NHL Grind Down: Saturday, December 30th
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.
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Boston Bruins at Ottawa Senators
| Boston Bruins | Ottawa Senators | ||||||||
 | Tuukka Rask |  | Craig Anderson | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 20-10-6 | 12-16-8 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.97 | 2.56 | 19.33 | 83.78 | Team Stats | 2.63 | 3.26 | 16.13 | 79.00 |
The Bruins have been one of the most improved teams over the last few weeks as they have compiled a record of 8-1-2 over their last 11 games that had helped propel them into third place in the Atlantic Division. The top line of David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron continues to be the line to target but have been a little off over the last two weeks. If you have played them you know what I mean as they have combined for just six goals and eight assists over the last seven games. Pastrnak leads the team with 15 goals and 18 assists while Marchand is just a point away for the team lead in points. The second line of David Backes, Danton Heinen and Riley Nash has been on fire of late and should be the line to target here on the road against an Ottawa team that has won just three games since the end of November. Backes has suited up for just 19 games so far but has five goals and four assists in the last seven games while Heinen’s 9 points has him tied with his line mate for the most points over that same time frame. Ryan Spooner is the one-off here as he skates with the top line when the Bruins have the extra attacker but now will be joined by the returning David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk on a third line that needs to be looked at if you are playing multi GPP line ups. Torey Krug and rookie Charlie McAvoy are the choices on the back line and each should be deemed in play for this evening’s contests. Krug gets the tap on the shoulder to skate with the top power play unit that sees over 75% of the ice time when the Bruins have the man advantage.
Ottawa’s troubles have been well documented this season as the team is 12-16-8 so far this season. That equates to 32 points which would currently leave them 12 points out of the last playoff spot if the season would end today. It may not matter much whether it did or not as this team deserves to lose just based on their mismanagement of Mike Hoffman alone. Hoffman has rarely skated on the top two lines until the second half of last’s night game and guess what? They ended up beating Columbus by a score of 5-4 as Hoffman, Mark Stone and Derick Brassard skated as the top line. Matt Duchene continues to struggle as he lit the lamp for just the third time in the 22 games he has suited up for. Bobby Ryan and Ryan Dzingel join him on the second line and if you are looking for an ice time edge, there is none as all six players skate on two even power play lines. Stone is the one-off here where we see his 15 goals and 34 points lead the team though the first 36 games. Defenseman Erik Karlsson is in play tonight as well as he has grabbed six of his 24 points over the last six games. Dion Phaneuf is the alternative to Karlsson and some may take him tonight based on his two point performance last night which may be a mistake. The Senators rarely score five goals which is why Phaneuf has just 13 points so far this season. Even though they are at home it will take an effort like last night to play at the pace the Bruins will set tonight.
Top Plays
BOS: David Pastrnak
OTT: Mark Stone
Secondary Plays
BOS: David Backes, Danton Heinen, Brad Marchand, Torey Krug, Patrice Bergeron, Charlie McAvoy
OTT: Erik Karlsson, Derick Brassard, Mike Hoffman, Bobby Ryan
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