NHL Grind Down: Sunday, February 7th
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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Philadelphia Flyers at Washington Capitals – 12:00 PM EST
| Philadelphia Flyers | Washington Capitals | ||||||||
 | Steve Mason |  | Braden Holtby | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 23-18-9 | 37-9-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.38 | 2.60 | 18.80% | 78.50% | Team Stats | 3.26 | 2.24 | 24.50% | 83.50% |
The Flyers saw their three-game winning streak snapped with a shootout loss to the NY Rangers last night. Playing on back-to-back nights is a difficult task in general, but it’s particularly tough when your scheduled to take on the Washington Capitals at the Verizon Center. While the matchup is daunting, at least the Flyers are pretty simple to breakdown from a fantasy perspective. They receive a disproportionate amount of their offense from the top line of Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek and Wayne Simmonds. Since the All-Star break, Voracek has already dished out six assists in three games while both Simmonds and Giroux have picked up five points of their own. On defense, Shayne Gostisbehere continues to be an offensive force. He’ll put a seven game scoring streak on the line tonight and posted a pair of assists against Washington in their last meeting. Tread carefully as Braden Holtby owns a sparkling 1.99 GAA in 21 starts at home but it’s dangerous to completely overlook the Flyers on a three game slate.
The Capitals squeaked by the New Jersey Devils last night and will be happy to head home where they own an impressive 19-4-2 home record at the Verizon Center. Obviously, Alex Ovechkin is the premier play of the day. He’s posted 29 goals and 14 assists in 47 games this season and his 243 SOG is easily the most in the NHL. He’s joined by the very dangerous Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie on the top forward line and all three players will likely be highly owned today. Evgeny Kuznetsov joins up with Backstrom and Ovechkin (with Justin Williams) on the top power-play unit and actually leads this team with 52 points in 50 games. He’s racked up two goals and 13 assists over his last nine games and elevates the play of his line mates Justin Williams and Andre Burkovsky. John Carlson looks to be fully healed from a lower body injury and is locked into 23+ minutes of ice-time per game and quarterbacks the lethal #1 power-play unit. With the Flyers owning a subpar 78.5% penalty kill, he’s an excellent option on the blue-line in all formats.
Philadelphia Flyers
CF%: 49.8, CP60: 112.6, 5×5 Differential: -2
Elite Options: Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, Shayne Gostisbehere
Secondary Options: Brayden Schenn, Mark Streit
Washington Capitals
CF%: 50.5, CP60: 108.3, 5×5 Differential: 32
Elite Options: Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, John Carlson
Secondary Options: T.J. Oshie, Justin Williams, Marcus Johansson, Matt Niskanen
Edmonton Oilers at New York Islanders – 02:30 PM EST
| Edmonton Oilers | New York Islanders | ||||||||
 | Cam Talbot |  | Jaroslav Halak | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 21-27-5 | 26-18-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.47 | 2.94 | 18.80% | 81.00% | Team Stats | 2.70 | 2.52 | 17.90% | 86.70% |
Edmonton may be sitting in the cellar of the Pacific Division, but with Connor McDavid back in the mix, they’re still very much fantasy relevant. With McDavid and Jordan Eberle (with Benoit Pouliot) suddenly looking like a very dangerous scoring option, Todd McLellan now has a terrific one-two punch as Taylor Hall, Leon Draisaitl and Teddy Purcell continue to rack up points on the top forward line. Eberle, McDavid and Pouliot have each posted five points in three games since the All-Star break and are reasonably priced on most sites. Taylor Hall still leads the team with 18 goals and 32 assists in 53 games and his 198 SOG is fifth in the NHL. While the Islanders own an impressive 86.7% penalty kill, Andrej Sekera has picked up three power-play points in the past three games and looks like the top option on the Edmonton blue-line.
