NHL Grind Down: Saturday, November 26th - Page Two
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Minnesota Wild at St. Louis Blues
| Minnesota Wild | St. Louis Blues | ||||||||
 | Darcy Kuemper |  | Jake Allen | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 11-7-2 | 11-7-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.58 | 1.89 | 19.70% | 86.40% | Team Stats | 2.57 | 2.67 | 20.50% | 88.10% |
Regardless of what you read elsewhere the top line of Zach Parise, Eric Staal and Charlie Coyle see about 60 percent of the ice time when the Wild go on the power play. When talking about defenseman the ante goes up a bit as Jared Spurgeon and Ryan Suter are out there almost 80 percent of the time. Why is this relevant you ask? Well, with the second line being Mikko Koivu, Jason Zucker and Mikael Granlund they will need to utilize the power play that has six goals over the past four games. Meanwhile the Blues have sprung a leak when they are killing penalties as not only are they taking them at an average of four times a game over the last five, they have also let in four goals when trying to kill the penalty. Granlund could be used as a one-off here as he gets second line power play duties and has seen three of his last six points come with the man advantage. The only drawback here is that Minnesota played last night while the Blues and their 8-1-2 home record haven’t played since Wednesday night in Washington.
The Blues have won six of their last seven homes games and have only given up a total of eight goals in those games. Tonight they host a Minnesota Wild team that beat the pants off of the Pittsburgh Penguins yesterday on home ice by a score of 6-2. I wouldn’t expect that type scoring outburst tonight as this will be Minnesota’s third game in four nights. The top line that features Vladimir Tarasenko and Robby Fabbri should be the chalk here tonight as they will get every opportunity to expose the weaker lines the Wild have. Jori Lehtera completes the top line and although he does provide some great salary relief, there is a reason for that. He doesn’t score like he plays on a line with Tarasenko as he has just five points compared to the 22 Tarasenko has compiled so far this season. The second line of David Perron, Paul Stastny and Jaden Schwartz have compiled six goals and eight assists over the past five game but it is Perron that is tapped to play with the top line when the team has the man advantage. Kevin Shattenkirk is the play on the blue line as he anchors the team’s top power play unit but we can’t rule out Colton Parayko either as he has garnered five of his ten points over the last five games. St Louis should be stingy on home ice it’s just a matter of how many goals they can score against a team that has given up just 38 goals in 20 games.
Elite Plays
MIN: None
STL: Vladimir Tarasenko
Secondary Plays
MIN: Eric Staal, Charlie Coyle, Zach Parise, Ryan Suter, Mikael Granlund
STL: Robby Fabbri, David Perron, Kevin Shattenkirk, Jaden Schwartz
Vancouver Canucks at Colorado Avalanche
| Vancouver Canucks | Colorado Avalanche | ||||||||
 | Jacob Markstrom |  | Calvin Pickard | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 8-11-2 | 9-10-0 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.20 | 3.05 | 11.50% | 84.20% | Team Stats | 2.21 | 2.89 | 16.70% | 78.20% |
The Canucks are considered to be one of the more terrible teams in the league especially on the road as they are 2-7-1 away from the home crowd. They have however become more competitive as both wins have come over the last four road games with the wins coming against the Rangers and Arizona Coyotes. Now whether they just surprised New York or not is irrelevant but the win against Arizona is just a matter of someone has to win when two bad teams play each other. This could be the case here tonight as Colorado is dead last in the Central division while Vancouver has 18 points, which is tie with them as only Arizona has less points with 16. Henrik Sedin, Brandon Sutter and Daniel Sedin make up the top line and top power play unit. They should be pretty much wrapped up all night which would lead us to diving deeper for a possible GPP play tonight. Somehow, someway Bo Horvat has lit the lamp two times while assisting on three other goals over the past four games to wrestle the team lead in scoring away from the Sedin’s. What’s even more amazing is that his third line partner is right there with him as Sven Baertschi had accumulated a goal and three assists in the last three games before being scratched last night with a toe injury from the game before. Troy Stecher and Alexander Edler are the choices on defense but I’d stay away as they are just part of a defensive corps that has been unproductive all season. You know when Lucas Sbisa is tied with two other defenseman for the team lead from the blue line with four points, you’re pretty bad.
Colorado is not only getting a little better they are starting to score a bit more as well. This could go hand in hand depending on what side of the fence you sit on but over the last five games they have scored 15 of their 42 goals. Nathan MacKinnon has been leading the way from the top line with three goals and four assists over those five games while line mate Mikko Rantanen has had a hand in six of the last 15 goals the Avalanche have scored. These would be the two players to target here but you could also use Matt Duchene as a one-off play here against a Vancouver team that has given up over 62 goals so far this season, Duchene skates on the second line with Carl Soderberg and Mikael Grigorenko but sees the extra ice time with MacKinnon when the Avalanche go on the power play. Erik Johnson has been seen in a lot of cash games recently as he is on the top power play unit with Francis Beauchemin and has registered four of his ten points over the last five games. Tyson Barrie has a quiet nine points as he is probably the better offensive defenseman Colorado has as he leads the defensive corps in shot on goal with 44. Look for a gritty game tonight that could be a low scoring affair.
