NHL Grind Down: Saturday, February 6th
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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New York Rangers at Philadelphia Flyers – 01:00 PM EST
| New York Rangers | Philadelphia Flyers | ||||||||
 | Henrik Lundqvist |  | Steve Mason | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 28-18-5 | 23-18-8 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.86 | 2.59 | 16.70% | 78.20% | Team Stats | 2.39 | 2.61 | 18.60% | 78.20% |
Ranger beat writer Andrew Gross is reporting that Rick Nash has not felt any improvement from the bone bruise he suffered before the All Star game and will not make the trip to Philadelphia for today’s contest. That shouldn’t be a problem for New York’s second unit though as they have been one of the hottest lines in the league. Sean Couturier has been shut down for at least a month making both lines for the Rangers in play tonight. J.T. Miller has scored six goals in his last five games while even Jesper Fast has added four assists but maybe the best play tonight is Derick Brassard as he not only skates on the team’s top power play line, he has found the scoresheet eight times in the last five games. Keith Yandle is getting more minutes on the power play of late and should be the defensive choice if you want to get some New York Ranger exposure.
Philadelphia looks to grab their fourth win in a row today on home ice against the New York Rangers. If they are successful it would only be the third time they have reached that plateau this season. A lot of the Flyers recent success can be placed solely on the top line which also serves as the team’s top power play unit. In fact, the Flyers have scored nine power play goals over the last six games which includes grabbing at least one in every game. Claude Giroux not only leads the team in points but he has had a hand in six goals over the last five games making him a good place to start. Believe it or not there are even much better plays than Giroux as Jakub Voracek has collected ten points while Wayne Simmons has scored six goals and assisted on three others over the last five games. Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere is no slouch either by contributing seven assists over that same time frame. Since the power play is clicking on all cylinders even second liner Brayden Schenn has been able to contribute four goals and three assists in the last five games. The Flyers are a hot team so ride them while you can.
Elite Plays
NYR: None
PHL: Wayne Simmonds, Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek
Secondary Plays
NYR: J.T. Miller, Derick Brassard, Derek Stepan, Mats Zuccarello, Keith Yandle
PHL: Brayden Schenn, Shayne Gostisbehere
Washington Capitals at New Jersey Devils – 01:00 PM EST
| Washington Capitals | New Jersey Devils | ||||||||
 | Braden Holtby |  | Cory Schneider | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 36-9-4 | 26-20-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.29 | 2.24 | 25.00% | 84.00% | Team Stats | 2.25 | 2.27 | 19.40% | 81.80% |
The Washington Capitals are one of only three teams in the league who have played less than 50 games but yet lead the league in both wins and points with 36 and 76 respectively. Sure Chicago is only one point away from them in each category but one must consider that the Blackhawks have played a full six games more than Washington. Where am I going with all of this you ask? Head coach Barry Trotz has successfully put together a team with two lines that can score and moreover is one of the few teams left that uses his top line as the power play unit as well. Alexander Ovechkin, T.J. Oshie and Nicklas Backstrom have combined for 123 points so far this season as well as tallying 15 points in their last five games. Evgeny Kuznetsov leads the team in points and makes a great play here, especially on the road as the Devils will be working hard to shut down Ovechkin and Company, thus leaving a little more room for the ice for the second line to maneuver. Andre Burakovsky and Justin Williams skate next to Kuznetsov and should be very much in play tonight. Burakovsky has five goals and two assists in his last five games while Kuznetsov has seven assists in his last four. Very rarely do I use the words ‘match up proof’ or ‘must plays’, but where this bunch is concerned, it is getting pretty close to using that verbiage. Defenseman John Carlson has reclaimed his spot back on the top power play unit and it shouldn’t take long for his numbers to start trending in a positive direction.
