NHL Grind Down: Sunday, December 6th
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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Arizona Coyotes at Carolina Hurricanes – 05:00 PM EST
| Arizona Coyotes | Carolina Hurricanes | ||||||||
 | Anders Lindback |  | Cam Ward | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 13-12-1 | 9-13-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.69 | 3.08 | 15.10% | 81.60% | Team Stats | 2.08 | 2.92 | 12.80% | 76.20% |
The Coyotes were one of the biggest surprises in the early going this season, but they’ve now allowed five goals in three straight games (all losses) and after losing 5-2 to Buffalo on Thursday, they’re clearly headed in the wrong direction. They’ll head to Carolina to take on a Hurricanes team that has allowed the fewest shots on goal against per game (25.8 SA/G) and who are still rating out as a very solid puck possession team (54.5 CF%). Oliver Ekman-Larsson is really the only player on my cash game radar here with both Max Domi and Martin Hanzal looking like a duo to pair together in GPP’s.
As mentioned above, the Coyotes have been a mess defensively lately, so even the offensively challenged Hurricanes are very much in play today. Carolina shocked Montreal with a 3-2 win yesterday but have posted just a 4-7-4 record since the beginning of November. Much like Arizona, their most intriguing fantasy option comes on the blue-line as Justin Faulk leads the team with 18 points. He’s already racked up eight power-play goals on the young season and looks a top-tier option on defense against the Coyotes middling penalty kill. Up-front, Eric Staal is still the catalyst of this offense but Bill Peter’s recent line shuffling doesn’t look like it’s done him any favors.
Winnipeg Jets at Chicago Blackhawks – 05:00 PM EST
| Winnipeg Jets | Chicago Blackhawks | ||||||||
 | Mike Hutchinson |  | Corey Crawford | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 13-12-2 | 13-9-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.78 | 3.00 | 16.10% | 78.80% | Team Stats | 2.73 | 2.62 | 22.40% | 79.70% |
After struggling mightily during the middle of November, the Jets look to finally have pulled out of their tailspin and enter today’s game on the heals of an impressive victory over the Washington Capitals yesterday. Playing on back-to-back nights is always tough, but it’ll be particularly difficult for them as they head into the United Center to take on the defending Stanley Cup Champions. Their top line of Blake Wheeler, Andrew Ladd and Bryan Little is easily their most dangerous scoring line, but with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa trying to lock them down, this may not be the matchup in which you’ll want to pay up for their services. Alternatively, Mark Scheifele centers a very capable line between Mathieu Perreault and Drew Stafford and, considering they’ll be widely overlooked in this contest, they look like a viable GPP stack. Dustin Byfuglien is an elite fantasy defenseman, but much like the team’s top line, it’s just tough to justify his asking price today.
With Patrick Kane running away with the NHL scoring race thus far, breaking down the Blackhawk’s from a fantasy perspective is pretty straight forward today. With 16 goals and 25 assists (and points in 21 straight games) Kane is clearly an elite option. He teams up with the exciting young Artemi Panarin and Artem Anisimov on the top line. With that line clicking on all cylinders, Coach Quenneville will have the luxury of letting Marian Hossa and Jonathan Toews show off their impressive defensive abilities and make it a very long day for the Blake Wheeler line. That’s great news for the Blackhawks as a whole, but obviously a small blow to the fantasy outlook for the Teravainen, Toews, Hossa line. With the Jets being the most penalized team in the NHL, getting exposure to the Blackhawks very dangerous power-play has plenty of merit. That further solidifies the Kane line as upper echelon targets, and gives a big fantasy boost to both Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook on the blue-line.
Florida Panthers at New Jersey Devils – 07:00 PM EST
| Florida Panthers | New Jersey Devils | ||||||||
 | Roberto Luongo |  | Cory Schneider | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 13-9-4 | 13-10-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.46 | 2.35 | 20.70% | 80.50% | Team Stats | 2.42 | 2.38 | 20.60% | 83.30% |
The Panthers will head to New Jersey to battle the Devils tonight in what looks to be one of the least appealing games from a fantasy standpoint of the season thus far. These are two of the slowest paced teams in the NHL (88.6 CP60 for New Jersey is dead last and 100.6 CP60 for Florida is 28th in the NHL). Michael Cammalleri and Adam Henrique are fine options from New Jersey with Jaromir Jagr, Jussi Jokinen and Aleksander Barkov worth consideration from Florida. While Florida enters with a five game winning streak on the line, Cory Schneider has posted an impressive 2.12 GAA on the season and is likely the only player from this game that will sniff my cash game lineups.
