NHL Grind Down: Saturday, November 12th - Page Two
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Detroit Red Wings at Montréal Canadiens
| Detroit Red Wings | Montréal Canadiens | ||||||||
 |  | ||||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 8-6-1 | 12-1-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.60 | 2.53 | 16.70% | 80.40% | Team Stats | 3.29 | 2.14 | 18.60% | 78.90% |
Ever since the Red Wings switched up their lines a bit, they have been looking better as a team. The won their last two games against Vancouver and Philadelphia and now get a huge road test tonight here in Montreal. The Canadiens are 12-1-1 and can only pad their 8 point division lead with a win tonight. Henrik Zetterberg and Gustav Nyquist are starting to move the needle a bit as they are tied with defenseman Mike Green in points with 10 each over the first 15 games. That that doesn’t sound too great I know, but Zetterberg is on a heater as he has scored six of those ten points over the last five games. They all get the first crack on the team’s top power play unit along with Tomas Tatar and Niklas Kronwall. While Dylan Larkin skates on the Zetterberg line Tatar is joined by Frans Nielsen and Anthony Mantha to skate on the team’s second line. I guess Detroit finally had enough of watching Justin Abdelkader and his four points in 13 games, hence the promotion of Mantha to the second line. With ten other games on the slate, I wouldn’t use too many Red Wings in your cash games as there are certainly other team’s you can expose tonight.
Montreal is at it again as they continue to tinker with their lines when they are already running exceptionally good. Paul Byron sticks on the top line with Alex Galchenyuk and Alexander Radulov and for all intents and purposes, this is the line you want to stick with tonight. Since Byron was inserted on that line he is slowly but surely starting to make his way up the team scoring charts as he now has nine points while Galchenyuk leads the team with 14 and Radulov right below him with 12. Shea Weber is a great play here if you can afford him as he has not only given Montreal a sense of stability by logging over 25 minutes per night while chipping in 11 points with five of them coming on the power play. Max Pacioretty continues to shoot the puck but has only two goals for his 38 shots taken. He moves down to the third line with Ander Shaw while Sven Andrighetto gets the bump to the second line with Tomas Plekanec and Brendan Gallagher, who leads the team in shot with 39.
Elite Plays
DET: None
MTL: Alex Galchenyuk, Shea Weber
Secondary Plays
DET: Henrik Zetterberg, Gustav Nyquist, Mike Green, Tomas Tatar, Frans Nielsen
MTL: Alexander Radulov, Brendan Gallagher, Andrei Markov
Toronto Maple Leafs at Pittsburgh Penguins
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Pittsburgh Penguins | ||||||||
 |  | ||||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 6-5-3 | 9-3-2 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.85 | 3.62 | 25.00% | 84.10% | Team Stats | 3.00 | 2.71 | 25.00% | 81.50% |
Toronto hits the road tonight after doubling up the Flyers at home last night by a score of 6-3. The Maple Leafs haven’t been too good on the road so far this season as all we have to do is look at their 1-3-3 record to figure that out. Tonight they could be in trouble as they come into Pittsburgh on a back-to-back situation after an emotional win last night. With the talent spread across three lines it’s tough to figure out what line Pittsburgh will decide to shut down and since Auston Matthews and William Nylander have been struggling of late, it may not be their line. If I had to guess, I think I’d goa after the line of Mitchell Marner, James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak as they have been the most productive line over the last five games. This line of thinking would lead us to believe that Nazem Kadri would make a great one-off play from the third line as he has scored five of his 11 points over the last five games. Morgan Reilly had a good game last night as he and fellow defenseman Jake Gardiner saw the majority of the ice time from the point on the power play.
Oh no, not again! Pittsburgh lost their last game so much like all of those schools that are setting up therapy shops because Hillary didn’t win, the Penguins have come up with some therapy of their own. Change the lines! Now we have the team leader in points in Evgeni Malkin, the team leader in goals in Sidney Crosby and the team leader in assists in Phil Kessel all on different lines. Hooray! The only silver lining here is that they will still be on the top power play unit which should see some action tonight against a tired Toronto team. Crosby’s line mate in Patric Hornqvist joins defenseman Kris Letang to round out the top unit with the man advantage. Connor Sheary joins Crosby and Hornqvist on the top line and can be used for some salary relief tonight on home ice. Malkin draws Chris Kunitz and Bryan Rust while Kessel will skate with Nick Bonino and Carl Hagelin. With the new line changes it’s easy to take the Crosby line in cash tonight as there now is no doubt who the Penguins will put out against Toronto’s weaker lines.
Elite Plays
TOR: None
PIT: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin
Secondary Plays
TOR: Nazem Kadri, Mitchell Marner, James van Riemsdyk, Jake Gardiner
PIT: Kris Letang, Phil Kessel, Patric Hornqvist
St. Louis Blues at Columbus Blue Jackets
| St. Louis Blues | Columbus Blue Jackets | ||||||||
 |  | ||||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 7-5-3 | 6-4-2 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.20 | 2.53 | 15.10% | 91.90% | Team Stats | 3.08 | 2.33 | 32.40% | 91.90% |
In the midst of a two game losing streak it looks like the only change that head coach Ken Hitchcock will make is to take Robby Fabbri out of the line up and put Nail Yakopov in. Yakopov will skate with Paul Stastny and could be used as a GPP play here since the Blues are on the road. Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz skate on the top line while Alexander Steen skates on the second line. Kevin Shattenkirk is back to his old form from the point as he has found the scoresheet 10 times over the first 15 games. Tarasenko and Schwartz get the minutes on the team’s top power play unit and have combined for seven points over the last five games. I wouldn’t go too heavy on the Blues here as they have scored only four goals on the road out of the last four games they have played away from ScottTrade Center.
