NHL Grind Down: Saturday, March 11th - Page Two

by Tom Woollam (elctrceye) Last Updated 2017-03-11 19:52:19

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Columbus Blue Jackets at Buffalo Sabres

Columbus Blue Jackets					Buffalo Sabres
			Joonas Korpisalo					Anders Nilsson
			Record					Record
			43-17-6					27-29-12
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	3.15	2.28	22.00%	83.20%	Team Stats	2.50	2.80	23.30%	76.00%

These two teams both hopped a plane from Columbus last night to reconvene for part two of their home-and –home series. Part one went kind of as expected with Columbus winning on home ice last night by a score of 4-3. Tonight the Blue Jackets will look to improve on their 18-8-5 record on the road, as they are just three points away from the Washington Capitals for the best record in the Eastern Conference. The top line of Alexander Wennberg, Brandon Saad and Nick Foligno can do some damage here, as they all have good point totals so far this season. Foligno and Wennberg get the extra minutes on the top power play unit and found the score sheet last night with the man advantage. Although Oliver Bjorkstrand has been moved up to the top power play line, Sam Gagner was able to get his 18th power play point last night while skating on the second unit. The second line of Cam Atkinson, Boone Jenner and Brandon Dubinsky should be in play here, as Atkinson makes for the easy one-off play. He sees a lot of power play time, as was able to notch his team leading 57th point in last night’s contest. Zachary Werenksi is still the safest play from the blue line, as his assist last night now gives him 40 points on the year. Fellow defenseman Seth Jones was able to notch his 37th point on the season, as he assisted on Gagner’s power play goal. The Sabres are tough but the Jackets should get the win here.

Buffalo will try to use the home ice advantage to match up whatever line they think can score the most goals against the Blue Jackets worst defensive line. Jack Eichel was held scoreless last night so it’s a good bet he will come roaring back to life tonight, as he has registered 45 points in 47 games. Sam Reinhart will surely flank him on the left while Matt Moulson has been the flavor of the week on the left wing. Ryan O’Reilly leads the team in points with 16 goals and 19 assists, as he centers Evander Kane and Justin Bailey. Kyle Okposo remains out for the Sabres, as they go for their 12th win on home ice tonight. Rasmus Ristolainen is the only choice on the back line, as he recorded 41st in last night’s contest. He also sees a majority of the ice time when the Sabres draw a penalty so using him here tonight could be to your advantage. I talked yesterday about how the Sabres have cut down on their goal differential over the past few years but will need to win games like these in the future to be a playoff contender.

Elite Plays

CBJ: Cam Atkinson
BUF: Jack Eichel

SecondaryPlays

CBJ: Alexander Wennberg, Zachary Werenski, Nick Foligno, Brandon Dubinsky
BUF: Ryan O’Reilly, Rasmus Ristolainen, Evander Kane, Sam Reinhart

Ottawa Senators at Colorado Avalanche

Ottawa Senators					Colorado Avalanche
			Craig Anderson					Calvin Pickard
			Record					Record
			38-22-6					19-44-3
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.64	2.60	17.60%	82.00%	Team Stats	1.92	3.28	13.30%	78.10%

Ottawa is another one of the surprise teams this season, as their 38-22-6 record has yielded 82 points which is just two shy of the Atlantic Division leaders. The Senators have played two less games than the Montreal Canadiens so catching them and overtaking first place is not out of the question. Kyle Turris may need another day to heal his banged up finger which would leave the top line of Derick Brassard, mark Stone and Alexandre Burrows to shoulder the load here against a pretty bad Colorado team. Stone leads the team with 22 goals and makes for a decent one-off here, as he also receives a lot of ice time when the Senators have the extra attacker. Mike Hoffman finds himself back with Tom Pyatt and Jean-Gabriel Pageau but much like Stone, he sees a lot of his value come with the man advantage. He leads the team with 12 power play goals while recording 46 points in the 59 games he has suited up for this season. Dion Phaneuf looks to be back on the team’s top power play unit but you may as well just go ahead and pay up for Erik Karlsson in this spot tonight. Karlsson has not only grabbed a team leading 16 points in the last 13 games, he also leads the team with 61 points in 66 games this season.

