NHL Grind Down: Saturday, January 21st - Page Two

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Los Angeles Kings at New York Islanders

Los Angeles Kings New York Islanders
Article Image Peter Budaj Article Image Jean-Francois Berube
Record Record
22-19-4 18-17-8
Stats GF/GP GA/GP PP% PK% Stats GF/GP GA/GP PP% PK%
Team Stats 2.49 2.44 16.40% 83.10% Team Stats 2.84 2.91 12.80% 80.50%

The Kings are anxiously awaiting the return of Tyler Toffoli and while he did skate by himself on Wednesday afternoon it looks like he is still on the shelf for a little while longer. In an effort to stay in playoff contention the Kings have booted Trevor Lewis back to the third line in favor of Dwight King. Anze Kopitar will center King and Marian Gaborik which will allow the latter to go back to right wing where he belongs. Kopitar has caught a little bit of wind over the last ten games as that is where he has registered eight of his season total 24 points. Hopefully this can rub off on his line mates as they should see a little more room on the ice than the top line tonight. Speaking of the top line, Jeff carter can be used as a one-off on most nights and tonight is no exception. Carter leads the team with 23 goals, 40 points and 136 shots on goal to go along with his four goals and seven assists in the last 11 games. Tanner Pearson and Dustin Brown flank him on either side so using one of them to give you some salary relief isn’t a bad idea here. Drew Doughty and Jake Muzzin have been getting the extra minutes on the Kings top power play unit from the back line and both have pretty even stats since Muzzin joined the top unit. Muzzin has seven points in the last 11 games while doughty has notched two goals and four assists over that same time frame. Thomas Greiss has been hot as he has two consecutive shutouts to his credit so tread lightly here.

As we all know head coach Jack Capuano was let go by the team on Tuesday afternoon right after the Islanders shut out the Boston Bruins on Monday night by a score of 4-0. Doug Weight took over as interim coach and guided the Islanders to yet another shutout victory over the Dallas Stars on Thursday night. All of this winning may be a too-little too-late kind of thing as the New Yorkers are in 15th place in the Eastern Conference with 44 points. John Tavares has been red-hot of late as he has lit the lamp six times and assisted on two other goals over the last eight games. Pair him up with line mate Josh Bailey who is right there with him albeit scoring just one goal bit assisting on seven others. Ander lee is the final piece of the top line as they all get the first crack at extra ice time right after the islanders draw a penalty. Stephen Gionta is back in a top six scenario as he skates with Brock Nelson and Ryan Strome. This is actually by default as the Islanders really don’t have a decent top six as even Ryan Strome has just 14 points so far this season while getting more than his share of opportunity. Nick Leddy is the choice on the back line as he quarterbacks the team’s top power play unit and has snared seven of his 21 points over the last eight games. Let’s keep one thing in mind as the Islanders have won three of their last four games, they aren’t that good and neither is their goaltending.

Elite Plays

LAK: Jeff Carter
NYI: John Tavares

Secondary Plays

LAK: Anze Kopitar, Tanner Pearson, Jake Muzzin, Drew Doughty
NYI: Josh Bailey, Nick Leddy, Anders Lee, Ryan Strome

Washington Capitals at Dallas Stars

Washington Capitals Dallas Stars
Article Image Braden Holtby Article Image Kari Lehtonen
Record Record
30-9-6 19-20-8
Stats GF/GP GA/GP PP% PK% Stats GF/GP GA/GP PP% PK%
Team Stats 3.20 2.07 19.10% 86.10% Team Stats 2.68 3.13 17.10% 75.20%

