NHL Grind Down: Saturday, February 4th
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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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Los Angeles Kings at Philadelphia Flyers
| Los Angeles Kings | Philadelphia Flyers | ||||||||
 | Peter Budaj |  | Michal Neuvirth | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 26-21-4 | 26-20-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.55 | 2.35 | 17.70% | 83.30% | Team Stats | 2.67 | 3.02 | 21.70% | 80.70% |
Thanks to the Kings current four game winning streak they have been able to jump over both Calgary and St Louis to claim the seventh playoff spot in the Western Conference, for now. Anze Kopitar, Marian Gaborik and Dustin Brown would seem to be the line to target here as the Flyers will surely try to shut down the Carter line. Kopitar has racked up 11 points in the last nine games while Gaborik has finally responded by grabbing eight of his 13 points over the last ten games. Jeff Carter makes for a decent one-off play here as he centers Tanner Pearson and Kyle Clifford. Carter has also registered a good amount of points in the last ten games as he leads the team with 26 goals and 46 points. Defensemen Jake Muzzin and Drew Doughty join Kopitar, Carter and Pearson on the team’s top power play unit that has scored in three of the last four games. Both defensemen make for a decent play here as they have combined for 13 points in the last ten games.
Based on yesterdays practice it looks like defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere and forward Travis Konecny will sit for a second straight game. They were both in the press box for Thursday’s 3-1 win against Montreal so we can only assume the head coach Dave Hakstol wants to stick with what works. Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek and Michael Raffl will play on the top line while Dale Weise will continue to skate with Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds. Giroux, Voracek, Schenn and Simmonds skate on the top power play line and quite frankly I wouldn’t look any further than that if you are thinking about rostering some Flyers this afternoon. Sure Matt Read or Raffl will get a goal here and there but the fact of the matter is that those four players lead the team in scoring not only over the past ten games but for the season as well. With Gostisbehere on the sidelines this opens the door for Ivan Provorov to continue his success on the back line. He will quarterback the team’s top power play unit that has scored in three of the last four games. Provorov has also moved into a tie for fifth place on the team’s scoring chart with 22 points this season.
Elite Plays
LAK: Jeff Carter
PHL: Claude Giroux
Secondary Plays
LAK: Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, Marian Gaborik, Jake Muzzin, Tanner Pearson
PHL: Jakub Voracek, Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds, Ivan Provorov
Washington Capitals at Montréal Canadiens
| Washington Capitals | Montréal Canadiens | ||||||||
 | Braden Holtby |  | Carey Price | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 34-11-6 | 30-15-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.25 | 2.12 | 20.80% | 83.90% | Team Stats | 2.98 | 2.48 | 23.20% | 79.20% |
The Capitals continue to be the best team in the league with 74 points but there has been a lot of discussion around the industry as to whether or not the other shoe will drop. They’ve won 14 of their last 17 games and look to improve on their 14-6-5 road record tonight. Alexander Ovechkin, T. J Oshie and Nicklas Backstrom skate at even strength and when the team has the man advantage and may not be high owned tonight. The reason for this is that Carey Price and the Montreal Canadiens have a an 18-5-3 record in front of the home crowd as they lead the Atlantic Division with 67 points. Justin Williams should be back in the lineup to skate on the second line with Marcus Johansson and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Williams has seven points in the last nine games but it’s Kuznetsov who is red hot as he has lit the lamp six times to go along with seven assists in the last ten games. Defenseman John Carlson joins the top power play unit from the back line as 10 of his 25 points have come with the man advantage. Matt Niskanen makes for a decent alternative play as he has accumulated 10 of his 28 points over the last ten games.
Montreal slipped up on Thursday night as the listless Philadelphia Flyers beat them by a score of 3-1 which gave them their tenth road loss of the season. Luckily for them they get the home ice advantage tonight where they have enjoyed quite a bit of success in front of the home crowd. Max Pacioretty, Phillip Danault and Alexander Radulov are the best bets here to score on a tough Washington defense as they serve as the team’s top line. Pacioretty leads the team with 24 goals and 42 points while Radulov’s team leading 27 assists has him right behind him with 39 points. David Desharnais, Andrew Shaw and Alex Galchenyuk make up the team’s second line that would have been physically impossible to assemble ten games ago as they were all hurt at that time. Defenseman Andrei Markov has returned to the lineup but I would still look to Shea Weber and Nathan Beaulieu as the plays from the back line tonight. Both skate on the blue line when Montreal draws a penalty with the forwards being Pacioretty, Radulov and Danault. This game may not have a lot of scoring in it so use caution here.
