NHL Grind Down: Saturday, February 20th
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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Tampa Bay Lightning at Pittsburgh Penguins – 12:30 PM EST
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Pittsburgh Penguins | ||||||||
 | Ben Bishop |  | Marc-Andre Fleury | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 31-22-4 | 29-19-8 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.67 | 2.47 | 17.90% | 82.10% | Team Stats | 2.61 | 2.50 | 19.30% | 84.30% |
A funny thing has happened to these two teams over the past week. We already know that both teams are tied for the seventh and eighth spots in the Eastern conference but they also are making changes that actually make sense. Finally the team’s scoring leader in Nikita Kucherov has been placed on the top power play unit with the rest of his line mates in Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson. This should give them more opportunities with the man advantage as they already have the chemistry needed to move the puck more fluently than say a bunch of players from different lines. Steven Stamkos and defenseman Anton Strlaman join them on the top power play unit. All are in play except Stralman as I would much prefer Victor Hedman at the point as he has grabbed two goals and six assists over the last eight games to Stralman’s zero points in his last six. If you want to play Stamkos either Ryan Callahan or Alex killorn should give you some needed salary relief and although they don’t skate on the top power play unit, they do skate with Stamkos on the top line. Killorn has three points on 12 shots over the last three games while Callahan has three points as well but only eight shots over that same time frame.
When the Penguins acquired Phil Kessel the thought process was that he would finally be the winger Sidney Crosby needed to make the top line complete. In the early going that was not the case as Kessel was moved down to the second line with Evgeni Malkin and found moderate success. Since the Malkin injury however Pittsburgh has had some scoring but that has come from mostly Crosby and in the midst of their recent scoring funk, Kessel was moved back up to the top line for the last game. Kessel responded with two goals as the penguins went on to defeat the Red Wings by a score of 6-3. Malkin is questionable for tomorrow but what this does is set up a second line of Malkin, Patric Hornqvist and Carl Hagelin when he returns. For today however I do like the top line that has Crosby finding the scoresheet 14 times over the past eight games while Chris Kunitz has found the net three times and has assisted on another seven over the last eight games. You can throw Kessel in there as well but the only problem is that this game starts at 12:30 so if you want to play players from this game I’d advise you to make sure you play a goalie that is confirmed by the time contests lock, unless of course you play on DraftKings. Kris Letang is the choice on defense as he mans the top power play unit and has eight points in the last eight games.
Elite Plays
TB: Nikita Kucherov
PIT: Sidney Crosby
Secondary Plays
TB: Steven Stamkos, Tyler Johnson, Victor Hedman, Ryan Callahan
PIT: Phil Kessel, Chris Kunitz, Kris Letang, Patric Hornqvist
New Jersey Devils at Washington Capitals – 07:00 PM EST
| New Jersey Devils | Washington Capitals | ||||||||
 | Cory Schneider |  | Braden Holtby | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 29-23-7 | 42-10-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.17 | 2.22 | 21.10% | 82.50% | Team Stats | 3.29 | 2.27 | 23.60% | 84.20% |
The Devils have only scored 17 goals in their last 11 games and travel to Washington after a 1-0 loss last night at home against the Islanders. The Capitals are the best team in the league and have only given up 128 goals, which is the least in the league. Very rarely do I look at Las Vegas odds but for this one I couldn’t resist. The early line is -250 in favor of Washington and if Cory Schneider doesn’t get the back-to-back call it may even be higher if Keith Kinkaid gets the nod. What this means is that if you take some New Jersey players and the earth tilts on its axis you may be in for a big night if the Devils can pull off the impossible. Adam Henrique leads the top line with six points over the last eight games but after that Lee Stempniak and Joseph Blandisi have only been able to muster just one goal each in their last six games. As you can imagine with New Jersey not scoring the statistics just aren’t there, but I like taking the second lines on the road as they should get the better match ups. Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac and Reid Boucher would be the GPP play for me and while you are at it throw in defenseman David Schlemko for good measure. Again, this is only for GPP plays only as the Devils have not been scoring.
