NHL Grind Down: Saturday, March 5th - Page Two
Ottawa Senators at Toronto Maple Leafs – 07:00 PM EST
| Ottawa Senators | Toronto Maple Leafs | ||||||||
 | Craig Anderson |  | Jonathan Bernier | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 30-28-7 | 21-32-10 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.82 | 3.06 | 17.80% | 74.10% | Team Stats | 2.30 | 2.89 | 14.10% | 79.60% |
When they came up with ‘Hockey Night in Canada’ I am sure they weren’t envisioning a game like this one. Ottawa needs a lot of help to get into the playoffs while the Toronto Maple Leafs are just putrid as they are the worst team in the league. As mentioned in past ‘GrindDowns’ Ottawa can score and probably will tonight. Defenseman Dion Phaneuf returns to Toronto and will play the point with Erik Karlsson on the team’s top power play unit that has scored three times in the last five games. Phaneuf has four points in the last six games while Karlsson leads the team in scoring and should always be a consideration during roster construction. Mike Hoffman and Bobby Ryan continue to struggle on the team’s top line as they have combined for only three goals and three assists in the last ten games. Mika Zibanejad has done a bit better as the center for this line as he has collected five points in his last five games. The second line of Mark Stone, Zack Smith and Jean-Gabriel Pageau is probably the safer play here as the senators are not only on the road, this line has been more productive as well. Stone has nine points in the last ten games while Smith has seven points in his last seven but it was Pageau who saw his six game scoring streak snapped last game and should be ready to get right back up on the horse tonight. Look for Ottawa to get a couple goals tonight and possibly the win.
Toronto is in full rebuild mode as head coach Mike Babcock has put together a line of William Nylander, Kasperi Kapanen and Zach Hymen who could be the youngest line in the league. Hymen is the oldest at 23 years old while the other two have not even seen their 20th birthday. All three have played in three games thus far with no luck but tonight that may change against a bad Ottawa hockey club. Of course this line can only be used as a GPP play but it could pay off in spades if they net two goals in tonight’s contest. Nazem Kadri leads the team in scoring but his 35 points in 61 games is really nothing to write home about. That’s kind of like saying ‘Hey, I’m the tallest midget in the circus!’ Jake Gardiner is the play on defense as he gets the top minutes on and has tallied three points in the last five games. I wouldn’t expect any miracles here as the Maple Leafs have only scored ten goals in their last six games.
Elite Plays
OTT: Erik Karlsson
TOR: None
Secondary Plays
OTT: Mark Stone, Mika Zibanejad, Zack Smith, Dion Phaneuf, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Mike Hoffman, Bobby Ryan
TOR: Nazem Kadri, Jake Gardiner
Carolina Hurricanes at Tampa Bay Lightning – 07:00 PM EST
| Carolina Hurricanes | Tampa Bay Lightning | ||||||||
 | Cam Ward |  | |||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 29-26-10 | 38-22-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.43 | 2.63 | 17.20% | 82.60% | Team Stats | 2.75 | 2.33 | 17.50% | 84.00% |
Carolina is another team that may be a bit under owned tonight and for good reason, they aren’t that good either. The trade of Eric Stall has at least put Jeff Skinner back in the top six where he belongs as he skates on the team’s second line with Victor Rask and Phil DiGiuseppe. Skinner grabbed a goal and an assist two games ago and given the chance, could maybe get back to his goal scoring form of two years ago. The Hurricanes have only scored 12 goals in the last six games so any type of recommendation can only be used in tournament play with so many cash options on the board tonight. Justin Faulk continues to be sidelined with a leg injury and with Carolina not in the playoff picture will probably not return until he is 100% healthy. Joakim Norstrom has tallied six points in his last ten games including a goal in the team’s 3-1 win over New Jersey Tuesday night. Noah Hanifan has been getting most of the playing time on the point but only has four points in the last ten games. Carolina may score a few goals but the ceiling isn’t too high on the road tonight against the Atlantic division leading Lightning.
