NHL Grind Down: Sunday, April 2nd - Page Two
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Colorado Avalanche at Minnesota Wild
| Colorado Avalanche | Minnesota Wild | ||||||||
 | Calvin Pickard |  | Devan Dubnyk | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 21-53-3 | 45-25-8 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 1.93 | 3.36 | 12.80% | 76.70% | Team Stats | 3.21 | 2.50 | 20.30% | 82.60% |
The Avalanche have three road games left against Minnesota, Dallas and St Louis and if they don’t come away with a victory in one of those games they will have the dubious honor of being the only team in the league not to have won at least 10 road games this season. Let that sink in and let me know if you think they have a chance today against the slumping Minnesota Wild. Of course anyone has a chance on any given day but the point is that Colorado has been a bad team all season as they have won just 21 games in 77 tries so far this year. They have scored 152 goals while giving up 259 of them which is tops in the league on the negative side of each category. Matt Duchene, Matt Nieto and Gabriel Landeskog skate together on the second line while Nathan MacKinnon centers the upstart Sven Andrighetto and Mikko Rantanen on the top line. MacKinnon leads the team with 51 points but then it’s a big drop off to Duchene who is three points shy of registering 40 points on the season. As mentioned above, Andrighetto is hot as he has notched eight of his 11 points over the last 10 game since coming over to the Avalanche 14 games ago. Defenseman Tyson Barrie is the closest thing to a ‘rosterable’ player from the back line as he has snagged five of his 36 points over the past three weeks. If the Avalanche are going to score I wouldn’t be surprised if the top line had a little something to do with it.
Minnesota is another team that has been looking a bit under the weather lately as they have won just two games in their last 12 tries. They have scored two goals or less in eight of those games which has the Minnesota brass scratching their heads. Jason Zucker sat out yesterday’s game with an upper-body injury which makes his status unclear for tonight’s contest. Zach Parise stepped up to take Zucker’s spot next to the team’s scoring leader in Mikael Granlund and center Mikko Koivu. Granlund has snared a surprising 67 points this season as he has led the Wild to second place in the Central Division. Chris Stewart miraculously finds his way back into the top six as he skates on the wing with Nino Niederreiter and Eric Staal. Stewart is more like an enforcer type player which has to affect the talent of his other two line mates. Staal is enjoying a bounce back season of sorts as he has found the score sheet 60 times this season and is three goals short of notching 30 goals which is something he has done six times so far in his career. Charlie Coyle and Jason Pominville skate on the third line which sees Coyle getting some of the extra time when the Wild draw a penalty. Look for defensemen Mathew Dumba and Ryan Suter try to jump start the team’s power play from the back line. Minnesota has struggled in this area as they have lit the lamp just once over the last six games while having the extra attacker. Regardless of how they have been playing the Wild should be able to take care of business here at home against the worst team in the league.
h3. Elite Plays
COL: None
MIN: Mikael Granlund
Secondary Plays
COL: Nathan MacKinnon, Sven Andrighetto, Tyson Barrie, Matt Duchene
MIN: Eric Staal, Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise, Charlie Coyle, Nino Niederreiter, Mathew Dumba
Dallas Stars at Tampa Bay Lightning
| Dallas Stars | Tampa Bay Lightning | ||||||||
 | Kari Lehtonen |  | Peter Budaj | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 32-35-11 | 38-29-10 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.69 | 3.07 | 17.90% | 74.00% | Team Stats | 2.79 | 2.79 | 22.90% | 81.00% |
The Stars wrecked the Hurricanes day yesterday and now can do the same thing to the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight. Tampa is just four points away from the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern conference and could surely use a win here. Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin have been reunited on the top line of a team that has certainly seen better days. Seguin leads the team with 70 points while Benn’s 67 points is right behind him on the team’s scoring chart. After that the points have come few and far between as Jason Spezza has registered 45 points in the 63 games he has suited up for. He skates on the team’s fourth line with Adam Cracknell which should actually be classified as the team’s second line when you consider what the other lines look like. Remi Elie, Cody Eakin and Brett Ritchie make up another one of those lines and I just listed them here so you can see what I am talking about. John Klingberg is the play from the back line as his 45 points are tied with Spezza for third on the team. Stick with the top four here unless you have money to burn.