Head coach Barry Trotz has switched Alexander Ovechkin with second liner Andre Burakovsky. What this means is that Evgeny Kuznetsov and Justin Williams will now skate with Ovechkin while Burakovsky’s new line mates are Nicklas backstrom and T.J. Oshie. This is probably a move to get Oshie back on track as he has tallied just two assists in the last seven games. Ovechkin and Kuznetsov are always in play as Ovie has nine goals over the last eight games while Kuvnetsov has a mind boggling 17 points in his last 12 games. Give a bump to Justin Williams here as he will now have direct exposure to Ovechkin and Kuznetsov. John Carlson is the play on defense as he has collected four assists in the last five games as the quarterback on the team’s top power play unit. It looks like you can continue to use Marcus Johansson as a one-off as he is still on the top power play unit and has registered six points in the last eight games.
Elite Plays
NJ: None
WSH: Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov
Secondary Plays
NJ: Adam Henrique, Travis Zajac
WSH: Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson, Marcus Johansson, Justin Williams, T.J. Oshie, Andre Burakovsky
Philadelphia Flyers at Toronto Maple Leafs – 07:00 PM EST
| Philadelphia Flyers | Toronto Maple Leafs | ||||||||
 | Michal Neuvirth |  | James Reimer | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 25-21-11 | 20-27-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.37 | 2.56 | 18.60% | 78.70% | Team Stats | 2.34 | 2.89 | 14.40% | 79.60% |
Philadelphia continues their five game road trip as they roll into Toronto fresh off a 3-2 shootout loss last night in Montreal. Toronto is the worst team in the league so we can expect the Flyers to score some goals tonight. The top line of Claude Giroux, Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds doubles as the top power play line which has scored 15 goals with the man advantage over the last 15 games. Schenn has three goals and five points in his last five games while Giroux has five points as well but it took him an extra game to attain that point total. Wayne Simmonds has three goals and an assist in his last six games. The second line of Jakub Voracek and Nick Cousins makes an excellent GPP play as Voracek gets the top power play minutes. Cousins scored last night which gives him three goals in his last five games while adding an assist. Shayne Gostisbehere is the play on defense as he extended his point scoring streak to 14 games last night in Montreal. The kid is a beast.
Editor’s Note
It appears that Claude Giroux will not play in tonight’s game due to an upper body injury. This will obviously throw a monkey wrench into the make up of the Philadelphia lines. Check the research pages here for updates and plan accordingly.
With the three game suspension handed to Leo Komarov, the Maple Leafs will now be even more offensively challenged. It’s anyone’s guess as to what the new lines will be but one thing is for sure, the Flyers should be a little tired after going into overtime last night at Montreal. The Leafs have just one win in their last five games and are the worst team in the league with only 49 points. Nazem Kadri should see a bunch of ice time but it’s been mark Arcobello, P.A. Parenteau and Brad Boyes who have all registered four points over the last four games. Jake Gardiner continues to shoot from the point and could make a decent play against the tired Flyers. I would use caution here even in GPP’s as this team is a flat out mess.
Elite Plays
PHL: None
TOR: None
Secondary Plays
PHL: Claude Giroux, Shayne Gostisbehere, Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn
TOR: P.A.Parenteau, Nazem Kadri, Brad Boyes
Winnipeg Jets at Florida Panthers – 07:00 PM EST
| Winnipeg Jets | Florida Panthers | ||||||||
 | Ondrej Pavelec |  | Roberto Luongo | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 25-28-4 | 33-18-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.56 | 2.89 | 16.50% | 77.90% | Team Stats | 2.67 | 2.31 | 16.20% | 81.80% |
The Winnipeg Jets wrap up their four game road trip by playing their second game in the Sunshine State in the last three days and although the managed five goals against Tampa Bay, the only team they have beat so far is the Edmonton Oilers. It is unclear whether Bryan Little will be able to play tonight after suffering a shot to the head by Tampa defenseman Anton Stralman. Little had trouble getting off the ice and did not return. This can only make the problems for the Jets worse as they are now ten points out of a playoff spot with three teams to jump over. Blake Wheeler is more than likely the only play here as he leads the team in scoring and has five points in the last five games and even that may be a stretch if Little is out. Joel Armia has been moved up to the second line with Andrew Ladd and Mark Scheifele and could make a nice GPP play being the second line on the road, but again this could all change. Dustin Byfuglien has cooled off a bit as he has collected three assists in his last six games. With eight other games on the slate it’s best to look elsewhere for your scoring tonight.