Elite Plays
WSH: Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov
MTL: Max Pacioretty
Secondary Plays
WSH: Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie, John Carlson, Justin Williams
MTL: Alexander Radulov, Phillip Danault, Shea Weber, Alex Galchenyuk, Nathan Beaulieu
Winnipeg Jets at Colorado Avalanche
| Winnipeg Jets | Colorado Avalanche | ||||||||
 | Ondrej Pavelec |  | Calvin Pickard | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 25-25-4 | 13-33-2 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.91 | 3.07 | 18.60% | 76.70% | Team Stats | 1.96 | 3.44 | 13.60% | 78.00% |
Unfortunately this game is the last game on the short three game afternoon slate so picking this game correctly may be the difference between winning and losing in the tournaments you choose to play in. The Jets have been trying to hang in there by winning five of their last seven games but they still remain just one point away from the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Mark Scheifele is almost a must play here as he has amassed 14 points over the last ten games while leading the team in points with 25 goals and 56 points. Meanwhile Bryan Little has found the back of the net seven times in the last ten games. Skating with Nikolaj Ehlers and Patrik Laine has surely helped Little pad his stats but nonetheless those 14 points represent half of his seasonal production thus far. Blake Wheeler skates with Scheifele at even strength as they should be looked at as a tournament pairing if not being a straight up cash play against a Colorado team that has given up 20 goals in the last five games. It doesn’t matter which defensemen you take here as both Dustin Byfuglien and Jacob Trouba have produced eight points apiece in the last ten games. Give the slight edge to Byfuglien here however as he does have 160 shots on goal to go along with 33 points.
What can we possibly say about a team that has won just one game in their last 15 games? Moreover, they have scored more than two goals just twice in their last 20 games. This is absolutely putrid in terms of minor league hockey let alone the NHL. Let’s assume that the stars will align tonight and pretend that the Avalanche actually have a shot at winning this game. In our little fantasy scenario we would see that Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen would probably be in on some of the scoring as they skate on the team’s top line. MacKinnon leads the team with six points in the last nine games which still has him atop the Colorado leader board with 33 points. In our dream we also imagine that Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog continue to remember that they are actually good hockey players and get in on the scoring as well. They have combined for four goals and five assists over the last nine games. Tyson Barrie skates on the top power play unit as the Avalanche have stopped messing around by leaving their best offensive defensemen out of the power play fun. Barrie’s 23 points is good for third on the team. Okay, you can wake up now and realize that this team is about as bad as they come.
Elite Plays
WIN: Mark Scheifele, Bryan Little
COL: None
Secondary Plays
WIN: Patrik Laine, Nikolaj Ehlers, Blake Wheeler, Dustin Byfuglien, Jacob Trouba
COL: Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Duchene, Tyson Barrie
Toronto Maple Leafs at Boston Bruins
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Boston Bruins | ||||||||
 | Frederik Andersen |  | Tuukka Rask | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 23-17-9 | 26-22-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.02 | 2.82 | 23.20% | 84.50% | Team Stats | 2.52 | 2.61 | 18.60% | 86.40% |
Thanks to losses to St Louis, Dallas and Philadelphia the Maple Leafs will try to rectify their road woes tonight as they take on division rivals in the form of the Boston Bruins. Tornton needs a win here to stay close with the third place Bruins as they are three points behind them in the Atlantic Division with 55 points going into today’s action. Auston Matthews leads the team with 23 goals while he centers Zach Hyman and William Nylander. The switch from Connor Brown to Nylander on Matthew’s wing reunites the line that had a little success earlier in the season. Brown drops to the third to skate with Tyler Bozak and Leo Komarov while the line of Nazem Kadri, James van Riemsdyk and Mitchell Marner would be the line that Boston tries to shut down. Kadri leads the team with 10 points in the last 11 games while Marner’s 10 points over that same time frame has catapulted him into the top spot on the Maple Leafs scoring chart with 43 points this season. The defense got a bit stronger with the return of Morgan Rielly but Jake Gardiner and Nikita Zaitsev are still the choices from the back line. Zaitsev has been more productive of late as his five assists over the last ten games has him at 21 points on the year which is just two points behind Gardiner.
