NHL Grind Down: Saturday, December 19th - Page Two

by Tom Woollam (elctrceye) Last Updated 2015-12-19 16:34:15

Los Angeles Kings at Toronto Maple Leafs – 07:00 PM EST

Los Angeles Kings					Toronto Maple Leafs
			Jonathan Quick					Jonathan Bernier
			Record					Record
			20-9-2					10-13-7
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.55	2.10	17.80%	85.00%	Team Stats	2.30	2.73	18.10%	78.60%

After losing two games on the road last week to Ottawa and Buffalo, the Kings got back on the winning track with a 3-0 shutout up at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Thursday night. They finish their six game road trip with a stop in Toronto tonight. Their 7-1-2 record in the last ten games have them sitting atop the Pacific division with 42 points, which is also good for second in the conference. While Anze Kopitar has been very hot of late as he has pointed in seven of his last eight games, it’s the Kings second line that I like tonight on the road. Jeff Carter leads the team in points while line mate Tyler Toffoli looks like he is finding his scoring touch back as he has found the scoresheet in each of the last two games after not being on it the previous seven games. Milan Lucic, who has three goals and three assists in his last six games, rounds out the top power play unit with Carter and Kopitar for Los Angeles. Jake Muzzin and Drew Doughty are the defensemen to look at tonight as they play the points on the top power play unit against a Toronto team that has given up eight power play goals in their last 11 games. Marian Gaborik is also looking a bit better as he has scored two goals in his last three games.

With goaltender Garret Sparks injured it looks like coach Mike Babcock has to go with Jonathan Bernier in between the pipes. This is the worst possible scenario for Babcock as he basically said that he didn’t think Bernier could stop anything just before the team’s last game. On the plus side, the Leafs have scored 10 goals in their last three games, but with the Kings only giving up 66 goals so far this season, it looks like scoring may be held to a minimum where Toronto is concerned. Look for the line of James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak and P.A. Parenteau to stay hot as they have accumulated six goals and nine assists in their last four games. Leo Komarov however leads the team in goals as he netted his 11th goal the other night in a 5-4 overtime loss to San Jose. Proceed with caution here as there seems to be better options for your cash games tonight.

Elite Plays

LAK: Jeff Carter
TOR: None

Secondary Plays

LAK: Tyler Toffoli, Anze Kopitar, Marian Gaborik, Drew Doughty, Milan Lucic
TOR: Tyler Bozak, James van Riemsdyk, P.A. Parenteau, Leo Komarov

Montreal Canadiens at Dallas Stars – 07:00 PM EST

Montreal Canadiens					Dallas Stars
			Carey Price					Kari Lehtonen
			Record					Record
								23-7-2
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	3.03	2.27	19.50%	86.90%	Team Stats	3.34	2.56	21.60%	79.60%

After winning just one game in their last seven the Montreal Canadiens will try to get the train back on the tracks. They are going to have to start scoring however as their 18 goals in their last 10 games will not be good enough to compete with the juggernaut that is the Dallas Stars. Both teams have been juggling their lines a bit and Max Pacioretty and Tomas Plekanec find themselves on the top line with winger Paul Byron and Pacioretty have just one goal and three assists between them in the last seven games. Even defenseman P.K. Subban has just one assist over that same time frame. When a team isn’t scoring it’s tough to predict where it may come from. Nathan Beaulieu has to be considered a punt here as he is on the top power play unit, for whatever that is worth.

Head Coach Lindy Ruff tried to outsmart us all last game and switch up all the lines. Since that worked so well in a 3-1 loss to Calgary of all teams, he is back at it again tonight. Patrick Sharp will now skate on the top line with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin while Jason Spezza will center Ales Hemsky and Matthias Janmark. Seguin and Benn each have six points in their last five games so it’s no doubt Ruff wants to get Sharp in on the action as he has not pointed in his last five games. Defensively, the choice here is John Klingberg as he still has 31 points in 32 games. I would try to stick with the top five but it certainly wouldn’t be out of the question to take Spezza and Hemsky as they try to find the magic they had last year.

Elite Plays

MTL: None
Dal: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn

Secondary Plays

MTL: Max Pacioretty, Tomas Plekanec, P.K. Subban
DAL: Jason Spezza, John Klingberg, Patrick Sharp

Minnesota Wild at Nashville Predators – 08:00 PM EST

Minnesota Wild					Nashville Predators
			Devan Dubnyk					Pekka Rinne
			Record					Record
			17-7-6					15-11-6
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.80	2.33	20.80%	77.80%	Team Stats	2.50	2.56	20.60%	76.00%

Minnesota comes into this game riding a three game winning streak as they continue to climb the standings in the Central division. Led by Zach Parise and his three goals and six assists in his last six games, the Wild seem to have back what they were missing all along. Parise’s line mates Mikko Koivu and Jason Pominville are also getting in on the act as the former has four goals and four assists in his last three games while the latter has a six game point streak going. Ryan Suter has even managed to grab a goal and an assist in his last two games and should be considered for your lineups tonight. Thomas Vanek rounds out the top five on the power play as the wild have scored nine goals in their last 13 games of that variety. Oh wait, it gets better. The Nashville Predators have given up a league leading 14 goals on their penalty kill in their last 15 games, making the Minnesota power play a very lucrative play tonight.

