NHL Grind Down: Saturday, April 9th - Page Two
Calgary Flames at Minnesota Wild – 07:00 PM EDT
| Calgary Flames | Minnesota Wild | ||||||||
 | Niklas Backstrom |  | Devan Dubnyk | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 34-40-7 | 38-32-11 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.80 | 3.16 | 17.20% | 75.00% | Team Stats | 2.62 | 2.49 | 18.90% | 77.70% |
Calgary has nothing to play for except pride in this one as they travel to Minnesota to take on the Wild to wrap up their 2015-16 campaign. The second line that features Joe Colborne and Mikael Backlund has been red hot of late as they have scored a combined eight goals to go along with eight assists over the last five games. Meanwhile Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan have not been letting up either as both players have tallied four points over the last four games they have played in. Mark Giordano has five points from the point while fellow defenseman Dougie Hamilton has grabbed a goal along with two assists over the last ten days. It’s pretty cut and dry here as Calgary can only be used as a tournament play, especially on the road.
Minnesota will more than likely sit their start winger in Zach Parise today as they want to have everyone as healthy as possible for when they start the playoffs early next week. This is where the problem comes in as the Wild have scored five goals over the last four games, which have all resulted as losses. You know when Erik Haula leads your team in scoring over any five game period you are in a bit of trouble. Three points is the number that Haula has put up over that period of time while line mates Nino Niederreiter and Jason Pominville have two points over the last ten days. Ryan Suter also has two assists from the point while manning the team’s top power play unit but until the start scoring, which may be never, it’s tough to view any Wild player as anything but a tournament play tonight.
Elite Plays
CGY: Johnny Gaudreau
MIN: None
Secondary Plays
CGY: Sean Monahan, Dougie Hamilton, Mark Giordano, Joe Colborne, Mikael Backlund
MIN: Mikko Koivu, Nino Niederreiter, Erik Haula, Ryan Suter
Chicago Blackhawks at Columbus Blue Jackets – 07:00 PM EDT
| Chicago Blackhawks | Columbus Blue Jackets | ||||||||
 | Scott Darling |  | Joonas Korpisalo | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 47-26-8 | 33-40-8 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.84 | 2.49 | 22.70% | 80.50% | Team Stats | 2.57 | 3.01 | 17.10% | 81.00% |
Look for more line changes today and possibly a late scratch or two as the Blackhawks have nothing to play for as they are solidly entrenched in third place in the Central division. Defenseman Duncan Keith is still serving his suspension which makes Brent Seabrook and Trevor van Riemsdyk decent plays here as they both man the point on the team’s top power play unit. Seabrook has five points over the last five games as is easily the better choice where salary doesn’t come into the equation. Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin have gone back to filling up the scoresheet as they have a combined eight goals and 11 assists over the last ten days. Jonathan Toews has seen a bump in scoring as he has been placed with Kane and Panarin on the top power play unit which has reaped three goals and four assists over the last five games.
Columbus will try to end their dismal season with a win in front of the home crowd against a pretty good team in the Chicago Blackhawks. Brandon Dubinsky, Boone Jenner and Cam Atkinson not only make up the team’s top line they also get the first crack when the Jackets go on the power play as well. They all have four points over the last five games which would make them a strong GPP play tonight against a Chicago team that will more than likely not come out looking to play physical. Brandon Saad makes for a decent one-off play here as he has scored six goals and seven points over the last ten days. Ryan Murray and Seth Jones get the blue line duties on a power play unit that has scored three goals over the last five games with the man advantage.
Elite Plays
CHI: Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin
CBJ: None
Secondary Plays
CHI: Jonathan Toews, Brent Seabrook, Andrew Ladd, Artem Anisimov
CBJ: Brandon Saad, Brandon Dubinsky, Cam Atkinson, Boone Jenner, Seth Jones
Carolina Hurricanes at Florida Panthers – 07:00 PM EDT
| Carolina Hurricanes | Florida Panthers | ||||||||
 | Cam Ward |  | Roberto Luongo | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 35-30-16 | 46-26-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.40 | 2.67 | 16.50% | 84.20% | Team Stats | 2.80 | 2.44 | 17.00% | 79.70% |
Over the last nine games the Hurricanes have not won, nor lost two games in a row so if you like narratives, they should win tonight based on the recent trend. The problem is they roll into Florida to face the Atlantic division champions in the form of the Florida Panthers. Jeff Skinner is the only player to have four points over the last five games with line mates Riley Nash and Victor Rask have three points apiece over that same time frame. Justin Faulk has a goal to go along with an assist in the last five games while Noah Hanifin has added a goal while on the team’s top power play unit. This is another game that with 14 other games on the slate, you could probably do better for your cash game selection.
