NHL Grind Down: Saturday, March 26th - Page Three

by Tom Woollam (elctrceye) Last Updated 2016-03-26 15:21:17

Columbus Blue Jackets at Nashville Predators – 08:00 PM EDT

Columbus Blue Jackets					Nashville Predators
			Semyon Varlamov					Mike Condon
			Record					Record
			30-36-8					38-23-13
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.53	3.03	17.20%	81.20%	Team Stats	2.72	2.54	19.60%	80.70%

Columbus continues to be the doormat of the Metropolitan division as their 68 points is ten points lower than any other team in the division. 15 goals in the last seven games can hardly be called an offensive juggernaut so we will have to dig pretty deep to find some decent plays from this side of the bench. Boone Jenner makes a decent one-off play here as he has lit the lamp three times and has accrued five points over the same amount of games. Both of his line mates skate on the team’s top power play unit but when you’ve only scored two goals over the last six games with the man advantage that may not mean much. Nonetheless the Jackets are on the road and newcomer Oliver Bjorkstrand does has two goals to go along with an assist in his last five games while Brandon Saad completes the second line with just two assists over that same time period. Defenseman Seth Jones is back on the team’s top power play but given the fact that Nashville has only given up 16 goals over the last eight home games, it may be wise to pass on Columbus altogether tonight except for tournament play.

It looks like Nashville will be headed to the playoffs for the second year in a row after a two year absence. The top line that features James Neal and Ryan Johansen has caught fire over the last four games which has seen each player tally five points over the last five games. If we take a look down the dimly lit road called ‘Narrative Street’ we find that this is the first time that Johansen has faced his former club and if you don’t think he will be pumped for this one, maybe it’s you who doesn’t have a pulse. Filip Forsberg leads the second line with three markers in the last four games while Craig Smith and Mike Ribeiro only have Smith’s lone assist to show for their efforts over the last four games. Shea Weber and Roman Josi are the defensive choices with either making a fine play tonight against an inept Columbus squad.

Elite Plays

CBJ: None
NSH: James Neal, Ryan Johansen

Secondary Plays

CBJ: Boone Jenner, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Cam Atkinson, Brandon Dubinsky, Seth Jones
NSH: Filip Forsberg, Shea Weber, Roman Josi, Calle Jarnkrok

Edmonton Oilers at Los Angeles Kings – 10:00 PM EDT

Edmonton Oilers					Los Angeles Kings
			Roberto Luongo
			Record					Record
			30-40-7					44-25-5
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.40	2.91	17.60%	80.10%	Team Stats	2.68	2.28	20.60%	81.50%

With the Edmonton Oilers now officially out of the playoffs it would appear that they are a team that could fall into a spoiler role. This won’t happen tonight though as they travel to play the Los Angeles Kings who have a pretty good grip on the top spot in the Pacific division. The Kings will try to shut down Connor McDavid but good luck with that as he has 43 points in 40 games including seven in his last five games. Taylor Hall looks to make a decent one-off play here as he has found the twine three times in the last five games. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is in the same boat as he skates on the team’s third line but has managed three goals in the six games he has played in since his return from injury. Mark Letestu gets the top power play minutes and has three goals to go along with three assists over the last five games. Andrej Sekera mans the point on the power play and has found the score sheet four times over the last five games. Even though Edmonton has scored 18 goals in the last five games there is still reason to hesitant tonight as they face the second best defensive team in the league in their barn tonight.

It looks Kris Versteeg will not be available for this game and with Marian Gaborik out for what looks like the rest of the season, the Kings have some work to do. Head coach Darryl Sutter has Jeff Carter, Anze Kopitar and Milan Lucic together and if they happen to stay together for tonight’s game it would be very hard not to roster them. Kopitar has four goals and four assists in his last six games while Carter has five assists over that same time frame. Nic Dowd has jumped up to center the second line with tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli which would make this line a GPP only for me with the newcomer needing time to gel with his two line mates. Jake Muzzin and Drew Doughty are the choices on defense and it really doesn’t matter which one you take tonight as they both are serviceable by getting the minutes on the team’s top power play with the first line. The Kings should score tonight and I wouldn’t be surprised if you see a lot of them in your cash games tonight.