Ottawa Senators at New York Rangers – 07:00 PM EST
| Ottawa Senators | New York Rangers | ||||||||
 | Craig Anderson |  | Henrik Lundqvist | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 14-7-5 | 17-7-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.15 | 2.85 | 21.50% | 78.40% | Team Stats | 2.78 | 2.04 | 20.30% | 83.70% |
The Senators defeated the Blackhawks on Thursday night and have now won seven of their last night games. They’ll once again be tested tonight as they head to Madison Square Garden to take on the Metropolitan Division-leading New York Rangers. With a excellent mixture of size, speed and play-making ability, the Senators top line of Mike Hoffman, Kyle Turris and Bobby Ryan has become one of my favorite groups to watch. They’ve combined for 34 goals and 40 assists in 26 games this season and are fine plays despite the difficult matchup. Mark Stone has scored goals in back-to-back games and, with 7 goals and 16 assists in 24 games, he’s the focal point of Ottawa’s dangerous secondary scoring line alongside Mika Zibanejad and Shane Prince. Erik Karlsson has more offensive freedom than any other defensive player in the NHL, but this may not be the ideal time to pay for his services. This is a very solid Ottawa hockey club, but the Rangers have allowed a league-best 2.04 goals against per game this season, so don’t get carried away here.
The Rangers have dropped two straight games, but still own an impressive 11-4-1 record at the Madison Square Garden. The Rangers defeated the Senators in their only previous meeting this season and should benefit from an increase in pace tonight as Ottawa enters with a 113.0 CP60 (2nd in the NHL behind only Dallas). The Derek Stepan injury has forced Alain Vigneault to shake things up on his forward lines and it looks like we’re set to see Chris Kreider and Oscar Lindberg join Rick Nash on the team’s top scoring line. While this looks like a small dent to Rick Nash outlook, it’s terrific news for both Kreider and Lindberg. His only linemates of Derick Brassard and Mats Zuccarello will shift down to play alongside Kevin Hayes and it’s tough to see that change benefit their scoring potential. The Senators do own an unimpressive 78.4% penalty kill, and the Nash/Brassard/Zuccarello trio does team up on the #1 power-play unit. On defense, both Ryan McDonagh and Keith Yandle soak up nearly all of the available time on the point of the power-play and both are fine targets in this matchup.
Pittsburgh Penguins at Anaheim Ducks – 08:00 PM EST
| Pittsburgh Penguins | Anaheim Ducks | ||||||||
 | Marc-Andre Fleury |  | Frederik Andersen | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 14-9-2 | 10-12-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.36 | 2.36 | 16.90% | 82.80% | Team Stats | 1.93 | 2.44 | 17.70% | 87.50% |
Pittsburgh lost to Los Angeles yesterday afternoon at the Staples Center and will make the short trip down to Anaheim to battle the Ducks this evening. For all of their firepower, the Penguins have really struggled lately as they’re just 5-5-2 in their last 12 games. While Anaheim has been solid defensively this season (2.44 GA/G), ignoring this high octane Pittsburgh offense can certainly be a mistake. Sidney Crosby has gotten off to one of the slowest starts of his career, but he scored a goal and added an assist in yesterday’s game and now has scored four goals and dished out four assists over the last seven games. He’s joined by Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis on the top line which leaves Evgeni Malkin to center Phil Kessel and David Perron on the “second” scoring line. This leaves Patric Hornqvist as the odd-man-out and really hurts his fantasy value. On the blue-line, Kris Letang is a major weapon on the point of the team’s top power-play unit, but with Anaheim owning the league’s best penalty kill, i’m not overly interested in his big-ticket asking price.
Anaheim picked up a much needed 1-0 victory against the Sharks on Friday night, but still enter action tonight with just a 10-12-5 record on the young season. However, this is a team that finished as the #1 seed in the Western Conference last season and it’s really only a matter of time until they establish themselves as the team to beat in the Pacific Division. With Ryan Kesler failing to contribute consistent offense on the second forward line, it’s been Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf (along with Rickard Rakell) producing a disproportionate amount of the Ducks’ offense this season. Up-front, that’s the line you’ll want to target with Sami Vatanen, Hampus Lindholm and Cam Fowler all logging big minutes on the blue-line and putting up respectable numbers offensively as the point-men of the power-play.