NHL Grind Down: Saturday, February 6th - Page Two

by Tom Woollam (elctrceye) Last Updated 2016-02-06 16:05:55

Toronto Maple Leafs at Ottawa Senators – 07:00 PM EST

Toronto Maple Leafs					Ottawa Senators
			James Reimer					Craig Anderson
			Record					Record
			19-22-9					23-23-6
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.32	2.68	15.50%	80.80%	Team Stats	2.73	3.15	17.90%	73.50%

It’s not very often that you will find me recommending the Maple Leafs in any contest other than as a GPP play but with the Ottawa Senators giving up 13 goals in their last two games, it’s certainly worth a look. By virtue of skating on the top line and the top power play unit Nazem Kadri and Leo Komarov are probably the only two that are worth a look tonight. Komarov leads the team with 17 goals while Kadri leads the team with 187 and has scored two goals and an assist ober the last five games. Defesemen Jake Gardiner and Dion Phaneuf play on the team’s top power play unit but have only been able to muster a combined five assists in the last ten games. Surely nothing to write home about. Third liner Peter Holland is your one-off here as he skates on the top power play unit and has assisted on four goals in the last seven games.

Ottawa hasn’t had too much trouble scoring goals of late, it’s keeping the puck out of their own net that is the problem. Defenseman Erik Karlsson leads the team in scoring with 55 points in 52 games and makes a nice play tonight if you can afford him. The top line of Mike Hoffman, Mika Zibanejad and Bobby Ryan should also be in play here as they have combined for 11 goals and ten assists in the last eight games. Jean-Gabriel Pageau makes an interesting one-off play by skating on the second line and grabbing four points in his last four games.

Elite Plays

TOR: None
OTT: Erik Karlsson

Secondary Plays

TOR: Leo Komarov, Nazem Kadri, Peter Holland
OTT: Bobby Ryan, Mika Zibanejad, Mike Hoffman

Pittsburgh Penguins at Florida Panthers – 07:00 PM EST

Pittsburgh Penguins					Florida Panthers
			Marc-Andre Fleury					Roberto Luongo
			Record					Record
			25-18-7					31-15-5
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.58	2.56	20.10%	83.40%	Team Stats	2.76	2.20	17.70%	83.40%

With Evgeny Malkin out for the second straight game the Pittsburgh Penguins find themselves in a precarious position as they take on the division leading Florida Panthers tonight. The Penguins are coming of a 6-3 loss suffered last night at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning, so one would have to think they’d have a difficult time against the more defensive minded Panthers. That doesn’t mean they won’t score however especially with the top line of Sidney Crosby, Patric Hornqvist and Chris Kunitz continuing to produce on a nightly basis. Crosby leads the way with eight goals and five assists in his last nine games and Hornqvist isn’t that far behind those totals with 12 points in his last ten games. The third part of the top line has also been productive as well which has Chris Kunitz snaring eight points in his last five games. Without Malkin in the lineup Phil Kessel can possibly see a drop in production but can still be used as he skates on the top power play line with Crosby and Hornqvist. Defeneseman Kris Letang has three goals and seven assists in his last eight games and should be considered for your rosters tonight. Looking at last night’s boxscore without Malkin it appears that both Trevor Daley and Derrick Pouliot received time on the power play so selecting one of those players may not be a bad idea if you are looking for a cheap defensive punt.

Florida is back at it again and this time they bring a five game winning streak into tonight’s game as they host the Penguins on home ice. When things are going good it’s easy to roster players and be comfortable with your picks. As indicated above Pittsburgh is without Malkin and they come in after playing up the road in Tampa last night. This makes for a lucrative spot to get some Panthers into your line up, the only question is which ones. Let’s start with the top line that features Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov. Both players anchor the team’s top power play line that has scored seven goals in the last four games and it’s a good bet that Pittsburgh may be a little tired, therefore they may be apt to take a few more penalties than they normally would. Both Huberdeau and Barkov each have three goals and three assists in their last five games. Reilly Smith has been enjoying his time on the top unit by responding with four goals and four assists in the last six games he has played in. Aaron Ekblad is the defensive choice here as he not only takes the point on the power play but he is second on the team in shots with 110 of them. If you are looking for a one-off then Vincent Trocheck is your guy. The second line skater has scored five goals to go along with three assists in his last five games. He does see minutes on the team’s second power play unit so ride him while he is hot as this current pace will probably not last much longer.

Elite Plays

PIT: Sidney Crosby
FLA: Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau

Secondary Plays

PIT: Chris Kunitz, Patric Hornqvist, Kris Letang, Phil Kessel
FLA: Reilly Smith, Aaron Ekblad, Vincent Trocheck, Jaromir Jagr

San Jose Sharks at Nashville Predators – 08:00 PM EST

San Jose Sharks					Nashville Predators
								Pekka Rinne
			Record					Record
			27-19-4					24-20-8
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.90	2.64	21.60%	80.10%	Team Stats	2.50	2.63	19.80%	79.20%

The Sharks come into this one sitting in second place in the Pacific conference with 58 points. Perhaps what is even more important is the fact that they are 17-7-2 on the road as they head to Nashville tonight to take on the predators. The San Jose offense is pretty cut and dried as the scoring goes through basically five players. Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton lead the charge as they skate on the top line and play on the team’s top power play unit. Pavelski leads the team in points and has eight points in his last six games while Thornton has hit the scoresheet 11 times in the past ten games. Tomas Hertl completes the top line with this duo and has seen an increase in production since the promotion and has responded by grabbing eight points in his last ten games. Patrick Marleau and Logan Couture also get the top power play minutes but each have gone been a bit cold over the last ten games. Couture has five points over that time span while Marleau has just a goal and an assist to his credit. Brent Burns is the defenseman you want on your roster tonight as he not only is second on the team in scoring he gets the majority of the minuets on the power play.

