NHL Grind Down: Sunday, December 4th
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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.
Montréal Canadiens at Los Angeles Kings
| Montréal Canadiens | Los Angeles Kings | ||||||||
 |  | ||||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 16-6-2 | 13-10-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.96 | 2.13 | 21.60% | 82.20% | Team Stats | 2.54 | 2.50 | 12.20% | 81.50% |
According to The Montreal Gazette, Alexander Radulov should be fine for today’s game. A lot of people missed it late Friday night as Radulov took a stick to the face late in the third period against the San Jose Sharks. Max Pacioretty looks to join Alex Galchenyuk join Radulov on the team’s top line which has produced three goals and three assists over the last five games. He will replace the useless Paul Byron who has tallied zero points over the last five games. The second line of Brendan Gallagher, Tomas Plekanec and Artturi Lehkonen will now be the line to look at for your tournament play this afternoon. Shea Weber continues his assault on the power play as ten of his 18 points have come with the man advantage and get this, seven of them are goals. Fellow blue liner Andrei Markov is almost just as solid as he has 17 points so far this season, just one behind Weber. Montreal’s only flaw is their 4-5-1 road record as they are 1-5 in their last six games away from the home crowd.
The Kings come into this one looking to improve on their 9-3 home record as they host the Atlantic division leading Montreal Canadiens. Los Angeles has won six of their last seven games and has scored 22 goals over that time span. Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson skate together on the power play as well as when the team is at even strength. Carter has five points in the last five games but his line mates have only mustered three assists between them with two of them coming off the stick of Toffoli. Anze Kopitar returned four games ago and has three assists while Marian Gaborik has played three games since his return. Trevor Lewis joins Kopitar and Gaborik to form the team’s second scoring line but it is Kopitar who moves up with the Carter line to form 80% of the team’s top power play unit. Drew Doughty gets to complete the top unit with the man advantage but as usual Alec Martinez makes for a better play based on performance so far this season. It may be worth it to take a look at Jake Muzzin as he has garnered three of his six points on the season over the last three games. This should be a good game to watch to start off your NHL day.
Elite Plays
MTL: Alex Galchenyuk
LAK: Jeff Carter
Secondary Plays
MTL: Shea Weber, Max Pacioretty, Alexander Radulov, Andrei Markov
LAK: Tyler Toffoli, Anze Kopitar, Alec Martinez, Marian Gaborik
Tampa Bay Lightning at Carolina Hurricanes
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Carolina Hurricanes | ||||||||
 | Ben Bishop |  | Cam Ward | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 14-11-1 | 9-10-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.96 | 2.76 | 24.20% | 81.40% | Team Stats | 2.35 | 2.57 | 19.70% | 90.60% |
The Lightning finally broke through with a win last night in Washington as they beat the Capitals in shootout by a score of 2-1. Ok, so maybe they didn’t break through scoring wise but they did prevent their four game losing streak from becoming five. Baby steps. Tampa has only scored ten goals over the last five games with the top line of Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson scoring half of them. It is for this reason that this line makes for a decent GPP on the road this afternoon against Hurricanes. Carolina has not won on home ice in the last five tries and it may just go to six after all is said and done today. Third liners Jonathan Drouin and Joel Vermin look to be GPP material here as they have a total of five assist over the last five games. The 24 year old Vermin was a seventh round draft pick for Tampa back in 2013 and could use Drouin’s speed and flashiness to help him stay in the NHL for good this time around. Victor Hedman is the choice here on the back line as he has four points in the last five games while playing on the top power play unit. Hedman always seems to get shuffled around, sometimes he’s on the top power play unit, sometimes he isn’t. Through it all he has been one of Tampa’s most consistent defenseman over the last seven seasons. Not bad for a 25 year old, eh? The other option on the blue line is Anton Stralman who has just two shots on goal since his return from injury two games ago.
The jury is still out as to whether or not Elias Lindholm will be able to play in this afternoon’s game. He was scratched yesterday with a nagging lower back injury as he saw Phil Di Giuseppe take his place on the top line alongside of Jeff Skinner and Victor Rask. Carolina has just one win over the last six games but that one win was the only home game they have played over the last seven games. Rask and Skinner are the cash plays here as they should have plenty of room to maneuver on home ice regardless of who their winger is. Skinner leads the team with nine goals and 11 assists while Rask is close behind with nine goals and nine assists. Journeyman Lee Stempniak is back in the top six as he joins Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Tervainen on the team’s second line. You could possibly use this line in deeper tournament play but if you are just using one entry for GPP play I’d probably pass. Justin Faulk and Noah Hanifin are your options from the point but again I’d probably pass here as neither has registered over ten points so far this season and Hanifin has the lone assist over the last six games.
