NHL Grind Down: Saturday, March 19th
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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Pittsburgh Penguins at Philadelphia Flyers – 01:00 PM EDT
| Pittsburgh Penguins | Philadelphia Flyers | ||||||||
 | Marc-Andre Fleury |  | Steve Mason | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 38-24-8 | 34-23-12 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.73 | 2.46 | 18.00% | 83.60% | Team Stats | 2.59 | 2.58 | 18.70% | 80.10% |
Thanks to their current four game winning streak the Penguins have been able to put some space between them and the other three teams that are trying to lock up the last two playoff spots which Philadelphia happens to be one of. The Flyers are one point away from Detroit, who holds the last playoff spot while the Penguins are three points up on the Red Wings. It’s unclear whether or not Evgeni Malkin will return to the lineup but going with the top line of Sidney Crosby, Patric Hornqvist and Chris Kunitz isn’t the worst idea I have heard. Crosby has been red hot by scoring three goals to go along with four assists in his last five games while his line mates have each found the score sheet twice over that same time period. The second line of Nick Bonino, Phil Kessel and Carl Hagelin make for a decent GPP play with Hagelin making a nice one-off play due to his recent scoring touch which has found him net a goal to go along with three assists. Kris Letang is the choice on defense but since the Penguins have gone to two defensemen on the top power play unit Justin Schultz could easily make a cheaper option to free up some salary space.
Philadelphia continues to scratch and claw their way up the standings in hopes to secure a playoff spot come April. They are 8-1-1 in their last ten games and find some tough competition today as the Pittsburgh Penguins make a visit to Wells Fargo Center this afternoon. Although Jakub Voracek skated for 40 minutes on Thursday he still remains doubtful for today’s game. There’s two ways to go about this game as the Flyers have been putting up some numbers against some very good teams. The power play unit has scored five goals over the last five games, so there is a good place to start. Brayden Schenn, Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds get most of the minutes on the power play and each has garnered five points over the last five games with the exception of Giroux, who has four assists over that same time frame. Shayne Gostisbehere is the choice on defense as he has lit the lamp four times in the last five games. Michael Raffl and Sean Couturier make decent GPP plays as they skate on the second line and have been productive of late. Raffl has three goals and three assists while Couturier has registered five assists over the last five games. Rookie Shayne Gostisbehere is the play on the back line. Look for this game to be highly entertaining with both squads lighting the lamp.
Elite Plays
PIT: Sidney Crosby
PHL: Wayne Simmonds, Claude Giroux
Secondary Plays
PIT: Patric Hornqvist, Chris Kunitz, Kris Letang, Carl Hagelin
PHL: Brayden Schenn, Shayne Gostisbehere
Carolina Hurricanes at Minnesota Wild – 02:00 PM EDT
| Carolina Hurricanes | Minnesota Wild | ||||||||
 | Cam Ward |  | Devan Dubnyk | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 31-27-13 | 32-28-11 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.42 | 2.66 | 17.10% | 83.50% | Team Stats | 2.63 | 2.54 | 19.30% | 77.00% |
Although they are only six points out of a playoff berth the Carolina Hurricanes would have to jump over three teams to get there. The Minnesota Wild are tonight’s opponent who are not playing good hockey themselves of late as they 5-4-1 in the last but have lost the last two games. The top line of Joakim Nordstrom, Elias Lindholm and Jordan Staal have only tewo goals and an assist between them in the last five games which would make the second line of Jeff Skinner, Victor Rask and Phil Di Giuseppe a nice line to target, especially for GPP plays. Skinner leads the way with five points in the last five games while Di Giuseppe has scored three goals to go along with an assist over that same time period. Noah Hanifan gets the top minutes on the power play from the point but I’m sure if you look hard enough you will find much better options out there tonight.