The Devils come into this one after a tough 3-2 shootout loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night. It won’t be much easier tonight with the best team in the league coming to town. While the Devils will probably low owned tonight in cash games, there may be some GPP value to be had. Washington has given up four power play goals in their last four games while New Jersey has scored three of the same variety in the last two games. Small sample sizes for sure but it’s better than nothing. Lee Stempniak and Joseph Blandisi are the stronger plays tonight by combining for six goals and five assists in the last five games. Adam Henrique and defenseman Eric Gelinas also play on the top power play and should be considered if you are trying to stack this game in a GPP. Travis Zajac could be considered a one-off play and although he has a goal and four assists in his last five games, he has been doing it all by himself while skating on the second line. The Capitals look like the better team so I cannot stress enough the New Jersey should only be tournament play on tonight’s big NHL slate.
Elite Plays
WSH: Evgeny Kuznetsov, Alexander Ovechkin
NJ: None
Secondary Plays
WSH: T.J. Oshie, Nicklas Backstrom, Andre Burakovsky, John Carlson
NJ: Lee Stempniak, Joseph Blandisi, Adam Henrique, Eric Gelinas
Edmonton Oilers at Montreal Canadiens – 02:00 PM EST
| Edmonton Oilers | Montreal Canadiens | ||||||||
 | Cam Talbot |  | |||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 21-26-5 | |||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.50 | 2.90 | 19.20% | 81.30% | Team Stats | 2.63 | 2.71 | 18.00% | 83.10% |
Since the return of Connor McDavid the Edmonton Oilers have lit the lamp 12 times. Granted the Columbus Blue Jackets and Ottawa Senators are bad defensive teams but Montreal hasn’t been playing well in recent months either. In fact Montreal has only won four games since December 13th, so this could clearly be a case of a meeting between two teams who are going in different directions. Furthermore Edmonton has connected on five of their last six power play opportunities while Montreal has given up five power play goals in the last three games. This would lead us right to the second line of McDavid, Benoit Pouliot and Jordan Eberle who have all tallied four or more points since McDavid’s return just two games ago. Andrej Sekera and Mark Letestu make cheap options as they play the points on the Oilers power play and have each tallied three points in their last three games. With the spotlight shining so brightly on the second line some may forget that the top line of Taylor Hall, Leon Draisaitl and Teddy Purcell can be just as deadly on any given night.
As indicated above the Canadiens are desperately in search of something that could resemble an NHL offense. Edmonton is not one of the best teams in the league where defense is concerned so it just stands to reason that if they can’t score tonight, they may as well just pack it in and get a better pick in next year’s draft. It’s tough to figure who may do the scoring from a team that scored 18 goals in their last ten games so usually we look to the proven players to break the scoring drought. Defensman P.K. Subban leads the team in points and has added four assists in the last five games so he seems to be almost a shoe-in if you want to roster some Canadien players for tonight’s contests. The top line that features Max Pacioretty has only snared four points over the last five games which would almost render them to ‘deep GPP’ status. In the midst of all of this ‘non scoring’ mess is Alex Galchenyuk who has found a way to put up a point in each of the last three games. Pairing him with Tomas Plekanec would make sense for GPP play as they both get top power play minutes along with Subban and Pacioretty.
Elite Plays
EDM: Connor McDavid, Jordan Eberle
MTL: None
Secondary Plays
EDM: Benoit Pouliot, Taylor Hall, Leon Draisaitl, Andrej Sekera
MTL: Max Pacioretty, Alex Galchenyuk, Tomas Plekanec, P.K. Subban
New York Islanders at Detroit Red Wings – 02:00 PM EST
| New York Islanders | Detroit Red Wings | ||||||||
 | Thomas Greiss |  | Petr Mrazek | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 26-17-6 | 25-18-8 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.73 | 2.47 | 17.90% | 87.10% | Team Stats | 2.45 | 2.55 | 17.90% | 79.30% |
The Islanders should find tonight’s game a bit easier than the 3-2 loss that they suffered against the Washington Capitals on Thursday night. Mikhail Grabovski continues to flourish while skating on the top line with John Tavares by evidence of both players hitting the scoresheet five times in the last five games. If your thinking leads you to playing the second line from teams on the road, it wouldn’t hurt to select both Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen. Both players skate on the team’s top power play unit with Nielsen grabbing four points in his last five games while Okposo has found the scoresheet three times in the last four games he has played. Nick Leddy is the choice on defense as he gets the top power play minutes to go along with tallying three points in his last five games.