Elite Plays
TB: Nikita Kucherov
CAR: None
Secondary Plays
TB: Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, Victor Hedman, Jonathan Drouin
CAR: Jeff Skinner, Victor Rask, Noah Hanifin, Sebastian Aho
Philadelphia Flyers at Nashville Predators
| Philadelphia Flyers | Nashville Predators | ||||||||
 | Steve Mason |  | Pekka Rinne | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 13-10-3 | 11-8-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.08 | 3.20 | 22.80% | 80.30% | Team Stats | 2.95 | 2.50 | 22.60% | 84.50% |
The Flyers played a strong game yesterday afternoon as they took down the central division leaders by a score of 3-1 on home ice. To be fair to the Chicago Blackhawks, they were without captain Jonathan Toews and Goaltender Corey Crawford. Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek and Michael Raffl make up the Flyers top line although most of the damage is done by the team leaders in points, Giroux and Voracek. Both play on the team’s top power play unit along with second liners Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds. I like Simmonds and Schenn on the road here as Nashville will try to shut down the top line. You can even ad Travis Konecny to make if a full line stack but I would only use that in tournament play only. Simmonds has 11 goals and 11 assists so far this season so even using him as a one-off could pay off for you tonight. Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere continues his sophomore slump as he has 12 points in the first 25 games he’s played in so far this season. Ivan Provonov got on track yesterday with two goals against the Blackhawks so if you are into chasing points, he is your guy. Philadelphia can always score goals but the big problem they’ve had so far this season is keeping the puck out of their own net.
There is no telling what head coach Peter Laviolette will do tonight after he watched his team blow a 4-1 lead going into the third period at home against the New Jersey Devils yesterday afternoon. The loss of James Neal may be a bit much for this group as they have dropped two of their last three games without him. Filip Forsberg was shifted to the top line to play alongside Ryan Johansen and Viktor Arvidsson. Johansen leads the team with 16 points with five of those coming over the last four games. Meanwhile both Forsberg and Arvidsson have combined for one goal and two assists over those same four games. This is the line to target tonight as they should have the extra room on the ice against a Philadelphia team that can at times be defensively challenged. If you are looking for a few one-offs look no further than Kevin Fiala from the second line and Mike Fisher from the third. Fisher has four of his 13 points over the last four games while Fiala has three goals over the last three games. P.K. Subban and Roman Josi are the options on the back line as Josi may be breaking out of his slump by registering five of his 15 points over the last four games.
Elite Plays
PHL: Claude Giroux
NSH: Ryan Johansen
Secondary Plays
PHL: Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn
NSH: Viktor Arvidsson, Filip Forsberg, P.K. Subban
Detroit Red Wings at New York Islanders
| Detroit Red Wings | New York Islanders | ||||||||
 | Petr Mrazek |  | |||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 11-11-3 | 9-10-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.29 | 2.54 | 14.90% | 83.30% | Team Stats | 2.52 | 2.83 | 11.80% | 82.10% |
Detroit tried to give goaltender Peter Mrazek a rest last night and it almost worked. Rookie goaltender Jared Coreau and the Wings were holding the Stanley Cup champions at bay through two periods last night before the penguins exploded for four goals in the third period to win by a final tally of 5-3. It’s going to be tough to come off the deck from that but the good news is they could be playing someone like Montreal instead of the New York Islanders. It will be tough to figure out what line the Islanders will try to shut down as both of Detroit’s top two lines have the ability to score. Dylan Larkin, Gustav Nyquist and Thomas Vanek may be the line to roam free tonight as Henrik Zetterberg and rookie Anthony Mantha have combined for nine points in the last five games. They are joined by Tomas Tatar who is almost a mirror image of say a Paul Byron from Montreal as he just doesn’t get the points he should be getting on line like this. Using both Zetterberg and Mantha should be a great option for your tournament plays tonight. Frans Nielsen skates on the team’s third line and has lit the lamp three times while assisting on three other goals in the last five games. Putting up those kind of numbers make for a good one-off play in tournaments as there is no doubt that the Islanders will be very busy with the top two lines. Oh, did I mention that Nielsen played most of his career in an Islander uniform. Mike Green has been doing most of the scoring from the point as he has 13 points so far this season, which is good for third on the red wing scoring chart. Ryan Sproul continues to see a lot of ice time while the Red Wings have the man advantage but after a hot start, he has fizzled out a bit as he has just five points in the 14 games he has played in.
