NHL Grind Down: Saturday, January 14th - Page Three

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Winnipeg Jets at Los Angeles Kings

Winnipeg Jets Los Angeles Kings
Article Image Article Image
Record Record
20-21-3 20-17-4
Stats GF/GP GA/GP PP% PK% Stats GF/GP GA/GP PP% PK%
Team Stats 2.73 3.00 17.00% 77.20% Team Stats 2.52 2.45 17.80% 83.60%

The Jets slipped up last night by losing to an Arizona team that was just 1-7-1 in their last nine games. The 4-3 final was just another blemish on what can only be called a sub-par year for the Winnipeg Jets. Patrik Laine will remain sidelined for tonight’s game so that leaves Blake Wheeler, Bryan Little and Mathieu Perreault to skate on the second line while Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers and Drew Stafford to skate on the top line. So my question is, if these guys are their top six skaters why was Joel Armia and Nic Petan on the ice more than everyone else except Scheifele when the Jets were on the power play last night. You can add Tobias Enstrom to that mix as well as fellow defensemen Jacob Trouba saw exactly zero power play time last night. It is thinking like this that makes you realize the exact reasons why Winnipeg is so bad. Okay, enough ranting, let’s see what we can do here where the Jets are concerned. Both Sheifele and Ehlers are first and second on the Jets scoring list which would indicate to me that this is the line the Kings will opt to try and shut down tonight. This should give Wheeler and Little just enough room on the ice to squeeze out a goal or two as the Kings have not been the defensive team we are used to seeing. They had given up 13 goals in their last three home games before finally beating the Blues by a score of 5-1 on Thursday night. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not saying the Jets will win, but they probably won’t get shut out either. Dustin Byfuglien leads the defensive corps in both shot and points with 132 and 25 repectively. His price may be a little high to afford tonight consider all of the other option on the board and the team that he is facing.

The Kings need to keep winning to stay in the playoff race, it’s that simple. Their 46 points is good enough for the last spot in the western Conference but have both Nashville and Vancouver right behind them with 45 points. The Kings try to run out two scoring lines so it is really up to head coach Daryl Sutter as to which line he wants to have the better on-ice match up. Anze Kopitar centers Marian Gaborik and Trevor Lewis while Jeff Carter centers Tanner Pearson and Dustin Brown. Carter is the easy one-off here as his three goals and six assists over the six games has kept him atop of the Kings scoring chart with 39 points in 42 games. Pearson has been hot of late as well as he has seen his seven points in the last six games has tied him for third place with Drew Doughty and his 23 points. Gaborik and Kopitar are starting to finally come alive as this duo has combined for eight points in the last six games, which equals 12 man games. They have both missed games but that is a lot better than the 21 points they have accrued in the combined 45 previous games they have suited up for. Alec Martinez leads the defensive corps in scoring with 24 points but it is Doughty and Jake Muzzin that make the better plays tonight. Both play on the team’s top power play unit along with Carter, Kopitar and Pearson which should get a few chances against a tired Winnipeg team.

Elite Plays

WIN: None
LAK: Jeff Carter

Secondary Plays

WIN: Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers, Bryan Little
LAK: Tanner Pearson, Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, Jake Muzzin, Marian Gaborik

St. Louis Blues at San Jose Sharks

St. Louis Blues San Jose Sharks
Article Image Article Image
Record Record
21-15-5 25-15-2
Stats GF/GP GA/GP PP% PK% Stats GF/GP GA/GP PP% PK%
Team Stats 2.79 3.02 22.60% 84.80% Team Stats 2.62 2.29 16.70% 82.70%

We all know that head coach Ken Hitchcock has said he is going to retire at the end of the year which can only make me wonder how far this group will go with their backs against the wall. With just five wins in their last 14 tries the Blues have fallen into a dangerous position that has them sitting in third place in the Western Conference with 47 points. It’s been well documented above as to where this puts the Blues in terms of playoff positioning but as a refresher, both Nashville and Vancouver are just two points away from making the local golf clubs in the St Louis area become a lot busier come early April. Vladimir Tarasenko will be counted on to get this team back on track as his 20 goals and 23 assists are both highest on the team. Robby Fabbri has been inserted back on the top line, which is a decent move here as he has had most of his success skating next to Tarasenko. Jori Lehtera centers the top line but is usually a non-play based on his paltry 12 points so far this season. Alexander Steen, Paul Stastny and Nail Yakupov skate at even strength while Jaden Schwartz drops to the third line to skate with David Perron. Half the Blues problems have been that they keep changing up the lines in search of some phantom third scoring line. Yakupov is not a top six player on this team or any other for that matter. We’ve been down this road many times before but yet Hitchcock is still trying to catch lightning in a bottle. Meanwhile Schwartz certainly has the talent to skate in the top six but will have to settle for his third line duty at the moment. Steen and Stastny make for a decent tournament play here as the Tarasenko line will try to be held in check, which means the second line should see a bit more room on the ice tonight. They have a combined 11 points in the last five games and get the added bonus of skating with Tarasenko and Fabbri on the Blues top power play unit. Kevin Shattenkirk is always the play on the back line as he has seen 15 of his 26 points come with the man advantage. The Blues road doesn’t get any easier as they play 11 of their next 16 games away from the friendly confines of Scottrade Center.

The Sharks need a win here if they want to have any chance of pulling into a first place Pacific Division tie with the Anaheim Ducks. Anaheim has 54 points and will see action in Arizona while San Jose will stay at home to host the slumping St Louis Blues. The Sharks do have two games in hand however so a win here would help out regardless of the Anaheim outcome. The top line of Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton and Timo Meier should be one of the more popular lines tonight as Pavelski is second only to defenseman Brent Burns with 15 goals and 24 assists. Meanwhile, his power play partner leads the team with ten power play assists which gives Thornton a total of 26 points so far this season. Logan Couture centers the second line with Kevin Labanc and Joonas Donskoi but sees his value rise when the Sharks draw a penalty. Couture leads the team with seven power play goals and should be considered as a decent one-off play for your cash games tonight. Patrick Marleau joins couture, Burns, Pavelski and Thornton to create a top power play unit that sees at least 65% of the ice time with the man advantage. These five guys do most of the scoring and no doubt will not go too far off script tonight. Burns leads the team with 17 goals and 27 assists on 166 shots which would make him the defenseman to play on any night he suits up. Sure you can stray a little bit from the top five but it’s I wouldn’t be expecting any more hat tricks like the one Mikkel Boedker netted a few games ago.

Elite Plays

STL: Vladimir Tarasenko
SJ: Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski

Secondary Plays

STL: Alexander Steen, Paul Stastny, Kevin Shattenkirk, Robby Fabbri
SJ: Logan Couture, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau

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About the Author

elctrceye
Tom Woollam (elctrceye)

Tom Woollam is a freelance DFS writer and has been a member here at RotoGrinders.com since December 2011. He has played Fantasy Sports for the last 30 years and has been in the daily fantasy sports game for the last four. You can find him on twitter @elctrceye.