NHL Grind Down: Saturday, February 20th - Page Two
Boston Bruins at Dallas Stars – 08:00 PM EST
| Boston Bruins | Dallas Stars | ||||||||
 | Tuukka Rask |  | Antti Niemi | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 31-21-6 | 37-16-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.93 | 2.74 | 21.60% | 83.40% | Team Stats | 3.20 | 2.71 | 21.20% | 79.80% |
The Bruins are another team that is finishing a long road trip as they visit Dallas for the sixth and final game before going home to play Columbus on Monday. They scored 15 goals over the first three games but look to be fading a little as they have only two goals in the last two games. What’s worse is the fact that the power play has only connected once in the last ten games so it’s probably best to find a few pairs if you want to get some exposure to Boston tonight. One has to believe that the Stars will try to shut down the top line that features Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron. Marchand has scored a goal in 12 of 13 games before going scoreless in the last two while Bergeron has three goals in his last three games. Perhaps the better duo may come from the team’s second line where we find Loui Eriksson and David Krejci. Both play on the anemic power play but should find some room to maneuver in. Eriksson has found the back of the net four times on his way to his five points over the last five games while Krejci has dished out five assists and scored a goal over the last six games he has played in. Torey Krug has been in a slump of late but continues to shoot the puck making him the defensive selection if you want exposure to the Bruins in tonight’s contests.
Patrick Sharp must be the happiest man on the planet as the return of Jason Spezza has thrown him back on the top line with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. He registered his second assist over the last seven games and should see those numbers go up if he continues to skate on the first line. Benn and Seguin are the obvious plays as they have a combined six goals and 12 assists in their last seven games. Defenseman John Klingberg plays the point on the power play and has grabbed five points over the last six games. Look for Dallas to reclaim the lead in the Central division as they should grab the win here, especially since their home record stands at 20-7.
Editor’s Note
Things are moving fast and furious as we enter the later part of the day. Patrick Sharp has now been moved to the third line for tonight and it is unclear if he will stay on the top power play line. Ales Hemsky has been moved to the top line with Benn and Seguin and obviously that makes him a good play tonight.
Elite Plays
BOS: Brad Marchand
DAL: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn
Secondary Plays
BOS: Patrice Bergeron, Loui Eriksson, David Krejci, Torey Krug
DAL: John Klingberg, Patrick Sharp, Jason Spezza
Los Angeles Kings at Nashville Predators – 08:00 PM EST
| Los Angeles Kings | Nashville Predators | ||||||||
 |  | Pekka Rinne | |||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 33-20-4 | 27-21-10 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.68 | 2.35 | 22.50% | 82.10% | Team Stats | 2.60 | 2.60 | 19.60% | 79.40% |
The Kings finally will get to play their last of a seven game road trip against the Nashville Predators. They seem to be a bit tired as all they could muster in their last three games was two goals. Needless to say they are currently on a three game losing streak which has not happened since the first three games of the season. Superstar Anze Kopitar was forced out of the Kings last game with a lower body injury and is questionable to suit up for this game. With Kopitar possibly out it’s anyone’s guess as to what head coach Daryl Sutter may do. The easiest move would be to promote Vicnent Lecavalier to the top line but with the Kings not scoring recently he may just go with a full blown overhaul. Defenseman Drew Doughty is probably the safest play here as he will definitely man the point on the power play and has registered 11 points in the last ten games despite the Kings scoring troubles. Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli make decent GPP plays if they stay on the same line as Carter has five points in the last six games while Toffoli has six points in the last seven. Milan Lucic can be productive at times as he has netted two goals to go along with four assists in his last eight games. A lot of this hinges on the availability of Kopitar as if he can’t go, it may be another long night for the Kings.
Nashville hangs by a thread in the Western conference playoff race as their 64 points is tied with Colorado for the eighth and final spot. Although they are 3-1-2 in the last six games, they have scored 21 goals which averages out to more than three goals per game. The second line of Filip Forsberg, Mike Ribeiro and Craig Smith has been the most productive with Forsberg leading the way with six goals and three assists in the last six games. Ribeiro has added seven assists in the last seven games while Smith has four points over the last five. Ryan Johansen has cooled off a bit but can’t be overlooked at home especially since he skates with James Neal who has five points over his last seven games. Shea Weber and Roman Josi are the choices on defense, but it’s been Josi with the hot hand as he has lit the lamp once and has assited on four others in the last five games. Los Angeles is a tough defensive team so maybe the strategy here is to take either goaltender and move on.