After winning the last four games of 2015 the Predators have stumbled out of the gate by losing their first two games of 2016. Mike Fisher has been moved up to the first line with Ryan Johansen and James Neal in hopes of getting a little more balance between the first and second lines. Johansen has ten points in his last ten games while Neal has seven points in the last seven games he has played in. They both make good plays tonight as they also get the first crack of scoring a power play goal when the situation arises. Mike Ribeiro takes over on the power play but has fallen on hard times over the last nine games by only producing a paltry three points. Roman Josi and Shea Weber are the defensive selections by virtue of being first and second on the team in scoring so far this year.

Elite Plays

SJ: Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski
NSH: None

Secondary Plays

SJ: Brent Burns, Tomas Hertl, Patrick Marleau, Logan Couture
NSH: Ryan Johansen, James Neal, Shea Weber, Roman Josi, Mike Fisher, Mike Ribeiro

Chicago Blackhawks at Dallas Stars – 08:00 PM EST

Chicago Blackhawks					Dallas Stars
			Corey Crawford					Antti Niemi
			Record					Record
			35-16-4					33-14-5
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.78	2.31	20.60%	82.00%	Team Stats	3.25	2.63	21.70%	80.00%

Chicago ends their four game road trip with a visit to Texas to take on the second place Dallas Stars. Three points separate the Stars from the Blackhawks and things do not look good for the home team, especially with the news of Jason Spezza needing more than a few days to recover from an upper body injury. Both Patrick Kane and and Artemi Panarin have found the scoresheet 11 times over the past ten games. This would be a great place to start if you want some exposure to Chicago as it seems no one has had much success stopping these two. Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa are the mainstays on the team’s second line and could be heating up as evidence of their two point performance Thursday night against the Arizona Coyotes. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook get the power play minutes on the point but if I had to choose Keith would be the play for me.

With the injury to Jason Spezza the Dallas Stars find themselves in more of a hole than they bargained for. It’s unclear at this time what the lines for tonight will be but my best guess will still have Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin skating on the top line. Not that they have been that great in the past two weeks as they have only scored two goals apiece in the last six games. Somehow they have managed to win four of those six games but I have a feeling with Spezza out, the house of cards may begin to fall. Patrick Sharp will no doubt be in the top six and draw some power play time but what line he will skate on remains to be seen. Sharp has contributed five assists in his last ten games and needs to pick up the pace if the Stars have any shot of keeping pace with the Blackhawks for Central division supremacy. John Klingberg has two goals and three assists in the last five games and it looks like he is back on track which makes him a safe defensive play for tonight.

Elite Plays

CHI: Patrick Kane
DAL: Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin

Secondary Plays

CHI: Artemi Panarin, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith
DAL: John Klingberg, Patrick Sharp

Minnesota Wild at St. Louis Blues – 08:00 PM EST

Minnesota Wild					St. Louis Blues
			Devan Dubnyk					Brian Elliott
			Record					Record
			23-19-9					29-17-8
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.47	2.39	17.70%	79.80%	Team Stats	2.37	2.37	18.90%	85.80%

Do you want to hear something sad? Defenseman Jared Spurgeon and Matthew Dumba have a combined one goal and four assists over the last four games. Ok, here’s the sad part. In the last nine games the top line of Zach Parise, Jason Pominville and Mikael Granlund have those same exact combined numbers. It’s no wonder that Minnesota has only won three games since the start of the new year with production like that, or should I say lackthereof. Charlie Coyle and Nino Niederreiter each have four points in their last five games and make for a nice GPP play in tonight’s contests. Outside of that, we really can’t trust Minnesota until they start to play a better brand of hockey.

St Louis is another team that has had trouble scoring over the past two weeks as they have just notched five goals in their last five games. This has led head coach Ken Hitchcock to shuffle up the lines yet again. Patrik Berglund stays on the top line with Vladimir Tarasenko and Paul Stastny while Scottie Upshall joins Alexander Steen and David Backes to form the team’s second line. Tarasenko and Company have just one assist over the last five games which makes Steen the best option as he has accumulated five points in his last ten games but one has to think that Tarasenko will break out sometime.Even defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk has hit the skids with his only scoring contribution coming in the form of a goal over the past eight games. You could take the third line of Robby Fabbri, Jori Lehtera and Troy Brouwer but because of limited ice time will probably only yield a goal at best.

Elite Plays

MIN: None
STL: Vladimir Tarasenko

Secondary Plays

MIN: Zach Parise, Charlie Coyle, Nino Niederreiter
STL: Paul Stastny, David Backes, Alexander Steen

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