NHL Grind Down: Saturday, January 7th
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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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Winnipeg Jets at Buffalo Sabres
| Winnipeg Jets | Buffalo Sabres | ||||||||
 | Connor Hellebuyck |  | Robin Lehner | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 19-19-3 | 14-15-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.71 | 2.95 | 16.80% | 76.50% | Team Stats | 2.21 | 2.66 | 22.60% | 74.60% |
Winnipeg looks for a clean sweep of their three game road trip as they have taken care of business down in Florida and now go for win number three here in Buffalo this afternoon. The top line of Nikolaj Ehlers, Patrik Laine and Mark Scheifele has combined for nine goals and eight assists over the past five games. They also lead the team in points with Laine leading goals with 21, Ehlers leading with 22 assists and Sheifele netting 17 goals and assisting on 19 others for the team lead in points. Pretty impressive, now if the team can only find a way to play some defense they’d be in business. Blake Wheeler and Bryan Little make for a decent GPP duo here as they skate on the team’s second line and should see some room on the ice tonight. Wheeler has 31 points in 41 games while Little has the edge by garnering 14 points in the 18 games he has played in. Nic Petan joins the top line along with defenseman Jacob Trouba to form the team’s top power play unit that has struck four times in the last four games. Trouba has returned to form as his seven points in the last five games trump his six points he had scored in the previous 19 games. We can’t forget about Dustin Byfuglien here as he leads the team with 119 shots on goal and has 25 points so far this season. The Jets should be able to pull out a win against a Buffalo team that is just 7-8-3 in front of the home crowd.
Buffalo let one slip away the other night as they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in overtime by a score of 4-3. They at least received a point from their efforts and are normally a tough team to play. The problem is that they give up way too many goals to get out of the Atlantic Division cellar. The top line that features Jack Eichel and Kyle Okposo should be the line to target here as Okposo leads the team with 12 goals and 27 points while Eichel has recorded 14 points since his return 17 games ago. Marcus Foligno joins them on the top line at even strength but is replaced Ryan O’Reilly and Sam Reinhart when it comes to the Sabres having the man advantage. This could play into Buffalo’s corner here as they have scored 28 power play goals so far this season while the jets have been busy giving up a league leading 35 goals while trying to kill a penalty. Reinhart and O’Reilly make decent one-off plays here as they each have ten or more power play points so far this season. Rasmus Risotlainen is the clear cut play on the back line as 15 of his 26 points have come with the man advantage. He also has the added bonus of being on the ice for over 27 minutes on a nightly basis. Buffalo always plays tough, it’s just a matter of if they can hold on to a lead late in the game.
Elite Plays
WIN: Mark Scheifele, Patrik Laine
BUF: Jack Eichel, Kyle Okposo
Secondary Plays
WIN: Nikolaj Ehlers, Jacob Trouba, Blake Wheeler, Bryan Little
BUF: Rasmus Ristolainen, Sam Reinhart, Ryan O’Reilly
Tampa Bay Lightning at Philadelphia Flyers
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Philadelphia Flyers | ||||||||
 | Andrei Vasilevskiy |  | Michal Neuvirth | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 19-17-4 | 20-15-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.80 | 2.88 | 23.80% | 79.40% | Team Stats | 2.85 | 3.03 | 22.00% | 81.00% |
Tampa Bay has been doing their best ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ impression of late as just when you think you can trust them on home ice they come out and get boat raced by the Nashville Predators to the tune of 6-1. Nikita Kucherov, Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat skate together at even strength and when the Lightning draw a penalty. Kucherov is the one-off play here as he leads the team with eight points over the last five games as well as during the regular season with 38 points in 33 games. Alex Killorn can be had on the cheap as he comes up from the third line to skate on the top power play unit. Killorn has lit the lamp 12 times so far this season while assisting on nine other goals. Jonathan Drouin and Valtteri Filppula skate with Vladislav Namestnikov on the second line with Drouin and Filppula being the much better plays over Namestnikov who has just 14 points so far this season. Victor Hedman continues to roll along on the back line as he has seen half of his 36 points come with the man advantage. Anton Stralman could be used here if you need some salary relief but he is nowhere nears his stats from last year with just 11 points in the 33 games he has played. Since the Flyers ten game winning streak they have been giving up goals at an alarming rate so maybe Tampa can light the lamp a few times this afternoon.
As with most teams that have only scored 12 goals in their last eight games we can probably expect them to do some tinkering with their lines. Well, get ready. Claude Giroux will remain at center and will see Michael Raffl to his left and Matt Read to his right. If Giroux was more of a leader like some of the better players in the league he wouldn’t have to see guys like Raffl and Read continually move off of his line like kids on the carousel at the carnival. But yet, here we are yet again. Sean Couturier will center the second line with Jakub Voracek and Travis Konecny while Brayden Schenn and qwayne Simmonds get a new left winger in the form of Nick Cousins. The Flyers need a shot in the arm and hopefully this will do the trick. I would however stick to the top power play unit that features Giroux, Voracek, Simmonds, Schenn and defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere as they are the five guys that lead the Flyers in points on the season. It’s become very apparent that if they don’t score, the Flyers don’t score. You can deviate a little on the back line and use Ivan Provorov but any more than that is certainly pushing the envelope here.