Elite Plays
LAK: Drew Doughty
NSH: Filip Forsberg
Secondary Plays
LAK: Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli, Milan Lucic
NSH: Mike Ribeiro, Craig Smith, Roman Josi, Shea Weber, Ryan Johansen, James Neal
St. Louis Blues at Arizona Coyotes – 09:00 PM EST
| St. Louis Blues | Arizona Coyotes | ||||||||
 | Brian Elliott |  | Louis Domingue | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 34-17-9 | 27-24-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.40 | 2.27 | 20.30% | 87.00% | Team Stats | 2.74 | 3.04 | 19.50% | 77.90% |
It’s tough to win seven games and lose two more while scoring just 21 goals in your last 11 games, but that is just what the St Louis Blues have done. Brian Elliott has been playing out of his mind in recent weeks as he has started the last 17 games and by doing so has kept the Blues in a solid playoff position with 77 points. Until the Blues start scoring it’s going to be tough to pick out who will score as even Vladimir Tarasenko has only tallied three points in the last 11 games. Jaden Schwartz has returned from injury and has been trying his best to jump start Tarasenko but all he has done is score three goals to go along with an assist on another in his last four games. Besides Paul Stastny, who has six points in his last seven games, that’s about as good as it has gets. Alexander Steen and David Backes are slumping as well by evidence of combining for just two goals and three assists over the last nine games. Kevin Shattenkirk has shown some signs of life as the defenseman has registered a goal and an assist in his last four games. Until the Blues start scoring again the safest play may be Elliott.
After a decent start to the season, Arizona needs to string together some wins to climb back into the playoff race. They are only four points away but need to jump over three teams to get there. The Coyote power play has been red hot of late by scoring ten goals with the man advantage in the last seven games. With that said it’s no surprise to see Martin Hanzal, Anthony Duclair and Max Domi combining for ten goals and 16 assists in the last nine games. Hanzal and Duclair lead in goals with four each while averaging a point per game or better while Domi trails with just seven points over the same time period. Mikkel Boedker and Antione Vermette could be heating up but until they get a little more consistent it would be best to stick with the top three. Shane Doan makes a nice one-off play as he has four goals and six points in his last eight games. This time we saved the best for last as defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson is the play on the points as he has three goals and eight assists in his last seven games. Micheal Stone has been serviceable on the point lately by virtue of getting top power play minutes and producing a goal and three assists in his last four games. The problem with all of this is the fact that if Elliott does indeed start, this one could be a low scoring game.
Elite Plays
STL: None
ARZ: Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Secondary Plays
STL: Paul Statsny, Jaden Schwartz, Vladimir Tarasenko, Kevin Shattenkirk
ARZ: Martin Hanzal, Max Domi, Anthony Duclair, Michael Stone
Colorado Avalanche at Edmonton Oilers – 10:00 PM EST
| Colorado Avalanche | Edmonton Oilers | ||||||||
 | Semyon Varlamov |  | Cam Talbot | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 30-26-4 | 22-31-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.65 | 2.77 | 19.50% | 79.60% | Team Stats | 2.44 | 3.03 | 18.40% | 80.00% |
Colorado comes into this one winning three of the last four games as they precariously hold on to the last playoff spot in the Western conference with 64 points. Goaltender Semyon Varlamov has been the difference on most nights but even he can be up and down at times. Jarome Iginla has found the fountain of youth as he leads the team with four goals and five assists over the last seven games. You can pair him up with Matt Duchene as he sees time on the team’s top power play while leading the team in goals and points. Gabriel Landeskog has been slumping a bit as he has just two points in the last seven games while Blake Comeau has found the scoresheet eight times in his last nine games. Carl Soderberg completes the second line and could be heating up as he has three assists in his last four games. Tyson Barrie is the play on the point as he gets the top power play minutes and has four assists in the last four games.
Edmonton is just one point away from being the worst team in the league with just 50 points. Only Toronto is worse with 49 points and that should speak volumes as to how bad the Oilers really are. Connor McDavid continues to dominate the league since his return as his five goals and nine assists in nine games will attest to but it’s the rest of the team that needs to pick it up. Sure Jordan Eberle has good numbers skating next to McDavid but I am talking about Taylor Hall and Leon Draisaitl. Hall and Draisaitl have just one goal apiece over the last seven games and now the Oilers have taken Benoit Pouliot off of the top line and have replaced him with Matt Hendricks, who by the way didn’t find the scoresheet in his first game skating with McDavid. Andrej Sekera is the choice on defense by seeing the top minutes on the power play. He has tallied two assists in the last four games but there are better options put there tonight.
Elite Plays
COL: None
EDM: Connor McDavid, Jordan Eberle
Secondary Plays
COL: Tyson Barrie, Jarome Iginla, Matt Duchene, Blake Comeau, Carl Soderberg
EDM: Taylor Hall, Leon Draisaitl, Andrej Sekera, Matt Hendricks