NHL Grind Down: Sunday, February 4th
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.
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Vegas Golden Knights at Washington Capitals
| Vegas Golden Knights | Washington Capitals | ||||||||
 | Marc-Andre Fleury |  | Braden Holtby | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 34-13-4 | 30-16-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.35 | 2.65 | 20.37 | 82.00 | Team Stats | 3.06 | 2.88 | 20.50 | 79.07 |
Who would have thought with almost 60% of the season complete that not only would the expansion team have scored 173 goals but that they would also lead the Pacific Division. We all know the Cinderella story by now so all we can do is continue to look on in amazement as what head coach Gerard Gallant is accomplishing here. The Golden Knights head into their fourth road game on their six game trip away from home and already they have pocketed four points going into tonight. David Perron and Erik Haula have been on fire of late as they have combined for eight goals and 11 assists in the last seven games so stacking them with James Neal may not be a bad idea this evening. On the other hand you can go to the other Vegas scoring line and roster Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and Reilly Smith as all six players have found the score sheet at least 35 times this season. Karlsson leads the team with 27 goals while Perron has notched 33 assists which leaves Marchessault and his 48 points in 48 games on top of the Vegas scoring chart. All six players skate on the two power play units that the Golden Knights throw out there so there really is no advantage ice time wise in that regard. Colin Miller, Brad Hunt and Shea Theodore are the choices from the blue line and to honest it almost doesn’t matter which one you choose based on the last two weeks statistics. They all get extra time with the man advantage and Hunt and Miller’s five points over the last seven games is second to Theodore and his six points over that same time frame. It’s the old adage that when a team is scoring goals like Vegas does you can hardly go wrong.
The Capitals look to get back on track after a total third period collapse resulted into a 7-4 Pittsburgh win on Friday night. Washington is still in the driver’s seat in the Metropolitan Division however as their 65 points is good enough for the top spot. The Capitals are switching things up yet again so look for Tom Wilson to jettison up to the first line with Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov while Nicklas Backstrom will center T.J. Oshie and Andre Burakovsky. This should give the team two solid lines that vegas will have to shut down but as we all know, sticking with the players on the top power play unit is the place to start for cash game plays. Alexander Ovechkin leads the league with 32 goals while Kuznetsov and his 34 assists is tops on the team. Oshie and Backstrom also get to see a good amount of ice time with the extra attacker so maybe sliding down to use them in a GPP may be the way to go this afternoon on this thin three-game slate. If you really want to deviate from the norm then Lars Eller and Brett Connolly should be the pair to look at as they skate on the third line. Eller has four points over the last five games while Connolly has lit the lamp three times over that same time frame. John Carlson is the chalk defenseman of the afternoon as he paced the Capitals with five points over the last five games. He also has garnered 18 of his 40 points while anchoring the team’s top power play unit. Dmitry Orlov would be the alternative on the back line as he has found the score sheet 18 times so far this season. Sit back and enjoy this one as two of the better teams will no doubt battle until the end.
Top Plays
VGS: Jonathan Marchessault
WSH: Alexander Ovechkin
Secondary Plays
VGS: Erik Haula, William Karlsson, David Perron, James Neal, Shea Theodore
WSH: Evgeny Kuznetsov, John Carlson, Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie, Tom Wilson
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