NHL Grind Down: Saturday, March 26th
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.
Note: As always, if you want to try a new DFS site, be sure to click through a RotoGrinders link and use our DraftKings promo code and FanDuel promo code to receive the best perks in the industry.
Winnipeg Jets at Buffalo Sabres – 01:00 PM EDT
| Winnipeg Jets | Buffalo Sabres | ||||||||
 | Ondrej Pavelec |  | Chad Johnson | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 31-37-6 | 30-34-10 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.54 | 2.89 | 14.30% | 78.30% | Team Stats | 2.35 | 2.62 | 18.70% | 82.00% |
Ondrej Pavelec has provided the net presence to enable the Jest to win their last two games. They still remain in the basement of the Pacific division and seem to be one loss away from being eliminated from the playoffs. Nikolaj Ehlers returned from injury last game to join the top line with Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele who also serve as the top power play unit as well. Wheeler has been the most trustworthy over the last five games as he has netted a goal to go along with four assists. Scheifele is not far behind though with a goal and two assists over that same time frame. With the Jets being on the road it’s tough to use anyone from the second line besides Drew Stafford who has lit the lamp twice over the last five games. Defensemen Dustin Byfuglien and Jacob Trouba man the points on the power play with each just accruing one point over the last five games so if you want to go defensemen here, maybe Trouba is the better pick based on salary.
Buffalo has been flip flopping wins and losses over the last five games so if that narrative is to hold up look for a loss from the Sabres today. The Sabres are also one game away from golfing in April but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few good plays here. Ryan O’Reilly skates on the team’s top line and gets the top power play minutes as well. He has recorded three assists in the last four games and makes for a great one-off play today. The second line hasn’t been doing much of late either as both Zemgus Girgensons and Jack Eichel have one point over the last three games while Sam Reinhart has grabbed a goal and two assists in the last four games. Rasmus Ristolainen is the play on the point by collecting two assists on 12 shots over the last four games. For the early slate you may have to dip into this game but I would certainly stay away from if for full slate play.
Elite Plays
WIN: Blake Wheeler
BUF: None
Secondary Plays
WIN: Nikolaj Ehlers, Mark Scheifele, Jacob Trouba, Dustin Byfuglien, Drew Stafford
BUF: Jack Eichel, Ryan O’Reilly, Zemgus Girgensons, Sam Reinhart, Rasmus Ristolainen
Pittsburgh Penguins at Detroit Red Wings – 02:00 PM EDT
| Pittsburgh Penguins | Detroit Red Wings | ||||||||
 | Marc-Andre Fleury |  | Petr Mrazek | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 40-25-8 | 37-26-11 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.75 | 2.44 | 17.40% | 83.80% | Team Stats | 2.54 | 2.62 | 17.70% | 81.20% |
The Penguins seemed to be in control up until the 3-0 home loss suffered at the hands of the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night. In the Eastern conference only four points separate fourth place from ninth place with Pittsburgh smack dab in the middle of it all with 88 points. Sidney Crosby is the play here with two goals and five assists over the last five games. Patric Hornqvist draws in as his line mate and both get the top power play unit minutes. Nick Bonino has been promoted to the top power play line and plays on the second line with Phil Kessel. Both are good plays here on the road as second liners while still getting top power play exposure. Bonino has three points while Kessel has grabbed two points over the last five games. Kris Letang has two points in his last five games from the point while fellow defenseman Trevor Daley makes for a cheaper play and has been producing of late by virtue of his four points over the last five games. It also appears that Bonino was hit on the hand with a puck at yesterday’s practice, so keep an eye on this as it develops.
Detroit needs to keep winning to stay in the playoff picture as they come into this one tied for eighth place with the Philadelphia Flyers for the last playoff spot on the Eastern conference. The top line of Justin Abdelkader, Henrik Zetterberg and Dylan Larkin makes for a decent play on home ice tonight. This trio also gets the first shot on the power play which sees Abdelkader and Larkin making the better plays as they have four and three points respectively over the last five games. Pavel Datsyuk skates on the team’s second line and has been the most productive over the last five games by registering six points over that time frame. Anthony Mantha has been skating with Datysuk and looks to be in play here as the youngster has two points over the last five games. Defenseman Nicklas Kronwall missed the team skate yesterday so keep an eye on that while fellow blue liner Mike Green looks ok to use here by virtue of his four assists over the last five games.
Elite Plays
PIT: Sidney Crosby
DET: None
Secondary Plays
PIT: Nick Bonino, Phil Kessel, Carl Hagelin, Patric Hornqvist, Kris Letang
DET: Henrik Zetterberg, Dylan Larkin, Justin Abdelkader, Pavel Datsyuk, Mike Green
Minnesota Wild at Colorado Avalanche – 03:00 PM EDT
| Minnesota Wild | Colorado Avalanche | ||||||||
 | Devan Dubnyk |  | Semyon Varlamov | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 36-28-11 | 38-32-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.65 | 2.49 | 19.70% | 77.80% | Team Stats | 2.65 | 2.81 | 19.30% | 82.30% |
Backed by a four game winning streak, the Minnesota Wild have taken a three point lead over tonight’s opponent for the last playoff spot in the Western conference. Zach Parise and Charlie Coyle each have six points over the six games while line mate Mikko Koivu has two goals and five assists over the same time frame. All three get the first shot on the top power unit that has scored six goals over the last four games. Defenseman Ryan Suter and Jared Spurgeon fill out the rest of the five man unit and make decent plays as each has at least three points over the last six games with Spurgeon lighting the lamp three times and adding an assist. Third liner Nino Niederreiter makes a great one-off play here as he has found the back of the net four times en route to six points in the last six games. If you want to get a bit risky for your GPP plays you could always go with Tomas Vanek and Mikael Granlund who are streaky at best but could do some damage on the road.