The Capitals have taken the league by storm as they have won 11 of their last 12 games with the one loss coming in overtime at Pittsburgh that saw a total of 15 goals find the back of the nets. Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie have led the team with a combined 14 goals and 26 assists over the last 11 games with Backstrom leading the way with four goals and ten assists. Backstrom also leads the team with 31 assists and 44 points so far this season so using him as a one-off instead of trying to fit Ovechkin into your line up may be the wat to go here. Justin Williams, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Marcus Johansson are also in play here as there is no doubt they will see more room on the ice while Dallas is trying to contend with the top line. Williams and Kuznetsov have each registered 12 points over the last 11 games while Johansson moves up with the top line when the Capitals have the man advantage. Matt Niskanen will be the lucky recipient on the back line if John Carlson needs to sit out another game with his upper-body injury. Although Niskanen isn’t usually afforded the extra time with the top power play unit he has kept his head above water as he is just three points away from the 25 that Carlson he has put up so far this season. Look for Washington to score early and often in this one as Dallas has given up 18 goals in the last four games.

Although the Stars have been giving up a few goals of late they have also scored 17 of their own in the last five games. This game is reminiscent of the game they played against Minnesota on home ice four games ago as they did score some goals but lost by a score of 5-4 when all was said and done. By virtue of winning just three games in their last seven tries the Stars find themselves with 46 points which ties them with the Winnipeg Jets for third to last place in the Western Conference. Head coach Lindy Ruff has Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn split up which makes it awfully difficult to predict who will get the most scoring chances on home ice. It may be nothing to worry about if you think that Washington won’t let up many goals which would make you skip this game altogether. Cody Eakin and Patrick Eaves join Benn on the top line while Seguin will skate with Jason Spezza and Antoine Roussel. It may be safe just to stick with the players on the power play which would lead you to pairings of either Benn and Eaves or Seguin and Spezza. All four of these players occupy the top four spots on the Dallas scoring chart with Seguin leading the way in both goals and assists with 16 and 28 respectively. Defenseman John Klingberg is the final piece of the Stars top power play unit and as luck would have it, he is fifth on the scoring chart seven goals and 19 assists. He has also put up a solid four goals and four assists in the last ten games so taking a peek at him here could be worth it. We need to use caution here however as Washington is one of just three teams to yet give up more than 100 goals this season.

Elite Plays

WSH: Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Ovechkin
DAL: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn

Secondary Plays

WSH: T.J. Oshie, Justin Williams, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Matt Niskanen, Marcus Johansson
DAL: Jason Spezza, Patrick Eaves, John Klingberg

Tampa Bay Lightning at Arizona Coyotes

Tampa Bay Lightning Arizona Coyotes
Article Image Ben Bishop Article Image Mike Smith
Record Record
21-21-5 13-26-6
Stats GF/GP GA/GP PP% PK% Stats GF/GP GA/GP PP% PK%
Team Stats 2.66 2.87 23.10% 80.40% Team Stats 2.07 3.24 14.80% 77.00%

The Tampa Bay Lightning are making this harder than it has to be. They refuse to put their top six players on the top two lines which is a big part of the reason why they have lit the lamp just 13 times in the past eight games. Even without Steven Stamkos there is no excuse for this team not to score goals. Nikita Kucherov leads the team with 42 points in 40 games and they should build off of that. Ondrej Palat and and Vladislav Namestnikov are his line mates and the problem I have is with the latter. Namestinikov has found the score sheet 17 times in 43 games while Tyler Johnson is basically wasting his time centering Joel Vermin and Alex Killorn. I know what you’re thinking, Killorn isn’t bad but c’mon, Tampa doesn’t have enough players to have three scoring lines so for the love of Pete, cut them down. Valtteri Filppula centers a third line with Brian Boyle and Jonathan Drouin which in itself isn’t bad as Drouin has 30 points in 39 games while Filppula has found the score sheet 29 times this season. Victor Hedman is the choice on the back line as his 18 power play points leads the team while his 38 points land him second behind Kucherov on the Lightning scoring chart. Arizona is not a good team so it’s very likely that all three lines could score tonight regardless of how unorthodox the lines appear to be.

