NHL Grind Down: Sunday, April 3rd

by John Britt (jmbwngfn) Last Updated 2016-04-04 01:32:54

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 writeups are done prior to lineups being released, so make sure to check our Starting Lineups page to ensure the recommended options are playing.

Note: As always, if you want to try a new DFS site, be sure to click through a RotoGrinders link and use our DraftKings promo code and FanDuel promo code to receive the best perks in the industry.

Boston Bruins at Chicago Blackhawks – 12:30 PM EDT

Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Boston Bruins					Chicago Blackhawks
			Tuukka Rask					Scott Darling
			Record					Record
			41-29-8					45-26-7
Team Stats	2.88	2.73	21.20%	82.30%	Team Stats	2.78	2.49	21.60%	79.70%

The Bruins picked up an enormously important victory in St. Louis on Friday night, but with their playoff hopes still hanging in the balance, they’ll head to the Mad House on Madison this afternoon looking to steal two points from the Chicago Blackhawks. Boston finds themselves one point behind the Detroit Red Wings for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and will have their hands full as Chicago not only owns a 24-11-3 record at the United Center, but have also allowed a league b est 1.97 goals against per game on home ice this season. While the trio of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Loui Eriksson join forces on the top and are all three very dangerous offensively, they’ll also likely draw a full attention from the defensively stout Toews/Hossa/Ladd line. With that in mind, David Krejci (with Beleskey and Pastrnak) climb up the rankings a bit. With that said, the Blackhawks have posted the 29th ranked penalty kill since the All-Star break (74.4%), so grabbing exposure to the Boston power-play looks like a prudent move. Defensively, Torey Krug and Zdeno Chara soak up the lions share of the minutes on the power-play and are therefore fine options on the blue line despite the tough matchup.

Despite being right in the thick of things in the Western Conference playoff race, it’s somewhat unlikely that Chicago will change their playoff seeding in either direction over the next four games. With that said, Joel Queneville will looking for his team to gain momentum going into the playoffs and will look to send a message that Chicago is very much still a cup contender this season. With Toews, Hossa and Ladd likely focused fairly heavily on their defensive duties in this one, I’ll be looking toward the Patrick Kane line to lead the charge offensively. Kane looks like he’ll run wire-to-wire as the NHL scoring leader, and after a goal and an assist on Friday night, sits just four points shy of his first career 100 point season. Artemi Panarin snapped out of scoring funk with a monster four point game against Winnipeg on Friday and the Calder Trophy hopeful has proven to score in bunches during his rookie campaign. On defense, with Duncan Keith suspended, Brent Seabrook is set for a very heavy workload and a full compliment of minutes running things from the point of the top power-play unit.

Boston Bruins

CF%: 49, CP60: 110.5, 5×5 Differential: 8
Elite Options: Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Krejci
Secondary Options: Loui Eriksson, Matt Beleskey, Torey Krug, Zdeno Chara

Chicago Blackhawks

CF%: 51, CP60: 109.6, 5×5 Differential: -5
Elite Options: Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin, Brent Seabrook
Secondary Options: Jonathan Toews, Andrew Ladd, Teuvo Teravainen, Artem Anisimov

Philadelphia Flyers at Pittsburgh Penguins – 03:00 PM EDT

Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Philadelphia Flyers					Pittsburgh Penguins
			Steve Mason					Matt Murray
			Record					Record
			39-25-13					45-25-8
Team Stats	2.57	2.52	19.00%	80.30%	Team Stats	2.88	2.41	18.60%	83.60%

The Flyers won yet another game against the Ottawa Senators yesterday afternoon, but won’t have much time to enjoy it as they’ll head to the Consol Energy Center for tonight’s important clash with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Philadelphia has posted a 13-3-2 record over their last 18 games to climb firmly into the mix for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. While Pittsburgh represents a very tough challenge, don’t ignore Philadelphia’s recent success. While the Flyers have plenty of forward depth, Dave Hakstol relies heavily on his top line to carry the offensive load. Claude Giroux leads the way with 65 points in 74 games and centers this top line with Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds on his wings. Wayne Simmonds exploded for two goals and an assist yesterday afternoon and scored 14 goals and added 13 assists in 30 games since the All-Star break. Jakub Voracek is in the midst of a forgettable season (by his standards) but does join those three on the top power-play unit and dished out two assists yesterday. On defense, Shayne Gostisbehere continues his impressive rookie season and deserves serious consideration for the Calder Trophy. He’s posted 42 points in 59 games, quarterbacks the #1 power-play unit and already owns a pair of assists in two meetings with Pittsburgh.

