51 | 3.13 | 15.90% | 80.50% |
The Coyotes surprisingly won each of their first three games, but this is simply not an overly talented hockey club and after losing four of their last five, it looks like they’ll probably starting their decent to the cellar of the Pacific Division. They’ll continue their five game road trip tonight in Toronto, and this is actually one of the most favorable matchups for the Coyotes on the young season. Nearly all of this teams offense this season has come from the line of Martin Hanzal, Max Domi and Anthony Duclair and there’s little reason to believe that’ll change tonight. Both Max Domi and Anthony Duclair are highly touted young offensive threats and the big Martin Hanzal has been an effective weapon when healthy over the past several seasons. The trio has combined for eight goals and 16 assists through the first seven games and should be able to continue rolling against the Maple Leafs soft defense. Oliver Ekman-Larsson is one of the best young defenseman in the NHL today and he can be used with confidence in this matchup.
The Mike Babcock era in Toronto hasn’t gone well thus far as the Leafs bring a 1-4-2 record into tonight’s game and have now dropped three straight. However, on a three game slate and hosting the Arizona Coyotes, you can’t afford to just overlook this game. The Coyotes allowed 3.26 goals against per game last season and posted the league’s second worst penalty kill (76.7%). That obviously opens the door for the Toronto offense and it’s the top line of James van Riemsdyk, Nazem Kadri and Leo Komarov that has my attention. Those three players have combined for eight of the team’s 16 goals this season and all three members see a healthy dose of playing time with the man advantage. Joffrey Lupul has four 20 goal seasons under his belt and mans the wing of the teams #1 power-play unit, making him a fine option here as well. On the blue-line, Dion Phaneuf is the workhorse and actually leads this team in points thus far (5 assists), making him an elite option as he also runs the point of the top power-play unit. Morgan Reilly is a former first round pick who put up some gaudy offensive numbers on his way to the NHL, making him a very nice value play on the blue-line as well.
Elite Plays
ARI: Martin Hanzal, Anthony Duclair, Oliver Ekman-Larsson
TOR: Nazem Kadri, James van Riemsdyk, Joffrey Lupul, Dion Phaneuf
Secondary Plays
ARI: Mikkel Boedker, Antoine Vermette, Shane Doan, Max Domi
TOR: Leo Komarov, P.A. Parenteau, Daniel Winnik, Morgan Rielly
Anaheim Ducks at Chicago Blackhawks – 08:30 PM EDT
| Anaheim Ducks | Chicago Blackhawks | ||||||||
 | Frederik Andersen |  | Corey Crawford | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 51-24 | 48-28 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.78 | 2.70 | 15.70% | 81.00% | Team Stats | 2.68 | 2.27 | 17.60% | 83.40% |
The headliner of the evening is the heavyweight matchup between the Anaheim Ducks and the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center. After taking the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs last season, the Ducks lost a grueling seven game series against these Blackhawks in the Conference Finals and had all offseason to prepare for revenge. However, they’ve really struggled out of the gates this season and enter this tough game having lost two straight games and sporting an ugly 1-5-1 record through their first seven games. The worn shutout for the fourth time this season against Minnesota on Saturday and have only managed to score six goals as a team. The team is loaded with offensive talent, but they’ve yet to see a goal from Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf or Ryan Kesler. Their forward lines have been in a constant shuffle, and it’s just hard to trust anyone here against the mighty Chicago Blackhawks knowing that Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa lurk to shut down whatever line Joel Quenneville desires.
We may have seen a small glimpse of a Stanley Cup hangover to start the season, but the Blackhawks look to be rolling now. They enter tonight’s game having won each of the first three games on their current four game homestand and should be eager to add to Anaheim’s misery. One of Chicago’s strengths is their depth, but it’s their top two scoring lines that contribute nearly all of the scoring. Patrick Kane has led the charge thus far, scoring five goals and adding six assists. He’s joined by the widely underpriced but very talented Artemi Panarin who becomes a near plug-and-play option on the sites that have still failed to accurately price the 23 year old. Captain Jonathan Toews headlines the top line alongside Marian Hossa and Viktor Tikhonov that can not only handle their own offensively, but also represent one of the best defensive forward lines in the NHL. On the blue-line, the Duncan Keith injury is a big blow to this team, but not one they can’t withstand. Both Brent Seabrook and Trevor Daley should see some extra minutes in the meantime and will share the power-play duties so they’ll both need to be on your radar in this one.
Elite Plays
ANA: Oddly enough, none.
CHI: Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Artemi Panarin, Brent Seabrook, Trevor Daley
Secondary Plays
ANA: Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Sami Vatanen
CHI: Marian Hossa, Artem Anisimov, Andrew Shaw