NHL Grind Down: Saturday, February 4th - Page Two
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New Jersey Devils at Columbus Blue Jackets
| New Jersey Devils | Columbus Blue Jackets | ||||||||
 | Keith Kinkaid |  | Joonas Korpisalo | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 21-21-10 | 33-12-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.24 | 2.84 | 15.10% | 81.00% | Team Stats | 3.35 | 2.39 | 24.60% | 82.70% |
New Jersey lost a tough one in front of the home crowd last night as the Calgary Flames came back with a third period goal and then the eventual overtime winner to down the Devils by a score of 5-4. The loss almost puts the Devils out of the playoff conversation as their 52 points now has the team six points away from both Philadelphia and Boston who hold the last playoff spots in the Eastern Conference with 58 points. Columbus lost last night in Pittsburgh and probably aren’t in any mood to mess around. The two lines to look at for tournament play would be the first line that features Taylor Hall, Travis Zajac and Kyle Palmieri while the second line finds Mike Cammalleri, Adam Henrique and Miles Wood. Palmieri and Hall are the most obvious plays here as they lead the team with a combined eight goals and seven assists in the last nine games. Hall also leads the team with 22 assists and 33 points in just 42 games while Palmieri needed all 50 games to lead the team with 14 goals. This line will of course draw the top line from the other side so use caution here. Wood seems to be the punt-play here as he has collected six of his 11 points over the last nine games. Andy Greene received most of the power play time last night from the back line which sent Kyle Stollery to the press box. Damon Severson leads the defensive corps with 22 points but I think I’d look elsewhere for my defenseman on such a large slate.
Columbus hung in there against the Stanley Cup Champions but eventually fell in overtime by a score of 4-3 in Pittsburgh last night. Their 71 points still has them in a solid playoff position and look to improve on that tonight. Alexander Wennberg, Nick Foligno and Brandon Saad should be the line to target tonight as they have been very productive for most of the season. Wennberg leads the team with 20 power play points and 34 assists while Saad and foligno have racked up a combined 25 goals and 43 assists so far this season. If you don’t know by now, Cam Atkinson is my favorite one-off play as he leads the team with 25 goals and 47 points while playing on the second line with Boone Jenner and Brandon Dubinsky. He also leads the team with 145 shots on goal while finding the score sheet 19 times when the Jackets have the man advantage. Sam Gagner is another one-off play as he receives the top minutes on the team’s first power play unit. His 34 points has him fifth on the team in scoring. Seth Jones has been on fire from the back line as he leads the team with nine points in the last ten games. Jones only has 27 points so far this season but he is quickly approaching Zachary Werenski and his 31 points on the team’s scoring chart. Look for Columbus to come out firing on all cylinders in front of the home crowd tonight.
Elite Plays
NJ: Taylor Hall
CBJ: Cam Atkinson, Alexander Wennberg
Secondary Plays
NJ: Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac, Adam Henrique, Miles Wood
CBJ: Nick Foligno, Brandon Saad, Seth Jones, Sam Gagner
Carolina Hurricanes at New York Islanders
| Carolina Hurricanes | New York Islanders | ||||||||
 | Eddie Lack |  | Jean-Francois Berube | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 23-20-7 | 22-18-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.63 | 2.80 | 17.40% | 88.10% | Team Stats | 2.88 | 2.81 | 15.30% | 80.50% |
Carolina continues to play well in front of the home crowd as they beat the Edmonton Oilers by a score of 2-1 last night thanks to a third period power play goal by Sebastian Aho. It was the only power play opportunity of the night for the hurricanes and it was interesting to see the Aho line out there instead of Jeff Skinner and Victor Rask. Aho skates with Jordan Staal and Elias Lindholm on the second line as well as the second power play line so the decision to put the hot players paid off in spades for Carolina last night. Aho has lit the lamp five times in the last six games while Lindholm has garnered five assists over that same time frame. Skinner still leads the team in goals and points while Rask leads the team in assists. Although they have been split up to play on different lines they still are playable tonight against the Islanders. If you are looking for a pairing that doesn’t include the Aho line your best bet would be using Teuvo Teravainen with Rask and use Skinner as a one-off as his line mates are Derek Ryan and Lee Stempniak. Justin Faulk is the play from the back line as he is second on the team with 135 shots in the 43 games he has played in. Those shots have produced 10 goals and 13 assist so far this season.
