NHL Grind Down: Saturday, October 10th
The RotoGrinders NHL Grind Down article will give you an in-depth analysis into the NHL schedule. This article will break down the numbers for every single game and give you analysis on which trends you can exploit. While matchups are a major factor in daily fantasy hockey there are plenty of other factors to consider such as injuries, salaries, and more.
The analysis should point you in the right direction, but it is still up to you to decipher the information and make your own selections. Hockey is an extremely high variance sport. The best choice is not always the right choice but following the trends will win you money over time.
Note: As always, if you want to try a new DFS site, be sure to click through a RotoGrinders link and use our DraftKings promo code and FanDuel promo code to receive the best perks in the industry.
This is my first time writing for RotoGrinders, so any and all feedback is greatly appreciated. I didn’t go into any depth on pricing for the various sites as, in my impression, the pricing seems very soft to start the season. Keep an eye out for a bunch of backup goalies who may be getting starts today with the back-to-backs. Good luck today, all.
New Jersey Devils at Washington Capitals – 07:00 PM EDT
| New Jersey Devils | Washington Capitals | ||||||||
 | Cory Schneider |  | Braden Holtby | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 32-36 | 45-26 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.15 | 2.55 | 19.30% | 80.60% | Team Stats | 2.89 | 2.43 | 25.30% | 81.20% |
The Washington Capitals and Alex Ovechkin open their season tonight against the New Jersey Devils with high expectations for a strong year. The Capitals roster is much improved, featuring a top line of Ovechkin – Evgeny Kuznetsov – T.J. Oshie. Kuznetsov had an incredible second half to the season last year and emerged as one of the league’s young stars while Oshie was brought in via trade specifically to complement Ovechkin on the top line. The Capitals start the season without their top center Niklas Backstrom, but still look for this line to dominate in this matchup against a young and developing Devils defense corps that lacks a shutdown pair and a mediocre backup goaltender in Keith Kinkaid.
New Jersey will play on the back-to-back tonight having lost to the Winnipeg Jets 3-1 yesterday. The Devils are truly a fantasy wasteland outside of talented winger Mike Cammalleri and elite goaltender Cory Schneider. Their performance yesterday was uninspiring and the blueprint for how this team will succeed their year is indiscernible. New Jersey forecasts to struggle all season as they rebuild and I fear that the rare games they do win will be carried by Schneider. As I mentioned above, Keith Kinkaid gets the start in net tonight, so roster the Devils with caution.
Elite Plays
WAS: Alexander Ovechkin, T.J. Oshie
NJ: None
Secondary Plays
WAS: Evgeny Kuznetsov, John Carlson
NJ: Mike Cammalleri
Montreal Canadiens at Boston Bruins – 07:00 PM EDT
| Montreal Canadiens | Boston Bruins | ||||||||
 | Carey Price |  | Tuukka Rask | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 50-22 | 41-27 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.61 | 2.24 | 16.50% | 83.70% | Team Stats | 2.55 | 2.45 | 17.80% | 82.00% |
The Montreal Canadiens opened their season with a win against their Toronto rivals on Wednesday and, as expected, Max Pacioretty, P.K. Subban, and Carey Price led the way for the Habs. These three players will continue to be the primary fantasy options for Montreal moving forward and are all under consideration in this matchup with a backpedaling Bruins squad. While Montreal does go through spells where they struggle to light up the scoresheet, such a high volume of their production goes through Subban and Pacioretty that these two remain reliable fantasy options in almost all matchups. Boston’s ability to shut down the Montreal top line is severely limited with Zdeno Chara likely to remain out for the Bruins due to a preseason injury.
The Boston Bruins were thrashed by the Winnipeg Jets in their season opener and, unfortunately, the loss may be a sign of things to come for a Bruins squad that is going through some changes. Boston added some talent on the front end in Matt Beleskey and Jimmy Hayes, but I’m not overly optimistic about this team’s ability to put the puck in the net. To pile-on, the lack of Chara on the back end leaves a gaping hole in a young blue line that will surely struggle until his return. Look for Boston to matchup the Bergeron line against Montreal’s Pacioretty line in an effort to stymie the Canadiens’ top scoring threat.