It seems that the Islanders are finally starting to wisen up as they have moved Brock Nelson to the first line to skate with Josh Bailey and team leader in points, John Tavares. I can see breaking them up on the road but when you don’t have much talent to start with it’s probably best to put three if your top skill players in a line together on home ice. Detroit played in Pittsburgh last night so taking the top line here may be a nice GPP play at the very least. Anders Lee and defenseman Nick Leddy join them to form the top power play unit which makes that top line an even better play as they will get all the time together whenever they step on the ice. Bailey has registered six points over the last five games while Tavares has five and the third-liner Lee has found the scoresheet four times over that same time period. Leddy leads all defenseman with just ten points. If you want a line that hardly anyone will be on, the second line is the play for you. Andrew Ladd has only five points to his credit since joining the Islanders in the off-season and he will have Ryan Strome and Shane Prince as his line mates. I wouldn’t recommend them for cash so it’s GPP City for this underachieving bunch.
Elite Plays
DET: None
NYI: John Tavares
Secondary Plays
DET: Anthony Mantha, Henrik Zetterberg, Dylan Larkin, Mike Green
NYI: Brock Nelson, Josh Bailey, Nick Leddy
Winnipeg Jets at Chicago Blackhawks
| Winnipeg Jets | Chicago Blackhawks | ||||||||
 | Connor Hellebuyck |  | Corey Crawford | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 12-13-2 | 16-7-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.62 | 3.00 | 15.20% | 79.00% | Team Stats | 2.80 | 2.48 | 16.30% | 71.30% |
If Winnipeg is entertaining any thoughtsof winning this game they might have to do it without Mark Scheifele who is their leading scorer. Scheifele is dealing with a lower-body injury and was held out of yesterday’s game. Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers were joined by Bryan Little in Scheifele’s absence which makes this line a decent GPP option on today’s seven game slate. Chicago will be using back-up goalies for a while which should be right up Laine’s alley as he leads the team with 16 goals in 27 games. Blake Wheeler makes for a good one-off play here as he skates on the team’s second line with Mathieu Perrault and Drew Stafford. Wheeler joins Laine and Ehlers on the team’s top power play unit which gives him the extra exposure needed to do well today. It also doesn’t hurt that he has 20 points through the first 27 the jets have played so far this season. Dustin Byfuglien appears to be coming out of his funk as the big defenseman as recorded four of his 15 points over the last five games. This could be one of the higher scoring games of the day so getting some exposure to both sides may be the optimal play this afternoon.
If I was a betting man I would say that the chances of Jonathan Toews playing in tonight’s game is about fifty-fifty. The Hawks will already be without their top goaltender in Corey Crawford as he has undergone an emergency appendectomy yesterday in Philadelphia. Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin and Artem Anisimov is the cash game play here as they get the call when the team has the man advantage as well as skate when the team is at full strength. They occupy the top three positions on Chicago’s team scoring chart with Kane leading the bunch with eight goals and 17 assists in 26 games so far this season. Marian Hossa will skate on the second line and be a much better play if Toews plays, but if not he could probably be used as a one-off in GPP plays tonight. Ryan Hartman and Vincent Hinostroza started as his line mates yesterday but by the end of the game Schamltz had taken Hinostroza’s center spot. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook are the preferred plays on the back line as both have very similar stats with Keith having a slight edge. Since Winnipeg played last night as well I would expect a lot of production as well as ownership from the Kane line tonight.
Elite Plays
WIN: Patrik Laine
CHI: Patrick Kane
Secondary Plays
WIN: Blake Wheeler, Nikolaj Ehlers, Dustin Byfuglien, Bryan Little
CHI: Artemi Panarin, Artem Anisimov, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Marian Hossa