NHL Grind Down: Saturday, March 11th
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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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Toronto Maple Leafs at Carolina Hurricanes
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Carolina Hurricanes | ||||||||
 | Frederik Andersen |  | Cam Ward | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 30-22-14 | 27-27-10 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.05 | 2.88 | 23.70% | 83.30% | Team Stats | 2.47 | 2.83 | 17.40% | 83.80% |
The Maple Leafs are going to stick with what go them here so far this season. James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak and Mitchell Marner has been the team’s most consistent line all season, as Toronto finds themselves in fourth place in the Atlantic Division but ninth in the Eastern Conference. What this means is that Toronto will either have to catch the New York Islanders, who are one point ahead of them in the conference or catch the Boston Bruins who are two points ahead of them in the Atlantic Division. Auston Matthews always makes for a decent one-off play, as he leads the team with 31 goals and 55 points. William Nylander skates with Matthews on both even strength and power play lines while Zach Hyman fills out the even strength line. Nazem Kadri has registered 50 points so far this season, as he skates with Leo Komarov and Connor Brown at even strength. Defenseman Jake Gardiner looks like the safest play on the back line, as he has grabbed eight of his 33 points over the last 12 games. He also gets the lion’s share of power play minutes which increases his chance of finding the score sheet.
Carolina is another team that went belly up, as they have only won three of their last 13 games which has left the team clearly in the dust in terms of playoff position for this season. It took all of that to finally put the team leader in points back on a decent line. For the most part Jeff Skinner has been skating with a few combinations that include Lee Stempniak, Teuvo Tervainen and Derek Ryan among others. Skinner’s 43 points leads the team and should be in play tonight, as he will now have Victor Rask and Elias Lindholm as his line mates. Rask and Skinner hooked up a lot last year so this is a reunion of sorts that could pay off in your tournament plays tonight. Sebastian Aho, Jordan Staal and Valentin Zykov will look to skate as the second line, as Aho has had a decent campaign so far with 20 goals and 18 assists this season. His 38 points are good for third place on the Hurricane scoring chart which should be an indicator of how this team scores, or doesn’t, as their 160 goals ranks second only to New Jersey for the least in the Eastern Conference. Justin Faulk seems to be the safe play on the back line, as he soaks up a lot of the power play minutes and leads the team’s defensemen with 27 points in 57 games so far this season. Jaccob Slavin has been hit-or-miss lately, as he has registered five assists over the last 11 games.
Elite Plays
TOR: Auston Matthews
CAR: Jeff Skinner
Secondary Plays
TOR: Mitchell Marner, Jame van Riemsdyk, William Nylander, Nazem Kadri, Jake Gardiner
CAR: Victor Rask, Elias Lindholm, Sebastian Aho, Justin Faulk
Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning
| Florida Panthers | Tampa Bay Lightning | ||||||||
 | James Reimer |  | Andrei Vasilevskiy | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 29-26-11 | 31-26-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.43 | 2.72 | 17.00% | 86.60% | Team Stats | 2.71 | 2.71 | 22.30% | 80.40% |
Florida continued to disappoint last night, dropping a 7-4 decision to the Minnesota Wild on home ice last night. The loss was their seventh in the last eight games and will need to rebound tonight here in Tampa just to save some face. Aleksander Barkov, Jaromir Jagr and Reilly Smith will skate on the first line and should draw a fair amount of tough defensive match ups throughout the night. As with all bad teams, you will need to pay close attention to daily line changes, as we now find Jonathan Huberdeau on the second line with Vincent Trocheck and Colton Scevior while Thomas Vanek and Jonathan Marchessault will have Nick Bjugstad as their center. It only took 44 seconds for Marchessault to grab his 16th power play point last night, scoring his 20th goal of the season while Barkov and defenseman Keith Yandle picked up the assists. Yandle is the safest play from the back line with Aaron Ekblad as the hard luck defensemen who leads the team with 221 shots on goal but has only 21 points to show for it. It will be interesting to see if the panthers stay with these lines from last night or switch them up again. It doesn’t make any sense to me to keep switching them up, as you really don’t have too much time to see what a certain unit can do. Maybe that’s why they are in sixth place in the Atlantic Division and are on the outside looking in. It’s the battle of Florida tonight as the Panthers look to improve on their 14-10-8 record away from the home crowd.