Elite Plays

EDM: Connor McDavid
LAK: Jeff Carter, Anze Kopitar

Secondary Plays

EDM: Taylor Hall, Andrej Sekera, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Mark Letestu, Jordan Eberle
LAK: Milan Lucic, Drew Doughty, Jake Muzzin

Philadelphia Flyers at Arizona Coyotes – 10:00 PM EDT

Philadelphia Flyers					Arizona Coyotes
			Marc-Andre Fleury					Tuukka Rask
			Record					Record
			36-24-13					33-34-7
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.60	2.56	18.10%	81.00%	Team Stats	2.62	2.96	18.20%	78.30%

The Flyers continue to play well enough to keep themselves in the hunt for the last playoff spot. To be honest with the way the Eastern conference is jammed up it wouldn’t surprise anyone if the Flyers finished as high as third in the Metropolitan division. If you are a Flyers fan you know that this is the game that they can easily lose much like the Edmonton and Columbus games before them as they always seem to play down to the competition in big games. Claude Giroux has led the team in scoring over the last five games with three goals and two assists. He also skates on the top power play unit with Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn, Jakub Voracek and defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere. This may come in handy as Arizona has given up four power play goals over the last three games. Just for the record Schenn has six points, Simmonds four and Gostisbehere two over the last six games. Voracek has tallied two assists in the four games he has played in since he returned from injury. If you want to be a bit contrarian the second line that features Sean Couturier and Michael Raffl will do the trick as they have combines for two goals and seven assists over the last six games.

With only eight games left Arizona is ten points out of a playoff spot and although they are not mathematically out of the race, they are for all intents and purposes. The top line of Anthony Duclair, Alex Tanguay and Antoine Vermette have just two goals and two assists between them over the last five games but don’t be surprised if they come alive tonight. Martin Hanzal and Max Domi get the power play minutes from the second line as each has been on the scoring over the last five games with Hanzal netting three goals for four points while Domi has found the score sheet three times. On defense Oliver Ekman-Larsson or Michael Stone make for good plays as they both play the point on the team’s top power play unit.

Elite Plays

PHL: Claude Giroux
ARZ: Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Secondary Plays

PHL: Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn, Shayne Gostisbehere, Jakub Voracek, Sean Couturier
ARZ: Alex Tanguay, Anthony Duclair, Martin Hanzal, Max Domi, Michael Stone

Chicago Blackhawks at Calgary Flames – 10:00 PM EDT

Chicago Blackhawks					Calgary Flames
			Sergei Bobrovsky					Scott Darling
			Record					Record
			42-25-7					31-37-6
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.76	2.47	22.00%	78.80%	Team Stats	2.73	3.12	16.00%	74.80%

After sustaining their longest losing streak of the year the Chicago Blackhawks were able to beat the Winnipeg Jets by a score of 4-0 back on March 18th. Since then they have lost two in a row which gives them just one win in the last seven tries. If the Hawks can’t get the job done tonight against the team that has given up the most goals in the league then maybe they may have a problem. Marian Hossa, Jonathan Toews and Andrew Ladd should have the most room out there as there is no doubt that Calgary will try to bottle up the first line. Hossa is the one-off choice here however as he has lit the lamp twice and registered the assist on another goal in the last four games. The second line of Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin and Artem Anisimov is in play as well as the Flames have the dubious honor of giving up the most goals in the league. Head Coach Joel Quenneville has elected to pull Brent Seabrook off of the top power play unit in favor of Andrew Shaw. This leaves Duncan Keith as the lone defenseman on the power play. Kane slides to the point while his line mates skate up front with Shaw. Look for the Hawks to score more than the two goals per game they have received in five of their last six losses.

If the Calgary Flames are home it must be time to roster Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau. Monahan leads the team along with defenseman Mark Giordano over the last five games by averaging a point a game while third liner Joe Colborne has also turned the trick by scoring three goals to go along with two assists over that same time period. Dougie Hamilton plays the point on the power play next to Giordano and has chipped in four assists over the team’s last five games. If it is a punt play you are looking for look no further than Josh Jooris who has been seeing power play minutes skating alongside of Gaudreau and has responded by grabbing two assists over the last four games. One has to think the Blackhawks will break out tonight but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they shut the Flames.

Elite Plays

CHI: Patrick Kane
CGY: Johnny Gaudreau

Secondary Plays

CHI: Artemi Panarin, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith, Andrew Shaw
CGY: Sean Monahan, Mark Giordano, Dougie Hamilton

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