NHL Grind Down: Saturday, February 13th - Page Two
Toronto Maple Leafs at Vancouver Canucks – 07:00 PM EST
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Vancouver Canucks | ||||||||
 | James Reimer |  | Ryan Miller | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 19-25-9 | 22-20-12 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.30 | 2.81 | 15.00% | 80.90% | Team Stats | 2.31 | 2.67 | 16.50% | 80.80% |
Toronto has become one of the toughest teams in the league to analyze. They are not only the worst team in the league but they also have their best scorer out with an injury and then went ahead and traded quite possibly their best defenseman in Dion Phaneuf. It looks like Michael Grabner may miss this game while early indications point to Nazem Kadri returning from a lower body injury, so that may help. One would have to assume that Kadri will join Leo Komarov on the team’s top line which would leave Pierre Parenteau and his three points over the last five games, back on the second line. Defenseman Jake Gardiner has found the back of the net in the last two games but taking anyone on this Toronto team in cash games is not recommended.
Somehow with the Canucks scoring only eight goals in their last five games, they have managed to win two of them and grab another point in a shootout loss. Henrik and Daniel Sedin have each been held to an assist over the last six games and will probably be lower owned in tonight’s contests. Jannik Hansen and Bo Horvat have been a bit more productive with Hansen grabbing four goals in the last six games while Horvat has found the scoresheet eight times in the past ten games. Alexander Edler and Brandon Sutter are out six weeks due to injury so it’s best to check the research page here at Rotogrinders to see what lines Vancouver practiced with in today’s morning skate.
Elite plays
TOR: None
VAN: None
Secondary Plays
TOR: Leo Komarov, Jake Gardiner, Nazem Kadri (if in the lineup)
VAN: Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Bo Horvat, Radim Vrbata
Washington Capitals at Dallas Stars – 08:00 PM EST
| Washington Capitals | Dallas Stars | ||||||||
 | Braden Holtby |  | Antti Niemi | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 40-9-4 | 35-15-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.30 | 2.26 | 24.20% | 83.90% | Team Stats | 3.24 | 2.67 | 22.10% | 80.00% |
The Washington Capitals finish up their three game road trip with a stop in Texas tonight to take on the league goal scoring leaders in the Dallas Stars. This should be the marquee game of the night as the stars have 180 goals while the Capitals are right on their heels in second place with a total of 178. Washington has two decent scoring lines with Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom anchoring the top line while Andre Burakovsky and Evgeny Kuznetsov hold down the fort on the second line. Ovechkin has eight goals and an assist in his last eight games while Backstrom has 11 points in his last ten games, but I wouldn’t sell the second line short tonight. Dallas will try to shut down the first line which should leave a lot of room for Kuznetsov and Burakovsky to maneuver in. Kuznetsov leads the team in scoring and has 13 assists in his last ten games while Burakovsky has six goals to go along with four assists over that same time frame. Defenseman John Carlson seems to be back on track and makes a decent play tonight as he quarterbacks the Washington power play. Marcus Johansson is your one-off play here as he has tallied seven points in the last seven games while skating on the top power play unit.
Bolstered by a hat trick on Thursday night, Patrick Eaves now has tallied seven points in his last four games. It doesn’t hurt being paired with Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn on both the top line and top power play unit so it seems that this time around he is making the most of it. Defenseman John Klingberg has picked up the pace in recent games by grabbing four goals and three assist in the last seven games he has played in. Rounding out the Stars top power play unit is Alex Goligoski and could make a decent cheaper play as the Capitals have given up seven short-handed goals in their last eight games. Jason Spezza has started skating but will not make his return tonight which leaves Patrick Sharp out on an island all by himself. Oh, he has line mates alright but Cody Eakin and Antoine Roussel have shown time and time again that they are not top six material.
Elite Plays
WSH: Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov
DAL: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn
Secondary Plays
WSH: Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie, Andre Burakovsky, John Carlson, Marcus Johansson
DAL: Patrick Eaves, John Klingberg, Alex Goligoski
Anaheim Ducks at Chicago Blackhawks – 08:30 PM EST
| Anaheim Ducks | Chicago Blackhawks | ||||||||
 | John Gibson |  | Corey Crawford | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 26-19-8 | 36-18-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.26 | 2.36 | 17.90% | 88.70% | Team Stats | 2.76 | 2.31 | 20.00% | 81.10% |
Anaheim has successfully recovered from losing ten of the first 11 games to rebound all the way up to third place in the Pacific division. They do have to keep winning however as Vancouver is just four points away from possibly taking their playoff spot away. The top line of Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and David Perron have all scored ten or more points in their last ten games and make a decent stack against the Blackhawks tonight. If you are looking for a one-off Rickard Rakell will fit the bill. Rakell slides up with Getzlaf and Perry on the team’s top power play unit and has scored five goals to go along with four assists in his last nine games. Second liner Ryan Kesler has been productive of late by virtue of finding the scoresheet eight times in the last nine games. You can pair Kesler with either Jakub Silverberg or Andrew Cogliano to make a nice GPP play, but I wouldn’t use them in cash games. Sami Vatanen sees the top power play minutes on the point but like other defensemen mentioned, you could probably find better.