Let me be one of the first to say ‘thanks to the Colorado Avalanche for participating in this year’s NHL season’. In a league that awards points for just going into overtime Colorado has found a way to be the first team eliminated from this year’s playoffs. Where is Patrick Roy when you need him? No wonder that poor guy was high strung last year, as he is used to winning, not watching whatever it is the Avalanche do during the 60 minutes that they are supposed to be playing hockey. It’s pretty easy to handicap the Avalanche, as they only have a handful of players that can actually score so here goes. Nathan MacKinnon leads the team with 44 points as he centers Gabriel Landeskog on the top line while Matt Duchene skates with Mikko Rantanen on the second line. Beside defenseman Tyson Barrie, these guys lead the team in points so far this season. Barrie has registered eight of his 31 points over the last 13 games while both Landeskog and MacKinnon have each grabbed six points over that same time frame. Colorado doesn’t score many goals but when they do, it’s these two that usually have a hand in it. Pass on all Colorado players in cash games and use them very sparingly for your tournament plays tonight.

Elite Plays

OTT: Erik Karlsson
COL: None

Secondary Plays

OTT: Mark Stone, Mike Hoffman, Derick Brassard, Alexandre Burrows
COL: Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, Tyson Barrie, Matt Duchene, Mikko Rantanen

New York Islanders at St. Louis Blues

New York Islanders					St. Louis Blues
			Thomas Greiss					Jake Allen
			Record					Record
			32-23-11					34-27-5
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.92	2.91	15.60%	80.60%	Team Stats	2.72	2.80	21.90%	83.70%

The Islanders have done an admirable job so far this season in terms of almost being a one-line team and staying relevant this late in the season as far as the playoffs go. John Tavares leads the team with 57 points while his line mates in Josh Bailey and Anders Lee are second and third on the team in scoring with 49 and 41 points respectively. They all play on the top power play unit along with Ryan Strome who is summoned from the team’s third line. Strome has seen eight of his 29 points come with the man advantage this season which would out him in line to be looked at a cheaper punt play this evening. Nikolay Kulemin finds himself back on the second line skating with Brock Nelson and Josh Ho-Sang. Kulemin has had many chances to produce inside the top six but has never really shown the production that is needed to stay there. 19 points in 64 games is all he been able to muster this season. Nick Leddy is the choice on the back line and can be used here if you are looking for a steady defensive play. He doesn’t have the upside as, say, an Erik Karlsson or Victor Hedman but what he will give you is 22 minutes worth of solid effort which has resulted into an average of finding the score sheet on an every other game basis. If the Islanders are to win and keep their hold on the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference the top line will have to be in the mix, as usual.

After five straight losses the Blues have won their last three games which has kept the team in eighth place in the Western Conference with 73 points. This is good news, as they certainly needed a shot in the arm, as it looked like they were on a downward spiral a few weeks ago. Vladimir Tarasenko, Jaden Schwartz and Paul Stastny skate as the team’s top line and have shown signs of life, as evidenced by their tallying four of the last nine goals the Blues have scored. They enjoy the extra ice time as a unit when the Blues draw a penalty so there’s no reason to think that they won’t get at least a few scoring opportunities in front of the home crowd tonight. Tarasenko leads the team with 30 goals and 59 points while Schwartz is second on the team with 42 points. Alexander Steen makes for a decent one-off here, as he skates on the second line with Patrik Berglund and David Perron. This line generated nine shots in last night’s 4-3 win over Anaheim but was kept off the score sheet. Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo has taken over the power play duties over the last few weeks and has responded by leading the team with five points over the last six games. The Islanders have been gritty on this nine game road trip which will end here tonight as they look for their sixth win which isn’t bad at all considering they haven’t played a home game since February 19th, so maybe use some caution here.

Elite Plays

NYI: John Tavares
STL: Vladimir Tarasenko

Secondary Plays

NYI: Anders Lee, Josh Bailey, Nick Leddy, Ryan Strome
STL: Jaden Schwartz, Paul Stastny, Alexander Steen, Alex Pietrangelo

New Jersey Devils at Arizona Coyotes

New Jersey Devils					Arizona Coyotes
			Corey Schneider					Mike Smith
			Record					Record
			25-30-12					23-35-8
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.18	2.84	17.60%	81.20%	Team Stats	2.33	3.21	14.50%	78.00%

Here’s a game that will more than likely feature the next two team’s that will join Colorado as the next teams to be able to make their tee times for next month. Arizona sits in the basement of the Pacific Division with 54 while New Jersey’s 62 points is at the bottom of the barrel in the Eastern Conference. With winger Mike Cammalleri designated as week-to-week we find Devante Smith-Pelley in the top six of the Devils line rotation. Folks, this is not a good thing, as Smith-Pelley has been nothing but a fill-in piece, as evidenced by his career-high 17 points five seasons ago. New Jersey looks a lot like the Islanders in terms of being a one-line team, as they really isn’t any other safe plays except for those that skate on the to line. Taylor Hall leads the way with 43 points while Kyle Pamieri and Travis Zajac are next in line with 42 and 39 points respectively. Adam Henrique has managed to muster 33 points so far this season from the second line and could be looked at here as a one-off punt play type of roster selection for tonight’s contest. Breaking news now has Zajac as out for tonight’s game with Henrique moving up to the top line. Things just went from bad to worse.Damon Severson would be the safest choice on the back line if you are looking at the Devils to fill your tournament roster tonight by virtue of getting the most minutes on the top power play unit. The Devils have scored 15 goals in their last nine games, which have all resulted in losses. To go even further, four goals is all they have to their credit over the last five games. This should be more than enough information to keep them away from your cash games and use them as deeper tournament plays only.

