NHL Grind Down: Sunday, January 15th
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
| Philadelphia Flyers | Washington Capitals | ||||||||
 | Steve Mason |  | Braden Holtby | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 22-17-6 | 28-9-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.82 | 3.02 | 23.40% | 80.90% | Team Stats | 2.98 | 1.95 | 18.00% | 86.10% |
The Flyers have now commenced into a full-blown free fall, as they have now won just three games in their last 13 attempts. Boston turned the trick on them yesterday, as the Bruins beat them soundly by a score of 6-3 at TD Garden. If Philadelphia thinks it’s going to get any easier, they are mistaken, as the travel down I-95 to play the Capitals this afternoon. The good news is at least the Flyers are scoring, but they may have some trouble here against a Washington team that has given up a league-low 86 goals so far this season. Claude Giroux skates on the top line with Michael Raffl and Travis Konecny, while Sean Couturier centers Nick Cousins and Jakub Voracek. It may be best to just stick with the top power play unit, as they have struck for three goals over the last five games. Brayden Schenn tallied his 11th power play goal yesterday and can be used with line mate Wayne Simmonds this afternoon, as they skate on both even strength and power play units. Giroux and Voracek join them from their respective lines as we saw defenseman Mark Streit rounding out the top unit in yesterday’s game. Shayne Gostisbehere has been struggling this season, but I am surprised they went with Streit instead of Ivan Provorov. The young Flyers’ defenseman took the team lead in points where the blue liners are concerned, as he now has lit the lamp three times to go along with 17 assists. The Flyers could have some trouble scoring this afternoon, but with only four games on today’s slate, it may be impossible to steer clear here.
During the Capitals eight-game winning streak, they have taken no prisoners, as they have lit the lamp 36 times coming into today’s game. Washington was just one point behind the Blue Jackets for the league lead in points going into last night’s action. If the Capitals are to lose this game, it is probably because they are looking ahead to tomorrow’s game against Pittsburgh rather than looking at the task at hand. Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie is the line to target this afternoon as Backstrom leads the team with 28 assists and 40 points while Ovechkin and his 21 goals are tied for third in the league scoring race. Evgeny Kuznetsov, Justin Williams and Marcus Johansson skate on the second line, and for the most part have been getting the job done. Kuznetsov has nine points in the last six games while Williams has netted three goals and three assists over that same time frame. Johnasson gets the extra ice time by moving up to the top power play unit to get some cheap exposure to Ovechkin and Company. Johansson ranks third on the team in points with 14 goals and 15 assists which would put him squarely in the sights of making a decent one-off play today. Both lines actually make decent plays on a slate like this as the Flyers defense is surely leaking oil. John Carlson is the choice on the back line as he has come alive over the last six games by tallying two goals and five assists. Carlson is seeing more than 22 minutes of ice time on a nightly basis that includes the top minutes on the team’s power play unit. I have a feeling that you will see a lot of Washington combinations in your cash game play today.
Elite Plays
PHL: Jakub Voracek
WSH: Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom
Secondary Plays
PHL: Claude Giroux, Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds, Mark Streit
WSH: T.J. Oshie, Marcus Johansson, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Justin Williams, John Carlson
Minnesota Wild at Chicago Blackhawks
| Minnesota Wild | Chicago Blackhawks | ||||||||
 | Devan Dubnyk |  | Corey Crawford | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 27-9-5 | 27-13-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.23 | 2.10 | 19.50% | 84.60% | Team Stats | 2.71 | 2.49 | 18.80% | 76.30% |
The Minnesota Wild have turned their fortunes around this year thanks to upper management bringing in head coach Bruce Boudreau to guide the team this season. Thanks to a 5-4 win in Dallas last night, the team is now in a dead heat for first place in the Central Division with tonight’s opponent the Chicago Blackhawks. They also have played four fewer games than Chicago so even a loss here isn’t fatal, but a win would certainly help the cause. The Wild have been led by the top line that features Eric Staal and Zach Parise. Staal leads the team with 14 goals and 24 assists, while Parise has been getting it going by recording five of his 20 points over the last five games. Charlie Coyle has been moved up to the top line, as his promotion is easily predicated on his 13 goals and 20 assists, which lands him second on the team scoring chart with 33 points this season. The second line of Mikko Koivu, Mikael Granlund and Jason Zucker could win a tournament here for a few reasons, the first being that the Blackhawks will most likely try to shut down the Staal line, and the second being that this line has been producing for most of the year. Koivu has three goals and two assists in the last four games while Granlund ranks third on the team in scoring with 10 goals and 22 assists. Koivu’s five points has him right behind Granlund with 29 points in 40 games going into last night. Ryan Suter and Mathew Dumba are the choices from the blue line and the choice is pretty simple. Roster Suter to take the straight and narrow path, while Dumba is a bit of a wild card, as his four points over the last four games has escalated his point total to 19 in the 40 games he has played in.