Elite Plays
VAN: None
COL: Nathan MacKinnon
Secondary Plays
VAN: Daneil Sedin, Bo Horvat
COL: Matt Duchene, Erik Johnson, Mikko Rantanen, Tyson Barrie
Chicago Blackhawks at Los Angeles Kings
| Chicago Blackhawks | Los Angeles Kings | ||||||||
 | Scott Darling |  | Peter Budaj | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 14-6-2 | 11-9-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.90 | 2.57 | 18.40% | 69.60% | Team Stats | 2.57 | 2.48 | 12.70% | 81.70% |
The Blackhawks need a win tonight to make their current seven game road trip a winning one as their win yesterday in Anaheim has them at a 3-3 record so far. If they are going to win they will probably have to do it without Jonathan Toews as he is dealing with an upper-body injury. This would put the weight squarely on the shoulders of Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin and Artem Anisimov. This is the top line as they also get the majority of the ice time when Chicago goes on the power play. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook man the blue line which rounds out the top power play unit. The second line of Marcus Kruger, Ryan Hartman and Marian Hossa can be used as a deeper GPP play as they are the line that should have a bit more room on the ice tonight. Kane, Anisimov and Panarin lead the team in scoring and there’s no reason you can’t use one of them as a one-off play here tonight. And now for the odd statistic of the night, the Kings have won their last three home games by a score of 4-2.
After losing four games in a row the Los Angeles Kings have rebounded to win their last four games in a row and this week they got Anze Kopitar back from injury. As we mentioned Chicago is playing their last game of a brutal seven game road trip and should be beatable here tonight. Jeff Carter is the chalk play here as he has caught fire over the last few weeks by leading the team with four goals, two assists and 24 shots over the last five games. His line mate in Tyler Toffoli has pulled into second place on the Kings scoring chart by lighting the lamp once and adding three assists over the last five games. Keep these two as a pair as they both get plenty of extra ice time on the team’s top power play unit. Tanner Pearson completes the top unit and could be used here as seven of his 11 points so far this season have found the back of the net. Defenseman Alec Martinez continues to find the scoresheet and is tied with Toffoli with 13 points so far this season. Drew Doughty and Jake Muzzin get the most time when the Kings have the man advantage as Muzzin has scored three of his five points over the last five games. Kopitar is a decent one-off play here as he plays next to carter and Toffoli on the top power play unit. His line mates of Dwight King and Trevor Lewis just don’t have enough appeal for me although King has recorded three of his eight points over the last five games.
Elite Plays
CHI: Patrick Kane
LAK: Jeff Carter
Secondary Plays
CHI: Artemi Panarin, Artem Anisimov, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook
LAK: Tyler Toffoli, Anze Kopitar, Jake Muzzin, Alec Martinez
Anaheim Ducks at San Jose Sharks
| Anaheim Ducks | San Jose Sharks | ||||||||
 | Jonathan Bernier |  | Martin Jones | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 9-8-4 | 12-8-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.60 | 2.40 | 21.10% | 82.70% | Team Stats | 2.35 | 2.15 | 16.70% | 86.50% |
The Ducks are going to have to find a way to start winning tonight as they have dropped their last three home games by identical scores of 3-2. In an effort to make two strong lines the Ducks moved Rickard Rakell to the top line a few games ago to play alongside of Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf. Perry and Getzlaf lead the team in points with 16 each while Rakell has netted seven goals and has added three assists in the 12 games he has played in since returning from injury. This line is always a decent play in GPP’s as well as cash games if moderately used. Ryan Kesler always makes a decent one-off play on the road as he plays on the second line but joins Perry and Getzlaf on the top power play unit that has scored three goals over the last five games. Kesler leads the team with 19 shots over the past five games while scoring twice and adding an assist in the process. If you want a full line GPP stack I’d consider taking Jakob Silfverberg and Andrew Cogliano to go along with Kesler as the second line should have a bit more room on the ice than the Getzlaf line tonight. Silfverberg has been the most productive recently as his five points lead the Ducks in scoring over the last five games. Cam Fowler is the choice on the blue line as seven of his 13 points have come with the man advantage in the first 21 games Anaheim has played. Sami Vatanen would be the other choice here but his six shots in the last five games is a bit concerning to anyone who would roster him.
Whenever we talk about the San Jose Sharks the question is always do we want to pay up for defenseman Brent Burns of not. Depending on the night is basically how I attack this. On bigger slates I do like paying up for him as there are some nice value plays on defense to almost offset his high salary. Players like John Moore and Ryan Sproul fit the bill here as their pricing is below 4k on FanDuel tonight. There are others but you get the idea. Patrick Marleau received and early Chriistmas present a few games back as he was inserted on the top line with Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski and has responded with two goals over the last four games. Being the top line on both the power play and even strength this line will probably see a lot of ownership in cash games tonight. A lot of people like to have the ‘late hammer’ and you can’t get any later than this as the game starts at 7:30 on the west coast. Logan Couture is your one-off play here as he centers the second line Joonas Donskoi and Joel Ward who have a combined four goals and eight assists in 21 games so far this season. Unless you want to take a flyer on Chris Tierney, who has collected three of his seven points over the last four games, it’s probably best to stick with the top five tonight.
Elite Plays
ANA: Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf
SJ: Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski
Secondary Plays
ANA: Rickard Rakell, Ryan Kesler, Cam Fowler
SJ: Joe Thornton, Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau