NHL Grind Down: Saturday, February 27th - Page Two

by Tom Woollam (elctrceye) Last Updated 2016-02-27 14:36:22

Toronto Maple Leafs at Montreal Canadiens – 07:00 PM EST

Toronto Maple Leafs					Montreal Canadiens
			Jonathan Bernier
			Record					Record
			21-28-10
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.37	2.90	14.70%	79.80%	Team Stats	2.66	2.72	18.50%	83.70%

The Maple Leafs won for the second time in their last nine games by defeating the Carolina Hurricanes Thursday night by a score of 3-1. This certainly isn’t Detroit and head coach Mike Babcock is having trouble getting his new team to score the amount of goals needed to be competitive in the NHL. The best thing that Toronto can do is to keep trying new lines and see who can create some chemistry to try to evaluate who to keep and who not to keep for next season. Nazem Kadri has only tallied 33 points in the 57 games he has played and that about sums up Toronto’s season. Look to the second line for your GPP plays that features Mark Arcobello and P. A. Parenteau. Peter Holland and Josh Leivo play on the team’s top power play unit which really isn’t saying much considering that the Leafs have scored just four goals over the last 20 games with the man advantage. If you need to choose a defenseman Jake Gardiner is probably you best bet here as he at least shoots the puck and did grab an assist last game. Toronto should only be viewed as cash game plays only for tonight’s contests.

The only thing that can possibly save Montreal’s season is the fact that they play well at home as their record of 16-11-3 would indicate. The top line of Max Pacioretty, Tomas Plekanec and Brandon Gallagher also double up on the team’s top power play unit with defensemen P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov. Alex Gachenyuk is the one-off here as he skates on the second line and netted two goals in the Canadiens 4-3 win at Washington on Wednesday night. Gallagher and Pacioretty both have found the scoresheet three times over the last five games in which Montreal has only scored 11 goals. Markov is the play on defense for me tonight as he has outperformed Subban by a count of five to two over the last five games and is no doubt cheaper across the industry. Go with the top line here and hope that Montreal can build off of the solid win against the Capitals.

Elite Plays

TOR: None
MTL: None

Secondary Plays

TOR: Nazem Kadri, Jake Gardiner, P. A. Parenteau
MTL: Max Pacioretty, Andrei Markov, Tomas Plekanec, Brendan Gallagher, Alex Galchenyuk, P.K. Subban

Detroit Red Wings at Colorado Avalanche – 08:00 PM EST

Detroit Red Wings					Colorado Avalanche
			Petr Mrazek					Semyon Varlamov
			Record					Record
			30-20-11					32-27-4
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.48	2.51	17.60%	81.60%	Team Stats	2.63	2.79	19.30%	79.70%

Welcome to the 2016 Coors Light Stadium Series which will be held at Coors Field where it will be 70 degrees in the daytime and only fall 15 degrees by the time the first puck is dropped. This could make some less than stellar conditions through the first period and part of the second. Both teams will have to play in this mess so there really isn’t advantage to one team or the other. Despite winning their last game the Detroit Red Wings have still scored only eight goals in their last five games. You can imagine what these numbers look like so we might as well get down to it. It is unclear whether head coach Jeff Blashill will stick with the same lines or not so check the research tools here at RotoGrinders for updated lines as the day moves on. The top line of Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and Justin Abdelkader has been unimpressive of late as both Zetterberg and Abdelkader have found the scoresheet just once in the last five games. Meanwhile, Datsyuk had 11 points in seven games but has been held scoreless over the last three games. The second line of Gustav Nyquist, Riley Sheahan and Tomas Tatar have a combined three points in the last nine games and make for a deep GPP option only. Although unconfirmed on twitter a few sources have Riley Sheahan up on the top power play unit which is befuddling to me but it would make sense considering that Blashill is no Mike Babcock. Niklas Kronwall has been back for two games and has virtually pushed Mike Green back to the team’s second power play unit. As above, there are a few other better plays at the defensive position tonight.

Somehow someway Patrick Roy has the Avalanche playing some decent hockey of late and they are even winning some games. Jarome Iginla has been at the root of this resurgence as he has had a hand in 12 of the last 23 goals that Colorado has scored. Mikhail Grigorenko and Matt Duchene complete the team’s top line and could be used as a GPP play for tonight’s contests. The second line hasn’t fared as well with Gabriel Landeskog leading the charge with four points in his last four games while Nathan MacKinnon has just one assists in his last six games. Tyson Barrie and Nick Holden man the point on the team’s top power play with Barrie being the clear cut play here as he has lit the lamp twice while assisting three other goals in his last five games. Blake Comeau plays on the third line but joins Duchene, Landeskog and the two defensemen mentioned on the top power play unit. Colorado has only connected twice in their last 19 tries with the man advantage and much of this goes back to my pet peeve of using players from three lines to form the top power play unit. It just doesn’t get that chemistry going like some of the better units that have been together for most of the season.