Chicago had a nice little four-game win streaked snapped in Washington on Friday night as the Capitals totally shut the Hawks down en route to their 6-0 win. Minnesota has the same type of defense but will not have the luxury of having the last line change like the Capitals had two nights ago. Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin and Artem Anisimov will most likely be the most popular cash game lineup tonight, as they lead the team with a combined total of 118 points so far this season. Kane leads the team with 33 assists and 45 points, while Anisimov’s 18 goals lead the team while Panarin is right on his heels with 17 goals scored so far this season. Kane has also leads the team with eight points and 19 shots in the last five games. Jonathan Toews centers the second line of Vincent Hinostroza, and Marian Hossa. Hossa could be used as a one-off here, as he has collected 25 points in 39 games, with 16 of them finding the back of the net. If you want to get fancy you can pair him up with Toews and hope for the best. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook man the points when Chicago draws a penalty as Keith has collected 10 of his 31 points with the man advantage. Seabrook is in a bit of a funk, as he has found the score sheet just once in the last 10 games. Minnesota is a tough team to play against, which should make this the best game of the day.
Elite Plays
MIN: Eric Staal
CHI: Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin
Secondary Plays
MIN: Zach Parise, Charlie Coyle, Mikko Koivu, Mikael Granlund, Ryan Suter
CHI: Artem Anisimov, Duncan Keith, Marian Hossa, Jonathan Toews
New Jersey Devils at Vancouver Canucks
| New Jersey Devils | Vancouver Canucks | ||||||||
 | Cory Schneider |  | Ryan Miller | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 17-18-9 | 20-19-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.18 | 2.86 | 13.30% | 83.00% | Team Stats | 2.41 | 2.86 | 13.70% | 79.70% |
We go from the best game of the day to possibly the worst game of the day, as the New Jersey Devils continue their four-game road trip with a stop in Vancouver tonight. The Devils played some tough defense on, as they were able to beat the Flames by a score of 2-1 in front of the home crowd in Calgary. Taylor Hall, Adam Henrique and P.A. Parenteau will skate as one scoring line, while Mike Cammalleri, Travis Zajac and Kyle Palmieri will look to generate offense from the team’s second line. New Jersey has scored only 17 goals in the last nine games, which isn’t too good if you are relying on them to win your cash games tonight. They can, however, be used in tournament play, as we all know that any line can get hot on any given night to bring home the big prize pool. Zajac and Palmieri lead the team with three points over the last five games and should be viewed as the odds on favorite to find the score sheet if the Devils decide to light the lamp tonight. They are joined by Hall, Miles Wood and defenseman Kyle Quincey on the team’s top power play unit. Hall has 27 points in the 37 games he has played in, while Wood makes for a cheap one-off play just by getting exposure to the top power play unit. Wood has collected two of his seven points over the last five games. Quincey is pretty cheap on the back end, but maybe taking a look at Damon Severson isn’t a bad idea tonight. Severson leads the Devils defensemen with 20 points so far this season. The jury is still out on Quincey, however, as he has just managed just nine points so far this season. To be fair, he hasn’t had the opportunity he has now so only time will tell if it pays off or not.
Vancouver comes into this one very much in the playoff conversation in the Western Conference. Going into last night’s action they were just one point away from moving into a tie with the Los Angeles Kings for the eighth and final playoff spot. The Canucks must be happy they are back on home ice, as they dropped all three games on their recent three-game road trip. Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin and Loui Eriksson will skate on the team’s top line, while Bo Horvat, Sven Baertschi and Alexandre burrows look to score from the second line. Brandon Sutter still has some value even though he has been demoted to the third line, as he receives the lion’s share of the ice time when the Canucks draw a penalty. Sutter has three goals and four points over the last five games, which gets his total up to 23 points in 44 games. Horvat leads the team in scoring with 30 points while Baertschi skates on the top power play unit with both Sedin’s and Sutter. Baertschi is tied for third place on the Canucks scoring chart with 24 points. Daniel is the other player with 24 points while his brother Henrik is just a little better with nine goals and 18 assists so far this season. For cash games you can either pair up the Sedin brothers or go with Horvat and Baertschi as these are the duos most likely to score on home ice tonight. Alexander Edler has returned to run the team’s top power play unit from the back line and has responded with three of his eight points being recorded over the last five games. Troy Stecher is the other option on the back line, as he has registered 13 points on 84 shots so far this season. This one could also be a low scoring game so take some caution when filling out your cash game rosters tonight.