Tampa squandered away a golden opportunity last night but were lucky enough to salvage a point out of their 2-1 overtime loss to Montreal last night. The Lightning are just four points away from the Bruins who own the last playoff spot in the eastern Conference, for now. With one game in hand and a date with the Bruins on Tuesday Tampa could surely make things interesting. They will have to start with a win against Dallas tonight though and will need to have a bit more focus than they showed last night. Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Ondrej Palat would be the go-to line here while Jonathan Drouin makes for a decent one-off play from the second line. Kucherov leads the team with 80 points while Drouin’s 21 goals and 30 assists has him third on the team in scoring. Defenseman Victor Hedman is probably one of the better cash game plays of the night from the back line. Not only does Hedman have eight points in the last six games to his credit, he also is second on the team with 66 points. 32 of them have come with the man advantage which also leads the team. Tampa needs a win here tonight and should be able to get the victory if they stay focused.
Elite Plays
DAL: Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin
TB: Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman
Secondary Plays
DAL: Jason Spezza, John Klingberg
TB: Jonathan Drouin, Ondrej Palat, Brayden Point
San Jose Sharks at Vancouver Canucks
| San Jose Sharks | Vancouver Canucks | ||||||||
 | Martin Jones |  | Ryan Miller | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 43-28-7 | 30-38-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.64 | 2.51 | 16.80% | 80.50% | Team Stats | 2.21 | 2.89 | 13.90% | 77.30% |
San Jose has been another team going in the wrong direction as they have won just one game over the last nine games. San Jose has eclipsed the two goal total just once which was in the game they beat the Rangers on overtime by a score of 5-4 last Tuesday night. Logan Couture won’t return until the team gets back on home ice which leaves them at an even bigger disadvantage tonight when you consider he is one of their top scorers. As you can imagine the Sharks have been another team that has been switching up their lines. Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton remain on the top line but have seen Melker Karlsson as their line mate while the second line could be the trio of Tomas Hertl, Mikkel Boedker and Jannik Hansen. Patrick Marleau has dumped to the third line once again to skate with Kevin Labanc and Chris Tierney. I’m not sure if this is a recipe for success but at least the sharks are trying to come up with a little chemistry to get them through this rough spot. Brent Burns is the play on the back line but has seen his price come down a bit as neither he nor the team are scoring many goals of late. Burns leads the team with 73 points while Pavelski’s 29 goals is tops on the team.
Vancouver may be better off calling in sick for their last five games as the team has been put of the playoff picture for a couple of weeks now. Henrik Sedin, Michael Chaput and Daniel Sedin skate on the top line while Bo Horvat, Sven Baertschi and Brock Boeser have looked just as anemic over the last three weeks. Horvat leads the team with 20 goals and 30 assists so maybe using him here as a one-off is the way to go. Brandon Sutter and Henrik Sedin lead the team with five points over the last nine games. Alexandre Edler leads the defensive corps in scoring with 20 points but I’m sure can find something better than this with 10 other games on the slate today. The only positive thing that the Canucks have going for them is that they have won 18 games on home ice while losing 15 games and losing in overtime in five others.
Elite Plays
SJ: Joe Pavelski
VAN: None
Secondary Plays
SJ: Brent Burns, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau
VAN: Bo Horvat, Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, Sven Baertschi
Philadelphia Flyers at New York Rangers
| Philadelphia Flyers | New York Rangers | ||||||||
 | Anthony Stolarz |  | Henrik Lundqvist | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 38-32-8 | 46-26-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.58 | 2.87 | 19.90% | 79.80% | Team Stats | 3.14 | 2.64 | 19.90% | 79.40% |
Whenever these two division rivals get together you can be rest assured that you will see a spirited hockey game. The Flyers are still not mathematically out of the playoffs as yet but they are very close and one false move could seal their fate tonight. Jordan Weal has been a surprise of late as he has scored goals in each of the last four games while playing on two different lines. He has been bumped up to the top line with Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek who should draw the most attention from the Rangers best defensive line. Wayne Simmonds was able to grab his 30th goal of the season during the week as it looks like he will indeed once again lead the team in that category when all is said and done. Brayden Schenn and Valtteri Filppula are his line mates at even strength and could be worth a look here as they serve as the team’s second scoring line. Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere continues to look like the player he was at the end of last season as he has recorded five of his 36 points over the last two weeks and could be looked at as both a cash game play and tournament play as well. Although the Flyers have won their last four games the effort seems to be a little too late as they are two points away from being eliminated from the playoffs as Boston has a comfortable six point lead on them with four games to go.
