NHL Grind Down: Saturday, October 24th - Page Three
Detroit Red Wings at Vancouver Canucks – 10:00 PM EDT
| Detroit Red Wings | Vancouver Canucks | ||||||||
 | Jimmy Howard |  | Ryan Miller | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 43-25 | 48-29 | ||||||||
| 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 | 2.88 | 2.68 | 19.30% | 85.70% |
The Detroit Red Wings head to Vancouver tonight to face the Canucks in a back-to-back and on the road. The Red Wings lost to the Calgary Flames 3-2 last night, their fourth loss in a row. At this point in the season, it is clear that this Detroit team isn’t the same one we saw under ex-coach Mike Babcock. While not having Pavel Datsyuk in the lineup is a large blow, the bigger issue is that the structured, systems-based game that Detroit exhibited for years seems to have gone to the wayside. The Red Wings are chock full of talent and still a competitive team as a result, but without Babcock’s leadership they appear lost at times, particularly on the defensive side of the puck. Nevertheless, Henrik Zetterberg continues to lead the club with ten points in seven games and was reunited last game with Gustav Nyquist, who puts up his best numbers playing alongside Zetterberg. Rookie Dylan Larkin also continues to produce at a point-per-game clip, despite being moved off of Zetterberg’s line. The match-up against the Canucks is mediocre at best. The Wings are playing their third game in four nights and the Canucks are solid on the defensive side of the puck. Vancouver has surrendered only two goals per game on average and Ryan Miller has been playing very well.
The Vancouver Canucks have started the year 3-2-2, but have yet to record a victory a home. Radim Vrbata had his best game of the year on Thursday, posting his first goal and assist of the year after being reunited with Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin. This trio is deadly when on the ice together, particularly on the power-play, and should get plenty of opportunities to convert on home ice. As I mentioned above, the Red Wings are in a bit of a tailspin and are struggling defensively. Back-to-back games on the road are typically not situations where you see these deficiencies corrected, so I expected Vancouver to capitalize. The Canucks are -165 favorites and Ryan Miller is a solid somewhat contrarian play in net tonight.
Elite Plays
DET: Henrik Zetterberg, Gustav Nyquist
VAN: Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Radim Vrbata
Secondary Plays
DET: Dylan Larkin, Justin Abdelkader
VAN: Brandon Sutter, Alex Edler, Ryan Miller
Carolina Hurricanes at San Jose Sharks – 10:30 PM EDT
| Carolina Hurricanes | San Jose Sharks | ||||||||
 | Cam Ward |  | Martin Jones | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 30-41 | 40-33 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.23 | 2.67 | 18.80% | 84.70% | Team Stats | 2.73 | 2.76 | 21.60% | 78.50% |
The Carolina Hurricanes travel to San Jose to take on the Sharks tonight in yet another back-to-back on the road. The Hurricanes were shut out by the Kings last night in a game that followed a script Carolina is all too familiar with. Once again, the Hurricanes dominated possession and put a plethora of shots on goal but were unable to convert on the scoresheet. The Canes are bottom-five in the league, averaging only 1.71 goals per game. Carolina has constructed their lineup in a way that affords them three capable scoring lines, but they struggle to finish scoring chances. Eric Staal and Justin Faulk are the best offensive players on this club and each have four points through seven games. The matchup against the Sharks is mediocre, in large part due to the fact that Carolina is playing their third game in four nights against a rested San Jose team. While San Jose hasn’t been the same team since Logan Couture got injured, it’s difficult to have any confidence in this Carolina club for fantasy purposes.
The San Jose Sharks are 4-3-0 on the season and lost their third straight game to the Kings (4-1) on Thursday. The Sharks are struggling to find the right combinations on offense in the absence of Logan Couture and it’s unclear who will lock down the top line wing role alongside Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski. The Sharks have tried Joonas Donskoi and Nikolay Goldobin in that spot, but it appears Matthew Nieto will get the call tonight. Third liner Chris Tierney is a great value play tonight, likely to get minutes on the loaded top power-play unit, which is quarterbacked by stud offensive defenseman Brent Burns. The Carolina penalty kill has been poor at 76.5% and the Sharks will be in a great spot to break through here as Carolina is playing their third game in four nights. The Sharks are large -210 Vegas favorites and Martin Jones should get the win. As noted above, Carolina takes a lot of shots but struggles to convert those shots into goals… a great recipe for an opposing goaltender to accrue fantasy points.
Elite Plays
CAR: Eric Staal, Justin Faulk
SJS: Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns
Secondary Plays
CAR: Jeff Skinner, Kris Versteeg
SJS: Patrick Marleau, Joel Ward