Aleksander Barkov will miss yet another game as the Florida Panthers continue to the lead the Atlantic division by just five points. The line of Reilly Smith, Jaromir Jagr and Vincent Trocheck have been holding down the fort by not only doubling as the team’s top power play line but by scoring a combined 11 goals to go along with 17 assists i9n the last ten games. Brian Campbell has been serviceable on the back line as he has come alive to register seven points over the last ten games he has played in. Jonathan Huberdeau and Jussi Jokinen haven’t registered a point in the last three games while line mate Nick Bjugstad has five points in his last ten games but has been held scoreless in seven of those games. Look for Florida to put up a few tonight and pull off the win, especially in Roberto Luongo is between the pipes.
Elite Plays
WIN: Blake Wheeler
FLA: None
Secondary Plays
WIN: Dustin Byfuglien, Nikolaj Ehlers, Mark Scheifele
FLA: Jaromir Jagr, Vincent Trocheck, Reilly Smith, Jussi Jokinen, Brian Campbell
Detroit Red Wings at Ottawa Senators – 07:00 PM EST
| Detroit Red Wings | Ottawa Senators | ||||||||
 | Petr Mrazek |  | Craig Anderson | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 29-20-9 | 27-26-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.55 | 2.57 | 18.30% | 80.70% | Team Stats | 2.78 | 3.05 | 17.80% | 74.10% |
The first two games of the current four game road trip didn’t actually go as planned for the Detroit Red Wings. By dropping both games by a cumulative score of ten to four they will no doubt look to try to turn things around tonight against a team that has given up 184 goals, which is the most in the league. The top line of Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Justin Abdelkader also double as the top power play unit and has been doing most of the damage over the last seven games. Datsyuk has six goals and five assists in those seven games while Zetterberg has chipped in eight points over the last six games. Meanwhile Justin Abdelkader has notched five assists in his last four games as he creates havoc in and around the crease on the power play. Brad Richards, Dylan Larkin and Tomas Tatar make up the team’s second line and have only one goal and two assists in their last five games. Richards plays on the top power play unit but it was Larkin getting the goal last game against Pittsburgh. Mike Green has been silent of lateeven though the defenseman gets all of the top power play minutes. Even though they are on the road the top line would appear to be the play tonight.
After stringing two wins together the only thing the Senators should be thinking about is winning some more. As of now they are six points away from the last playoff spot in the Eastern conference and have to jump over three teams and overtake a fourth to be eligible for the end of the season tournament. If that is to happen, they better start finding the right mix of scoring because the 11 goals they have scored in the last five games will not get the job done. Defenseman Erik Karlsson is the play here as he has registered 14 points over the last ten games and after that, no one comes close. The top line of Mike Hoffman, Kyle Turris and Mark Stone also get the top power play minutes but with Turris not scoring in the seven games he has played in since his injury, he seems to be weighing the line down. Hoffman has two goals and two assists in his last ten games while Stone has lit the lamp twice in the last five games. That’s really not a lot of scoring from your top line but then again, no one except Karlsson has been anywhere near being consistent. Rookie Ryan Dzingel skates with Bobby Ryan and Mika Zibanejad on the second line and has grabbed a goal and an assist in his last four games. I don’t mind defenseman Dion Phaneuf as a cheaper play especially since he seems to be settling in on his new team by evidence of skating on the power play unit and grabbing three assists over his last four games. Although some may play the top line in cash games tonight either line would be ok for GPP play.
Elite Plays
DET: Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg
OTT: Erik Karlsson
Secondary Plays
DET: Justin Abdelkader, Mike Green, Brad Richards, Dylan Larkin
OTT: Mike Hoffman, Mark Stone, Dion Phaneuf, Ryan Dzingel, Bobby Ryan