Arizona has been able to muster just two wins in their last 15 games while the 147 goals they have let up rank just ahead of the 148 goals that Philadelphia and Winnipeg have surrendered. This team is so bad that even Ondrej Pavelec and the Winnipeg Jets beat them the other night by a score of 6-3. Although they come home for a four game set, this will still be their third game they have played in four nights. The Coyotes sent Anthony Duclair to the minors as the 21 year old had chipped in nine points in the 41 games he had suited up for. What this does to the lines is anyone’s guess and for all intents and purposes, it doesn’t matter. Radim Vrbata leads the team with 29 points and was last spotted skating with Tobias Rieder and Alexander Burmistrov. Just to give you an idea of how bad this is there are more than 73 NHL players with more than 29 points so far this season. Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson leads the team with seven points over the last nine games and is just five points away from the team scoring lead with nine goals and 15 assists. Brendan Perlini leads the team with four goals over the last nine games as he skates with Christian Dvorak and the forgotten Shave Doan. With so many other games on the docket it’s best to move right along on this one.

Elite Plays

TB: Nikita Kucherov
ARZ: None

Secondary Plays

TB: Victor Hedman, Tyler Johnson, Jonathan Drouin, Valtteri Filppula
ARZ: Radim Vrbata, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Brendan Perlini

Anaheim Ducks at Minnesota Wild

Anaheim Ducks Minnesota Wild
Article Image John Gibson Article Image Devan Dubnyk
Record Record
26-13-9 29-10-5
Stats GF/GP GA/GP PP% PK% Stats GF/GP GA/GP PP% PK%
Team Stats 2.60 2.44 21.30% 82.50% Team Stats 3.27 2.20 21.40% 84.40%

It’s always nice to sit down and watch two division leaders go at it in mid-January. It normally will give us a measure of what to expect when playoff time comes around in mid-April. With a win tonight the Ducks can pull into a three-way tie with the Chicago Blackhawks and the team they face tonight. Minnesota is one of three teams to yet surrender 100 goals this season the task won’t be an easy one. The top line of Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and Rickard Rakell will no doubt be blanketed for most of the night which doesn’t mean they can’t score, it will just be a bit tougher than if the Ottawa Senators were tonight’s opponent. Rakell leads the team with 19 goals while Getzlaf’s 28 assists is tops on the team. If Anaheim is to win this game they will need production from the second line of Ryan Kesler, Jakob Silfverberg and Andrew Cogliano. This isn’t a bad thing when you consider that Kesler leads the team with 38 points which makes him an easy target for a one-off play here. Kesler joins the top line when the Ducks go on the power play and leads the team in power play goals with seven of them. If you are looking to pair him with a line mate then Silfverberg is your guy as he is more of a stronger play with his 29 points than Cogliano is with his 21 points. It looks like Sami Vatanen and his days of being on the top power play unit have been temporarily suspended. This will decrease his value a bit as Cam Fowler will now be the lone defensemen on the top power play unit that sees more than 65% of the ice time when the Ducks have the man advantage. Folwer has found the score sheet 11 times this season when the team has the extra man advantage.

ANAHEIM UPDATEIt looks like Silfverberg did not make the trip and will be replaced by Logan Shaw on the second line.

Bruce Boudreau has done terrific as the head coach this season and now he gets to have a little fun which his face his old team for the second time in two weeks. The Wild took care of the Ducks by a score of 2-1 in Anaheim on January 8th and if you think coaches like beating the team’s they used to coach you are sadly mistaken. Look for Eric Staal, Zach Parise and Charlie Coyle to do some damage on the team’s top power play unit as the wild have tallied power play goals in eight of their last nine games. Give a bump to Nino Niederreiter as he responded very well to his top line promotion with Staal and Coyle by lighting the lamp and assisting on another goal in the Wild’s 4-3 win against Arizona last night. Some may call this ‘chasing points’ but playing with Staal, who leads the team in points, on the team’s top line on home ice is one of the better plays you can make. Mikael Granlund and Mikko Koivu look to be a decent tournament pairing as they each have found the score sheet 11 times over the last nine games. Ryan Suter and Mathew Dumba get to play on the back line of the top power play unit that has been working swell of late. Suter is the choice here however as he has 26 points on the season while logging over 27 minutes of ice time on a nightly basis.