Elite Plays
TB: Nikita Kucherov
PHL: Jakub Voracek
Secondary Plays
TB: Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson, Victor Hedman, Jonathan Drouin, Alex Killorn
PHL: Claude Giroux, Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds. Shayne Gostisbehere
Minnesota Wild at Los Angeles Kings
| Minnesota Wild | Los Angeles Kings | ||||||||
 | Darcy Kuemper |  | Peter Budaj | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 24-9-4 | 19-16-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.16 | 2.11 | 18.40% | 86.00% | Team Stats | 2.38 | 2.38 | 16.10% | 83.90% |
After losing their 12 game winning streak to the Columbus Blue Jackets New Year’s Eve the Wild came right back and started up a new winning streak by beating the Sharks by a score of 5-4 on Thursday night. They are just three points out of the top spot in the Western Conference and look to improve on their 11-5-4 road record this afternoon. Zach Parise, Eric Staal and Jordan Schroeder skate on the top line while Parise and Staal get the extra minutes on the top power play unit. Staal leads the team with 33 points while Schroeder has collected four points in the eight games he has suited up for. The second line of Mikko Koivu, Mikael Granlund and Jason Zucker make for a decent GPP stack play if you are playing an ‘afternoon only’ slate. Both Granlund and Koivu have each scored two goals over the last four games but it is Granlund who has the extra assist as he has six points over that same time frame. Charlie Coyle makes for a decent one-off play here as he comes up from the third line to join Staal and Parise on the team’s top power play unit that has scored four goals over the last five games. Coyle is tied with Granlund with 31 points which is good for second on the Wild scoring chart. Ryan Suter and Mathew Dumba man the points on the top power play unit with Suter having the slight edge as he logs over 27 minutes of ice time per game. He also has the most points from the back line with five goals and 16 assists. Los Angeles has switched things up a bit but they still are prone to give u a few goals now and then.
After being shut out by the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday on home ice head coach Darryl Sutter has decided to make a few changes. He has front loaded the top line with Jeff Carter, Tanner Pearson and Anze Kopitar. This will effectively make them an easy play on home ice as they will double as the team’s top power play unit as well. Carter leads the team in points with 33 points while Pearson has recorded four of his 19 points over the last five games. Hopefully this gives Kopitar the boost he needs to get back on track as he has registered just 17 points in the 34 games he has played in. Nic Dowd, Marian Gaborik and Dustin Brown will skate on the team’s second line but really isn’t that appealing when you consider that it is Brown who leads this group with four goals and 11 assists. Drew Doughty and Jake Muzzin will man the points from the back line when the team has the man advantage. Doughty is the choice here as seven power play points so far this season. I wouldn’t be opposed to using Alec Martinez in this spot either as he has been one of the more consistent Kings defensemen all season. He is 12 points behind Carter in scoring which is still good for second on the team. The Kings should have a little jump in their step tonight as they need to elevate their game if they want to improve on their 11-5-1 record in front of the home crowd.
Elite Plays
MIN: Eric Staal
LAK: Jeff Carter
Secondary Plays
MIN: Zach Parise, Mikael Granlund, Mikko Koivu, Charlie Coyle, Ryan Suter
LAK: Tanner Pearson, Drew Doughty, Anze Kopitar, Jake Muzzin
Edmonton Oilers at New Jersey Devils
| Edmonton Oilers | New Jersey Devils | ||||||||
 | Cam Talbot |  | Keith Kinkaid | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 20-13-7 | 16-17-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.83 | 2.60 | 20.90% | 81.10% | Team Stats | 2.28 | 2.90 | 12.80% | 82.80% |
Edmonton is another team that has the benefit of playing a team that played last night as they rebounded from a 3-1 loss at Columbus by beating the Bruins in Boston by a score of 4-3 on Thursday night. The top line of Patrick Maroon, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl did most of the damage as Maroon recorded three of the four goals. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had the other one as he skates on the second line with Milan Lucic and Zach Kassian. The hat trick gives Maroon 21 points on the year while McDavid leads the team in goals and assists with 14 and 31 respectively. I can see pairing Nugent-Hopkins with Lucic as a GPP play as they will not be the line that New Jersey tries to put the clamps on and who knows, maybe Lucic can help the struggling center to get back to his old self. Mark Letsetu still gets the call from the third line to skate with Lucic, Draisaitl and McDavid on the top power play unit that has scored just two goals in the last five games. Andrej Sekera is back on the top power play unit as he leads the Oilers defensemen in scoring with 17 points. The problem is that although Oscar Klefbom is a defensive nightmare, his 90 shots and 13 points may look better than Sekera’s 17 points and 47 shots. The choice is yours.
The Devils found themselves on the short end of the stick last night as the Toronto Maple Leafs had control for most of the game as they fell in front of the home crowd by a score of 4-2. Two late third period goals by P.A. Parenteau and Jon Merrill helped make the game look much closer than it actually was. Now the Devils have to contend with another team that can put up some goals in a hurry in the form of the Edmonton Oilers. New Jersey has scored just 15 goals in the last seven games so it’s going to be awfully tough to trust them here in the second game of a back-to-back scenario. They are 4-2-2 in this situation but their wins have been against Tampa Bay, Buffalo and Carolina, twice. Besides Tampa Bay I think it’s safe to say that tonight’s opponent has a bit more firepower than any of those teams. Look for Travis Zajac to move back up into the top six tonight as I seriously doubt they will keep Pavel Zacha up on the top line with Taylor Hall and Parenteau and keep Zajac back to center Sergey Kalinen and Nick Lappin. That just doesn’t make any sense. Hall always makes a decent one-off play as he is the closest thing to a pure goal scorer that the Devils have. Hall has played in just 30 of the 40 games New Jersey has played but leads the team in points with nine goals and 16 assists. Kyle Palmieri, Mike Cammalleri and Adam Henrique serve as the team’s second line that is expected to score some goals and have for the most part done the job as they have a combined for five goals and five assists over the last six games. I mentioned above that Zajac will probably be moved up to the top six in which another scenario would be bumping Henrique back to the Hall line while moving up to center Palmieri and Cammalleri. This is just a hunch on my part as they treated Hall the same way when he came back from injury. Damon Severson is usually the choice from the back line as leads all New Jersey defensemen with 19 points as he anchors the team’s top power play unit. Kyle Quincey has been seeing a little more power play time as well as he could be a cheaper option based on opportunity only as he has just nine points in 37 games so far this season.
Elite Plays
EDM: Connor McDavid
NJ: Taylor Hall
Secondary Plays
EDM: Leon Draisaitl, Patrick Maroon, Milan Lucic, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
NJ: Kyle Palmieri, P.A. Parenteau, Travis Zajac, Mike Cammalleri, Adam Henrique
Boston Bruins at Florida Panthers
| Boston Bruins | Florida Panthers | ||||||||
 | Tuukka Rask |  | James Reimer | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 20-17-4 | 17-15-8 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.34 | 2.44 | 14.50% | 87.70% | Team Stats | 2.31 | 2.64 | 15.20% | 84.90% |
Boston comes into this one with just two wins in their last six games and holds onto that second place tie with the Senators in the Atlantic Division. It was reported that David Backes was to return to the lineup from his concussion last game but that did not materialize. He is skating on the second line in practice so one only can assume he is ready to take the right wing on the second line where Frank Vatrano has been playing the last few games. Ryan Spooner and David Krejci will be the mainstays of the second line regardless of whether Backes is ready or not and should be considered as a decent tournament pairing for tonight’s contests. Spooner has scored three goals and assisted on four others in the last seven games while Krejci is a straight up three and three over that same time period. They also should see more room on the ice as the top line should draw a bit more attention in tonight’s game. yes, I’m talking about David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron as they also skate on the top power play unit when the opportunity presents itself. Marchand leads the team with 22 assists and 32 points while Pastrnak has put up 19 goals and eight assists in the 34 games he has suited up for. Torey Krug is the play on the back line as his eight points in the last seven games has propelled him to fourth on the Boston scoring chart with 22 points. Boston may get a break here as Florida played last night against the Nashville Predators.
Florida played a strong game against the Nashville Predators last night as they came away with a 2-1 win in front of the home crowd. Tonight the Boston Bruins pay a visit as they got in a little later than expected as their flight had to be rerouted to Tampa yesterday afternoon. Much like last night Jaromir Jagr, Jonathan Marchessault and Vincent Trocheck should be the line to target again tonight. The line connected last night with Marchessault snaring his team leading 12th goal of the season while both Jagr and Trocheck had the assists. They should see the same kind of volume tonight as being the home team they get to choose what line to match up with. This is how home ice advantage is supposed to work although sometimes it doesn’t work out that way. Florida may be in trouble after that as Nick Bjugstad left the game after just taking eight shifts and may not be ready for tonight’s game. This will leave Jussi Jokinen and Reilly Smith as the mainstays on the second line as Smith could be a decent one-off here as he does have seven goals and nine assists but digging any deeper than that may prove to be fruitless tonight. Keith Yandle and Aaron Ekblad are the choices on the back line with Yandle being the better play here tonight as he is receiving not only more ice time at even strength, but when the team goes on the power play as well. Yandle has recorded nine of his 18 points while the Panthers had the man advantage. Boston has a decent record on the road as they are 11-7-4 away from the home crowd but I wouldn’t be surprised to see the panthers win another close one here tonight.
Elite Plays
BOS: David Pastrnak
FLA: None
Secondary Plays
BOS: Ryan Spooner, Brad Marchand, Torey Krug, David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron
FLA: Jonathan Marchessault, Vincent Trocheck, Jaromir Jagr, Keith Yandle, Reilly Smith