NHL Grind Down: Sunday, December 27th - Page Two
Arizona Coyotes at Colorado Avalanche – 08:00 PM EST
| Arizona Coyotes | Colorado Avalanche | ||||||||
 | Mike Smith |  | Semyon Varlamov | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 16-15-2 | 17-17-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.73 | 3.15 | 14.40% | 81.30% | Team Stats | 2.83 | 2.77 | 17.60% | 79.20% |
The Coyotes have been heading in the wrong direction for some time now and own just a 3-6-1 record during the month of December. With a busy nine game slate to work with, they simply don’t deserve too much of your research time. However, Colorado has played spotty defense all season and each of their top two forward lines have shown at least some offensive upside. Mikkel Boedker and Max Domi are tied for the team lead with 26 points and are the top options up front. On defense, Oliver Ekman-Larsson lit the lamp twice last night against Los Angeles and is the top fantasy option.
Colorado has rattled off five straight impressive victories heading towards the break, but saw their momentum slammed to a stop as they fell 7-4 against the Maple Leafs on Monday. However, they own an 8-3-0 record during the month of December and have a nice home matchup on tap tonight against the struggling Arizona Coyotes. Patrick Roy has made life very easy for DFS players as a disproportionate amount of his offense is created by his electric #1 forward line of Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Matt Duchene. All three players look like top-tier options at their respective positions. On defense, Tyson Barrie has racked up three goals and five assists in 11 games this month and holds the reigns as the point-man on the #1 power-play unit (alongside Erik Johnson) which bodes well for him against the Coyotes mediocre 81.3% penalty kill.
Elite Options
ARI: Oliver Ekman-Larsson
COL: Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, Matt Duchene, Tyson Barrie
Secondary Options
ARI: Max Domi, Mikkel Boedker, Antoine Vermette
COL: Jarome Iginla, Carl Soderberg, Erik Johnson, Francois Beauchemin
Philadelphia Flyers at Anaheim Ducks – 08:00 PM EST
| Philadelphia Flyers | Anaheim Ducks | ||||||||
 | Steve Mason |  | Frederik Andersen | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 15-12-7 | 12-15-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.15 | 2.62 | 16.30% | 80.20% | Team Stats | 1.85 | 2.55 | 15.70% | 87.70% |
It’s been nearly a week since the Flyers picked up an impressive victory against the St. Louis Blues and the team has bounced back from a poor start to the season with a 8-2-2 record over their last 12 games. Jakub Voracek was one of the most disappointing players in the league early on this season, but looks to have turned things around with a pair of goals and eight assists in the last 10 games. He’s joined by Wayne Simmonds and Sean Couturier on the second line with all three players also seeing a healthy dose of playing time with the man advantage. Claude Giroux headlines both the top scoring line and the #1 power-play unit and remains the most dangerous offensive weapon on this team. With Mark Streit still a few days away from returning to action, Shayne Gostisbehere remains one of the best value plays on the board. The 22 year-old has racked up 6 goals and added 8 assists in just 18 games and has proven to be a major weapon on the point of the Flyer’s #1 power-play unit.
Last year’s #1 seed in the Western Conference has been abysmal thus far in the 2015-16 season. They enter tonight’s game owning just a 12-15-6 record and their 1.85 goals per game this season is hands-down the worst in the NHL. A matchup against the Flyers is not one to shy away from, but it’s just difficult to get too excited about anyone from this team right now. Obviously, Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf are elite NHL talents and lead the Ducks in scoring. While they’re fine options tonight, they still remain relatively expensive across the industry and that makes them better suited for GPP use. It looks like Patrick Maroon has stolen the left-wing position away from Rickard Rackell on that top line, making Maroon an intriguing value play from an opportunity stand-point alone. On defense, both Sami Vatanen and Cam Fowler are safe cash game targets, but don’t quite offer the ceiling to make an overly compelling case for them in GPP’s.
