NHL Grind Down: Sunday, February 11th
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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Pittsburgh Penguins at St. Louis Blues
| Pittsburgh Penguins | St. Louis Blues | ||||||||
 | Matt Murray |  | Carter Hutton | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 30-22-4 | 34-20-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.04 | 3.00 | 26.56 | 82.81 | Team Stats | 2.86 | 2.51 | 16.20 | 81.50 |
The Penguins let one get away from them last night as they lost to the Stars in Dallas by a score of 4-3 in a shootout. The point earned went towards helping the team stay in second place in the Metropolitan Division as they trail Washington by five points for the division crown. Pittsburgh is trying to shore up the top two lines in the absence of Patric Hornqvist who checks in with 31 points this season. Bryan Rust will stick on the top line with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel while the second line of Phil Kessel, Evgeni Malkin and Carl Hagelin would appear to be a bit more potent. Kessel leads the team with 65 points while Malkin’s 30 goals has pushed him up to 63 points in just 52 games. Crosby has the most assists with 43 assists which has him at an even 60 points on the season. Add in Guentzel and you have the team’s top power play unit that has lit the lamp 15 times over the last 16 games. Kris Letang is the choice on the back line as he has seen 15 of his 31 points come when the Penguins have the extra attacker. Justin Schultz is usually a decent alternative on the blue line but somehow Ian Cole has managed five points over the last seven games. The Penguins are just 10-15-3 on the road so I’d use a little caution here, especially since they played last night.
The Blues have been a tough team to decipher where Daily Fantasy Sports are concerned. That was until two games ago as St Louis has lit the lamp 11 times while landing just two points away from both Nashville and Winnipeg who are tied for the Central Division lead. Since Jaden Schwartz has returned to the line-up the team has been able to make two solid scoring lines. Schwartz is skating with Brayden Schenn and Patrik Berglund while Vladimir Tarasenko draws both Paul Stastny and Alexander Steen on his line. Schenn leads the team with 23 goals and 33 assists while Tarasenko is right behind him with 49 points. The Blues try their best to make two even power play units so using any of the top six is not a bad place to start provided you keep the pairs together from the same line. On the back end St Louis has seen three defensemen starting to produce a little but sticking with Alex Pietrangelo and his 37 points in 57 games is the cash game play here. Colton Parayko and even Vince Dunn are fine for GPP plays as both have got in on the power play scoring action over the last two weeks. Look for the Blues to win this one but not by much.
Top Plays
PIT: Phil Kessel, Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby
STL: Brayden Schenn, Vladimir Tarasenko
Secondary Plays
PIT: Kris Letang, Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust, Carl Hagelin
STL: Jaden Schwartz, Alex Pietrangelo, Alexander Steen, Paul Stastny
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