NHL Grind Down: Sunday, December 27th

by John Britt (jmbwngfn) Last Updated 2015-12-29 01:37:17

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 Ottawa Senators – 05:00 PM EST

Boston Bruins					Ottawa Senators
			Tuukka Rask					Craig Anderson
			Record					Record
			19-11-4					17-12-6
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	3.09	2.65	27.90%	81.80%	Team Stats	2.91	2.86	19.30%	78.00%

The Bruins had nearly a week to think about their shutout loss against the St. Louis Blues, but still came out flat last night in a 6-3 loss against the Buffalo Sabres. They’ll head to Ottawa tonight for the opener of a home-and-home series with the Senators and these two teams will get very familiar with each other as they play three times in the next 12 days. The Bruins do possess to very capable scoring lines, but I’m expecting the outcome of this game to be decided with special teams. With the Bruins owning a league best 27.9% power-play and Ottawa coming in with an unsightly 78.0% penalty kill, it looks wise to grab some exposure to the Bruins power-play. Patrice Bergeron trails only Patrick Kane with 16 power-play points this season and becomes a premier play at the center position. Loui Eriksson, Ryan Spooner and David Krejci join him upfront on the top-power play unit and Torey Krug is an excellent option on the blue-line as dangerous weapon from the point. Alternatively, both Brad Marchand and Zdeno Chara are the household names on the second power-play unit making both intriguing GPP options.

The Senators limped into the mini holiday break having lost two straight games and owning just a 3-5-1 record over their last nine games. Still, they find them right in the thick of the playoff race in the Atlantic Division and have been much more competitive this season on their home ice. They’ll open up a home-and-home series with the division Rival Boston Bruins tonight at the Canadian Tire Centre and these two games could go a long way towards determining the trajectory for the second half of the season. With the Buffalo Sabres hanging six goals on the Bruins last night, there’s some intrigued to this lineup today, but don’t get too carried away as Tuukka Rask will be back between the pipes. Bobby Ryan should be back in the lineup today and will likely join Mika Zibanejad and Mike Hoffman on the top forward line. Both Hoffman and Ryan have put up huge numbers offensively this season but their fantasy outlook does take a major hit with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand likely shadowing them all over the ice. This puts more scoring weight on the shoulders of Kyle Turris, Mark Stone and Zack Smith on the second line, with both Turris and Stone being my preferred targets. On defense, Erik Karlsson leads all NHL defenseman in nearly every significant offensive catagory is clearly a fine play in all formats if you can afford him.

Elite Options

BOS: Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Loui Eriksson, Torey Krug
OTT: Kyle Turris, Mark Stone, Erik Karlsson

Secondary Options

BOS: Ryan Spooner, Brad Marchand, Matt Beleskey, Zdeno Chara
OTT: Bobby Ryan, Mike Hoffman, Mika Zibanejad

Columbus Blue Jackets at Florida Panthers – 06:00 PM EST

Columbus Blue Jackets					Florida Panthers
			Sergei Bobrovsky					Roberto Luongo
			Record					Record
			13-21-3					19-12-4
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.41	3.14	17.40%	79.80%	Team Stats	2.57	2.29	18.60%	80.50%

Columbus was outclassed in Tampa Bay last night and enters tonight’s game against Florida in the cellar of the Metropolitan Division. Despite their struggles, the Blue Jackets do have plenty of offensive firepower, but they’ve really spread their scoring across three different forward lines and pinpointing where tonight’s damage may come from is quite difficult. The Florida Panthers have allowed the third fewest goals per game in the NHL this season (2.29 GA/G), and with 17 other teams to choose from this evening, I won’t be targeting Columbus in my cash games. With that said, both Scott Hartnell and Alexander Wenneberg have formed a nice chemistry and combined for 7 goals and 15 assists in 12 games this month.

The Florida Panthers hit the break as one of the hottest teams in the NHL. They’ve rattled off five straight victories and own a 11-3-0 record over their last 14 games. With a Columbus Blue Jackets team that has allowed an ugly 3.08 goals per game this season coming to South Florida, there’s plenty to like from the Panthers tonight. Offensively, Florida is carried by two very solid top scoring lines with Jaromir Jagr leading the charge on the top line alongside Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau. Jagr has posted 10 goals and 15 assists in 32 games and remains a very dangerous offensive weapon even at 43 years old. Jussi Jokinen is just behind Jagr for the team lead in points with 23 and he headlines the second line with the talented Vincent Trocheck and Reilly Smith. All six forwards listed above see a healthy dose of playing time with the man-advantage where they’ll get a crack at Columbus’ mediocre 81.0% penalty kill. On defense, the 19 year-old Aaron Ekblad looks destined for stardom. He’s followed up a Calder Trophy rookie season with a solid eight goals and eight assists in 35 games and is averaging over 21 minutes of ice-time per game. While he’s the top option on the blue-line, Brian Campbell continues to be a dangerous weapon on the point of the #2 power-play unit and comes at a very reasonable price-point across the industry.

Elite Options

CBJ: Scott Hartnell
FLA: Jaromir Jagr, Jonathan Huberdeau, Aaron Ekblad

Secondary Options

CBJ: Alexander Wennberg, Nick Foligno, Brandon Saad, Ryan Johansen, Ryan Murray
FLA: Aleksander Barkov, Vincent Trocheck, Jussi Jokinen, Brandon Pirri, Brian Campbell

Toronto Maple Leafs at New York Islanders – 06:00 PM EST

Toronto Maple Leafs					New York Islanders
			Jonathan Bernier					Jaroslav Halak
			Record					Record
			12-14-7					19-11-5
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.52	2.70	21.20%	79.40%	Team Stats	2.66	2.29	18.40%	87.00%

In a first half of a home-and-home series, the Maple Leafs head to Brooklyn tonight to battle the New York Islanders. Toronto was disappointed by a 3-2 loss in Arizona on Tuesday night, but they’ve steadily been improving all season. They’ve quietly posted a solid 10-6-3 record over their last 19 games and are clearly starting to catch on to Mike Babcock’s system. Nearly all of Toronto’s offense has been supplied by one of their two top forward lines, but it’s been the Komarov, Kadri, Grabner line clicking lately. Komarov has been particularly hot with five goals and five assists in nine games this month. Tyler Bozak has racked up four goals and five assists during the same time frame and he’s slated to center the top line alongside James van Riemsdyk and P.A. Parenteau. Opposing the very imposing defense from Frans Nielsen is not ideal, but the Leafs two-headed scoring attack makes it a bit unclear who he’ll be looking to shadow. Dion Phaneuf, Jake Gardiner and Morgan Rielly have all flashed offensive upside, and while they’re fine GPP targets, the Islanders very impressive 87.0% penalty kill makes them a bit less desirable for cash games.

It’s been a streaky season for the Islanders thus far, but the scheduling gods did them a few favors as they come out of the short holiday break and it’s a terrific time for this team to make a push if they’re ever going to challenge the Metropolitan leading Washington Capitals. Offensively, it’s a two-headed monster for the Islanders as the top two scoring lines are responsible for nearly all of the team’s scoring. John Tavares and Kyle Okposo are the two most dangerous weapons as linemates on the top forward line (along with Brock Nelson) and I expect both to be quiet heavily owned this evening (for good reason). Alternatively, Frans Nielsen continues to fly under-the-radar a bit but centers a very capable second line with Josh Bailey and Anders Lee. All six forwards mentioned also see a healthy dose of playing time with the man-advantage and should be eager to get a crack at the Maple Leafs’ subpar 79.4% penalty kill. That poor penalty kill also pushes Nick Leddy, Johnny Boychuck and Marek Zidlicky up my rankings on the blue-line.

Elite Options

TOR: Tyler Bozak, Leo Komarov, James van Riemsdyk
NYI: John Tavares, Kyle Okposo, Frans Nielsen

Secondary Options

TOR: Nazem Kadri, P.A. Parenteau, Dion Phaneuf
NYI: Josh Bailey, Brock Nelson, Anders Lee, Nick Leddy, Johnny Boychuk, Marek Zidlicky

St. Louis Blues at Dallas Stars – 06:00 PM EST

St. Louis Blues					Dallas Stars
								Kari Lehtonen
			Record					Record
			22-11-4					26-7-3
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.51	2.32	21.40%	87.40%	Team Stats	3.47	2.47	23.10%	80.00%