Tampa Bay is just five points away from the Boston Bruins for third place in the Atlantic Division. Their 4-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night is an example of how the Lightning can play although they don’t display that consistency on nightly basis. It looks like Tyler Johnson and Vladimir Namestnikov may not play tonight due to injuries suffered in the 4-1 win so look for Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Ondrej Palat to do most of the damage from the top line. Kucherov can be used as a one-off here, as well as he has tallied 17 of his 66 points over the last 10 games which leads the team by far in this category. Jonathan Drouin and Alex Killorn will be joined by Yanni Gourde on the team’s second line and could be used here for deeper tournament play. They should have low ownership and maybe grab a goal or two against a Florida team that has given up 16 goals in the last four games. Victor Hedman is the only choice on the back line and is just too talented a player to not even be considered here. Hedman has recorded 13 points over the last 10 games and is now second on the team in scoring with 57 points in 63 games. Don’t get too cute here, as Tampa should be able to light the lamp a few times tonight.
Elite Plays
FLA: None
TB: Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman
Secondary Plays
FLA: Aleksander Barkov, Jaromir Jagr, Vincent Trocheck, Jonathan Marchessault, Keith Yandle
TB: Brayden Point, Ondrej Palat, Jonathan Drouin
Calgary Flames at Winnipeg Jets
| Calgary Flames | Winnipeg Jets | ||||||||
 | Brian Elliott |  | Connor Hellebucyk | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 37-26-4 | 30-32-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.70 | 2.69 | 19.50% | 80.60% | Team Stats | 2.97 | 3.16 | 17.20% | 76.90% |
There have been a few surprise teams this year and the Calgary Flames have been one of them. By winning their last nine games they have successfully launched themselves into fourth place in the Pacific Division while being the seventh best team in the Western Conference. Their 78 points is eight points ahead of the ninth place Los Angeles Kings with 15 games remaining so getting points in every game is the order of the day. Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan have paced the team from the top line, as they have combined for 24 points over the last 11 games. They both play on the team’s top power play unit but have even helped their even strength line mate in Michael Ferland light the lamp six times in the last 11 games. Matthew Tkachuk, Mikael Backlund and Michael Frolik make for a decent tournament play here, as they will undoubtedly not be the center of attention tonight. Backlund surrendered the team points lead to Gaudreau but has still managed to grab nine points over the last 11 games. Tkachuk equals him over this same time frame while Frolik has garnered a goal and seven assists since February 13th. T.J. Brodie continues to get the first shot with the man advantage while fellow defenseman Dougie Hamilton could be a safer play. The way the Flames are playing you can even consider Mark Giordano, as these are guys are like any other team that scores a lot of goals. Everyone is in play. Look for the Flames to grind out another win here against a Winnipeg team that has a penchant for giving up a lot of goals.
Pittsburgh absolutely boat-raced these guys on Wednesday night and have now had a couple nights off to think about who wants to play and who doesn’t. The Jets 66 points have earned them the 10th spot in the Western Conference and look to easily fall short when the end of the season tournament starts next month. Mark Scheifele and Patrik Laine should be the chalk here, as they not only skate on the top line they lead the team with a combined 60 goals and 67 assists through 125 games played. Laine leads the team with 32 goals while Scheifele’s 68 points is among the league leaders. Bryan Little, Blake Wheeler and Nikolaj Ehlers skate on the team’s second line and could surely get in on the scoring tonight. Wheeler is your best bet as a one-off, however, as his 20 goals and 36 assists have him third on the teams scoring chart. Even though the Jets have won just two games in the last six they have played they still have managed to score 26 goals in six games which isn’t bad. Dustin Byfuglien is the play on the back line, as he has recorded 10 of his 45 points over the last 10 games. He also gets the lion’s share of minutes when the team has the extra attacker which escalates his time on the ice up and over 27 minutes per night. Winnipeg can score goals, it’s just that give up a lot, as well.
Elite Plays
CGY: Johnny Gaudreau
WIN: Mark Scheifele
Secondary Plays
CGY: Sean Monahan, Dougie Hamilton, Mikael Backlund, Matthew Tkachuk
WIN: Patrik Laine, Blake Wheeler, Dustin Byfuglien, Bryan Little