NHL Grind Down: Saturday, October 10th - Page Two
Edmonton Oilers at Nashville Predators – 07:00 PM EDT
| Edmonton Oilers | Nashville Predators | ||||||||
 | Ben Scrivens |  | Pekka Rinne | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 24-44 | 47-25 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.35 | 3.37 | 17.70% | 76.70% | Team Stats | 2.76 | 2.46 | 16.20% | 80.80% |
The Edmonton Oilers came into this season with high expectations, hoping that Connor McDavid would lead them out of the league’s doldrums. An opening-night matchup with the Blues proved somewhat uninspiring as the only goal Edmonton potted was one the Blues scored on themselves on a peculiar ricochet of a teammate’s leg, but McDavid showed he can play despite not hitting the scoresheet. It may take a few games for the Edmonton offense to gel and tonight’s matchup with the defensively stingy Nashville Predators is not ideal. Nashville had one of the best home records in the league last year, only allowing nine losses in 41 games.
Nashville will be a contender in the West once again this year and showed how they can dominate a game in their opener vs Carolina on Wednesday. Nashville rolls several balanced lines (Coach Peter Laviolette praised the third line’s performance last game) and it is often difficult to predict where the production will come from. I’ll be targeting the Predators’ two top offensive talents in Filip Forsberg and James Neal tonight and wouldn’t be surprised if they make an impact at even strength and on the power play alongside Shea Weber.
Elite Plays
EDM: Connor McDavid, Taylor Hall
NSH: Filip Forsberg, James Neal
Secondary Plays
EDM: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Justin Schultz
NSH: Mike Ribeiro, Shea Weber, Roman Josi, Mike Fisher, Colin Wilson, Craig Smith
Detroit Red Wings at Carolina Hurricanes – 07:00 PM EDT
| Detroit Red Wings | Carolina Hurricanes | ||||||||
 | Jimmy Howard |  | Cam Ward | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 43-25 | 30-41 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.82 | 2.57 | 23.80% | 80.90% | Team Stats | 2.23 | 2.67 | 18.80% | 84.70% |
The Red Wings came out firing on all cylinders in last night’s game against Toronto and Rookie Dylan Larkin’s skill set was on full display. Justin Abdelkader (not a noted sniper) potted a hat trick playing alongside Henrik Zetterberg and Larkin yesterday, while the second line of Tomas Tatar – Brad Richards – Gustav Nyquist let many fantasy owners down. The Red Wings get another soft matchup tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes and it is certainly a viable strategy to go back to the well. Look for high ownership on Larkin at a low price tag and potentially an advantageous dip in ownership on the Tatar-Nyquist line. Backup goaltender (arguably 1B) Petr Mrazek will start tonight on the back-to-back.
Carolina was beaten by Nashville in their season opener, but managed to keep the game close on the scoresheet. This Hurricanes team is going to be scratching at the bottom of the barrel all season and I doubt I’ll be utilizing them for fantasy purposes anytime soon. Eric Staal and Jeff Skinner will attempt to carry the load on offense again this year, and Justin Faulk headlines their defense which also sports the addition of highly touted prospect Noah Hanifin. Carolina desperately needs some of their young talent to step up if they want to compete, but more likely and not this team will experience a season of growing pains.
Elite Plays
DET: Henrik Zetterberg, Dylan Larkin, Tomas Tatar, Gustav Nyquist, Mike Green
CAR: None.
Secondary Plays
DET: Justin Abdelkader, Johan Franzen, Niklas Kronwall
CAR: Eric Staal, Jeff Skinner, Justin Faulk
Columbus Blue Jackets at New York Rangers – 07:00 PM EDT
| Columbus Blue Jackets | New York Rangers | ||||||||
 | Sergei Bobrovsky |  | Henrik Lundqvist | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 42-35 | 53-22 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.77 | 3.02 | 21.70% | 80.20% | Team Stats | 3.02 | 2.28 | 16.80% | 84.30% |
The Columbus Blue Jackets travel to New York City tonight to face the Rangers in a home and home back-to-back. New York managed to take the win from the Blue Jackets last night due to a barrage of goals in the final three minutes. Prior to the game getting out of hand, Columbus played a hard-fought physical style that appears to be a staple of their game plan moving forward. CBJ is bound to improve on last season, a season in which they lost 508 man-games to injury. While Columbus presents a balanced forward group with multiple lines capable of scoring, they are in the unenviable position of facing arguably the best defensive corps in the league on home ice and perennial Vezina candidate goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. Ryan Johansen and Nick Foligno emerged last season as a bright spot on this Columbus squad and they’re joined this season by newcomer Brandon Saad. This group presents Columbus’ best bet at fantasy production.
