NHL Grind Down: Saturday, March 25th - Page Three
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Colorado Avalanche at Edmonton Oilers
| Colorado Avalanche | Edmonton Oilers | ||||||||
 | Jeremy Smith |  | Cam Talbot | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 20-50-3 | 40-25-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 1.94 | 3.35 | 12.60% | 78.30% | Team Stats | 2.85 | 2.58 | 22.20% | 80.40% |
This is the back end of a home and home for these two teams which saw Edmonton spanking the Avalanche in their own building by a score of 7-4 on Thursday night. It’s going to be hard for Colorado to get anything going here especially since they couldn’t get the job done at home the other night. This has been the case all year though as the Avalanche own the least home wins and the least road wins in the league this season. Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog and Matt Nieto skate on the team’s top line while Nathan MacKinnon centers Mikko Rantanen and Sven Andrighetto on the team’s second line. You can chop it up any way you want but the fact remains that none of these guys should be in your cash game line ups tonight. MacKinnon is the only player on the team to eclipse 40 points this season as his 32 assists is coupled with 15 goals to get him three points shy of 50 points. Defenseman Tyson Barrie has notched eight of his 34 points over the last 11 games and should be considered as a deeper tournament play. Colorado is a team that has nothing to play for and looks it when they hit the ice.
Edmonton was just two points away from the top spot in the Pacific Division going into last night’s action. Their 40-25-9 record can be mainly attributed to the play of Connor McDavid as his 87 points leads the entire NHL. He and line mate Leon Draisaitl have been red hot of late as they have each found the score sheet 13 times over the last nine games. This is not surprising as they do log the extra minutes when the Oilers head to the power play as well. Patrick Maroon skates with them at even strength and has lit the lamp five times for eight points in the last nine games. It seems that wherever McDavid is, that’s where the scoring comes from. Milan Lucic skates on the second line with Jordan Eberle and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as he joins the top power play unit. Lucic has recorded 21 of his 43 points with the extra attacker while Ebelre and Nugent-Hopkins have combined for six points this month. Mark Letestu is a cheap stab at some McDavid exposure as he is also on the top power play unit while skating in the bottom six at even strength. Defenseman Oscar Klefbom continues to shoot the puck as he mans the point when the Oilers draw a penalty. His 30 points isn’t too good considering all the opportunities he has had as fellow defenseman Andrej Sekera leads the Edmonton defensive corps in scoring with 33 points so far this season. Look for a lot of ownership on the Edmonton side tonight.
Elite Plays
COL: None
EDM: Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl
Secondary Plays
COL: Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Duchene, Tyson Barrie
EDM: Patrick Maroon, Milan Lucic, Jordan Eberle, Mark Letestu
New York Rangers at Los Angeles Kings
| New York Rangers | Los Angeles Kings | ||||||||
 | Antti Raanta |  | Jonathan Quick | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 45-25-4 | 35-31-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.14 | 2.59 | 19.00% | 79.30% | Team Stats | 2.45 | 2.46 | 19.80% | 84.90% |
The Rangers are on the verge of clinching one of the remaining five playoff spots that are up for grabs in the Eastern Conference. Their 94 points would be winning two of the four divisions in the NHL but because they are in the Metropolitan Division, they are stuck along way back from the top in fourth place. New York has made some line changes ahead of tonight’s game with their top line of Chris Kreider, Derek Stepan and Mats Zuccarello being the only one that went untouched. Zuccarello has pulled into a 52 point tie for the team lead in points with J.T. Miller while Stepan and Kreider are right behind him with 49 points apiece. Speaking of Miller, he has been reunited with Michael Grabner and Kevin Hayes on the team’s third line. This line did a lot of damage early in the season when Mika Zibanejad was on the shelf and is one of the reasons why the Rangers will qualify for the playoffs this season. Zibanejad will skate with Rick Nash and Jimmy Vesey and can be considered as a one-off here as the Kings will concentrate most of their efforts in stopping the top line tonight. Zibanejad has chipped in three power play points over the last 11 games which has helped him accumulate 29 points in just 48 games he has suited up for this season. Ryan McDonagh is the safest play on the back line as he soaks up a lot of the power play time when the Rangers have the man advantage. McDonagh’s next point will be his 40th which is a mark he has hit only one other time in his first six seasons. Brady Skjei can be used as a punt here as he has found the score sheet a bit over the last few weeks and now has 34 points so far this season. This is New York’s first game of their three game west coast trip.
The Kings are looking for every point they can get as they are now on the outside looking in if the end of the season tournament were to start today. 77 points is not good enough as they are chasing the Nashville Predators who are eight points ahead of them for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference. With only nine games to go things certainly do look bleak in the City of Angels. Anze Kopitar has had the hot hand of late as he has registered eight of his 46 points over the last eight games while he now centers Marian Gaborik and Jarome Iginla. Gabroik looks like he is on his last legs as he has managed just 19 points in the 50 games he has suited up for this season. Jeff Carter centers Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli and although he has just four points since the start of the month he still leads the team with 31 goals and 61 points. It’s about time for him to go on a scoring spree but the question is will it be too late or will we be saying better late than never. Drew Doughty and Jake Muzzin take the points with the man advantage from the back line. Muzzin had a good game last time out as the team scored three power play goals against an undisciplined Winnipeg team. Doughty is the safer play however as his 41 points is good enough for fourth on the team.
Elite Plays
NYR: Mats Zuccarello
LAK: Anze Kopitar
Secondary Plays
NYR: Chris Kreider, Derek Stepan, Ryan McDonagh, Mika Zibanejad, Michael Grabner
LAK: Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli, Tanner Pearson, Drew Doughty