Elite Plays
MTL: Max Pacioretty, P.K. Subban, Carey Price
BOS: None.
Secondary Plays
MTL: Tomas Plekanec, Brendan Gallagher, Alex Galchenyuk, Andrei Markov
BOS: David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron
Philadelphia Flyers at Florida Panthers – 07:00 PM EDT
| Philadelphia Flyers | Florida Panthers | ||||||||
 | Steve Mason |  | Roberto Luongo | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 33-31 | 38-29 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.59 | 2.72 | 23.40% | 77.10% | Team Stats | 2.41 | 2.60 | 16.30% | 80.00% |
The Philadelphia Flyers will travel to Florida tonight for the Panthers’ home opener. The Flyers lost a hard-fought overtime game against Tampa Bay on Wednesday in which their top tandem of Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek showed a decent amount of rust, failing to convert on several point-blank chances. Giroux and Voracek are one of the best-scoring duos in the NHL. Giroux is better than a point-per-game player over the last five seasons, and Voracek is coming off an 81-point season and signed a massive contact extension in the offseason. The Philly offense runs through these two guys, and frankly they’re in a category of duos in this league that are pretty much matchup-proof (e.g. Seguin/Benn, Perry/Getzlaf). The Philadelphia power play was also deadly last season, converting at 23.4%, which puts power play QB Mark Streit in play. Florida is a young team with an exciting future but I’m not sure Aaron Ekblad and co. are ready to handle this pair.
The Florida Panthers were close to making the playoffs last year and are poised to improve significantly as their young core matures. The top line of Jonathan Huberdeau – Aleksander Barkov – Jaromir Jagr was deadly at points last year and dominated in the preseason this year. Aaron Ekblad has a bright future and his fantasy value is high playing alongside Brian Campbell on the blue line. Nick Bjugstad, another young star on this club, will center the second line that adds newcomer Reilly Smith. I predict this second line (also taking up residence on the second power play unit) will be extremely low-owned in GPPs and could make a great contrarian play against a mediocre Philadelphia defense.
Elite Plays
PHI: Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, Mark Streit
FLA: Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov, Jaromir Jagr
Secondary Plays
PHI: Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn
FLA: Aaron Ekblad, Nick Bjugstad, Reilly Smith
Ottawa Senators at Toronto Maple Leafs – 07:00 PM EDT
| Ottawa Senators | Toronto Maple Leafs | ||||||||
 | Craig Anderson |  | Jonathan Bernier | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 43-26 | 30-44 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.83 | 2.54 | 16.80% | 82.90% | Team Stats | 2.51 | 3.13 | 15.90% | 80.50% |
The Maple Leafs were badly beaten by the Red Wings last night in Mike Babcock’s return to Detroit and will look to right the ship tonight at home against the Ottawa Senators. This Toronto team is going to struggle all year and I don’t have high hopes for them tonight on the back-to-back. The scoring burden has fallen on James van Riemsdyk and a still-developing Nazem Kadri while Dion Phaneuf will attempt to perform a shutdown role. James Reimer will start in goal tonight in place of Jonathan Bernier.
Ottawa looked impressive in the Senators’ 2-1 opening-night win over the Buffalo Sabres. Despite the scoresheet indicating a low-scoring affair, Ottawa was in full control of the game and had a plethora of scoring chances. With a balanced top two lines, featuring the young and tenacious Mark Stone – Kyle Turris – Mike Hoffman combination, I anticipate the Senators to have their way in Toronto. Erik Karlsson is the best offensive defenseman in the NHL, if you can fit him in, play him in this matchup. If you’re looking to go slightly contrarian, head to the Bobby Ryan / Mika Zibanejad line as I anticipate most will be on the Turris line which potted two goals last game.
Elite Plays
TOR: None.
OTT: Erik Karlsson, Mark Stone, Kyle Turris, Mike Hoffman
Secondary Plays
TOR: James van Riemsdyk, Nazem Kadri
OTT: Bobby Ryan, Mika Zibanejad