The New York Rangers emphasized starting the season well and have managed to come out of the first two games with victories despite not playing their best hockey. Expectations are high for the Rangers once again this year and their lack of offensive consistency over the first two games is a slight cause for concern. Rick Nash started the season last year with nine points in his first ten games, but has yet to hit the scoresheet this year. With two poor performances from Nash many may trend away from the winger tonight, which will likely bring ownership down and, in turn, make Nash a great GPP target. Chris Kreider is poised for a breakout year playing alongside Derek Stepan and the Rangers hope he’ll become a 30-goal scorer. Kreider has had numerous chances throughout the first two games and it’s only a matter of time until he breaks through. Look for Keith Yandle to finally break through on the Rangers power play.
Elite Plays
CBJ: None.
NYR: Rick Nash, Chris Kreider, Derek Stepan
Secondary Plays
CBJ: Ryan Johansen, Nick Foligno, Brandon Saad
NYR: Derrick Brassard, Mats Zuccarello, Keith Yandle
St. Louis Blues at Minnesota Wild – 08:00 PM EDT
| St. Louis Blues | Minnesota Wild | ||||||||
 |  | Devan Dubnyk | |||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 51-24 | 46-28 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.91 | 2.40 | 22.30% | 83.70% | Team Stats | 2.77 | 2.41 | 15.80% | 86.30% |
The Minnesota Wild beat Colorado in a thrilling third period comeback capped by a Zach Parise hat trick on Wednesday, but I don’t expect many run-and-gun games from them this year. This is a strong defensive team and I expect a close game in their matchup tonight against the St. Louis Blues. When playing in their comfort zone at home, Minnesota is among the best defensive teams in the league. Parise demonstrated his scoring touch alongside Jason Pominville and Mikael Granlund on Wednesday, but I think the fade is on here with the Blues being a stout opponent.
The Blues faced off with the Edmonton Oilers in their opener and dominated the game. This is a team loaded with offensive firepower that coach Ken Hitchcock has chosen to spread throughout the lineup. With the new-look balanced Blues lines, it will be interesting to see who Minnesota chooses to matchup against the top line of Alexander Steen – Paul Stastny – Vladimir Tarasenko, I presume it will be Ryan Suter. The Blues have the ability to score goals on any team in the league, but Minnesota at home is a tough matchup. If the Blues do manage to light the lamp a few times, look for Kevin Shattenkirk and Alex Pietrangelo to get involved from the blueline.
Elite Plays
MIN: Zach Parise
STL: Vladimir Tarasenko
Secondary Plays
MIN: Jason Pominville
STL: Alexander Steen, Kevin Shattenkirk, Alex Pietrangelo
New York Islanders at Chicago Blackhawks – 08:30 PM EDT
| New York Islanders | Chicago Blackhawks | ||||||||
 | Jaroslav Halak |  | Corey Crawford | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 47-28 | 48-28 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.99 | 2.73 | 18.70% | 78.00% | Team Stats | 2.68 | 2.27 | 17.60% | 83.40% |
The New York Islanders travel to Chicago in another home-and-home back-to-back here hoping to bounce back after yesterday’s OT loss. The Stanley Cup Champion Hawks are going to be a strong playoff team and it has shown in two tough-fought games so far this season. Patrick Kane appears to be at full strength and focused despite his offseason woes as evidenced by his two goal performance last night. Dynamic KHL transplant Artemi Panarin looks poised to produce on Kane’s wing. The Marian Hossa – Jonathan Toews line will be sent out to matchup defensively with John Tavares tonight, so I wouldn’t head that route for fantasy purposes. Look to Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook to contribute on the power play facing a woeful Islanders penalty kill that performed at a 78% clip last season. It will be interesting to see if the Islanders can rise to the occasion and play a strong game on the road here, but you have to imagine Chicago will emerge victorious from this one with the last change matchup advantage.
The Islanders opened up Barclay’s center last night and the buzz in the building wasn’t enough to push them to a victory, but they get a shot at redemption tonight. New York possesses the skill necessary to light the lamp up front and sport an improved defense corps, but they face one of the toughest matchups in hockey on the road in Chicago. The Ryan Strome – Tavares – Anders Lee line faces a tough matchup as mentioned above, so it may be worthwhile taking a flyer on second-line scorer Kyle Okposo. You won’t see me targeting this matchup, but I can’t fault you if you want to make the ultimate contrarian play in GPPs.
Elite Plays
NYI: John Tavares
CHI: Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith
Secondary Plays
NYI: Anders Lee, Ryan Strome, Kyle Okposo
CHI: Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Artemi Panarin, Brent Seabrook