Elite Options
PHI: Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds, Shayne Gostisbehere
ANA: Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry
Secondary Options
PHI: Brayden Schenn, Sean Couturier, Michael Raffl
ANA: Patrick Maroon, Sami Vatanen, Cam Fowler
Pittsburgh Penguins at Winnipeg Jets – 08:00 PM EST
| Pittsburgh Penguins | Winnipeg Jets | ||||||||
 | Marc-Andre Fleury |  | Ondrej Pavelec | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 17-14-3 | 15-17-2 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.29 | 2.44 | 16.50% | 83.00% | Team Stats | 2.71 | 3.03 | 13.90% | 77.30% |
The Penguins picked up not only a much needed victory against the Wild last night, but they also welcomed Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang back to the lineup. It’s been a disappointing season in Pittsburgh, but this team simply has too much firepower to struggle for long and it’s really only a matter of time until they mold back into a team that puts fear into the eyes of the other 15 Eastern Conference teams. With Crosby back in action, the Penguins once again have two of the most dangerous forward lines in the NHL. Crosby picked up a goal and an assist last night and leads Chris Kunitz and David Perron on the top line. That leaves super-star Evgeni Malkin to center Patric Hornqvist and impressive looking rookie Conor Sheary on the second line. With that said, they’ll face a Jets team that is the second most penalized team in the NHL this season, so you’ll want to target the Penguins power-play here. The #1 power-play unit looks flat out lethal on paper as Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel, Patric Hornqvist, Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang looks like a lineup we’d see in an all-star game.
The Jets lost both games on their short two-game road trip prior to the holiday break and look to be nearly on life-support in the Central Division already. They’ll open a quick two-game home stand tonight against Pittsburgh before heading out on a west-coast road trip that could really bury them if they can’t turn things around soon. Winnipeg has been fairly simple to break-down from a fantasy perspective all season as they have two strong forward lines that both deserve your attention and then Dustin Byfuglien on the blue-line. Blake Wheeler leads the team with 35 points and has posted a goal and nine assists in nine games this month. He’s the top option, but Mark Scheifele and Mathieu Perreault have also played very well lately and their likely lower ownership rates make them strong GPP targets.
Elite Options
PIT: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Patric Hornqvist, Kris Letang
WPG: Blake Wheeler, Bryan Little, Mark Scheifele, Dustin Byfuglien
Secondary Options
PIT: Chris Kunitz, David Perron, Conor Sheary, Olli Maatta
WPG: Mathieu Perreault, Drew Stafford, Andrew Ladd
Edmonton Oilers at Calgary Flames – 09:00 PM EST
| Edmonton Oilers | Calgary Flames | ||||||||
 | Ben Scrivens |  | Jonas Hiller | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 15-18-2 | 16-16-2 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.54 | 3.03 | 17.60% | 81.30% | Team Stats | 2.65 | 3.29 | 11.40% | 73.90% |
The Oilers have been gaining momentum for weeks now and look to be in a terrific spot tonight against the NHL’s worst defensive team, the Calgary Flames. Not only have the Oilers put up nice offensive numbers lately, but they’ve been rather predictable in doing so. Their top line is headlined by Taylor Hall who leads the team with 15 goals and 24 assists in 36 games. He’s really clicked with last year’s 1st round draft pick Leon Draisaitl and Teddy Purcell on the top line. Draisailt still remains criminally underpriced on a few sites despite racking up 9 goals and 21 asssits in just 26 games. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle team up on the top line (With Benoit Pouliot) to form a very dangerous secondary scoring line that should not be ignored in this plus matchup. On defense, Justin Schultz hasn’t put up huge offensive numbers yet this season, but he mans the point of the #1 power-play unit and has flashed plenty of offensive upside during his short NHL career.
The Flames were quite possibly the most disappointing team in the NHL out of the gates this season, but they headed into the Holiday season on a roll with a 8-2-0 record in December. While they won’t win any awards for their defensive play this season, there is plenty to like from them offensively…. espcially against another defensively inept Edmonton team that was in action last night. Johnny Gaudreau is the clear leader of this offense and leads the team in nearly every significant offensive catagory. The 22 year-old has racked up 10 goals, 6 assists and a +10 in ten games this month and joins Sean Monahan as one of the most lethal duos in the NHL. Joe Colborne scored a goal in Calgary’s last game and, despite not being the most intriguing offensive option on the board, he sees a huge fantasy boost as the third wheel of that top scoring line. Jiri Hudler has bounced all over Todd McClellan’s lineups, but he showed some life offensively heading into the short break and remains a dangerous weapon on the wing of the Flames’ #1 power-play unit. Calgary is loaded on defense, with four players all solid options tonight. Mark Giordano has the highest upside of the bunch but T.J. Brodie, Dougie Hamilton and Dennis Wideman all see plenty of run with the man advantage and are well worth consideration.
Elite Options
EDM: Taylor Hall, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
CGY: Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Mark Giordano, T.J. Brodie
Secondary Options
EDM: Teddy Purcell, Jordan Eberle, Benoit Pouliot, Justin Schultz, Andrej Sekera
CGY: Jiri Hudler, Joe Colborne, Dennis Wideman, Dougie Hamilton