Boston is just two points behind Ottawa for second place in the Atlantic Division and there is no reason in the world not to target the top line for your cash game plays tonight. Brad Marchand has netted eight goals to go along with eight assists over the last ten games and is arguably the hottest player in the league. Meanwhile David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron have combined for five goals and 14 assists over that same time frame so as you can see these guys have been clicking on all cylinders. Marchand leads the team in both goals and assists and should also be looked at as a one-off here just based on production alone as the whole line doubles as the team’s top power play unit. Ryan Spooner jumps up from the third line to join them with the man advantage that has scored five goals in the last four games. David Krejci and David Backes hold down the fort on the second line with Krejci being the more solid play with seven of his 34 points coming over the last ten games. Torey Krug is the choice on the back line as he has been trusted to quarterback the top power play unit for most of the year. His 31 points rank fourth on the team’s scoring chart.
Elite Plays
TOR: Auston Matthews
BOS: Brad Marchand
Secondary Plays
TOR: Nazem Kadri, Mitchell Marner, James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak, Jake Gardiner
BOS: David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron, Torey Krug, David Krejci
Anaheim Ducks at Tampa Bay Lightning
| Anaheim Ducks | Tampa Bay Lightning | ||||||||
 | John Gibson |  | Ben Bishop | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 28-16-9 | 22-24-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.62 | 2.48 | 21.80% | 84.20% | Team Stats | 2.67 | 2.94 | 21.90% | 79.40% |
Anaheim missed a golden opportunity last night as the lost a close one in to the Panthers in Florida last night by a score of 2-1. Although the Ducks scored early in the game they were shut out the rest of the way. The loss kept the Ducks in second place in the Pacific Division with 65 points which is just three points away from the division leading San Jose. Anaheim will try again tonight as they travel up the Florida coastline to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning. Corey Perry, Rickard Rakell and Ryan Getzlaf should have an easier time tonight against a Tampa team that has given up 155 goals so far this season. Rakell leads the team with 21 goals in just 42 games while Gtezlaf’s 31 assists is tops on the team. Ryan Kesler leads the team in scoring from the second line as he moves up to play with the top line when the Ducks draw a penalty. 17 of his 40 points have come when the Ducks have had the man advantage. Jakob Silfverberg makes for a nice if you are looking to pair a line mate with Kesler as he has racked up three points in the two games he has played since coming back from injury. This makes sense as the Lightning will no doubt be pre-occupied with stopping the top line on home ice tonight. Cam Fowler is the play on the back line as he soaks most of the ice time when the team goes on the power play. The defenseman has recorded 11 of his 27 points with the man advantage.
The Lightning have done themselves no favors by winning just three of their last 14 games and their last game which was a loss against Ottawa may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back. Tampa Bay was tied for sixth place in the Atlantic Division going into last night’s action which was eight points away from the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Tampa has scored 19 goals in the last nine games and look for someone to step up and take charge of the team. Nikita Kucherov is the easy one-off here as he has racked up 45 points in as many games. Ondrej Palat and Vladislav Namestnikov skated with him on the top line in which Palat is the better play as he has found the score sheet seven times in the last ten games. Now it looks like Brayden Point will replace Namestnikov on the top line, which would shift Namestnikov to the third line with Tyler Johnson. Only Johnson has more points from the third line over that same time frame as he has collected netted four goals to go along with four assists. Jonathan Drouin, Brian Boyle and Valtteri Filppula skate on the team’s second line and could be used as a deeper tournament play as each has grabbed at least five points over the last ten games. Victor Hedman is the play from the back line as his 41 points ranks second on the team. Anton Stralman is the other option from the back line but even he is not up to his usual numbers as he has found the score sheet 14 times in the 43 games he has played in.
Elite Plays
ANA: Ryan Kesler
TB: Nikita Kucherov
Secondary Plays
ANA: Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Rickard Rakell, Cam Fowler, Jakob Silfverberg
TB: Victor Hedman, Ondrej Palat, Jonathan Drouin, Tyler Johnson, Brian Boyle