NHL Grind Down: Saturday, April 9th - Page Three
Washington Capitals at St. Louis Blues – 08:00 PM EDT
| Washington Capitals | St. Louis Blues | ||||||||
 | Antti Raanta |  | |||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 55-17-8 | 49-23-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.04 | 2.35 | 22.40% | 84.80% | Team Stats | 2.69 | 2.37 | 21.80% | 85.00% |
While Washington will use this as a primer game for the playoffs the Blues will look to go after this one as they are in a dead heat with the Dallas Stars for first place in the Central division. With everyone back and healthy for the Capitals it is once again safe to select Evgeny Kuznetsov, Andre Burakovsky and Justin Williams when they play on the road, which is where they find themselves tonight. Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom make for decent plays as well as they skate on the top line and get a ton of time on the top power play unit. Ovechkin has four goals while Marcus Johansson has grabbed six points over the last five games but that number is a bit skewed as he was skating on the top line with Ovechkin while Backstrom missed a few games. T.J. Oshie has been hot of late with two goals and four assists while defenseman John Carlson completes the top power play unit.
The Blues need the win tonight so there’s no reason in the world not to take Vladimir Tarasenko, Troy Brouwer and Alexander Steen for your cash game plays tonight. Tarasenko has eight points while Brouwer has six and Steen five over the last five games and all get the first crack on the team’s top power play unit. Add defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk to the mix who has grabbed five points over the past ten days and you are probably looking at some of the more higher owned players that you will go up against in your cash games tonight. Paul Stastny makes for a good one-off here as he has a goal and four assists in the last ten days.
Elite Plays
WSH: Alexander Ovechkin
STL: Vladimir Tarasenko
Secondary Plays
WSH: Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Andre Burakovsky, John Carlson
STL: Alexander Steen, Troy Brouwer, Kevin Shattenkirk, Paul Stastny
Nashville Predators at Dallas Stars – 08:00 PM EDT
| Nashville Predators | Dallas Stars | ||||||||
 | Thomas Greiss |  | Jimmy Howard | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 41-26-14 | 49-23-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.74 | 2.59 | 19.60% | 81.30% | Team Stats | 3.23 | 2.79 | 22.10% | 82.40% |
The Predators can be a bit of a spoiler here if they can beat the Stars in Dallas tonight. The Blues will also have to win their game for them to move ahead and win the Central division so there’s no doubt Dallas will come out firing on all cylinders tonight. It’s tough to tell what line the stars will try to shut down so it’s probably best to stick with Ryan Johansen and James Neal as they have snared a combined 14 points over the last five games. Filip Forsberg is the one-off play here as he gets the time when Nashville has the man advantage and has lit the lamp twice and assisted on three other goals over the last ten days. Roman Josi and Shea Weber are the choices on defense and quite frankly, you can’t go wrong selecting either of them tonight.
Dallas needs to win to take home the Central division so look for them to not only come out firing, but be highly owned in cash games tonight in the process. Jamie Benn and Patrick Sharp should help get the job done as they both skate on the top line while getting major minutes when Dallas goes on the power play. Benn has tallied four goals and has added an assist while Sharp has produced four points over the last five games. Both Jason Spezza and defenseman John Klingberg have added three points while skating on the top power play unit and make strong cash game plays tonight. Kris Russell is a cheap play on the blue line as apparently he has been promoted to the top power play unit to skate with the Stars more skilled players. This one could get interesting tonight with the Stars looking to win the division.
Elite Plays
NSH: Ryan Johansen, James Neal
DAL: Jamie Benn
Secondary Plays
NSH: Shea Weber, Roman Josi, Filip Forsberg, Craig Smith
DAL: Patrick Sharp, John Klingberg, Jason Spezza, Kris Russell, Radek Faksa
Edmonton Oilers at Vancouver Canucks – 10:00 PM EDT
| Edmonton Oilers | Vancouver Canucks | ||||||||
 | Roberto Luongo |  | Braden Holtby | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 31-43-7 | 30-38-13 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.42 | 2.95 | 17.90% | 80.90% | Team Stats | 2.26 | 2.91 | 16.00% | 81.30% |
After losing three games in a row the Oilers came up with a six goal effort against these same Vancouver Canucks at home on Wednesday night. This is a risky game to dive into as both teams sit at the bottom of the Pacific division and have at times shown they can play a few good periods of hockey. Taylor Hall and Leon Draisiatl make for decent plays as they skate on the team’s second line but get the first shot on the power play against a team that has given up six goals over the last six games while trying to kill a penalty. Connor McDavid is hard to pass up here as well as the rookie continues to be better than a point per game player. Patrick Maroon and Jordan Eberle skate with McDavid and could be one of the better GPP plays tonight against the Canucks who have given up 13 goals in the last six periods of hockey. Jordan Oesterle has been soaking up the minutes on the power play from the blue line and makes for a decent cheap option defenseman tonight as he has five assists in the 16 games he has played in this season.