Tampa Bay has made it all the way back to the top of the Atlantic division thanks in part to a sterling 8-2 record over the last ten games. Steven Stamkos has led the team with seven goals and three assists in the last eight games and it wouldn’t surprise me if he was one of the top owned players in your cash games tonight. Ryan Callahan has responded since he was put back on the top line with Stamkos as he has four goals and four assists over the last six games making this duo an almost ‘must have’ when starting to form your roster. If you want to drop to the second line both Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson have at least five points in their last seven games while Nikita Kucherov has tailed off a bit but still has managed a goal and an assist in his last five games. Defenseman Victor Hedman plays the point and finally found the scoresheet last game while Anton Stralman has four points in his last four games. Tampa will be heavily owned tonight so make sure you get a piece of it.
h3. Elite Plays
CAR: None
TB: Steven Stamkos
Secondary Plays
CAR: Joakim Nordstrom, Elias Lindholm, Jeff Skinner, Victor Rask
TB: Ryan Callahan, Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman, Anton Stralman
Montreal Canadiens at Winnipeg Jets – 07:00 PM EST
| Montreal Canadiens | Winnipeg Jets | ||||||||
 |  | Ondrej Pavelec | |||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 26-32-5 | |||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.65 | 2.74 | 17.40% | 84.20% | Team Stats | 2.57 | 2.97 | 16.30% | 77.30% |
Montreal continues to flounder this season as they are eight points away from the last playoff spot in the Eastern conference. Max Pacioretty, Tomas Plekanec and Brendan Gallagher make up the team’s top line and double as the top power play unit which has only scored one goal in the last six games. Pacioretty has three goals to go along with four assists in the last seven games while Gallagher has five goals in the last five games. Your one-off play is Alex Galchenyuk as he skates on the team’s second line and has five points over the last ten games. Defenseman Andrei Markov has been on fire from the point as he has accumulated 11 points over the last ten games. P.K. Subban rounds out the top power play unit and is a decent play as he has registered four of his team leading 50 points in the last four games.
Winnipeg is another team that is in big trouble that has already lost Bryan Little for the year and now it looks like Nikolaj Ehlers will be on the shelf for a while as well. Ehlers took a puck to the eye when his visor broke in a game Thursday night against the Islanders. Blood has gathered in his eye chamber and that has to drain before any other diagnosis can be made. This leaves Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele to skate on the top line and should be considered for your cash games tonight. Wheeler has netted nine points in his last ten games while Scheifele has been red hot in his last seven games by grabbing 5 goals and assists for a total of ten points. Mathieu Perreault may move up to the top line since he plays on the top power play but makes a decent one-off play regardless of what line he plays on. On defense it might beneficial if you can fit Dustin Byfuglien into your lineup as he is coming into this one riding a seven game scoring streak. Look for the Jets to score a few goals tonight with the top line leading the way.
Elite Plays
MTL: None
WIN: Blake Wheeler
Secondary Plays
MTL: Max Pacioretty, Tomas Plekanec, Brendan Gallagher, Andrei Markov, P.K. Subban, Alex Galchenyuk
WIN: Mark Scheifele, Dustin Byfuglien, Mathieu Perreault
Columbus Blue Jackets at Philadelphia Flyers – 07:00 PM EST
| Columbus Blue Jackets | Philadelphia Flyers | ||||||||
 | Joonas Korpisalo |  | Michal Neuvirth | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 27-30-8 | 29-23-11 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.58 | 3.00 | 17.90% | 80.80% | Team Stats | 2.46 | 2.63 | 18.60% | 79.30% |
Although Columbus is dead last in the Atlantic division they have played some exciting games over the last few weeks. In fact they have scored six goals three times over the last six games in wins over Boston, Florida and Edmonton so maybe the Flyers could be in a little trouble tonight. It is tough to determine who the top line is for Columbus but with the Flyers having the last change so one would think that Sean Couturier may be going against the Boone Jenner, Brandon Dubinsky and Cam Atkinson line for no other reason than to keep Dubinsky away from the Flyers top unit. This would then leave the line of Nick Foligno, Alexandre Wennberg and Scott Hartnell to have a bit more room on the ice tonight. All three players have at least five points over the last five games and if you want to take a stroll on Narrative Street I am sure you will find Hartnell on the corner as he returns once again to the Wells Fargo Center in a Columbus sweater. Seth Jones and Ryan Murray play the points on a power play that is made up of three different lines and if push comes to shove, I’d take Murray. He is cheaper on most sites around the industry and has been more productive with four assists in his last six games.
