NHL Grind Down: Saturday, February 6th - Page Three
| Winnipeg Jets | Colorado Avalanche | ||||||||
 | Connor Hellebuyck |  | Semyon Varlamov | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 22-26-3 | 27-23-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.59 | 2.90 | 16.70% | 77.10% | Team Stats | 2.70 | 2.74 | 19.30% | 79.80% |
Like a lot of teams the Jets have been shuffling their lines up to try to create more scoring chances. Skating with Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele it would appear that Nikolaj Ehlers has been the main benefactor from these moves. It was evident that Ehlers was going to be a decent player but by playing in the bottom six it is awfully tough to get things going with the talent that you have around you. Put him with Wheeler and all of a sudden he has four goals and three assists in his last five games. This type of move doesn’t work often, but when it does it can be the cornerstone of things to come. It only makes sense that Wheeler and Scheifele’s numbers have gone up right along with Ehler’s as that duo have combined for eight points in the last four games. Dustin Byfuglien is enjoying a nice little run here by evidence of finding the scoresheet six times over the last four games. The only problem is that his price tag may be a little high to take him on a back-to-back.
If it wasn’t for Daily Fantasy Sports it is possible that few people would be interested in this game between the Winnipeg Jets and the Colorado Avalanche. It is true that Colorado has played better of late as their 6-3-1 record over the last ten games has them sitting in sixth place in the Western conference. Goaltender Semyon Varlamov should be back in action tonight as he missed a few games while dealing with the allegations of an assault and battery charge. It is no coincidence that the Avalanche could only win one of the four games they played in his absence. Winnipeg is a team known for taking penalties and coming in after playing Carolina last night, I think it’s safe to say that Colorado should get a few opportunities with the man advantage. We can start with team scoring leader Matt Duchene and although his four points in the last nine games may look a little lean, he should be able to get plenty of chances to hit the scoresheet tonight. Gabriel Landeskog and Blake Comeau skate on the team’s second line but have found some success recently as they have each been able to register four points in their last five games. Defensively it is usually Tyson Barrie who makes all the noise but since head coach Patrick Roy has put Erik Johnson next to him on the power play, Barrie’s numbers have fallen a bit while Johnson has steadily notched four assists in his last four games. Carl Soderberg has been the most productive player in recent games by skating with Landeskog and Comeau. He has found the net three times while assisting on five others in his last eight games which makes him a nice one-off play tonight. Nathan MacKinnon and Jarome Iginla have both seen their production drop off a bit but they do play on the top line against a team that really isn’t very good.
Elite Plays
WIN: None
COL: None
Secondary Plays
WIN: Nikolaj Ehlers, Blake Wheeler, Dustin Byfuglien
COL: Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog, Blake Comeau, Tyson Barrie, Erik Johnson, Carl Soderberg, Nathan MacKinnon
Calgary Flames at Vancouver Canucks – 10:00 PM EST
| Calgary Flames | Vancouver Canucks | ||||||||
 | Karri Ramo |  | Ryan Miller | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 22-24-3 | 20-19-12 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.63 | 2.96 | 14.50% | 76.70% | Team Stats | 2.33 | 2.71 | 17.10% | 80.20% |
This is a classic battle between two one line teams and as of this point, will not make the playoffs. Something would have to drastically happen for either of these teams to be playing after the regular season ends. Does that mean they can’t score? Of course not but you must realize your options are limited. Johnny Gaudreau leads the team with 49 points and no matter how bad Calgary is, he must be looked at as an option on a night in night out basis. His nine points in the last ten games also supports the theory that you should try to get as many point-a-game players in your lineups and the cheaper the better. Sean Monahan and Jiri Hudler have been heating up since that top line has been reunited and for all intents and purposes are the only real scoring threats this team has up front. Yes Michael Frolik can score at times but he is very streaky and with only 18 points so far, it would be best to look elsewhere. Mark Giordano and T.J. Brodie supply the rest of the team’s offense with Giordano being the choice here as he not only has more points than Brodie, he has hit the scoresheet six times over the last six games.
Henrik Sedin returned to the lineup last game so it may take a game or two to get his legs going again. Daniel Sedin has been plugging along by leading the team in both goals and assists which gives him a total of 44 points in 51 games. After those two it’s been very hit-or-miss this season as Radim Vrbata has not even come close to duplicating his statistics from a year ago. To be fair Vrbata did have a career year with 63 points in 79 games but all his 22 points have done so far this season is earned him less playing time. Jannik Hansen skates with the Sedin’s on the top line and did indeed get a hat trick against against Pittsburgh back on January 23rd, but I can assure that was an aberration as opposed to something he does on a regular basis. You have two choices if you are looking for a cheap one-off player. Brandon Sutter is the first. Sutter returned from injury two game ago in which he immediately found the back of the net in his first game back. He has been placed on the top power play unit and should get to see some quality ice time against a Calgary team that played last night. The second is twenty year old Bo Horvat who has collected 23 points in 51 games while averaging well over 17 minutes of ice time per night. I know it’s dangerous to mess around with teams that aren’t that good but this is Calgary’s eighth back-to-back situation this year and in five of the first seven they have let up four goals or more. This is just something to think about.
Elite Plays
CGY: Johnny Gaudreau
VAN: Daniel Sedin
Secondary Plays
CGY: Sean Monahan, Jiri Hudler, Mark Giordano
VAN: Henrik Sedin, Bo Horvat