Vancouver should at least get a few goals tonight against the defensively challenged Edmonton Oilers. Jannik Hansen has registered two goals and three assists over the last two weeks while line mate Henrik Sedin has tallied four assists. It’s been the second line that has been doing most of the scoring lately as Bo Horvat has netted four goals and has added three assists in the last six games. Ben Hutton and Dan Hamhuis man the points on the power play but there are surely better plays out there than that tonight. Daniel Sedin has been quiet of late but playing the last game at home tonight, who knows, anything can happen. Look for this game to be a toss-up with both teams lighting the lamp tonight.
Elite Plays
EDM: Connor McDavid
VAN: None
Secondary Plays
EDM: Leon Draisaitl, Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall, Patrick Maroon, Jordan Oesterle
VAN: Bo Horvat, Jannik Hansen, Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin
Winnipeg Jets at Los Angeles Kings – 10:00 PM EDT
| Winnipeg Jets | Los Angeles Kings | ||||||||
 | Steve Mason |  | |||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 34-39-8 | 48-28-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.58 | 2.88 | 15.00% | 78.40% | Team Stats | 2.72 | 2.33 | 20.00% | 81.20% |
The Jets sure picked an odd time to start beating teams like Anaheim, San Jose and Minnesota as now it is a case of too little to late where this year’s playoff picture is concerned. Nonetheless Winnipeg is scoring as they have been led by the top line of Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele who both have registered eight points over the last five games. Now I am not saying go all in on those guys as they do face a tough Los Angeles team that is fighting for the top spot in the Pacific division. It would almost be pointless to go with second liners Drew Stafford and Mark Dano but each does have three points over the last five games. Defenseman Dustin Byfuglien makes for a decent one-off here as he has grabbed two goals to go along with six assists over the last two weeks. The problem here is the fact that the Kings defense is very good and his salary is a bit pricey across the industry.
The Kings continue to shuffle up their lines in search of the depth they need to go far into the playoffs. Milan Lucic has been moved back with Anze Kopitar while Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli shore up the team’s second line. Carter is the one-off here at home as he gets the top minutes on the power play with Lucic and Kopitar. Over the last five games Carter has netted four goals and six points while Kopitar and Lucic have tallied five and four points respectively over the past ten days. Jake Muzzin and Drew Doughty are the plays from the point as they round out the team’s top power play unit. Look for the Kings to come out and score some goals against the Winnipeg Jets who have given up 236 goals this season.
Elite Plays
WIN: Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele
LAK: Jeff Carter, Anze Kopitar
Secondary Plays
WIN: Dustin Byfuglien, Nikolaj Ehlers
LAK: Milan Lucic, Tyler Toffoli, Drew Doughty, Jake Muzzin
Arizona Coyotes at San Jose Sharks – 10:30 PM EDT
| Arizona Coyotes | San Jose Sharks | ||||||||
 | Tuukka Rask |  | |||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 35-38-8 | 45-30-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.57 | 3.00 | 17.90% | 77.20% | Team Stats | 2.91 | 2.56 | 22.70% | 80.20% |
It’s hard to imagine the Coyotes coming out of this game with a win but this is the NHL and anything can happen and usually does. Martin Hanzal will not play today which leaves the scoring in the hands of guys like Alex Tanguay, Antoine Vermette, Anthony Duclair and Max Domi. As you can imagine only Domi has more than three points over the last ten days where the top six forwards are concerned. Oliver Ekman-Larsson is the play from the point as he not only leads the team in scoring he has lit the lamp once and has four points over the last five games. It’s not out of the question for Arizona to score some goals tonight but a win may be asking a bit too much here.
San Jose will use this as a tune up game for the playoffs and just like it has been all season, there are really only six players to count on in your cash games tonight. Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski and Tomas Hertl skate on the team’s top line and more than likely will be heavily owned tonight. Pavelski and Thornton are joined on the power play with Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau and defenseman Brent Burns. Although all six players have at least three points over the last five games it is Couture who makes the good one-off play here with the hot hand by evidence of his five goals and seven points over the last ten days.
Elite Plays
ARZ: Oliver Ekman-Larsson
SJ: Brent Burns, Logan Couture, Joe Thornton
Secondary Plays
ARZ: Max Domi, Alex Tanguay, Anthony Duclair
SJ: Joe Pavelski, Patrick Marleau, Tomas Hertl