Maybe the Rangers picked a bad time to lose five of their last six games but the fact of the matter is that they are still going to participate in this year’s end of the season tournament as there 98 points is good enough for fourth place in the Metropolitan Division. The top line of Derek Stepan, Mats Zuccarello and Chris Kreider is the go-to line here much like they have been all season. Zuccarello leads the team with 56 points while Kreider’s 27 goals is tops on the team. New York has seen 11 different players reach the 30 point mark this season which has helped the team get to where they are today. Mika Zibanejad and Rick Nash skate on the second line with the younger Pavel Buchnevich and could be looked at for tournament play here. Zibanejad and Nash have combined for six goals and five assists over the last six games and although they skate on the second line, they should be able to get some looks at the net especially with the Flyers rookie goaltender Anthony Stolarz playing in his first NHL back-to-back situation tonight. J.T. Miller skates on the third line and is tied with Zuccarello for the team lead in points and has been able to find the score sheet eight times over the last month. Ryan McDonagh is the safer play from the back line as he mans the point when the team has the extra attacker. Brady Skjei is making noise again as well as he has notched five of his 38 points over the last eight games. the rangers need to get back on track here but I wouldn’t look for the flyers to just hand them the game.
Elite Plays
PHL: Wayne Simmonds
NYR: Mats Zuccarello
Secondary Plays
PHL: Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, Shayne Gostisbehere, Brayden Schenn, Jordan Weal
NYR: Derek Stepan, Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, Ryan McDonagh
Anaheim Ducks at Calgary Flames
| Anaheim Ducks | Calgary Flames | ||||||||
 | Jonathan Bernier |  | Brian Elliott | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 42-23-13 | 44-30-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.64 | 2.43 | 18.60% | 85.00% | Team Stats | 2.73 | 2.67 | 20.10% | 81.50% |
The NHL has made an effort to schedule more divisional games at the end of the season in hopes that they will mean a little more in terms of not only teams making the playoffs but determining the seedings as well. This game will help the latter here as Anaheim is tied with Edmonton for first place in the Pacific Division while the Flames are just one point away from the slumping third place San Jose Sharks. The Ducks lost in the extra frame last night to Edmonton which actually gave the oilers the extra point to create the tie for the division crown. There are four games left to determine who will actually wear the crown as the Ducks face yet another tough divisional rival tonight in the Calgary Flames. Although it looks like the Ducks have flip-flopped Ryan Getzlaf with Ryan Kesler I am pretty sure that was just to get something going in last night’s game. I would be awfully surprised is the Ducks would stray from Getzlaf , Rickard Rakell and Patrick Eaves being their first line which has done pretty well since they have been together. Conversely the chemistry between Kesler and Jakob Silfverberg has produced a combined 101 points so far this season which is an indicator that the Ducks have become a little more than the one-line team they seemed to have been in the past. Corey Perry is the one-off here as he skates on the team’s third line but has been able to light the lamp four times over the last six games. His five points over that time frame has pushed him over the 50 point mark for the season. Defensemen Cam Fowler is the choice from the back line as his 38 points is 15 points more than Sami Vatanen who would be the alternate choice on the back line if you wanted to mix it up a bit for tournament play.
The Flames have been a better team this year thanks to the play of guys like Mikael Backlund and Matthew Tkachuk who have given the team a duo that can be reliable from the second line. Calgary will look to move into third place in the Pacific Division and improve their playoff seeding tonight as they host the Anaheim Ducks. If they are to achieve that goal the will need Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan to keep playing the way they have over the last few weeks that has seen both players combine for eight goals and 15 assists over the last seven games. Not only do both players skate on the team’s top line they also anchor the top power play unit together as well. Gaudreau leads the team with 60 points while Monahan’s 27 goals is tops on the team. The back line is the same as it ever was as T.J. Brodie soaks up a lot of power play minutes while Dougie Hamilton finds himself just one point shy of the 50 point plateau. Stick with Hamilton here as the Flames look to improve on their 24-16 record in front of the home crowd tonight.
Elite Plays
ANA: Ryan Getzlaf
CGY: Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan
Secondary Plays
ANA: Patrick Eaves, Rickard Rakell, Ryan Kesler, Corey Perry, Cam Fowler
CGY: Mikael Backlund, Matthew Tkachuk, Dougie Hamilton