Minnesota is in an all out battle with the Colorado Avalanche for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western conference. They haven’t helped themselves much of late however as the seven goals they gave up to the hapless New Jersey Devils on Thursday night has to leave them scratching their heads. One would have to think that the line of Zach Parise, Thomas Vanek and Mikael Granlund should have some room out there tonight by virtue of Minnesota having the last change so taking them or any part of them would have to be considered for your cash game options tonight. The second line that features Mikko Koivu and Charlie Coyle can be used in GPP play as Coyle has three assists while Koivu has a goal and an assist in the last four games. Ryan Suter and Matt Dumba are the choices on defense as both get power play minutes and each has an assist over the last four games. This one could be low scoring so choose your players wisely in this early slate game.
Elite Plays
CAR: None
MIN: None
Secondary Plays
CAR: Jeff Skinner, Victor Rask, Elias Lindholm, Phil Di Giuseppe
MIN: Zach Parise, Thomas Vanek, Mikael Granlund, Ryan Suter, Nino Niederreiter, Charlie Coyle
New York Rangers at San Jose Sharks – 04:00 PM EDT
| New York Rangers | San Jose Sharks | ||||||||
 | Henrik Lundqvist |  | Martin Jones | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 40-23-8 | 39-25-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.80 | 2.59 | 18.20% | 77.40% | Team Stats | 2.91 | 2.59 | 22.00% | 79.20% |
The Rangers finish their three game west coast swing tonight in San Jose as they take on a Sharks team that is currently in third place in the Pacific division. The Rangers blew a 3-1 third period lead in Los Angeles Thursday night as they ended up losing in overtime to the kings by a score of 4-3. Mats Zuccarello is probably the only player on the top line worth playing as he has grabbed a goal and four assists over his last five games while Rick Nash is doing his best Harry Houdini Impression as he has not found the scoresheet since his return from injury four games ago. Chris Kreider skates on the second line but gets the top power play minutes and along with line mate derek Stepan would seem to be the way to go tonight. Kreider has two goals and assist over the last five games while Stepan has four points over that same time period. Keith Yandle is the play on defense as he gets most of the power play minutes against a San Jose team that has given up six goals in the last seven games while being a man short. If you are looking for a few one-offs J.T. Miller and defenseman Kevin Klein each have snared two goals to go along with three assists in their last five games.
After a tough 3-1 loss in the desert the Sharks look to rebound at home against the New York Rangers. There’s no need to get tricky in cash games as the top line of Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski and Tomas Hertl is the combination to use here. In the last five games Thornton has five points while Pavelski has four and Hertl trails the pack with three points. Both Thornton and Pavelski skate on the top power play line with Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau and defenseman Brent Burns. All of these players make good plays tonight but if you want to go a bit more off the beaten trail pairing Joonas Donskoi with Couture could be the way to go as both skate on the second line and seem to be starting to connect a bit by virtue of their three points over the last five games. Look for the Sharks to score some goals tonight with Thornton and Pavelski being the center of attention.
Elite Plays
NYR: None
SJ: Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski
Secondary Plays
NYR: Derick Brassard, Mats Zuccarello, Chris Kreider, Derek Stepan, Keith Yandle
SJ: Brent Burns, Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau, Joonas Donskoi
Montreal Canadiens at Ottawa Senators – 07:00 PM EDT
| Montreal Canadiens | Ottawa Senators | ||||||||
 |  | Craig Anderson | |||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 33-31-8 | |||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.62 | 2.77 | 17.10% | 83.70% | Team Stats | 2.78 | 3.01 | 16.40% | 75.00% |
As it looks now the Montreal Canadiens will not qualify for the playoffs which will only be the second time that has happened over the last eight years. The injury to goaltender Carey Price was the fatal blow but even now they are without Brendan Gallagher, David Desharnais and possibly P.K. Subban for tonight’s game. Even with all of those injuries Montreal has a few things going for them tonight. The first is that Ottawa has given up the most goals in the league while the second is they also just played last night. The top line that features Max Pacioretty and Alex Galchenyuk has been on fire of late and should be ok to play here even though they are on the road. Pacioretty has six pints over the last five games while Galchenyuk has netted five goals to go along with two assists over the same time period. Usually I like to play the away team’s second line as they will more than likely not draw the home team’s top shut down line but in this case, it is probably best to stay away. That’s not to say that Paul Byron, Tomas Plekanec and Lars Eller wouldn’t make for a good GPP play because any second line against Ottawa would have to be looked at. On defense it’s Andrei Markov that makes the seductive pick here as both P.K. Subban and Mark Barbeiro will not play in tonight’s game.