Elite Plays
NJ: Taylor Hall
VAN: Bo Horvat
Secondary Plays
NJ: Travis Zajac, Kyle Palmieri, Mike Cammalleri, P.A. Parenteau
VAN: Sven Baertschi, Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Alexander Edler, Brandon Sutter
St. Louis Blues at Anaheim Ducks
| St. Louis Blues | Anaheim Ducks | ||||||||
 | Jake Allen |  | Jonathan Bernier | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 22-16-5 | 24-13-8 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.79 | 3.02 | 22.30% | 85.00% | Team Stats | 2.66 | 2.57 | 21.80% | 82.40% |
Just when you thought the Blues were dead in the water, head coach Ken Hitchcock waves his magic wand, switches up the lines, says a few words that sound like some Mongolian Chant, and “Presto!”, they get a nice 4-0 win at Los Angeles last night. The new lines make a lot of sense when playing on the road, as Paul Stastny and Alexander Steen were kept together but saw Jaden Schwartz line up to their right Nail Yakupov joined the top line that features Vladimir Tarasenko and Jori Lehtera. Meanwhile Robby Fabbri was inserted back on the third line with Patrik Berglund and David Perron. All three lines scored at even strength last night, and that is exactly the kind of production needed to go far into the playoffs. While the Ducks will probably be busy covering the Tarasenko line Stastny and Steen should be able to have enough room on the ice to do a little damage. This duo has combined for 13 points over the last seven games, which includes Steen’s goal and Stastny’s assist in last night’s game. Tarasenko and anyone skating with him is usually in play on any given night but with only four games on the slate, he’s is almost a must play tonight. Tarasenko paces the team with 20 goals and 24 assists, which makes him one of just seven players who averaging over a point-per-game this season. Fabbri makes a decent one-off choice here as he is third on the team in points with 11 goals and 16 assists. Kevin Shattenkirk is the choice on defense as he quarterbacks the top power play unit and has four assists over the last seven games. If you want to deviate a little from the norm, you can probably use Colton Parayko who is second on the team with 109 shots on goal, which has produced just two goals to go along with 18 assists. The Blues need to keep the pressure on tonight to stay in the playoff picture conversation.
Anaheim will put their 15-4-2 home record on the line tonight as they try to stay atop the Pacific Division with 56 points. Besides the Washington Capitals, the top line of Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and Rickard Rakell will no doubt be the chalk play for your cash games tonight. Pairing up these two teams makes a lot of sense if you are looking to increase your bankroll through cash game play. Getzlaf is the stronger play here, as he has recorded 21 of his 32 points at home while Rakell has registered 15 points in 17 games at Honda center so far this season. Ryan Kesler makes for a nice one-off here, as he does on most nights as he centers the second line with Jakob Silfverberg and Andrew Coglianao but moves up to center Perry and Getzlaf when the Ducks have the man advantage. This extra ice time has not only allowed Kesler to lead the team with 37 points but has also put him in a tie with Perry for the most power play points on the team with 15. Cam Fowler and Sami Vatanen are the usual suspects that patrol the point on the power play from the back line. Each make for a decent play here, as Fowler leads Vatanen in points by a tally of 23-17 but Vatanen has just been starting to get the opportunity that Fowler has been afforded all year. The Blues won only their sixth road game last night, so I wouldn’t look for then to shut down two California teams on back-to-back nights.
Elite Plays
STL: Vladimir Tarasenko
ANA: Ryan Kesler, Ryan Getzlaf
Secondary Plays
STL: Alexander Steen, Jaden Schwartz, Paul Stastny, Kevin Shattenkirk, Robby Fabbri
ANA: Corey Perry, Rickard Rakell, Cam Fowler, Sami Vatanen, Jakob Silfverberg