The Blues picked up a shoot-out victory against the Dallas Stars last night, but the scene will shift to Texas this evening for round number two. The Blues out-shot the Stars rather handidly last night (37 to 24) and could make a huge statement to the Central Division if they can pick up two more points this evening. Vladimir Tarasenko has not only established himself as the most dangerous scoring option on St. Louis, but he’s tied with Jamie Benn for the league lead in goals (22). With the Backes, Brouwer, Steen line setting their sites on slowing down the Benn/Seguin duo, Coach Hitchcock will need the line of Tarasenko, Paajarvi and Stastny to be in attack mode. Alternatively, Robby Fabbri is proving why he was selected in the 1st round of last year’s NHL draft as the rookie has potted goals in three straight games. On defense, Kevin Shattenkirk remains the top option with both Alex Pietrangelo and Colton Parayko both very fine options as well.

Tonight is a huge game for the Dallas Stars as a win would push their lead to 9 points in the Central Division, but a regulation loss could cut the cap to just five and shift all of the momentum towards St. Louis (and even the Chicago Blackhawks). Breaking down the Stars is pretty simple, and although the matchup against the Backes/Steen/Bouwer line is far from ideal, Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn remain the top two players to target. They’ve combined for points on the same goal more than any other duo in the NHL this season (31 goals). Patrick Sharp is slated to join those two on the top line and that’s obviously a tremndous boost to his fantasy value. Jason Spezza saw his three game winning streak snapped last night but is still a compelling GPP play alongside the very talented Valeri Nichushkin and Ales Hemsky. John Klingberg has slowed his offensive pace a bit lately, but he still holds the reigns as the point-man on the #1 power-play unit and has racked up 32 points in 36 games.

Elite Options

STL: Vladimir Tarasenko, Paul Stastny, Alexander Steen, Kevin Shattenkirk
DAL: Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, John Klingberg

Secondary Options

STL: Magnus Paajarvi, David Backes, Robby Fabbri, Alex Pietrangelo, Colton Parayko
DAL: Patrick Sharp, Jason Spezza, Valeri Nichushkin, Ales Hemsky

Carolina Hurricanes at Chicago Blackhawks – 07:00 PM EST

Carolina Hurricanes					Chicago Blackhawks
			Cam Ward					Corey Crawford
			Record					Record
			14-16-5					20-12-4
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.37	2.89	17.70%	77.10%	Team Stats	2.64	2.42	21.60%	82.00%

The Hurricanes have actually been playing very solid lately (6-3-1 in their last ten), but it’s very tough to get excited about anyone here as they head to the United Center to take on the defending Stanley Cup champions. Justin Faulk remains the top fantasy option on this team as the defenseman leads the team with 29 points and has already racked up 15 points from the point of the #1 power-play unit. While the top forward line of Eric Staal, Kris Versteeg and Elias Lindholm has put up respectable numbers this season, playing opposite the tandem of Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa is one of the toughest matchups on the board. Jeff Skinner and Victor Rask look to have developed a nice chemistry and will likely be almost completely overloooked considering their very solid production lately.

The Blackhawks saw a three game winning streak snapped on Tuesday as they were shutout by the Central Division leading Dallas Stars. With five days to dwell on that performance, they should be very hungry to get back on the winning track tonight as they host the Carolina Hurricanes. They expect to have Marian Hossa back in action tonight and he’ll join up with Jonathan Toews (and Teuov Teravainen) to create an excellent two-way forward line that can seemingly finally turn their attention away from being a “shut-down” line and open things up a bit in the offensive zone against the Hurricanes somewhat slate offense. With that said, Patrick Kane is running away with the scoring title this season and leads both Artemi Panarin and Artem Anisimov as Chicago’s most dangerous scoring line. All six forwards mentioned above are slated for plenty of run with the man advantage which is a big fantasy boost against the Hurricanes ugly 76.8% penalty kill. That poor penalty kill also solidifies both Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith as top tier options on the blue-line.

Elite Options

CAR: Justin Faulk
CHI: Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook

Secondary Options

CAR: Eric Staal, Jeff Skinner, Kris Versteeg, Victor Rask
CHI: Artem Anisimov, Marian Hossa, Teuvo Teravainen

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