The Islanders are another team that blew a golden opportunity last night as they fell 5-4 in Detroit to a feisty Red Wings team. The loss keeps them five points away from the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with four others teams in a better positon to take the eighth place position when it’s all said and done. John Tavares, Anders Lee and Josh Bailey is the line to target here as Tavares leads the team in goals and points while Bailey’s 24 assists leads in that department. You could also use Tavares as a one-off here as it seems almost all of the scoring goes through him as he has collected 43 points in 49 games with 11 of those points coming in the last seven games. Lee is second on the team with two goals and four assists in those same seven games. If you are looking for a cheaper one-off play then maybe Andrew Ladd is the guy you want to take a look at. He seems to have found something as he has scored three of his 11 goals in the last four games while skating with Alan Quine and Jason Chimera. You could also look at Brock Nelson as a punt play in tournament play as his 26 points so far this season is disappointing but still worth a punt if needed. Nick Leddy is the hands down play on the back line as he is third on the team in points with 27 points. Ten of those points have come with the man advantage as he is the lone defensemen on the team’s top power play unit.
Elite Plays
CAR: Jeff Skinner
NYI: John Tavares
Secondary Plays
CAR: Sebastian Aho, Victor Rask, Jordan Staal, Justin Faulk
NYI: Anders Lee, Nick Leddy, Josh Bailey
Ottawa Senators at Buffalo Sabres
| Ottawa Senators | Buffalo Sabres | ||||||||
 | Mike Condon |  | Robin Lehner | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 27-16-6 | 20-20-10 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.71 | 2.65 | 17.60% | 83.10% | Team Stats | 2.40 | 2.76 | 22.30% | 74.10% |
The Ottawa Senators are one of the few teams that have gotten away with using a different player from across three lines to make up their top power play unit. As it turns out, all three players are in a three-way tie for the team lead in goals with 18. Kyle Turris centers Ryan Dzingel and Bobby Ryan while Mark Stone plays on a wing with Zack Smith and Derick Brassard. Mike Hoffman is your one-off here as his line mates in Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Tom Pyatt have nowhere near the talent than the other two lines possess. Obviously Stone, Turris and Hoffman lead the power play charge with Dion Phaneuf and Erik Karlsson manning the points. Phaneuf has fallen off a bit but still has seen 11 of his 20 points come with the man advantage. Meanwhile Karlsson’s 12 points in the last ten games has him back on top for the team lead in points with 44 points in 49 games. The line that looks to have the advantage in this one would be the Stone, Smith and Brassard line as they have accumulated ten goals and 18 assists in the last ten games. Buffalo has lost their last three games so it shouldn’t be too hard for Ottawa to keep up the pace in the Atlantic Division tonight.
Buffalo has moved Matt Moulson from the dark depths of the bottom six to come up and skate alongside Ryan O’Reilly and Kyle Okposo. If this doesn’t jump start Moulson nothing will especially when they will see a good amount of ice time against favorable match ups. Okposo leads the team with 15 goals and 21 points while O’Reilly has found the score sheet 30 times in just 40 games. Joining Okposo and O’Reilly on the top power play unit are Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart who skate on the team’s second line. Actually both of these lines could be the number one line but it’s up to head coach Dan Bylsma as to which line he wants to match up with Ottawa’s more weaker lines. Reinhart is right there with O’Reilly in terms of points while Eichel has 12 goals and nine assists in the 29 games he has suited up for. If you are looking for a wild card play Evander Kane is your guy. The underachieving winger is in one of his scoring streaks as he has registered nine points in the last ten games to go along with a whopping 46 shots on goal. Risto Ristalainen is the play on the back line as he soaks up almost all of the time when the Sabres have the man advantage. 17 of his 28 points have come on the power play which has managed just two goals in the last five games.
Elite Plays
OTT: Mike Hoffman, Erik Karlsson
BUF: None
Secondary Plays
OTT: Kyle Turris, Mark Stone, Derick Brassard, Dion Phaneuf
BUF: Kyle Okposo, Rasmus Ristolainen, Ryan O’Reilly, Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart
Chicago Blackhawks at Dallas Stars
| Chicago Blackhawks | Dallas Stars | ||||||||
 | Corey Crawford |  | Kari Lehtonen | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 31-17-5 | 21-21-10 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.74 | 2.58 | 18.10% | 75.90% | Team Stats | 2.77 | 3.13 | 18.10% | 73.40% |
The Blackhawks finally turned things around last game as they were able to beat the Coyotes in Arizona on Thursday night by a score of 4-3. Richard Panik was reunited with Jonathan Toews on the top line that also saw Nick Schmaltz skate on the left wing. Toews makes for a decent one-off here as he leads the team with eight points in the last nine games and should not draw the best dallas defensive unit. They will be too busy trying to stop the juggernaut that is Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin and Artem Anisimov. Kane leads the team with 35 assists and 51 points while Panarin and Anisimov are second and third on the team with 46 and 35 points respectively. Marian Hossa could be used as a one-off here as he skates from the third line but has netted three goals and six points over the last nine games. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook join the Kane line to form the team’s top power play unit that has started to pick it up of late by virtue of scoring three goals in the last four games. Keith is the clear play however as 35 points is tied with Anisimov for third on Chicago’s scoring chart.