Nathan MacKinnon and Matt Duchene will once again miss another game as the faltering Avalanche try to remain in the playoff chase. Goaltender Semyon Varlamov has done about all he can do to keep them in it but will need help on the offensive side of things to see this through. Gabriel Landeskog and Carl Soderberg skate on the top line as well as the team’s top power play that has only scored one goal in the last nine games with the man advantage. Landeskog has a goal and assist since coming back from serving a three game suspension. Mikkel Boedker makes for a nice play as he skates on the second line and gets the top power play minutes. He has been doing well with his new team as evidence of grabbing five points in the last four games. Defenseman Tyson Barrie has two goals over the last four games but it’s been Erik Johnson who has two points and has doubled Barrie up in shots with 16 over the last four games. For the early slate it’s inevitable to pick players from this game and sticking with the hot Minnesota Wild may be a good idea.
Elite Plays
MIN: Zach Parise
COL: None
Secondary Plays
MIN: Mikko Koivu, Charlie Coyle, Nino Niederreiter, Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon
COL: Mikkel Boedker, Gabriel Landeskog, Carl Soderberg, Tyson Barrie, Jarome Iginla
Dallas Stars at San Jose Sharks – 04:00 PM EDT
| Dallas Stars | San Jose Sharks | ||||||||
 | Kari Lehtonen |  | Martin Jones | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 44-22-9 | 41-27-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.21 | 2.85 | 22.00% | 81.30% | Team Stats | 2.89 | 2.55 | 22.60% | 80.10% |
The Dallas Stars finish up their three game road trip with a date in San Jose to face the Sharks this afternoon. Dallas leads the Western conference with 93 points and has done pretty well over the last week or so without star center Tyler Seguin. Jamie Benn is always in play from the top line but what has been surprising is the three goals and three assists that Cody Eakin has compiled over the last five games which is exactly one more goal than Benn has over that same time frame. Jason Spezza and Patrick eaves have to be considered in this situation as the Stars are on the road and both get the top power play minutes from the team’s second line. John Klingberg mans the point on the top power play and really is the only defensive choice if you like Dallas today.
Joonas Donskoi was injured in the last game and if he can’t go today I’d look for a Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau reunion of sorts. Then again knowing Peter DeBoer, he’s probably not even thinking about that. Regardless, both make decent one-off plays on their own as they get the top minutes on the team’s power play unit. Tomas Hertl and Joe Thornton lead the team with six points each over the last six games and should be heavily owned today along with line mate Joe Pavelski. All or any combination of the three are in play today even though Hertl doesn’t get the top power play minutes. Brent Burns is the play on the back line if you can afford as he has a goal to go along with three assists in the last six games. Look for the Sharks to score and come away with the win as they are just five points away from the top spot on the Pacific conference.
Elite Plays
DAL: Jamie Benn
SJ: Joe Thornton, Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski
Secondary Plays
DAL: Jason Spezza, John Klingberg, Patrick Sharp, Patrick Eaves, Cody Eakin
SJ: Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau
Boston Bruins at Toronto Maple Leafs – 07:00 PM EDT
| Boston Bruins | Toronto Maple Leafs | ||||||||
 | Tuukka Rask |  | Jonathan Bernier | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 39-28-8 | 27-35-11 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.87 | 2.73 | 20.30% | 82.30% | Team Stats | 2.38 | 2.85 | 15.20% | 80.70% |
If the Bruins aren’t careful they could find themselves on the outside looking in if they don’t start playing better hockey. They have dropped their last five games and on paper, tonight’s game would look like an easy one but with Toronto five of their last six, nothing would appear to be easy. Boston has scored five goals in the last five games so we really shouldn’t be blaming the referees when we can’t even score, should we? Loui Eriksson has figured in on three of those goals and makes a good play tonight as he skates on the third line but gets the first crack on the team’s top power play unit. David Krejci is the only other player to have found the score sheet more than once over the last five games which makes him and Matt Beleskey decent plays here as there’s no doubt Toronto will try to shut down the top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Lee Stempniak. Torey Krug is the choice on defense but until Boston looks at least interested in scoring goals, it may be wise to lay off of them tonight.
Could it be that Mike Babcock’s system is finally starting to produce on a nightly basis? 20 goals over the last five games would indicate that it is which kind of makes Toronto an intriguing play tonight. Milan Michalek and Nazem Kadri have a combined nine points over the last five games as they both skate on the top line and get the big power play minutes. The second line is in play here as well as William Nylander, Pierre Parenteau and Zach Hyman all have two goals and two assists over the last five games with Nylander adding in an extra assist. The odd thing here is the fact that they did this all on home ice as the Leafs play their sixth and final home game of this stretch tonight at Air Canada Center. Tyler Bozak returned to the lineup and promptly scored two goals while defenseman Morgan Rielly has four points over the last five games while skating on the top power play unit. Look for the Leafs to score a few tonight against a slumping Boston team.
Elite Plays
BOS: None
TOR: None
Secondary Plays
BOS: Loui Eriksson, Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, Matt Beleskey, David Krejci, Torey Krug
TOR: Nazem Kadri, Milan Michalek, William Nylander, Pierre Parenteau, Morgan Rielly