The Islanders dropped both games on a short two game road trip and really need to pick up two points this afternoon against the Edmonton Oilers. They’ve fallen into 9th place in the Eastern Conference but have played very well at the Barclays Center where they own a 16-8-3 record on the season. With the Oilers having been lit up for five goals against the Canadiens last night and now allowing 2.94 goals against per game on the season, there’s a lot to like here. John Tavares and Kyle Okposo are tied for the team scoring lead with 37 points and join forces on the #1 power-play unit. Tavares leads Mikhail Grabovski and Ryan Strome on the top forward line with Okposo playing alongside Nikolay Kulemin and Frans Nielsen on the “second”. Alternatively, Brock Nelson has tallied 15 goals in 27 home games this season and this looks like an ideal matchup for him to show off his speed. On defense, Nick Leddy and Johnny Boychuk share the duties on the point of the power-play and both safe cash game options in this matchup.
Edmonton Oilers
CF%: 48.8, CP60: 110, 5×5 Differential: -23
Elite Options: Taylor Hall, Connor McDavid, Jordan Eberle
Secondary Options: Leon Draisaitl, Teddy Purcell, Benoit Pouliot, Andrej Sekera, Justin Schultz
New York Islanders
CF%: 51, CP60: 112.4, 5×5 Differential: 3
Elite Options: John Tavares, Kyle Okposo, Brock Nelson
Secondary Options: Nikolay Kulemin, Ryan Strome, Frans Nielsen, Anders Lee, Nick Leddy, Johnny Boychuk
Carolina Hurricanes at Montreal Canadiens – 02:30 PM EST
| Carolina Hurricanes | Montreal Canadiens | ||||||||
 | Cam Ward |  | |||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 24-21-8 | |||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.43 | 2.66 | 16.40% | 81.10% | Team Stats | 2.68 | 2.68 | 18.20% | 83.40% |
Carolina wraps up a three-game road trip tonight in Montreal and have quietly played rather well lately as they own a 8-3-1 record over their last 12 games. They picked up a 3-2 victory over the Canadiens in their only other meeting this season and have tallied five goals in three of their last four games. Eric Staal may be one of the biggest names thrown around as the trade deadline approaches and still leads the charge on the Hurricanes’ top forward line and #1 power-play unit. He’s joined by Kris Versteeg and Elias Lindholm on a very capable top scoring line while his brother Jordan centers the second line with Andrej Nestrasil and Joakim Nordstrom. Nestrasil scored a pair of goals on Friday night and has been wielding a hot stick lately; posting three goals and five assists in his last 11 games. Justin Faulk still leads this team in scoring and is a top-tier option on the blue-line. He posted his 15th goal of the season of Friday night and is averaging nearly 25 minutes of ice-time per game this season.
After two more very disappointing losses to open the second half, the Canadiens finally picked up a win (5-1) against the Edmonton Oilers yesterday afternoon. They’ve inexplicably posted an ugly 6-20-1 record over their last 27 games and will need to catch fire soon to put themselves back into the playoff hunt. With that said, a home matchup against a team like Carolina is essentially a must win game for them at this point. Michel Therrien has recently shaken up his forward lines as Max Pacioretty is now joined by David Desharnais and Dale Weise on one line, with Thomas Plekanec and Brendan Gallagher now skating alongside Alex Galchenyuk. Tomas Plekanec exploded for a goal and three assists against the Oilers yesterday while Gallagher posted a goal and an assist of his own. P.K. Subban leads the team in scoring with 41 points in 53 games and has been the most trustworthy fantasy option lately. He’s picked up at least one point in 11 of his last 12 games and has already racked up 21 points with the man advantage. With all that said, only the Nashville Predators are allowing fewer shots on goal against per game this season than the Hurricanes (26.7 SA/G) and Carolina figures to try and slow this game down as much as possible.
Carolina Hurricanes
CF%: 52.8, CP60: 106.6, 5×5 Differential: -11
Elite Options: Justin Faulk
Secondary Options: Eric Staal, Jordan Staal, Kris Versteeg, Andrej Nestrasil, Elias Lindholm
Montreal Canadiens
CF%: 53.2, CP60: 109.3, 5×5 Differential: -2
Elite Options: Max Pacioretty, Tomas Plekanec, P.K. Subban
Secondary Options: Brendan Gallagher, David Desharnais, Andrei Markov