Arizona is slightly better than the Devils in terms of scoring over the last five games, as they have broken the double-digit barrier by scoring 12 goals while going 1-3-1 in those five games. This isn’t what one would goal a deluge but at least it is better than their opponent’s production over the last two weeks. The Coyotes have been switching it up over the last few weeks and now have Radim Vrbata skating with Max Domi and Christian Dvorak on the top line and for all intents and purposes, this is the line you want if you want take the Arizona side of things in this one. Vrbata leads the team with 48 points while Domi has registered a respectable 28 points in the 43 games he has suited up for so far this season. Jordan Martinook is another one of those players in the league that probably shouldn’t be skating inside the top six of any team, but here we are. He centers Brendan Perlini and the regressing Tobias Rieder on the second line at even strength. Rieder leads this bunch with 29 points while Martinook has found the score sheet 23 times in 61 games so far this season. Oliver Ekman-Larsson is about the closest thing you will get to a cash play on this team, as the defenseman gets most of the power play time from the back line. He is currently second on the team in points with 34 which is an indication, much like the Devils, that this is a team to avoid at almost all costs for your cash game selections tonight.

Elite Plays

NJ: None
ARZ: None

Secondary Plays

NJ: Taylor Hall, Kyle Palmieri, Adam Henrique
ARZL Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Radim Vrbata, Max Domi, Christian Dvorak

Pittsburgh Penguins at Vancouver Canucks

Pittsburgh Penguins					Vancouver Canucks
			Matt Murray					Ryan Miller
			Record					Record
			42-16-8					28-30-9
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	3.51	2.80	22.90%	80.40%	Team Stats	2.29	2.83	13.80%	78.10%

On paper this one looks to be a massacre but the NHL doesn’t play their game son paper, do they. The Penguions have done a fine job of weathering the injury storm throughout the season and last night was no exception, as they beat the Edmonton Oilers in a shootout for their fourth straight win. Patric Hornqvist and Kris Letang were not available for the Penguins last night and will probably not be available for tonight’s game either. Sidnet Crosby will center the top line along with Chris Kunitz and Conor Sheary while Evgeni Malkin will be in the middle of Carl Hagelin and Phil Kessel. Both Crosby and Malkin are in play here, as they each have hit the 70 point mark this season so pairing them up with their line mates will not only make sense but give you some salary relief, as well. That is of course if you don’t go with the duo of Malkin and Kessel, as they both skate on the top power play unit which has seen the latter grab 27 of his 60 points with the man advantage. Defensively Justin Schultz is the play here, as he has been rewarded almost all of the top power play minutes in the absence of Letang. He has responded well all season when he has been thrust in this role, as 17 of his 46 have come with the extra attacker.

Although the Canucks are not mathematically out of the playoffs the day that they will be is on the horizon. 65 points is good enough for 11th place in the 14 team Western Conference and it will take a monumental effort to make up the eight points needed to catch the St Louis Blues for the final playoff spot. Daniel Sedin, Markus Granlund and Henrik Sedin will skate as the top line while Bo Horvat and SvenBaertschi skate with the former devils fourth round pick in the 2011 entry draft. Reid Boucher has never been one to make people think of a true scorer and it’s highly unlikely a change of mindset will occur here. Horvat and Baertschi are decent plays tonight, as they are easily the heir apparent to the aging Sedin Brothers. Horvat has racked up 10 of his team leading 46 points over the last 11 games while Baertschi has grabbed four points since returning from injury five games ago. Let’s go ahead and designate Daniel Sedin as the one-off here even though he only has 36 points compared to the 40 that his brother has recorded this season. Daniel shoots the puck a lot, in fact his 174 shots on goal this season is 42 more than the closest Canuck on the scoring chart. There really is no safe defenseman to take here, as they all are basically bottom of the barrel type players here. Sure Troy Stecher gets all the power play minutes but when you look at his 21 points in 57 games you have to think to yourself is it really worth taking a shot here for your cash game selections tonight. The answer is no.

Elite Plays

PIT: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin
VAN: None

Secondary Plays

PIT: Phil Kessel, Justin Schultz, Chris Kunitz
VAN: Bo Horvat, Sven Baertschi, Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin

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