NHL Grind Down: Saturday, November 28th - Page 3
Winnipeg Jets at Colorado Avalanche – 10:00 PM EST
| Winnipeg Jets | Colorado Avalanche | ||||||||
 | Mike Hutchinson |  | Semyon Varlamov | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 10-11-2 | 8-13-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.65 | 3.17 | 15.30% | 78.50% | Team Stats | 2.86 | 3.05 | 20.00% | 77.80% |
Here’s a tale of two teams that thought they would be a lot better than they actually are. Winnipeg and Colorado sit seventh and eighth in the Central division with 22 and 17 points respectively. Both teams can score, but the problem is keeping the puck out of their own net. This should be a fast-paced game and I look for the Avalanche power play to tally a few goals as the Jets lead the league in taking minor penalties. The Jets are also not too good a killing penalties either as the rank 20th in that department, killing them off at just 78.7% of the time. Matt Duchene should be at the top of your list as he has been red hot of late by virtue of scoring seven goals and assisting on six others in his last eight games. If you don’t feel like paying up for Brent Burns or Erik Karlsson tonight, look at Colorado defenseman Tyson Barrie as he has scored four points in his last four games and anchors the Avs’ top power-play unit.
Elite Plays
Win: None
Col: None
Secondary Plays
Win: Blake Wheeler, Bryan Little, Dustin Byfuglien, Mathieu Perreault
Col: Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, Matt Duchene, Tyson Barrie
Chicago Blackhawks at Los Angeles Kings – 10:30 PM EST
| Chicago Blackhawks | Los Angeles Kings | ||||||||
 | Scott Darling |  | Jonathan Quick | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 12-8-2 | 13-8-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.82 | 2.59 | 20.30% | 79.00% | Team Stats | 2.45 | 2.14 | 19.40% | 84.90% |
This game has the makings of a possible playoff preview as the Kings are in first place in the Pacific division while the Blackhawks are in fourth place in the Central division. On paper the teams look pretty even as the Kings are 13-8-1 with Chicago holding on to a 12-8-2 record. This will be the Kings 1st game at home since November 14th while the Hawks are finishing up their six-game road trip. The only thing that can trip up the Kings tonight is if they start taking penalties as they are ranked seventh in the league with 92 minor penalties. It will be interesting to see which line the Kings choose to try to shut down as it has become clear that the line of Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin and Artem Anisimov have become the Blackhawks top line. While Panarin and Anisimov have been hit and miss, Patrick Kane comes into this game riding an unheard of 18-game point streak. It is very tough to fade a player that hot, but his pricing around the industry may dictate that for you. With Chicago playing last night, I tend to look to the Los Angeles side for your cash game plays tonight.
Elite Plays
Chic: Patrick Kane
LA: Jeff Carter
Secondary Plays
Chic: Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, Artemi Panarin, Artem Anisimov
LA: Milan Lucic, Anze Kopitar, Jake Muzzin, Drew Doughty