NHL Grind Down: Saturday, April 2nd
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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Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Islanders – 01:00 PM EDT
| Pittsburgh Penguins | New York Islanders | ||||||||
 | Marc-Andre Fleury |  | Thomas Greiss | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 44-25-8 | 42-25-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.86 | 2.44 | 18.10% | 83.30% | Team Stats | 2.75 | 2.51 | 18.90% | 85.50% |
Pittsburgh will try to keep their foot on the gas this afternoon to secure their home ice advantage when the playoffs start in just about two weeks. The second line is not only in play here but they have been red hot with Phil Kessel leading the way with four goals and five assists over the last five games. While Kessel makes a great one-off play here you can easily match him up with either Nick Bonino or Carl Hagelin as Bonino has eight points while Hagelin has recorded five points over the last five games. The Penguins power play has scored five times over the last six games which would make Sidney Crosby and Patric Hornqvist decent plays here as they anchor the top unit with the man advantage. On defense Kris Letang is the choice nine times out of ten but you could also look at Justin Schultz who mans the point next to Letang on the team’s top power play unit.
Barring a complete meltdown it appears that the Islanders will be a participant in the end of the year tournament for the rights to hoist the Stanley Cup. They are currently six points up on the Detroit Red Wings who are now the team on the outside looking in. A win here could go a long way in not only securing a playoff spot but with any luck they may be able to climb high enough to host a first round series. John Tavares is the easy choice here on home ice as he not only leads the team in points he has scored three goals and five points over the last five games. Line mate Josh Bailey has four assists over that time frame and makes a good choice to pair Tavares with. Second liners Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo skate with Tavares on the top power play unit but it has been Nikolay Kulemin who has been doing the scoring on this line as he has lit the lamp twice and assisted on two other goals in the last five games. Anders Lee has two goals to go along with an assist while getting power play time along with defenseman Nick Leddy who has three assists in the last five games. This should be your typical knock ‘em down drag ‘em out game between these two clubs so look for some penalties along with some scoring in this one.
Elite Plays
PIT: Sidney Crosby
NYI: John Tavares
Secondary Plays
PIT: Patric Hornqvist, Kris Letang, Nick Bonino, Phil Kessel, Justin Schultz
NYI: Frans Nielsen, Kyle Okposo, Josh Bailey, Anders Lee, Nick Leddy
Ottawa Senators at Philadelphia Flyers – 01:00 PM EDT
| Ottawa Senators | Philadelphia Flyers | ||||||||
 | Craig Anderson |  | Steve Mason | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 36-33-9 | 38-25-13 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.77 | 2.96 | 15.40% | 75.90% | Team Stats | 2.57 | 2.53 | 18.10% | 80.60% |
Mark Stone will not suit up for the game today which means that Alex Chiasson will skate on the second line alongside of Mika Zibanejad and Mike Hoffman. Although the Senators have been eliminated from playoff contention this is the line to take today. Hoffman and Zibanejad play on the team’s top power play unit and have a goal each along with a combined three assists in the last five games. Jean-Gabriel Pageau leads the forwards in scoring with four points without the benefit of skating on the top power play unit. Erik Karlsson is the play on defense if you can afford him as he has two goals to go along with three assists in the past five games.
The Flyers need to keep winning if they want to keep their playoff spot safe and secure as their 89 points has them currently in seventh spot in the Eastern conference. They could be easily caught by both Boston and Detroit so look for them to have the pedal to the metal tonight. There’s no need to get fancy here as the top line of Brayden Schenn, Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds should see plenty of ice time in this one tonight. Both Schenn and Giroux have five points over the last five games while Simmonds has just three. Jakub Voracek skates on the team’s second line and top power play unit but it has been Sean Couturier who has the hotter hand with four points over the last five games. Shayne Gostisbehere makes a fine defensive play here as he mans the point on the team’s top power play unit and has chipped in three assists in the last five games. Look for the Flyers to come out storming tonight against a team that has given up 237 goals this season.
Elite Plays
OTT: Erik Karlsson
PHL: Claude Giroux, Brayden Schenn
Secondary Plays
Ott: Mika Zibanejad, Mike Hoffman, Bobby Ryan, Zack Smith, Jean-Gabriel Pageau
PHL: Wayne Simmonds, Shayne Gostisbehere, Jakub Voracek, Sean Couturier
Dallas Stars at Los Angeles Kings – 04:00 PM EDT
| Dallas Stars | Los Angeles Kings | ||||||||
 | Antti Niemi |  | Jonathan Quick | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 47-22-9 | 46-26-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.26 | 2.81 | 21.90% | 81.80% | Team Stats | 2.71 | 2.31 | 20.90% | 81.30% |
In what could be a preview to a very heavily contested playoff series the Kings and Stars come into this on as the favorites to move on to the Stanley Cup Finals. Jason Spezza makes a nice one off play here as he has a goal and three assists in the last five games while his line mates haven’t done much of late. The first line could be used as a GPP play against a Los Angeles team that has given up just 180 goals so far this season. Jamie Benn leads the way with four goals and three assists over the last five games while Patrick Sharp has collected four points over that span of five games. Ales Hemsky could be used as a one-off play here as well as his six points over the last five games comes in one point shy of Benn’s recent production. John Klingberg mans the point on the team’s top power play unit and makes a decent play for the early slate.
Anze Kopitar has been left on his own as his line mates of Tanner Pearson and Dustin brown have exactly zero points over their last four games. This fact alone should make Kopitar a nice one-off play here as he does see the majority of the minutes on the team’s top power play unit. Jeff Carter and Milan Lucic also see the top power play minutes and make a nice pairing here as they have combined for four goals and eight assists over the last five games. Carter has all four goals while Lucic has collected five of the eight assists. Tyler Toffoli is their line mate and could be used along with them as he has three goals and three assists in recent games but does not get the power play minutes the other two are afforded. Jake Muzzin and Drew Doughty are the plays on the point with Doughty holding a slight edge with ten more points than his defensive power play partner.
Elite Plays
DAL: Jamie Benn
LAK: Jeff Carter
Secondary Plays
DAL: Jason Spezza, Patrick Sharp, John Klingberg, Patrick Eaves
LAK: Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, Jake Muzzin, Tyler Toffoli, Milan Lucic
Buffalo Sabres at New York Rangers – 07:00 PM EDT
| Buffalo Sabres | New York Rangers | ||||||||
 | Chad Johnson |  | Henrik Lundqvist | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 32-35-11 | 43-25-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.40 | 2.62 | 19.00% | 82.50% | Team Stats | 2.84 | 2.61 | 19.50% | 77.70% |
Buffalo has scored an impressive 16 goals over the last five games but may have a bit of trouble tonight as they face Henrik Lunqvist and the New York Rangers. Zemgus Girgensons and Ryan O’Reilly make an ok GPP play tonight but maybe it’s best to pair second liners Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart together. O’Reilly has six points over the last four games but the latter two skate on the team’s second line which means they should see a bit more of the ice as the rangers will try to shut down Buffalo’s top line. Rasmus Ristolainen completes the team’s top power play unit but much like Markov above, there are probably better plays out there tonight. Johan Larsson makes an intriguing one-off play here as he has tallied three goals and two assists from the third line over the last four games.
The Rangers are pretty simple to figure out as well. They always use the same top five on the power play that comes from the top two lines. Chris Kreider and Derick Brassard make fine cash plays tonight as they skate on the top line with rick Nash and each have found the score sheet four times in the last ten days. Derek Stepan has been on fire of late with two goals and five assists to his credit over the last four games. He skates on the team’s second line so pair him up with Mats Zuccarello who has two goals and two assists in the last four games. Keith Yandle has five assists in the last ten days and makes for a strong defensive choice tonight as he gets the majority of the minutes on the top power play unit.
Elite Plays
BUF: None
NYR: Derek Stepan
Secondary Plays
BUF: Ryan O’Reilly, Zemgus Girgensons, Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart, Rasmus Ristolainen
NYR: Mats Zuccarello, Derick Brassard, Chris Kreider, Keith Yandle
New Jersey Devils at Tampa Bay Lightning – 07:00 PM EDT
| New Jersey Devils | Tampa Bay Lightning | ||||||||
 | Cory Schneider |  | Ben Bishop | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 37-33-8 | 44-28-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.22 | 2.45 | 20.70% | 82.70% | Team Stats | 2.74 | 2.36 | 16.30% | 84.30% |
New Jersey comes into this one not technically eliminated from the playoffs but have very slim chances of getting in. they trail Philadelphia by seven points with just four games left and have to jump over two other teams to get there. The Devils have just 11 goals in the last six games so look for Tampa bay to come out firing on all cylinders after their embarrassing home loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night. Reid Boucher, Travis Zajac and Kyle Palmieri are decent GPP plays as they each have four points over the last five games. The only problem is that this line has emerged as the team’s top line and will likely be the line the Lightning try to shut down tonight. David Warsofsky mans the point on the power play while Joseph Blandisi rounds out the power play unit. With New Jersey not scoring much of late I wouldn’t trust them too much in cash games tonight.
There are few ways to go on the Tampa Bay side tonight as they try to take back the lead in the Atlantic division. Nikita Kucherov is back with Steven Stamkos on the top line and should be considered the better play for your cash games tonight. Alex Killorn is the third part of the top line but his statistics do not really match up with the opportunites he has had. Stamkos leads this group in goals over the past with three of them to go along with three assists over the last five games. Ondrej Palat is your one-off here from the second line as he has two goals and six assists over the last five games. Tyler Johnson is the play if you want to up with Palat but make sure you make room for defenseman Victor Hedman as he has five points in the last five games and gets the majority of the minutes on the team’s top power play unit.
Elite Plays
NJ: None
TB: Steven Stamkos
Secondary Plays
NJ: Travis Zajac, Kyle Palmieri, Reid Boucher, David Warsofsky
TB: Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson, Victor Hedman