Head coach Joel Quenneville has indicated that maybe Artemi Panarin has made enough progress to be inserted back into the lineup tonight. If this happens feel free to use him and scoring leader Patrick Kane in all formats tonight. If Panarin is not in, Kane is always in play regardless of who his line mates are. Artem Ansimov centers Kane but his defensive responsibilities hinder his production at times by evidence of scoring in only two of the last eight games. Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa skate on the team’s second line and have combined for four goals and four assists in the last four games. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook man the points on the power play and either should be safe to play tonight.
Elite Plays
ANA: Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf
CHI: Patrick Kane
Secondary Plays
ANA: David Perron, Rickard Rakell, Sami Vatanen
CHI: Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith, Artemi Panarin (If in lineup)
Winnipeg Jets at Edmonton Oilers – 10:00 PM EST
| Winnipeg Jets | Edmonton Oilers | ||||||||
 | Connor Hellebuyck |  | Cam Talbot | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 24-27-3 | 22-29-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.57 | 2.91 | 16.70% | 77.30% | Team Stats | 2.46 | 3.00 | 18.40% | 80.20% |
When two bad teams come together anything can happen and usually does. Winnipeg is dead last in the Central division while Edmonton is in last place in the Western conference. The Jets power play makes a nice play tonight as that unit has scored in six of the last seven games with the man advantage. Conversely Edmonton has had trouble killing penalties lately as they have let in six goals while being short-handed in the last five games. Nikolaj Ehlers and Blake Wheeler are the choices up front with Wheeler leading the team in scoring and grabbing seven points in the last seven games. Ehlers has been a good compliment to Wheeler in recent games as he has tallied four goals and six points in the last six games he has played in. Mark Scheifele moves up from the second line to play with Wheeler and Ehlers on the power play while defensemen Dustin Byfuglien and Tyler Myers complete the top power play unit. Byfuglien is on a tear of late by evidence of his four goals to go along with five assists over the last seven games.
The top line of Connor McDavid, Jordan Eberle and Benoit Pouliot have accounted for 13 of Edmonton’s last 20 goals. The numbers are staggering as this unit has become one of the most feared lines in the NHL even since McDavid came back from injury six games ago. With all of the recent accolades for the top line guys like Taylor Hall, Leon Drasaitl and Teddy Purcell are now on the outside looking in as not only have they been split up, they have also been relegated to the second power play line. Andrej Sekera gets the call on the point for the power play and makes a decent option tonight as he has registered four points over the last six games. Mark Letestu skates on the second line with Hall but sees the extra minutes in the top power play unit. I have a feeling that the top line will be found in many cash game line ups tonight.
Elite Plays
WIN: Dustin Byfuglien, Blake Wheeler
EDM: Connor McDavid, Jordan Eberle
Secondary Plays
WIN: Nikolaj Ehlers, Mark Scheifele, Bryan Little
EDM: Taylor Hall, Mark Letestu, Andrej Sekera
Arizona Coyotes at San Jose Sharks – 10:30 PM EST
| Arizona Coyotes | San Jose Sharks | ||||||||
 | Louis Domingue |  | |||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 24-23-6 | 28-20-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.62 | 3.08 | 18.20% | 77.20% | Team Stats | 2.91 | 2.70 | 23.10% | 80.10% |
Fresh off their 4-1 win at home against the Calgary Flames last night the Coyotes travel to San Jose to take on the Sharks. I normally do not look at Vegas odds but my instincts were correct as San Jose has been inserted as the highest favorite of the night as the line now sits at -170. It’s going to be tough to recommend anything but GPP plays for this group tonight as they have only scored more than three goals just twice in their last 12 games. Take into consideration the fact that they played last night and we could have a full blown boat race on our hands. The top line of Tobias Rieder, Antione Vermette and Mikkel Boedker have just one goal each in the last ten games while combining for only eight assists. It doesn’t get much better on the second line either as Max Domi and Martin Hanzal have found the scoresheet just four times over that same time frame. Anthony Duclair has been a bright spot by scoring three goals and four points in his last six games but it has been third liner Shane Doan and defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson who have been producing the most over the past two weeks. It’s not a good sign when you have a defenseman leading your team in scoring but that’s exactly what we have here as Ekman-Larsson has 41 points in 54 games, not to mention seven of those points coming over the last four games. Don’t expect too much out of Arizona tonight.
San Jose has scored six power play goals in their last three games and should have no problem getting more tonight against a Coyote team that played in Arizona last night. Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski skate on the top line as well as the team’s top power play line and should be the starting point when looking at the Sharks for your lineups tonight. Pavelski leads the team in scoring with Thornton close behind thanks to his three goals and ten assists in his last ten games. Tomas Hertl skates on the top line but centers the second power play line which is probably why he has not found the scoresheet in the last four games. Patrick Marleau anchors the second line and appears to be getting his scoring touch back by virture of lighting the lamp in each of his last two games. As with many players it may take a little while after an injury to get back to normal. This seems to be the case where Logan Couture is concerned as he has tallied seven points in his last three games. This is what being part of a deadly power play can do to a player. Defenseman Brent Burns completes the top power play unit and has decent numbers but the problem here may be his price tag as his salary is pretty high across the industry. Look for San Jose to also be pretty high owned in your cash games tonight.
Elite Plays
ARZ: Oliver Ekman-Larsson
SJ: Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton
Secondary Plays
ARZ: Martin Hanzal, Anthony Duclair, Max Domi, Shane Doan
SJ: Brent Burns, Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau, Tomas Hertl