Elite Plays

DET: None
COL: None

Secondary Plays

DET: Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Niklas Kronwall, Dylan Larkin
COL: Jarome Iginla, Gabriel Landeskog, Matt Duchene, Tyson Barrie, Blake Comeau

Ottawa Senators at Calgary Flames – 10:00 PM EST

Ottawa Senators					Calgary Flames
			Craig Anderson					Jonas Hiller
			Record					Record
			29-27-6					26-30-4
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.79	3.03	17.70%	74.60%	Team Stats	2.67	3.03	15.80%	73.40%

If Ottawa has any chance of making the playoffs tonight would be a good spot to keep up their recent winning ways. They are 4-1 in their last five games and need to jump over four teams to snag the eighth spot in the Eastern conference. The good news is they are only four points away from Pittsburgh’s 68 points who currently occupy the last playoff slot. These two teams are not good defensively so it’s no wonder that the only other time they played this year ended in a 5-4 shootout win for the home team Senators. Usually we look to the second line when teams are on the road but with Bobby Ryan only scoring three goals in his last ten games while Mika Zibanejad has just one point in the last five games, it’s going to be awfully tough to endorse that. Mark Stone has been on point in his last four games by scoring three goals to go along with an assist in his last four games. Mike Hoffman and Kyle Turris skate with Stone and also make up the team’s top power play unit but Turris hasn’t scored a point in any of his ten games he’s played since coming back from injury. This leaves it up to the defense as Erik Karlsson leads the team in scoring while averaging over a point a game and Dion Phaneuf has been serviceable enough as evidence of his three points over the last three games. There should be some scoring in this one so pick a line and stick with it.

This is like déjà vu all over again from Thursday night. Come on, say it with me… ‘Play Calgary’s top line at home against bad teams’. See, that wasn’t so bad was it? Johnny Gaudreau is the play here as he has 22 goals and 37 assists in 59 games so far this season. We also said he has 42 points at home vs only 17 on the road. This is what happens when teams only have one go to line, they do good at home but are easy to defend on the road. Sean Monahan and Jiri Hudler fill out the rest of the top line and, you guessed, they also get most of the minutes when the team goes on the power play. Mark Giordano and Dougie Hamilton are the choices on the back line but since Hamilton hasn’t found the scoresheet in the last five games, it may be a good idea to pay up for the more talented Giordano in tonight’s contests.

Elite Plays

OTT: Erik Karlsson
CAL: Johnny Gaudreau

Secondary Plays

OTT: Mark Stone, Dion Phaneuf, Mike Hoffman, Bobby Ryan
CAL: Jiri Hudler, Sean Monahan, Mark Giordano, Dougie Hamilton

Buffalo Sabres at Los Angeles Kings – 11:00 PM EST

Buffalo Sabres					Los Angeles Kings
			Chad Johnson
			Record					Record
			24-30-7					36-20-4
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.34	2.66	19.90%	82.50%	Team Stats	2.65	2.28	22.10%	81.90%

The Buffalo Sabres have lost three of their last four games before beating the San Jose Sharks by a score of 3-1 late last night. Meanwhile the Kings have won three straight with the last two being on home ice. The only chance the Sabres have tonight is if they catch the Kings looking ahead to tomorrow night’s match up in Anaheim and with their win last night in San Jose, it’s no doubt the LA team has taken notice. Nonetheless it’s not totally out of the question especially since the Ottawa Senators beat them on home ice back on January 16th which was a day before they were to travel to play the Ducks. If Buffalo is to win tonight they will need not only stellar goaltending like they received last night but they will need both lines to hit the scoresheet tonight. Evander Kane and Sam Reinhart anchor the top line while Jack Eichel and Jamie McGinn hold down the fort on the second line. If you are to take Buffalo in GPP’s keep the pairs together as they all get time on the team’s top power play. One would have to think the Kings will try to shut down the more talented Eichel line but either one will be ok for tournament play. Rasmus Ristolainen is the defenseman to target here as he rounds out the top power play unit and has two assists in his last three games.

Anze Kopitar returned to the lineup two games ago and took his place back on the top line between Milan Lucic and Dustin Brown. The return of Kopitar should help Milan Lucic and Dustin Brown as the only scoring that they have done in the last six games has been an assist recorded by Brown. The Kings have only scored eight goals in their last six games, which could be another reason to be cautious here. Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli get the top power play minutes with Kopitar and should be in play here against a Buffalo team that is playing their third game in four nights on the west coast. Carter has seven points in his last nine games while Toffoli has three in his last six. Drew Doughty and Jake Muzzin handle the defensive duties on the power play with Doughty being the more expensive and safer play.

Elite Plays

BUF: None
LAK: Anze Kopitar

Secondary Plays

BUF: Jack Eichel, Jamie McGinn, Rasmus Ristolainen, Evander Kane
LAK: Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli, Drew Doughty, Jake Muzzin, Milan Lucic

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