Ottawa comes into this one after a lackluster 3-1 loss at Buffalo and should be a bit tired. Nonetheless the senators stuck to their guns and used the combination of Mark Stone, Zack Smith, Mika Zibanejad, Bobby Ryan and defenseman Erik Karlsson as their top power play unit. Both Stone and Smith skate on the top line and make a decent play here as Stone has collected eight points over the last seven games while Smith saw his scoring dwindle over the last two games. Smith had six goals and three assists in his previous eight games before his current two game non scoring drought. Karlsson is the play here on the back end as he has garnered five points over the last five games while Dion Phaneuf has basically rendered himself useless as he has not found the scoresheet in the last eight games. This game could go either way but considering how both teams have played this year don’t be surprised if it ends up 4-3 final that goes into overtime.
Elite Plays
MTL: Max Pacioretty
OTT: Erik Karlsson
Secondary Plays
MTL: Alex Galchenyuk, Andrei Markov, Tomas Plekanec
OTT: Mark Stone, Zack Smith, Mika Zibanejad, Bobby Ryan
Buffalo Sabres at Toronto Maple Leafs – 07:00 PM EDT
| Buffalo Sabres | Toronto Maple Leafs | ||||||||
 | Chad Johnson |  | Garret Sparks | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 29-33-10 | 24-35-11 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.36 | 2.61 | 19.20% | 81.70% | Team Stats | 2.27 | 2.86 | 14.60% | 80.90% |
Tonight will be a true test of just how the future of the buffalo Sabres might look like. After disposing of the putrid Ottawa senators last night they get to hop on over to Toronto to take on another bad team that have the big maple leaf on their sweaters. Ryan O’Reilly returned from injury and has registered an assist in both games he has been back while line mate Evander Kane has snared eight points over the last eight games. The man who may get the biggest bump however is Nicolas Deslauriers as he has lit the lamp twice in the last four games while only registering nine points in his previous 56 games. There also seems to be some chemistry brewing on the second line where we find rookie sensation Jack Eichel finding the score sheet eight times over the last eight games while line mate Sam Reinhart has registered seven points in as many games. This could definitely be a look into the future where the Sabres are concerned. Rasmus Ristolainen is the play on the back line as not only does he take a lot of shots, he also gets the top power play minutes from the point. I wouldn’t expect miracles out of buffalo tonight, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if they showed some resiliency and hung around in this one either.
UPDATE
It appears that Jack Eichel will not play in tonight’s game due to the flu. This puts a totally different spin on this one as it looks like the Maple Leafs may have an easier time of shutting down the opposition tonight.
The Maple Leafs may catch a break here as the Buffalo travel around the lake fresh off a game against the Ottawa Senators last night. Toronto has only scored six goals in the last four games with 67% of them coming in a win against the Tampa Bay Lightning back on March 15th. Leo Komarov may return to the lineup after missing the last game against Florida with a lower body injury. If he returns he will probably go back on the first line with Nazem Kadri and Nikita Soshnikov. Although both players have just three points between them in the last five games they still should make for a good GPP play tonight. Zach Hyman is your one-off here as the youngster has scored two goals and an assist in his last five games. Morgan Rielly is the defenseman of choice here as he has potted two goals to go along with ten shots over the last five games. This one could be an ugly one as both teams are really not that good.
Elite Plays
BUF: None
TOR: None
Secondary Plays
BUF: Ryan O’Reilly, Evander Kane, Sam Reinhart, Jack Eichel, Rasmus Ristolainen
TOR:Nazem Kadri, Morgan Rielly, Nikita Soshnikov, Zach Hyman