Nashville has seen better times as they have gone 3-5-2 in their last ten games and find themselves in fifth place in the central division. Needless to say a win tonight could go a long way as they are only four points away from the third place Wild. We know that Nashville has a penchant for giving up goals on the short-hand, but they also have been scoring on the power play of late. Not to be outdone head coach Peter Laviolette has changed up his top two lines to just fit in with the rest of the teams I guess. Calle Jarnkrok will now center Filip Forsberg and Craig Smith while Mike Ribeiro will center Viktor Arvidsson and James Neal. Roman Josi should still draw in on the top power play unit as he got back on the score sheet last game with a goal after seeing his six game point streak snap three games ago. I wouldn’t go crazy with the predators tonight as they have just not been scoring enough goals to warrant any of them in your cash games tonight. GPP’s are another story as I would pair Jarnkrok with Forsberg or Neal with Ribeiro.

Elite Plays

MIN: Zach Parise
NSH: None

Secondary Plays

MIN: Jason Pominville, Thomas Vanek, Mikko Koivu, Ryan Suter
NSH: Filip Forsberg, Calle Jarnkrok, Shea Weber, Roman Josi, James Neal, Mike Ribeiro

New York Islanders at Arizona Coyotes – 09:00 PM EST

New York Islanders					Arizona Coyotes
			Jaroslav Halak					Mike Smith
			Record					Record
			18-10-5					14-15-2
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.67	2.33	19.60%	86.60%	Team Stats	2.77	3.29	15.20%	81.40%

Although the Islanders have lost their last two games, they are still a solid 7-2-1 in their last ten and tonight they get to face an Arizona team that is in deep trouble at the goaltending position. The injury to Mike Smith has left them in the very incapable hands of Anders Lindback and Louis Domingue. This would put the top line of the Islanders in play as the Coyotes were not a good team to begin with anyway as they have dropped seven of their last games and have given up 102 goals so far this year. Only Calgary has given up more goals with 105 so you can see why I like the Islanders a little in this one. Kyle Okposo will miss a few games with a nagging back injury so what this means is that Anders Lee will now jump up to the top line with John Tavares and Josh Bailey. The hope here is the move not only jump starts Lee but Tavares as well as these two were the dynamic duo last year when Okposo was injured last year. I am pretty sure these two will be low owned and make for a solid play in not only cash games but GPP’s as well. The second line of Brock Nelson, Frans Nielsen and Ryan Strome could be in play against a defensively challenged Arizona team. Nelson is the selection here as he has scored three goals to go with an assist in his last four games. Nick Leddy continues to get the top power play minutes from the pint and could be a cheap option tonight to help you get some studs onto your roster.

The Coyotes have scored three power play goals in their last five games but none of that should matter tonight as the Islanders have not given up a goal while a man short in their last 25 attempts. Arizona has however scored nine goals in their last two games but with all the goaltender woes they have, they managed to lose both. Last game was against a bad Columbus team where no defense was played as the Blue Jackets were able to come up with the 7-5 road win against the hapless Coyotes. Now you see why I like the Islanders in this one. The top line of Mikkel Boedker, Antoine Vermette and Tobias Rieder have done some damage in the last five games as they have collected eight goals and four assists between them. Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson leads the team in shots with 92 and that should speak volumes as to maybe why Arizona is sitting in a tie for fifth place in the Pacific division. You can take a flyer on team scoring leader Max Domi, but he has been more negative than positive on plus/minus sites in his last three games.

Elite Plays

NYI: None
ARZ: None

Secondary Plays

NYI: John Tavares, Anders Lee, Josh Bailey, Frans Nielsen, Brock Nelson, Nick Leddy
ARZ: Mikkel Boedker, Tobias Rieder, Antoine Vermette, Max Domi, Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Edmonton Oilers at Colorado Avalanche – 10:00 PM EST

Edmonton Oilers					Colorado Avalanche
			Ben Scrivens					Semyon Varlamov
			Record					Record
			14-17-2					16-16-1
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.58	3.03	18.30%	81.20%	Team Stats	2.73	2.70	16.70%	81.20%

After reeling off six straight wins to start the month of December, the Edmonton Oilers have fell on some hard times on their current road trip by dropping two in a row. Tonight they go up against a red hot Semyon Varlamov and with the Oilers being on the road, they could be in for a tough night just like the previous two games. The top line of Taylor Hall, Leon Draisaitl and Teddy Purcell has been quieted in the last three games to just one goal and if Edmonton has any chance tonight, they will need these three to get back on track. The obvious GPP play here is second liners Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle as they have combined for four goals and five assists in their last five games. Colorado will be busy trying to shut down the Hall line which should give these two a little skating room in Colrado tonight. The Oilers do not have a go to guy on the point so trying to roster Justin Schultz, Andrej Sekera or Darnell Nurse is usually a waste of money on most nights.

Next to Calgary, Colorado is the second hottest team backed by the stellar play of goaltender Semyon Varlamov. All you need to know is that the Avalanche are 7-2 in their last nine games without the benefit of scoring over three goals in any of those games. Look for the top line of Gabriel Landeskog, Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon to get on the scoresheet tonight against an Edmonton team that has given up 100 goals this season. This line has attributed three goals and seven assists in their last five games and should find a lot of skating room tonight. Furthermore the Oilers have lost traction in their last two games by giving up four goals to each the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks. They are surely looking to wrap up this four game road trip in which they have given up ten goals thus far. You can even reach to the second line and select Carl Soderberg who has pointed in five of the last six games. Erik Johnson and Tyson Barrie man the points on the power play and should be relatively cheap across the industry tonight.

Elite Plays

EDM: Taylor Hall
Col: None

Secondary Plays

EDM: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle, Leon Draisaitl, Teddy Purcell
COL: Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, Matt Duchene, Carl Soderberg, Tyson Barrie

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