Elite Plays

ANA: Ryan Kesler
MIN: Eric Staal

Secondary Plays

ANA: Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Rickard Rakell, Cam Fowler, “(player-popup)
MIN: Charlie Coyle, Mikko Koivu, Nino Niederreiter, Zach Parise, Ryan Suter

Edmonton Oilers at Calgary Flames

Edmonton Oilers Calgary Flames
Article Image Cam Talbot Article Image Chad Johnson
Record Record
25-15-8 24-21-3
Stats GF/GP GA/GP PP% PK% Stats GF/GP GA/GP PP% PK%
Team Stats 2.81 2.60 20.90% 81.70% Team Stats 2.60 2.69 21.00% 81.50%

The Oilers seem in a safe playoff position for now as their 58 points is good enough for third in the Pacific Division and fifth in the Western Conference. After that it drops off quite a bit as Nashville, St Louis and Calgary all have 51 points to occupy the last three spots if the playoffs were to start today. Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Patrick Maroon make up the team’s top line and will no doubt have a lot of ownership against a Calgary team that has won just two of their last six games. Calgary has also given up 128 goals this season which isn’t bad considering some of the teams in the conference have given up over 140 goals. McDavid leads the team with 55 points while Draisaitl and his 16 power play points is tie with the team leader in that category. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle hold down the second line while Milan Lucic and Mark Letestu jump over them from the lower lines to form 80% of the team’s top power play unit. Half of the 28 points that Lucic has have come with the man advantage while Letestu has seven power play points but has managed just 21 points so far this season. Let’s get back to Nugent-Hopkins for a second. It seems like he is finding his way back after a sluggish start as he has found the score sheet seven times in the last 11 games. This normally wouldn’t be news as this is what we expect but when you consider that he only had 16 points in the first 37 games it looks like he could quietly be getting back to form. Andrej Sekera continues to quarterback the team when the Oilers draw a penalty. Edmonton’s power play has scored goals in three of the last four games which could bode well against a Calgary team that has given up goals in four of the last five games when trying to kill a penalty. Oscar Klefbom would be your other defensive option but I’d stick with Sekera tonight.

I guess head coach Glen Gulatzan didn’t like the lines he put together before last night’s game because he sure didn’t stick with them long. Johnny Gaudreau being centered by Matt Stajan is almost an insult considering the other players they have on the team. The 33 year old Stajan hasn’t had more than 33 points in the last seven years so putting him with your best player makes a lot of sense…not. The Flames tried to come back from a 4-0 deficit but their three late third period goals were not enough to beat Nashville on home ice last night. Gaudreau now has some better players next to him as Sean Monahan and Troy Brouwer joined him on the top line last night and there’s no reason that you can’t use them as a tournament play on home ice tonight. Gaudreau has been in a slump of late as he has found the score sheet just three times in the last eight games so maybe this shake up will do him some good. Even for superstars it’s tough playing with players that don’t come close to your ability. Matthew Tkachuk, Mikael Backlund and Michael Frolik make for a change of pace option as these guys aren’t normally the players you’d look for to do a lot of the scoring but they have. Backlund leads the team with 33 points while Frolik has found the scoresheet 28 times on 112 shots. Dougie Hamilton is the choice on the point as he ranks second on the team with 29 points. He also leads the team with 129 shots but that doesn’t mean that you can’t use T.J. Brodie or Mark Giordano. Brodie skates on the top power play unit while Giordano leads the team with 12 power play points. Calgary slipped up last night and needs a big win here to stay in control of their playoff destiny.

Elite Plays

EDM: Connor McDavid
CGY: Mikael Backlund

Secondary Plays

EDM: Leon Draisaitl, Patrick Maroon, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Mark Letestu, Andrej Sekera
CGY: Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Troy Brouwer, Matthew Tkachuk, Dougie Hamilton

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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.