NHL Grind Down: Saturday, October 31st
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.
Remember, these write-ups are done prior to lineups being released, so make sure to check our Starting Lineups page to ensure the recommended options are playing.
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New York Islanders at New Jersey Devils – 01:00 PM EDT
| New York Islanders | New Jersey Devils | ||||||||
 | Jaroslav Halak |  | Cory Schneider | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 47-28 | 32-36 | ||||||||
| 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 | 2.15 | 2.55 | 19.30% | 80.60% |
The New York Islanders face the Devils in a matinee game today at the Prudential Center in New Jersey. The Islanders lost to the Hurricanes in overtime last time out, bringing their record to 6-2-2 on the season. John Tavares was surprisingly held off the scoresheet against Carolina, which was just the third time this season (and second time in a row) that he was held pointless in a game. Tavares and the Islanders are in a good spot to rebound today, as they swept the four-game set against the Devils last year with Tavares registering five points over that span. Frans Nielsen has five points in the last three games and the Islanders second line has really been clicking. Also, Anders Lee rejoined Tavares on the top line against Carolina as Ryan Strome missed the game with an illness, so keep an eye out for Strome’s status and to see if any line changes will be initiated. The Devils penalty kill is poor at 76.5%, so look for the Islanders to convert on the power-play.
The Devils became winners of five out of their last six by defeating Philadelphia (4-1) on Thursday and will look to carry that success forward today against the Islanders. While the past two games have seen the Devils top line of Michael Cammalleri, Adam Henrique, and Lee Stempniak cool down substantially, Travis Zajac and Kyle Palmieri picked up the slack last night by combining for five points. This Devils team has been in desperate need of secondary scoring, so the breakout night by the second line is a great sign. The match-up against the Islanders is better on home ice than it would be on the road, but is nevertheless quite poor. The Islanders play solid defensive hockey and have gotten excellent goaltending to start the year. While the top two lines here are reasonable contrarian tournament options, I would look to the other side of this game for reliable fantasy production.
Elite Plays
NYI: John Tavares, Frans Nielsen, Nick Leddy
NJD: Michael Cammalleri
Secondary Plays
NYI: Anders Lee, Kyle Okposo, Johnny Boychuk
NJD: Adam Henrique, Travis Zajac
San Jose Sharks at Dallas Stars – 03:00 PM EDT
| San Jose Sharks | Dallas Stars | ||||||||
 | Martin Jones |  | Kari Lehtonen | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 40-33 | 41-31 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.73 | 2.76 | 21.60% | 78.50% | Team Stats | 3.13 | 3.13 | 19.00% | 80.70% |
The San Jose Sharks travel to Dallas today to take on the Stars in what should be a fast-paced and high-scoring matinee game. The Sharks have struggled in the absence of #2 center Logan Couture and have lost four out of the last five games after starting the season with four straight victories. The Joe Pavelski – Joe Thornton combination is typically the most reliable option on the Sharks for fantasy production, but note that Joel Ward has eight points on the season playing on the second line alongside Patrick Marleau. Dallas has shown improved team defense this year, but the Sharks create the most dangerous scoring chances in the league. San Jose players should go under-owned in tournaments today because they are facing the high-flying Dallas offense, and I wouldn’t be surprised if guys like Pavelski and defensemen Brent Burns put up solid fantasy scores.
The Dallas Stars are the most exciting team to watch in the NHL right now, as evidenced by their comeback overtime victory against the Canucks on Thursday. The Stars offense is dangerous and they are never out of games, even when trailing late. Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin have yet to slow down and I don’t think they will. Benn has 17 points in ten games and looks poised to win back-to-back Art Ross trophies as the league’s leading scorer. Patrick Sharp also seems to be finding his stride, with three goals in the last two games. The Dallas power-play is clicking at a 27.3% rate to start the year, which is good for second in the league behind only the Boston Bruins. San Jose is penalty-killing at 80% (bottom half of the league) and I expect Dallas to score both at even strength and on the man advantage today.
Elite Plays
SJS: Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns
DAL: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, John Klingberg
Secondary Plays
SJS: Joel Ward, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau
DAL: Patrick Sharp, Jason Spezza, Cody Eakin
Nashville Predators at Los Angeles Kings – 04:00 PM EDT
| Nashville Predators | Los Angeles Kings | ||||||||
 | Pekka Rinne |  | Jonathan Quick | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 47-25 | 40-27 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.76 | 2.46 | 16.20% | 80.80% | Team Stats | 2.66 | 2.40 | 19.00% | 80.90% |
The third and final matinee game of the slate features the Nashville Predators who will travel to Los Angeles to take on the Kings. Nashville has won four out of their last five games and is 7-1-1 on the season. This game has the makings of a tight-scoring affair as these are two of the most complete defensive teams in the league and both feature elite goaltenders. Both Nashville and LA allow under two goals scored per game. The Kings have won six straight games and playing against them on home ice right now is a highly unenviable position to be in. James Neal had his five-game point scoring streak (six goals, three assists over that span) snapped against the Sharks on Wednesday, but he remains the Predators’ biggest offensive threat playing alongside Filip Forsberg. While I don’t think the Predators will score many goals in this game despite their impressive forward depth, if the production does come it is likely to flow through the Neal / Forsberg line. Also, Roman Josi has continued to develop as an offensive-minded defenseman, notching six points in nine games to start the year. Josi and Shea Weber will have tough defensive responsibilities in this matchup, but can both contribute in the offensive zone as well.
The Los Angeles Kings have put a poor start to the season way behind them by rattling off six straight victories. Offseason acquisition Milan Lucic appears to have found a home playing alongside Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli on what has been one of the leagues best lines over the course of the last ten days. Lucic has points in his last four games. Carter has seven points in the same span. Toffoli has goals in five of his last six games. This line will likely face the tough task of playing most of the game against Roman Josi and Shea Weber, though the Kings do have the final change on home ice and will attempt to use it to get better match-ups for this trio. Anze Kopitar and Marian Gaborik have both had slow starts to the year and a match-up against the Predators is unlikely to be the place you’ll see them break out. As I mentioned earlier, this game has the makings of a tight-scoring affair and you may want to look elsewhere for high upside fantasy production.
Elite Plays
NSH: James Neal, Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi
LAK: Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli
Secondary Plays
NSH: Shea Weber, Craig Smith, Pekka Rinne
LAK: Milan Lucic, Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, Jonathan Quick
Washington Capitals at Florida Panthers – 07:00 PM EDT
| Washington Capitals | Florida Panthers | ||||||||
 | Braden Holtby |  | Roberto Luongo | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 45-26 | 38-29 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.89 | 2.43 | 25.30% | 81.20% | Team Stats | 2.41 | 2.60 | 16.30% | 80.00% |
Both the Washington Capitals and the Florida Panthers will be on the back-to-back tonight as they face each other in Florida. Washington won a tight game against the Blue Jackets last night that featured continued solid play from goaltender Braden Holtby, who get to rest tonight in favor of Philipp Grubauer. T.J. Oshie potted his fourth goal of the year for the Caps and has looked stellar playing alongside Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alexander Ovechkin on Washington’s top line. Kuznetsov was held off the scoresheet for the first time in five games, a span in which he notched ten points. Yes, I said ten. While Ovechkin remains expensive across the industry for good reason, Kuznetsov and Oshie continue to make exceptional pivots that get you exposure at reasonable price points. Though the Caps are on the road tonight, the match-up against Florida is solid, particularly because the Panthers struggle on the penalty-kill kill (76.2%) while the Caps flourish on the power-play (25.9%). Look for John Carlson to get involved on the score sheet as he quarterbacks the top power-play unit.
The Florida Panthers lost to the Boston Bruins last night 3-1 and will look to rebound tonight against the Washington Capitals. Florida hasn’t been the same team since losing #1 center Aleksander Barkov to a hand injury and the recent games missed by leading scorer Jaromir Jagr (who is day-to-day and may or may not play tonight) haven’t helped either. Nick Bjugstad has assumed top line duties in Barkov’s place and has performed admirably, notching four points in four games. The biggest surprise on this Panthers team is the mediocre play of Jonathan Huberdeau, who only has four assists on the year despite playing with Barkov, Bjugstad, and Jagr on nearly every shift. Huberdeau had an impressive and highly productive pre-season, but has yet to break out this year despite high expectations. The match-up against the Capitals isn’t terrible on paper, but Washington does play a solid defensive system that will benefit them on the back-to-back. I’m weary of this Florida team’s consistency in light of recent injuries and would only recommend them as GPP options.
Elite Plays
WSH: Evgeny Kuznetsov, Alexander Ovechkin, T.J. Oshie, John Carlson
FLA: Nick Bjugstad
Secondary Plays
WSH: Nicklas Backstrom, Marcus Johansson
FLA: Jonathan Huberdeau, Brandon Pirri, Aaron Ekblad, Brian Campbell
Boston Bruins at Tampa Bay Lightning – 07:00 PM EDT
| Boston Bruins | Tampa Bay Lightning | ||||||||
 | Tuukka Rask |  | Ben Bishop | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 41-27 | 50-24 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.55 | 2.45 | 17.80% | 82.00% | Team Stats | 3.16 | 2.51 | 18.80% | 83.70% |
The Boston Bruins defeated the Florida Panthers 3-1 last night in a game that featured two goals from Brad Marchand. Marchand and his line-mate Patrice Bergeron are both in the midst of five-game point streaks, but David Krejci continues to lead the Bruins in scoring with 15 points in nine games this year. It is clear that this Boston team is not the defensive powerhouse they once were, but the Bruins have seen their offensive talent shine so far this year en route to a 5-3-1 record. The match-up against Tampa Bay on home ice is poor, as the Lightning are a deep team that defends well in front of elite goaltender Ben Bishop. Nevertheless, Boston is 4-0-0 on the road this year and has a significant edge here on special teams, as the Tampa Bay penalty-kill is only holding the opposition at 79.4%. The Bruins have far and away the best power-play in the league to start the season, converting at an impressive 35.5%. Look for Torey Krug and Zdeno Chara to hit the scoresheet on the man advantage, as they quarterback Boston’s two power-play units.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have a 5-4-2 record on the season but are 0-2-1 over their last three games and have only managed one goal over that span. The Lightning face the Boston Bruins tonight on home ice. Though the Bruins have a winning record on the year, they are a great matchup for Tampa Bay to get back on track offensively, as Boston allows 3.33 goals against per game and is playing on the back-to-back on the road. Steven Stamkos doesn’t have a point in three straight games, but I expect him to break out with a multi-point effort tonight. The Triplets line of Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson, and Nikita Kucherov has still yet to have a statement game and I’m beginning to lose faith in their ability to rack up the points. I’ve lit money on fire for the past two weeks by targeting the Triplets as a high-upside and under-owned GPP combination, but they have yet to produce in a significant way (fantasy wise) this year. I may go back to the well here one last time before saying good-riddance, as the matchup against Boston is stellar and I expect numerous goals to be scored by the Lightning in this game. Consider Victor Hedman one of the best fantasy options of the night as he anchors the top Tampa Bay power-play unit and is producing at a point-per-game clip to start the year.
Elite Plays
BOS: Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Krejci
TBL: Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman
Secondary Plays
BOS: Loui Eriksson, Torey Krug, Zdeno Chara
TBL: Ryan Callahan, Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, Nikita Kucherov, Anton Stralman