Head coach Jeff Blashill continues to shuffle the lines up in hopes of finding the right combination that could possibly take the fourth place Red Wings deep into the playoffs. On the surface he seems to have the talent but so far consistent scoring has not surfaced. Tonight’s edition of line up the ‘Shuffle-O-Matic’ machine has spit out finds Pavel Datsyuk back on the top line with Henrik Zetterberg and Justin Abdelkader. This line has had success in the past and Blashill is taking the calculated risk of getting the last line change in hopes of opening up the ice for the once feared trio. Abdelkader has four points in his last five games while Zetterberg has a goal to go along with two assists over the same time period. Hopefully this will send some good vibes Datsyuk’s way and get the team back on track tonight against the New York Islanders. Rookie sensation Dylan Larkin makes an interesting play as he not only leads the team in points but has tallied two goals and assisted on another in his last five games. Mike Green has been handling the duties at the point on the team’s top power play unit and although Blashill is changing up the lines, he should remain filling that role.
Elite Plays
NYI: None
DET: None
Secondary Plays
NYI: John Tavares, Mikhail Grabovski, Frans Nielsen, Kyle Okposo, Nick Leddy
DET: Dylan Larkin, Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Justin Abdelkader, Mike Green
Buffalo Sabres at Boston Bruins – 07:00 PM EST
| Buffalo Sabres | Boston Bruins | ||||||||
 | Robin Lehner |  | Tuukka Rask | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 21-26-5 | 27-18-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.29 | 2.63 | 20.80% | 80.80% | Team Stats | 2.92 | 2.67 | 24.50% | 84.40% |
There are rumblings in Buffalo that the Sabres may be in full tank mode as early as tonight. Although they are better than last year they still are a full 11 points away from a playoff spot and have to jump over eight teams to get there. How else can you explain Brian Gionta being selected as a shooter over Jack Eichel in a 3-2 shootout loss to the division rival Boston Bruins. Oh and by the way, yes, the Sabres did lose the game. We also have Ryan O’Reilly quoted as saying “Maybe I’m not the goal scorer I thought I was.” So add all this up and it looks like a team that has very much mailed it in. Eichel’s five points in the last five games would seem to make him the safest pick and maybe even O’Reilly is worth a look but outside of that, it would be awfully tough to roster Buffalo players for tonight’s contests. Rasmus Ristolainen has cooled off a bit but still gets the top minutes on the power play.
After beating the Sabres the other night in Buffalo one would think that the Bruins should have no problem beating them on their home ice. Brad Marchand has scored eight goals in his last eight games and was held scoreless in only one of those games. Patrice Bergeron skates on the top line with Marchand and would make a nice pairing as he has tallied six points over the last eight games he has played in. David Krejci is keeping the second line afloat by scoring eight points in his last ten games while line mate Loui Eriksson has been awfully quiet of late by evidence of assisting on just two goals in the last eight games. Defenseman Torey Krug grabs the point on the power play and finally ended his five game scoring drought by grabbing an assist in each of the last two games. Ryan Spooner makes a decent one-off play by virtue of skating on the third line but then jumps up on the top power play unit with the big boys. It also doesn’t hurt that Spooner has netted a goal to go along with four assists in his last six games. Look for Boston to score a few goals but I wouldn’t go too crazy especially with 11 others games to choose from tonight.
Elite Plays
BUF: None
BOS: None
Secondary Plays
BUF: Jack Eichel, Ryan O’Reilly, Rasmus Ristolainen
BOS: Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Loui Eriksson, Ryan Spooner, Torey Krug