With a 5-0 impressive victory over the New York Islanders yesterday, the Penguins have now won 10 of their last 11 games and suddenly look like a very dangerous team heading into the playoffs. While the Evgeni Malkin injury figured to be very damaging for this team’s playoff hopes, it simply looks to have brought them closer together. After a disappointing first half of the season with his new team, Phil Kessel has caught fire lately with five goals and five assists in the last five games and once again gives Mike Sullivan a quality secondary scoring line alongside Nick Bonino and Carl Hagelin. Sidney Crosby has exploded since the All-Star break, tallying 15 goals, 25 assists and a plus 22 in 30 second half games. He’s recorded at least one point in 17 of his last 18 games and owns a goal and three assists in the two prior meetings with Philadelphia. He’ll be flanked by Patric Hornqvist and Chris Kunitz on the top line making all three very nice options tonight. On defense, Kris Letang is easily the top option if you can afford him but be sure to monitor his status as game-time approaches as he appeared to injure himself last night. If he’s unable to go for any reason, both Justin Schultz and Trevor Daley would see an dramatically increased workload.

Philadelphia Flyers

CF%: 50.2, CP60: 114, 5×5 Differential: 7
Elite Options: Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds, Shayne Gostisbehere
Secondary Options: Brayden Schenn, Jakub Voracek, Michael Raffl, Mark Streit

Pittsburgh Penguins

CF%: 53, CP60: 109.6, 5×5 Differential: 29
Elite Options: Sidney Crosby, Patric Hornqvist, Phil Kessel, Kris Letang
Secondary Options: Chris Kunitz, Carl Hagelin, Justin Schultz, Trevor Daley

Minnesota Wild at Winnipeg Jets – 07:00 PM EDT

Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Minnesota Wild					Winnipeg Jets
			Devan Dubnyk					Ondrej Pavelec
			Record					Record
			38-30-11					31-39-8
Team Stats	2.67	2.46	19.30%	78.60%	Team Stats	2.53	2.91	13.90%	78.70%

With a win tonight and a Colorado loss in St. Louis, the Minnesota Wild can finally clinch a playoff spot in the Western Conference. They dropped a tightly contested decision to the Red Wings on Friday night but do own a 15-8-1 record since the middle of February. John Torchetti looks to have found success with three balanced scoring lines, but the Parise, Koivu and Coyle line is clearly the most dangerous options. Parise has racked up seven goals and four assists in his last six games and his slow start to the season is now well in the rear-view mirror. With that said, it’s actually Mikko Koivu that leads this team with 55 points and he sees a fantasy boost as the center of the #1 power-play as Winnipeg has struggled on their penalty kill all season. Former first round pick Nino Niederreiter is worth a look as a GPP flier as he just wrapped up a month of March that saw him score eight goals and dish out five assists in 15 games. Ryan Suter facilitates things from the point of the top power-play unit and is in the midst of the best offensive season of his impressive career. The workhorse blue-liner has racked up 51 points in 79 games and has racked up five points in the last five games.

Winnipeg was officially eliminated from the playoffs weeks ago and look to have packed things in as they’ve dropped four straight games and own an ugly 9-15-5 record since the All-Star break. With the Wild playing solid defense down the stretch and hungry to clinch a playoff birth, there’s not a ton to love here from Winnipeg. With that said, they have taken three of the four prior meetings between these two teams and the duo of Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler has been a matchup problem for opposing defenses. Scheifele has thrived alongside Wheeler since the Bryan Little injury and will put a six game point streak on the line tonight. He’s racked up 14 goals and 14 assists in his last 22 games while Wheeler scored a pair of goals against the Blackhawks on Friday and now owns 22 goals and 50 assists in 78 games. On defense, Dustin Byfuglien remains the most dangerous offensive weapon on the blue-line and can rack up fantasy points in a plethora of ways. He posted a three point game against Chicago on Friday and owns a goal and three assists in four games against Minnesota.

Minnesota Wild

CF%: 47.6, CP60: 105.5, 5×5 Differential: 15
Elite Options: Zach Parise, Mikko Koivu, Ryan Suter
Secondary Options: Nino Niederreiter, Charlie Coyle, Jason Pominville, Matt Dumba

Winnipeg Jets

CF%: 51.7, CP60: 107.1, 5×5 Differential: -3
Elite Options: Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele, Dustin Byfuglien
Secondary Options: Nikolaj Ehlers, Jacob Trouba

St. Louis Blues at Colorado Avalanche – 08:00 PM EDT

Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
St. Louis Blues					Colorado Avalanche
								Semyon Varlamov
			Record					Record
			46-23-9					39-35-4
Team Stats	2.64	2.41	21.50%	84.50%	Team Stats	2.60	2.85	18.90%	81.50%

With the Dallas Stars making a late push for the top seed in the Western Conference, the Blues absolutely need two points tonight to avoid a first round matchup with the defending Stanley Cup champions. After dropping the first three decisions against the Colorado Avalanche, the Blues finally picked up a win against them earlier this week. The Blues have posted a 11-3-0 record over their last 14 games, and with Alex Steen back in action, they now have three very dangerous scoring lines. Steen will join the top line alongside Jori Lehtera and Vladimir Tarasenko making all three nice options in all formats. Steen has already racked up three assists in two games since returning to the lineup and is one of the most underrated players in the league. His promotion to the top line means Jaden Schwartz will drop down to play alongside Patrik Berglund and David Backes at even strength, while also seeing a healthy dose of playing time on the #2 power-play. On defense, Kevn Shattenkirk has established himself as the top option has grabbed the reigns as the point-man on the top power-play. Meanwhile, both Alex Piertangelo and Colton Parayko share the duties on the point of the second power-play unit.