As if the Flyers didn’t have enough problems with the injuries to Jakub Voracek and Claude Giroux (who has since returned), now it looks like Brayden Schenn may be out with a head injury that he sustained Thursday night in the 4-0 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. If you are not familiar with sports here in Philadelphia let me let you in on a little secret. The second a team does well and actually has a chance to get into a playoff race, they play like garbage. Scoring zero goals against an Edmonton team that has given up 200 goals so far this season is pathetic, especially on home ice. Oh yeah, sure Claude Giroux has ten points over his last ten games but when you consider seven of them came in two games it doesn’t look that appealing, especially for cash game plays. With that said, this is the type of game the Flyers should win but it’s going to be a bit tougher with Voracek and possibly Schenn out of the lineup. My best guess here is that Michael Raffl will move up to the top line as he was already skating on the top power play unit and the Flyers will employ a two defenseman power play by adding Mark Streit to go along with Shayne Gostisbehere. Streit has deserved more ice time by virtue of registering five points over the last while Gostisbehere has tallied just one point since his 15 game scoring streak was snapped five games ago. Again, this is all just a guess as to what the Flyers may do so check the lineups page here at Rotogrinders later on today after the morning skate.
Elite Plays
CBJ: None
PHL: None
Secondary Plays
CBJ: Scott Hartnell, Nick Foligno, Boone Jenner, Ryan Murray, Brandon Dubinsky, Seth Jones
PHL: Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds, Shayne Gostisbehere, Mark Streit, Michael Raffl
Florida Panthers at Arizona Coyotes – 09:00 PM EST
| Florida Panthers | Arizona Coyotes | ||||||||
 | Roberto Luongo |  | Louis Domingue | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 36-20-8 | 27-31-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.66 | 2.31 | 16.80% | 81.40% | Team Stats | 2.63 | 3.16 | 18.30% | 77.30% |
Florida ends their five game road trip with a visit to Arizona to face the slumping Coyotes. Arizona has lost their last seven games and all it will take is a good effort from the Panthers to bring home the victory. Aleksander Barkov and Jaromir Jagr skate on the top line and have been very productive over the last few weeks. Barkov has five points in the five games he has played in since returning from injury and Jagr has four goals to go along with four assists in the last seven games. Both make decent plays but if it’s second liners you like on the road look no further than Vincent Trocheck and Jussi Jokinen. Trocheck has four points in the last six games with Jokinen making a good one-off play as he has seven assists during his six game scoring streak. Aaron Ekblad gets the top minutes on the power play from the point and it may be a good idea to target that unit as Arizona has given up nine goals while killing a penalty in the last eight games.
As if scoring 12 goals over the last seven games, which were all losses, wasn’t enough for the Coyotes it now looks like they will be without the services of max Domi for tonight’s game. Domi will be given the night off as he serves his one game suspension for instigating a fight Thursday night against the Anaheim Ducks. Defensemen Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Michael Stone make the best one-off plays here as Ekman-Larsson has two goals in the last five games while Stone has accumulated six points over the last nine games. With Domi out it will surely jumble up the lines and with Arizona not scoring, it’s awfully tough to trust anyone from that side of the ledger tonight. Anthony Duclair finally broke his scoring drought with a goal the other night and I would suppose Shane Doan is marginally playable but I wouldn’t go crazy on this team tonight.
Elite Plays
FLA: Aleksander Barkov
ARZ: Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Secondary Plays
FLA: Jaromir Jagr, Jussi Jokinen, Aaron Ekblad, Brian Campbell, Vincent Trocheck
ARZ: Michael Stone, Anthony Duclair, Shane Doan