NHL Grind Down: Sunday, December 31st
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.
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Toronto Maple Leafs at Vegas Golden Knights
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Vegas Golden Knights | ||||||||
 | Frederik Andersen |  | Marc-Andre Fleury | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 23-14-2 | 25-9-2 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.33 | 2.85 | 23.15 | 82.50 | Team Stats | 3.44 | 2.81 | 18.70 | 79.46 |
The Maple Leafs will have their work cut out for them this afternoon as they take on a Vegas team that has shocked the hockey world by going 25-9-2 in their first 36 games in existence. Auston Matthews has managed 29 points in the 29 games he has suited up for as he skates on the top line with Zach Hyman and William Nylander. Toronto has scored 132 goals which is second in the league so we must look at some of the other lines that have established themselves over the first half of the season. Tyler Bozak centers Mitchell Marner and James van Riemsdyk while Leo Komarov, Patrick Marleau and Connor Brown skate as the team’s third line. It’s unclear as to whether or not Nazem Kadri will return to the lineup this afternoon as Toronto did not skate yesterday and it’s unlikely they will skate this morning ahead of a mid-afternoon game. The Maple Leafs run two even power play lines so the only ones not in play from the top three lines would be Brown and Hyman as they rarely see the ice in those situations. Morgan Rielly is the play from the back line as he has grabbed five points in the last five games to up his total to four goals and 23 assists so far this season. Jake Gardiner is the other option on the back line and could be used as a salary relief option to help you fit some studs up at the forward positions this evening.
As stated above the Vegas Golden Knights have been on a tear since the drop of the puck back in early October. This group of misfits and cast-offs have banded together to take the NHL schedule head on as they have only lost two games in front of their home crowd all season. Erik Haula, James Neal and David Perron skate as the team’s first line but maybe taking a look at the second line is better suited for cash game plays this evening. Jonathan Marchessault leads the team with 34 points while racking up eight points over the last five games while William Karlsson and Reilly Smith have combined for two goals and six assists over that same time frame. Neal and Marchessault log a lot of power play time so targeting them should be a good starting point if you are looking to roster some Vegas players this evening. Shea Theodore is the target on the back line as he has notched six of his 11 points over the last two weeks. Colin Miller is a viable option as well as he has 20 points on the season while both get to see a decent amount of ice time when the Golden Knights have the extra attacker.
Top Plays
TOR: Auston Matthews
VGS: Jonathan Marchessault
Secondary Plays
TOR: James van Riemsdyk, Mitchell Marner, Patrick Marleau, Morgan Rielly
VGS: James Neal, William Karlsson, David Perron, Shea Theodore, Reilly Smith
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