The Panthers will look to sharpen their game for the playoffs as their regular season concludes tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes. Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov and Jaromir Jagr have been doing the majority of the scoring of late as they have combined for 11 goals and 12 assists over the last two weeks. Defensman Aaron Ekblad has collected six assists over that same time period as all of these players make for decent cash plays tonight. Nick Bjugstad is the only player from the second line who has more than two points over the last six games as he gets the first crack on the team’s top power play unit. Stick with the top line here as they should be able to earn the win tonight.
Elite Plays
CAR: None
FLA: Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau
Secondary Plays
CAR: Justin Faulk, Jeff Skinner, Victor Rask, Riley Nash
FLA: Jaromir Jagr, Nick Bjugstad, Justin Faulk
Toronto Maple Leafs at New Jersey Devils – 07:00 PM EDT
| Toronto Maple Leafs | New Jersey Devils | ||||||||
 | Garret Sparks |  | |||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 29-41-11 | 37-36-8 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.36 | 2.90 | 15.60% | 81.20% | Team Stats | 2.19 | 2.48 | 20.40% | 82.80% |
Toronto comes into this one as the worst team in the league as they are tied with the Edmonton Oilers with 69 points. Head coach Mike Babcock is trying to make strides with a team that has been mediocre at best over the past few years and this year, the team made a lot of changes which should reap the benefits in years to come. The second line of Colin Greening and William Nylander seems to be the go-to line here as they have a combined six goals and five assists over the last five games. This makes for a decent GPP play since the Leafs are on the road in Newark tonight. Pierre Parenteau is the one-off play here from the top line as he has three points in the last three games. Morgan Rielly mans the point on the power play and you get him fairly cheap across the industry as he has accumulated three points over the last ten days.
There’s not much scoring to be had from the New Jersey Devils side as no player from their top two lines has registered more than two points in the last ten days. Stick with the top line of Reid Boucher, Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac as they all have two points each over the last five games. Defenseman John Moore gets the minutes on the power play on a unit that has scored five goals with the man advantage over the last five games. Tyler Kennedy, Adam Henrique and Devante Smith-Pelly make up the second line but use caution here as either of the team’s top two lines should only be used for GPP play. It’s tough to use players from teams that aren’t producing for your straight up cash games.
Elite Plays
TOR: None
NJ: None
Secondary Plays
TOR: William Nylander, Colin Greening, Pierre Parenteau, Morgan Rielly
NJ: Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac, Reid Boucher, John Moore, Adam Henrique
Buffalo Sabres at New York Islanders – 07:30 PM EDT
| Buffalo Sabres | New York Islanders | ||||||||
 | Jason Kasdorf |  | Thomas Greiss | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 34-36-11 | 45-26-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.41 | 2.62 | 19.00% | 82.50% | Team Stats | 2.78 | 2.53 | 18.80% | 85.40% |
Although it doesn’t reflect well in the standings, the Buffalo Sabres have become a much better team over the past year under the tutelage of head coach Dan Bylsma. The Sabres gave up 113 goals more than they scored last year while this year that number was cut by almost 100 goals as their goal differential was a mere 22 goals. To put this in perspective, going into today the Detroit Red Wings sit at a minus twelve goals for the season as they are battling for the last spot in the Eastern conference playoff race. Ryan O’Reilly leads this group over the last ten days with six points over the last ten days as he anchors the team’s top power play unit. Jack Eichel makes for a good one-off play here as he also gets the first crack on the team’s top power play unit but skates on the second line and has tallied five points over the last six games. Sam Reinhart, Matt Moulson and defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen round out the rest of the power play unit and for all intents and purposes should be the players you stick to in this one.
The Islanders can claim third place in the Atlantic division with a win at home tonight against the Buffalo Sabres. They are currently tied with the New York rangers with 99 points and have an extra game to tally just two points to claim that spot. Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo have been moved to the top line to skate with John Tavares which could be a move of desperation as that virtually leaves hardly any leadership to skate on the remaining three lines. All three players have tallied at least a point a game over the last five with Tavares grabbing a whopping 11 points while Okposo has registered seven points. If the New Yorkers stick with this line tonight I would expect it to have a lot of ownership in cash game play. Nick Leddy gets the nod on the point on the power play and is usually pretty cheap across the industry. Look for the Isles to come out on the winning end tonight with those four players in the middle of most of the scoring.
Elite Plays
BUF: None
NYI: John Tavares
Secondary Plays
BUF: Ryan O’Reilly, Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart, Rasmus Ristolainen
NYI: Frans Nielsen, Kyle Okposo, Nick Leddy