While Chicago is safely nestled in second place in the Central Division with 67 points the Dallas stars are a totally different story. Injuries have helped them underachieve this season as their 52 points currently has the team three points away from even thinking about qualifying for the end of the season tournament. Now they have to deal with the injury to Jason Spezza who will miss about two weeks with an upper body injury. Head coach Lindy Ruff said yesterday that he’d like to keep the lines of Jamie Benn, Cody Eakin and Patrick Eaves and Patrick Sharp, Radek Faksa and Devin Shore together which would certainly leave a hole on the Tyler Seguin line. Ruff has indicated that moving Brett Ritchie up to play right wing and move Seguin could be the most viable option but as of now it’s a wait and see thing. Either way it’s probably safe to use Seguin as a one-off or use any combination of the Benn line if you are looking for a pairing or a line stack. Benn and Eaves look like the most logical play as they have combined for ten goals and 11 assists in the last ten games while playing on the top power play unit. Defenseman John Klingberg is the choice on the back line as he has racked up eight of his season total of 30 points over the last ten games. The Stars need this one in the worst way as its coming down to a do-or-die situation for the injury riddled Dallas team.
Elite Plays
CHI: Patrick Kane
DAL: Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin
Secondary Plays
CHI: Artemi Panarin, Artem Anisimov, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, Marian Hossa
DAL: Patrick Eaves, John Klingberg, Patrick Sharp
Detroit Red Wings at Nashville Predators
| Detroit Red Wings | Nashville Predators | ||||||||
 | Jared Coreau |  | Pekka Rinne | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 21-21-9 | 25-18-8 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.40 | 2.96 | 11.20% | 80.80% | Team Stats | 2.75 | 2.57 | 18.10% | 83.10% |
Thanks to a goal by Danny Dekeyser with 28 seconds left Detroit was able to beat the Islanders and keep their dimly lit playoff hopes alive in the Eastern Conference. They have 21 games to make up a seven point deficit if they have any hopes of playing in the end of the season tournament. Nashville has been playing inspired hockey of late so tonight’s task could be a bit more than the Red Wings are up for. After perusing last night’s box score I can tell why the Red Wings are struggling. Detroit had two power plays which saw 11 players see the ice and none of them were named Anthony Mantha, none! One would think that a guy with 25 points in 35 games would need to be on the ice, but no, let’s have stiffs like Niklas Kronwall and Darren helm out there. Yeah, that’s the ticket. Ok, my rant is over. Mantha skates on the top line with Henrik Zetterberg and Gustav Nyquist while Frans Nielsen centers the second line with Tomas Tatar and Dylan Larkin. The Zetterberg line should make for a decent tournament play even though the top line of Nashville will try to shut them down. Zetterberg leads the team with 37 points while all three players have put up seven points in the last nine games. Thomas Vanek could be used as a punt play here as he skates on the third line but has lit the lamp 12 times in 39 games to lead the team in that department. Mike Green is an option on the back line as he leads all Detroit defensemen with 24 points while no other d-man has been able to reach double digits.
The Nashville Predators have won eight of their last 11 games which has catapulted them into third place in the Central Division. Their 25-18-8 record is good for 58 points which is three points ahead of the fourth place St Louis Blues. Their destiny is in their own hands as we come down the stretch and you can bet your bottom dollar that if they continue their winning ways the top line will have a lot to do with it. Ryan Johansen, Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson not only occupy the top three spots on the Predators scoring chart, they also have combined for 11 goals and 13 assists in the last 10 games. This should point you in the direct you to click on a few of them when you are making your cash game rosters tonight. James Neal makes for a decent one-off play here as he joins the top line on the team’s top power play unit. Neal’s 17 goals lead the team and has 24 points in the 43 games he has played in this season. You could try to mess around with Mike Fisher or Calle Jarnkrok but on a big slate like this one we should be able to find better players than that in their price range. Mattias Ekholm takes the defensive shifts when the Predators draw a penalty but hasn’t done much with the extra ice time. He has just 18 points with three of them coming with the man advantage. Roman Josi has been practicing and is very close to returning to the lineup.
Elite Plays
DET: None
NSH: Ryan Johansen
Secondary Plays
DET: Henrik Zetterberg, Anthony Mantha, Thomas Vanek, Mike Green, Frans Nielsen
NSH: Viktor Arvidsson, Filip Forsberg, James Neal