Patrick Roy’s squad has dropped two games in a row and their playoff hopes are literally on life support as they can be elimated tonight. The Avalanche will once again be without Nathan Mackinnon tonight and they’ve struggled to find consistent scoring without him down the stretch. Matt Duchene leads the team in scoring with 56 points and centers the top line alongside Mikkel Boedker and Mikhail Grigorenko while centering Gabriel Landeskog and Jarome Iginla on the top power-play unit. Landeskog has taken a small step backwards this season, but did score a goal and add an assist against Washington on Friday and has been far more productive on home-ice this season as he’s posted 13 goals and 19 assists in 38 games at the Pepsi Center. Tyson Barrie has been an offensive force for Colorado on the blue-line all season and now owns 48 points in 74 games. He’s already picked up three assists in four games against St. Louis this season and is locked into 20+ minutes of ice-time per game.

St. Louis Blues

CF%: 51.9, CP60: 106.5, 5×5 Differential: 17
Elite Options: Vladimir Tarasenko, Alex Steen, Kevin Shattenkirk
Secondary Options: Jaden Schwartz, David Backes, Paul Stastny, Alex Pietrangelo

Colorado Avalanche

CF%: 44, CP60: 111.1, 5×5 Differential: -11
Elite Options: Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog, Tyson Barrie
Secondary Options: Jarome Iginla, Mikkel Boedker, Mikhail Grigorenko, Erik Johnson

Dallas Stars at Anaheim Ducks – 09:00 PM EDT

Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Dallas Stars					Anaheim Ducks
			Kari Lehtonen					Frederik Andersen
			Record					Record
			48-22-9					43-24-10
Team Stats	3.25	2.80	22.10%	81.90%	Team Stats	2.64	2.34	23.40%	86.70%

Dallas picked up another huge win last night in Los Angeles and can really put a stranglehold on the #1 seed in the Western Conference with a win tonight over the Ducks at the Honda Center. They’ve won four straight games (7 of their last 8) and are looking like a legit cup contender with Tyler Seguin likely ready to return for the start of the playoffs. Jamie Benn has been on fire, scoring five goals in his last four games and now sitting with 41 goals and 47 assists in 79 games this season. He’s elevates the games of Cody Eakin and Patrick Sharp on the top line and all three players are in play tonight despite the tough matchup. Jason Spezza joins Benn on the top power-play unit and has tallied nine goals and five assists in 15 games since the beginning of March. Patrick Eaves joins those two up-front on the top power-play unit, and with goals in back-to-back games, looks like a nice value option. On defense, John Klingberg continues to put up big offensive numbers as he’s tallied 56 points in 73 games (and a +22) and runs the point of the #1 power-play. While he’s a fine option regardless of his matchup, the Anaheim’s NHL best 86.7% penalty kill is a bit of a buzz-kill.

With the Ducks trailing the Los Angeles Kings by a single point for the lead in the Pacific division, this game looks like the headliner of the evening. Anaheim saw their three game winning streak snapped with a disappointing loss against Vancouver on Friday night but this team has been rolling since the middle of January. Bruce Boudreau has reunited Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf on the top forward line (along with Jamie McGinn) and their top-tier options tonight against a Dallas team that’s the fastest paced team in the NHL this season. Alternatively, Ryan Kesler has found his scoring touch lately with five goals and ten assists in his last 13 games. He won’t receive as much attention across the industry and centers the #2 power-play unit with Brandon Pirri and Jakob Silfverberg. On defense, Cam Fowler and Sami Vatanen share the duties on the top power-play unit and are solid cash game options. Rookie Shea Theodore has shown plenty of offensive upside in his limited action at the NHL and is set for a healthy dose of playing time on the second power-play unit.

Dallas Stars

CF%: 52.5, CP60: 116.9, 5×5 Differential: 10
Elite Options: Jamie Benn, Jason Spezza
Secondary Options: Cody Eakin, Patrick Sharp, Patrick Eaves, Ales Hemsky, John Klingberg

Anaheim Ducks

CF%: 52.7, CP60: 107.7, 5×5 Differential: -4
Elite Options: Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Sami Vatanen
Secondary Options: Ryan Kesler, Jamie McGinn, Jakob Silfverberg, Cam Fowler, Shea Theodore