NHL Grind Down: Saturday, December 23rd
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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Detroit Red Wings at Boston Bruins
| Detroit Red Wings | Boston Bruins | ||||||||
 | Jimmy Howard |  | Tuukka Rask | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 13-14-7 | 18-10-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.74 | 3.21 | 22.64 | 80.87 | Team Stats | 2.91 | 2.64 | 20.00 | 83.65 |
In an effort to get Anthony Mantha back on track the Red Wings put him on the top line with Henrik Zetterberg and Gustav Nyquist while Dylan Larkin centers Justin Abdelkader and Tomas Tatar on the team’s second line. Mantha had scored just one goal in his last six games before heading into Philadelphia on Wednesday night. His 23 points were second most on the team while Larkin’s 22 assists and 27 points were tops on the team. Zetterberg and Nyquist have been hot of late as they had combined for four goals and eight assists in the last eight games. Zetterberg, Tatar, Abdelkader and Nyquist are joined by defenseman Niklas Kronwall to comprise the team’s top power play unit that had scored in three straight games going into Wednesday night’s contest. Mike Green is probably a better choice on the back line as he led all defensemen ion points with 19 of them while Kronwall has amassed just 10 points in his first 30 games that he has suited up for this season. Detroit is trying to stay in the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference and a win here before the Christmas would help them stay in the hunt.
The Bruins have put together a pretty good December do far as their 2-1 shootout win on home ice Thursday night gave them their seventh victory of the month. That has been good enough to climb the ladder in the Atlantic Division up into third place as their 41 points is just two away from an upstart Toronto team for second in the division. David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron are the chalk plays here as they skate on the top line as well as see ice first when Boston has the extra attacker. Pastrnak’s 15 goals and 16 assists lead the team while Marchand is just two points off the pace for the team lead in points. Danton Heinen, David Backes and Sean Kuraly skate as the second line with Heinen being a decent one-off here thanks to not only his nine points in the last eight games but doing well with his promotion to the top power play line as well. Four of those nine points have come with the man advantage while Jake DeBrusk and Anders Bjork have been demoted out of the top six. Torey Krug is the defenseman to roster if you want to pay up as his 20 points on 68 shots is leading the team in both categories where blue liners are concerned. Charlie McAvoy is a decent play if you are looking for a little salary relief as he has grabbed four of his 19 points over the last two weeks. Look for the Bruins to improve on their 11-5-3 record this afternoon.
Top Plays
DET: None
BOS: David Pastrnak
Secondary Plays
DET: Dylan Larkin, Henrik Zetterberg, Anthony Mantha, Tomas Tatar, Mike Green
BOS: Brad Marchand, Torey Krug, Patrice Bergeron, Danton Heinen, Charlie McAvoy
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