If we take out the ten goal outburst the Blue Jackets had four games ago, we can see that obviously, that was an aberration. They’ve won one game in the last three while scoring half the amount of goals that they had in that big 10-0 win over Montreal. Nonetheless Alexander Wennberg, Nick Foligno and Brandon Saad are the play here as they form the team’s top line and have a combined 12 points over the last five games. Foligno and Wennberg are joined by Cam Atkinson from the second line and Sam Gagner from the fourth line to make up 80% of the top unit when the team has the man advantage. Defenseman Zachary Werenski completes the power play unit and has scored five of his 11 points with the man advantage which makes him a decent play tonight. With Seth Jones hurt, Ryan Murray has shown signs of stepping up, but it’s best to stick with Werenski tonight. Boone Jenner and Scott Hartnell skate on the second line with Atkinson and should only be used in GPP play tonight if at all.
Elite Plays
STL: Vladimir Tarasenko
CBJ: None
Secondary Plays
STL: Jaden Schwartz, Kevin Shattenkirk, Paul Stastny, Alexander Steen
CBJ: Alexander Wennberg, Nick Foligno, Zachary Werenski, Cam Atkinson, Brandon Saad
Boston Bruins at Arizona Coyotes
| Boston Bruins | Arizona Coyotes | ||||||||
 |  | ||||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 8-6-0 | 5-8-0 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.57 | 2.64 | 14.00% | 83.90% | Team Stats | 2.77 | 3.62 | 10.30% | 74.40% |
The Bruins power play could be in play here tonight as they have tallied four goals with the man advantage over the last three games. Conversely the Coyotes have given up three goals in the last 12 times they have tried to kill a penalty. Assuming that Arizona tries to shut down the top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak we can safely assume that the second line is the one to play here. David Krejci, Ryan Spooner and David Backes make up that line and are joined by Bergeron and defenseman Torey Krug as they are the top unit when the team has the man advantage. Bergeron makes a decent one-off play here even though his line mates lead the team in scoring. Marchand leads the way 15 points and Pastrnak has 13. The Bruins have been getting some secondary scoring as well with Matt Beleskey, Riley Nash and Austin Czarnik all grabbing three points over the last six games. If you want to make a team full of studs you could probably use one of those as a fill in player but that’s about it.
Last week I asked where Max Domi was, well it appears he has resurfaced as his five points over the last five games has helped him get to the top of the pile where Arizona’s scoring is concerned. That’s not saying much considering he only has 11 points through 13 games but hey, it’s better than a defenseman leading your team in scoring. His line mates are Christian Dvorak and Anthony Duclair but it just might be the line of Radim Vrbata, Jordan Martinook and Jamie McGinn is the one to target for GPP play tonight. This line has accounted for half of the teams 12 goals that they have scored over the last two weeks and should be the line of preference when the Bruins put out their weakest line. Oliver Ekman-Larsson is the defensive choice here but I wouldn’t go too crazy on any of the Coyotes tonight as the Boston goaltending has been pretty good of late.
Elite Plays
BOS: Brad Marchand
ARZ: None
Secondary Plays
BOS: David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, David Backes, Torey Krug
ARZ: Max Domi, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Radim Vrbata, Jamie McGinn
Anaheim Ducks at Nashville Predators
| Anaheim Ducks | Nashville Predators | ||||||||
 |  | ||||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 7-5-3 | 5-5-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.73 | 2.33 | 24.50% | 85.20% | Team Stats | 2.62 | 2.69 | 24.00% | 78.00% |
The Ducks scoring runs through their top power play unit as Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf lead the team in points with 13 apiece. Lately though it’s been second liner Ryan Kesler and Rickard Rakell that has been most of the damage. Over the last five games Rakell has a slight edge in points by a tally of 8-7. Both make great one-off plays here as the Predators should be busy trying to stop the Getzlaf line. Cam Fowler is the play on the blue line here as six of his ten points has come with the man advantage. Jakob Silfverberg skates with Kesler on the second line and had four points the other night in Anaheim’s 4-2 victory at Carolina. It would be nice if he heated up as that duo would make a nice GPP play, much like they did on the road the other night. The only other player you may have interest in is defenseman Sami Vatanen. He is off to a slow start for sure but is still afforded the top minutes on the power play for now.
Nashville has done very well at home this season as they have posted a 4-1-1 record versus a road record of 1-4-2. James Neal is featured on the team’s top line and will probably be higher owned in cash games than tournaments as he has collected six of his eight points over the last five games. It doesn’t hurt that he was moved up to the top line with Ryan Johansen and Viktor Arvidsson either. Filip Forsberg also has four of his team leading nine points in the last five games as well. The thing with Forsberg is that he skates on the top power play unit but plays the wing on the team’s third line with Calle Jarnkrok and Pontus Aberg. Defenseman Matt Irwin continues to find the scoresheet since joining the team as he has lit the lamp three times and assisted on two other goals in the team’s last five games. Roma Josi and Mattias Ekholm get the extra ice time when the Predators go on the power play but even P.K. Subban , along with Irwin, have been more productive. It’s pick and play here as Nashville should score a couple of goals tonight.
Elite Plays
ANA: Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf
NSH: James Neal
Secondary Plays
ANA: Ryan Kesler, Cam Fowler, Sami Vatanen, Rickard Rakell
NSH: Ryan Johansen, Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi