NHL Grind Down: Saturday, October 7th - Page Two
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Minnesota Wild at Carolina Hurricanes
| Minnesota Wild | Carolina Hurricanes | ||||||||
 | Devan Dubnyk |  | Scott Darling | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 49-25-8 | 35-31-15 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.12 | 2.47 | 21.00% | 82.90% | Team Stats | 2.59 | 2.80 | 17.50% | 84.10% |
The Wild come into this one the same way they did their opener on Thursday night, without Zach Parise. Minnesota hopes to have him back at practice on Monday but for now the often injured star will be on the shelf for at least one more game. This leaves Eric Staal, Nino Niederreiter and Charlie Coyle to man the top line while Mikko Koivu centers Jason Zucker and Mikael Granlund on the second line. In Thursday’s 4-2 loss at Detroit we saw Koivu, Granlund and Niederreiter get the majority power play minutes along with defenseman Ryan Suter. The rest of the time was split between Coyle and defenseman Jared Spurgeon as it looks like the Wild are once again unsure as to how their power play wants to look. By that I mean four forwards or two defensemen. Many teams have gone to the ‘four forward’ way of thinking which is probably the most correct choice as that leaves more players that can put the puck in the net on the ice at the same time. Look for the Koivu line here to do a little damage as the top defensive line of the Hurricanes should be all over their former all-star in Eric Staal.
Carolina is yet another team that hasn’t played a game yet this season as they host the Minnesota Wild in their home opener. The Hurricanes have a few new pieces but still seem to have the same backwards thinking that they had in years passed. Jeff Skinner, who led the team in points last season, will be on a line with Derek Ryan and newcomer Janne Kuokkanen. I am not really sure why Carolina doesn’t get as much ice time as possible for their top sniper as he also plays on the second power play unit and not the first. Be that as it may the Hurricanes will have Jordan Stall centering Sebastian Aho and Elias Lindholm while Victor Rask will center Teuvo Teravainen and newcomer Justin Williams. The Staal line along with Teravainen will get the first shot at the extra ice time when the Hurricanes have the man advantage. Justin Faulk is the defenseman of choice here as he anchors the top power play unit and will see plenty of ice time to improve on his 37 points from a year ago. Faulk was hurt a little bit last year which opened the door for the likes of Noah Hanifin and Jaccob Slavin, who could be used as punt plays only here. Carolina plays well at home as evidence of their 23-12-6 record last season so I wouldn’t expect them to roll over tonight.
Top Plays
MIN: Mikko Koivu
CAR: Jeff Skinner
Secondary Plays
MIN: Eric Staal, Nino Niederreiter, Charlie Coyle, Ryan Suter, Mikael Granlund
CAR: Jordan Staal, Victor Rask, Teuvo Teravainen, Justin Faulk, Sebastian Aho, Elias Lindholm
Buffalo Sabres at New York Islanders
| Buffalo Sabres | New York Islanders | ||||||||
 | Robin Lehner |  | Jaroslav Halak | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 33-36-12 | 40-29-12 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.44 | 2.78 | 24.60% | 77.30% | Team Stats | 2.89 | 2.89 | 14.90% | 81.70% |
Islanders head coach Doug Weight has taken the stance that Josh Ho-Sang not being in the line-up should not be viewed as a punishment and for all intents and purposes it does make sense. The youngster got a chance to see one of the better teams in the league from the press box on Friday night in the Columbus Blue Jackets and should be in there tonight at home against the Sabres. Jason Chimera took his spot on the third line as he skated with Brock Nelson and Anthony Beauvillier. John Tavares has always been the stud on this team and it’s a darn shame they can’t seem to find anyone to put around him to make this a winning team. The Islanders acquired Jordan Eberle in the off season and will get the majority of the power play time along with line mates in Tavares and Anders Lee. Mathew Barzal has impressed so much in the pre-season that he will center Andrew Ladd and Josh Bailey on New York’s second line. This line does have some potential but with a big slate like tonight’s it’s probably best to use them as a GPP play here. Nick Leddy is the play from the back line as he joins the Tavares line along with Bailey to form the team’s top power play unit. Leddy’s 46 points last season was good enough for fourth best on the team and should be in line for similar numbers this year.
The Sabres started their season off by playing a tough game against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night. Slowly but surely it looks as if Buffalo is starting to get the right pieces in the right places. Jack Eichel will have a little bit of help now that Evander Kane and Jason Pominville will be in tow for the full season. I mean heck, Eichel led the team with 57 points in 61 games after a very bad foot injury before last season started. Ryan O’Reilly will center Kyle Okposo and Benoit Pouliot and if the latter can pull his weight, this line may be in for a big year. When you realize that Brian Gionta was the only player to play in all 82 games last year, you will then start to realize how lacking the Sabres chemistry musty have been. Okposo, O’Reilly and Eichel logged the most power play minutes on Thursday night and that shouldn’t change here in New York. Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen is the only choice on the back line as he gets to log more than 26 minutes a night while anchoring the top power play unit. You could look at newcomer Nathan Beaulieu as a punt play on the back line as he could help contribute offensively along with the aforementioned Ristolainen.
Top Plays
BUF: Jack Eichel
NYI: John Tavares
Secondary Plays
BUF: Ryan O’Reilly, Kyle Okposo, Rasmus Ristolainen, Evander Kane, Jason Pominville
NYI: Jordan Eberle, Anders Lee, Josh Bailey, Andrew Ladd, Nick Leddy
Tampa Bay Lightning at Florida Panthers
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Florida Panthers | ||||||||
 | Andrei Vasilevskiy |  | James Reimer | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 41-30-10 | 34-36-11 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.80 | 2.78 | 23.00% | 81.30% | Team Stats | 2.44 | 2.79 | 16.70% | 85.20% |
These two teams played last night and tonight will switch venues for tonight’s game. The Lightning will be a different team now that Steven Stamkos is back in the fold as he jumps right up to the top line to center Vladislav Namestnikov and Nikita Kucherov. Tampa Bay missed the playoffs by one point last year so the return of Stamkos should help propel the team back into post season action. Tyler Johnson will center Alex Killorn and Ryan Callahan on the second line while Brayden Point, Ondrej Palat and Yanni Gourde make up the teams third line. Johnson’s line is in a good spot here as the Panthers first order of business should be stopping the top line. Newcomer Chris Kunitz is relegated to the fourth line and basically has no fantasy relevance at this time. Stamkos and his mates will be joined by Killorn and defenseman Victor Hedman to form the Lightning’s top power play unit so it would behoove you not to try to fit a few of these guys into your line-ups tonight. Hedman is a strong play from the point regardless of how the Lightning use him at times as he was able to notch 72 points in 79 games last season. Look for a good game here especially after both teams got familiar with each other last night.
The Panthers lost their 30 goal scorer in Jonathan Marchessault over the off season as well as the leagues oldest player in Jaromir Jagr. The Florida brass tried to backfill a bit as they have added Radim Vrbata who in his own right could possibly replace the 30 goals they lost in Marchessault. Vrbata was spotted skating on the second line with Vincent Trocheck and Jamie McGinn. Trocheck led the team with 54 points last year buit a lot of those points came when he was jettisoned up to the first line, especially when Aleksander Barkov was on the sidelines. Barkov would have easily led the team in scoring as he was just two points shy of the team lead while only appearing in 61 games last season. Barkov will play on the top line with Jonathan Huberdeau and Evgenii Dadonov and get a majority of the power play minutes as they become available. Trocheck and defenseman Keith Yandle will join the top line when the panthers have the extra attacker. Aaron Ekblad is another option on the back line as he was able to notch 21 points in 68 games last season. Ekblad was snake bitten last year as you would think that a defenseman with 225 shots on goal would surely have more than 21 points but such is life in the big city.
Top Plays
TB: Steven Stamkos
FLA: Aleksander Barkov
Secondary Plays
TB: Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman, Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, Brayden Point
FLA: Jonathan Huberdeau, Evgenii Dadonov, Aaron Ekblad, Keith Yandle, Vincent Trocheck, Radim Vrbata
Dallas Stars at St. Louis Blues
| Dallas Stars | St. Louis Blues | ||||||||
 | Kari Lehtonen |  | Jake Allen | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 34-37-11 | 45-29-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.71 | 3.05 | 17.90% | 73.90% | Team Stats | 2.71 | 2.57 | 21.60% | 84.70% |
Ken Hitchcock returns to coach the Dallas Stars after coaching four other teams over the last 13 years. As it turns out, tonight’s opponent is the St Louis Blues whom he had coached for the last six seasons. Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin have been reunited for now and should stay there for most of the season on the top line as it was ex-head coach Lindy Ruff who used to mix up the lines almost on a nightly basis. Their winger for now is the newly signed Alexander Radulov which should make for not only a decent top line but one of the best power play units in the league. Jason Spezza and defesneman John Klingberg will join them when the Stars enjoy the man advantage. Spezza skates on the team’s second line with Mattias Janmark and Brett Ritchie, which makes him an excellent one-off play here tonight. Martin Hanzal gets third line duties for now but could easily move up the food chain if he starts producing. Klingberg is the play on the back line as he logs a ton of minutes and as mentioned above, gets a ton of extra ice time when the stars draw a penalty. Hopefully with the acquisition of goaltender ben Bishop the Stars can start keeping the puck out of their own net and scoring more goals in the opponents net.
Through grit and determination the St Louis Blues were able to top the Pittsburgh Penguins in overtime after blowing a 4-2 lead halfway through the third period. The injuries to Alexander Steen, Patrik Berglund and Robby Fabbri have basically thrust Dmitrij Jaskin into the top six as he skates alongside Brayden Schenn and Jaden Schwartz. The top line of Vladimir Tarasenko, Paul Stastny and Vladimir Sobotka is the one to target here at home if you are looking for a full line stack. Tarasenko and Stastny are the chalk pairing here as they both get the top minutes with the man advantage. Alex Pietrangelo amassed eight shots from the point from the back line in Wednesday night’s win as he anchors the top power play unit. We can’t dismiss Colton Paryako however as the 24 year old is certainly not afraid to shoot the puck from the back line. He looks to improve on his 68 points in 160 games as he enters his third NHL campaign. Look for the Blues to come away with the victory in this one as Dallas needs to come a long way defensively to stop the deluge of goals they let in last season.
Top Plays
DAL: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn
STL: Vladimir Tarasenko
Secondary Plays
DAL: Alexander Radulov, Jason Spezza, John Klingberg
STL: Paul Stastny, Jaden Schwartz, Brayden Schenn, Alex Pietrangelo
Columbus Blue Jackets at Chicago Blackhawks
| Columbus Blue Jackets | Chicago Blackhawks | ||||||||
 | Sergei Bobrovsky |  | Corey Crawford | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 49-24-8 | 50-23-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.99 | 2.46 | 20.10% | 82.20% | Team Stats | 2.85 | 2.61 | 18.00% | 77.70% |
This is one of the games that should be on your ‘watch list’ for tonight’s viewing. Artemi Panarin returns to Chicago with Cam Atkinson and Alexander Wennberg as his line mates. It took a little over a half of a period for that line to light the lamp in last night’s game against the Islanders and should be a consideration almost each and every night. Nick Foligno centers the second line along with wingers Sonny Milano and Oliver Bjorkstrand. Foligno jumps up with the top line when the Blue Jackets have the man advantage but should be good enough here to stack as a line in deeper GPP contests. This would leave Brandon Dubinsky to concentrate on shutting the opponent’s top line down as he will center Matt Calvert and Pierre-Luc Dubois. Zach Werenski and Seth Jones are the plays from the blue line with Werenski getting the slight nod by virtue of being on the top power play unit with the Blue Jackets most offensively skilled players. Chicago looked awfully good the other night against Pittsburgh so it will be ineteresting to see how the visitors from Columbus stack up tonight.
Chicago came out of the chute with all guns blazing on Thursday night as they notched 10 goals en route to defeating the Penguins in front of the home crow by nine goals. Brandon Saad led the way with three goals while skating on the first line with Jonathan Toews and Richard Panik. It may not be fair to say that that is the Hawks first line as they do have two other very good lines in which the opponent will have to choose to defend in what manner. Nick Schmaltz and Ryan Hartman draw superstar Patrick Kane as their wingman while Artem Anisimov will center Patrick Sharp and Alex Debrincat. Toews, Kane, Sharp and Saad draw in as the first unit when Chicago draws a penalty so getting exposure to any of those four players is the way to go here. Defenseman Duncan Keith anchors the power play point and is the choice here as he looks to improve on his 53 points from a year ago. Brent Seabrook can be looked at here as well if you are looking for a discount as he has been known to contribute on the fantasy side of things from time to time by notching 39 points on 133 shots last season. Chicago gets another tough test tonight against a Columbus team that played at home last night.
Top Plays
CBJ: Cam Atkinson
CHI: Patrick Kane
Secondary Plays
CBJ: Alexander Wennberg, Artemi Panarin, Nick Foligno, Zach Werenski, Seth Jones
CHI: Brandon Saad, Jonathan Toews, Nick Schmaltz, Patrick Sharp, Ryan Hartman, Duncan Keith