NHL Grind Down: Sunday, January 17th

by John Britt (jmbwngfn) Last Updated 2016-01-19 18:25:58

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.

Note: As always, if you want to try a new DFS site, be sure to click through a RotoGrinders link and use our DraftKings promo code and FanDuel promo code to receive the best perks in the industry.

Carolina Hurricanes at Pittsburgh Penguins – 03:00 PM EST

Carolina Hurricanes					Pittsburgh Penguins
			Cam Ward					Marc-Andre Fleury
			Record					Record
			20-18-8					20-16-7
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.41	2.67	17.90%	80.90%	Team Stats	2.37	2.44	18.90%	83.90%

The Hurricanes saw their four game winning streak come to an end on Friday against Vancouver as they lost in overtime. They’ll head to Pittsburgh to battle a Pittsburgh team who they sludged their way to a 3-2 overtime victory against last week and have now defeated in both prior meetings this season. Carolina has utilized their solid puck possession abilities (534. CF%) to limit their opponents scoring chances and correspondingly allow the fewest shots on goal against per game in the NHL this season (26.0 SA/GP). With the Penguins loaded with dangerous scoring options, this approach will be even more vital to their success than usual. Carolina is only averaging 2.41 goals per game this season aren’t the most appealing team in the league by fantasy standards. However, Elias Lindholm racked up three assists against Pittsburgh in their last outing and joins Eric Staal and Kris Versteeg on a very dangerous top forward line. Alternatively, Jordan Staal scored a goal in that last meeting with Pittsburgh and has come alive with three goals and four assists over he last six games. On defense, Justin Faulk actually leads the ‘Canes in scoring with 32 points and has already racked up 12 goals from the point of the #1 power-play. He’s picked up a pair of assists against Pittsburgh already this season and is a fine option (specially on sites that don’t account for plus/minus).

The Penguins dropped a barn-burner in Tampa Bay on Friday night and have now dropped four of their last five games to fall to an uninspiring 20-16-7 record on the season. After the loss, Pittsburgh shook things up a bit and sent David Perron and Adam Clendening off to Anaheim in exchange for the talented Carl Hagelin. Hagelin struggled with the slower paced Ducks this season, but the move back to the Eastern Conference gives him an immediate (and sizable) fantasy boost. He looks to be slated to join Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel on one of Pittsburgh’s top two forward lines with Sidney Crosby likely leading Patric Hornqvist and Chris Kunitz on the other. Kris Letang has been the hottest Penguin lately, but after getting smashed by Ryan Callahan on Friday night, he’ll be a game-time decision today. If he plays, lock-and-load, but if he’s unable to suit things up Olli Maatta will inherit the bulk of his offensive responsibilities and becomes a tremendous value play on the blue-line.

Elite Options

CAR: Justin Faulk
PIT: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel, Kris Letang (if healthy)

Secondary Options

CAR: Eric Staal, Jordan Staal, Elias Lindholm, Kris Versteeg, Jeff Skinner
PIT: Patric Hornqvist, Chris Kunitz, Carl Hagelin, Olli Maatta

Vancouver Canucks at New York Islanders – 04:00 PM EST

Vancouver Canucks					New York Islanders
			Ryan Miller					Jaroslav Halak
			Record					Record
			18-17-10					24-15-5
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.36	2.76	17.70%	79.60%	Team Stats	2.70	2.45	18.00%	87.30%

Vancouver picked up a 3-2 overtime victory in Raleigh on Friday night, but unfortunately for them they haven’t won back-to-back games since the day after Christmas and face a stiff test tonight as they head to Brooklyn to face off against the New York Islanders. The Sedin brothers continue to lead Vancouver in scoring and are the most consistent offensive options, and with Derek Dorsett battling the flu, they were re-united with Radim Vrbata on the top line against Carolina on Saturday. Vrbata is in the midst of one of the most disappointing seasons in the entire NHL, but sticking on that top line would obviously be a tremendous boost to his fantasy stock. While that line will draw the most attention, it’s been Bo Horvat doing most of the damage lately. The former first round pick scored two more goals on Friday night and has now posted six goals and three assists during his current six game scoring streak. The Canucks have not received much offensive production from their blue-line this season but Alexander Edler quarterbacks the #1 power-play unit and is the top option. However, the Islanders own the NHL’s second best penalty kill (87.3%), so keep your expectations in check.

The Islanders knocked off the cross-town rival New York Rangers on Thursday and will put their impressive 15-7-2 home record on the line this afternoon when the Vancouver Canucks invade the Barclays Center. The Islanders are deep up-front and are one of the few teams in the NHL this season with three legit scoring lines. John Tavares is the household name on this team, and leads Anders Lee and Josh Bailey on the dangerous top line, but he’s actually been rather quiet lately. Kyle Okposo leads the team with 33 points in 42 games and joins Frans Nielsen and Nikolay Kulemin on the “second” line. While all six of those forwards are fine plays, it’s actually been Brock Nelson doing the most damage lately. Nelseon has racked up five goals and two assists over the last five games and has been far more productive on home ice this season (13 goals and 6 assists in 24 home games). On defense, both Johnny Boychuk and Travis Hamonic have been lost for several weeks, leaving Nick Leddy all the minutes he can handle. Leddy scored a goal against the Rangers on Thursday and resides on the point of the Islanders’ very dangerous #1 power-play unit. With the Canucks owning just a 79.6% penalty kill, he’s a fine option in all formats.

Elite Options

VAN: Daniel Sedin
NYI: John Tavares, Kyle Okposo, Brock Nelsen, Nick Leddy

Secondary Options

VAN: Henrik Sedin, Radim Vrbata, Bo Horvat, Alexandre Burrows, Alex Edler
NYI: Ryan Strome, Frans Nielsen, Anders Lee, Josh Bailey

Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning – 05:00 PM EST

Florida Panthers					Tampa Bay Lightning
			Roberto Luongo					Ben Bishop
			Record					Record
			26-13-5					23-17-4
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.57	2.20	16.40%	82.40%	Team Stats	2.59	2.34	18.40%	79.10%

After racking up 12 straight wins the Panthers have dropped each of their last two games and will close out a grueling six game road trip tonight against the cross-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning. Florida will once again be without stud blue-liner Aaron Ekblad tonight and his absence is a huge loss for this team. Florida was dominated in Calgary on Wednesday (against the worst defensive team in the NHL) as they were shutout 6-0 and managed just 15 SOG. With Tampa Bay allowing just 2.34 goals against per game this season, I’m not overly high on the Panthers this evening. With that said, the top line of Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov and Jaromir Jagr has been a force this season. Jagr leads the charge with 15 goals and 17 assists in 41 games and just saw his five game scoring streak snapped in Calgary. Tampa Bay has struggled a bit on the penalty kill, and with Ekblad out of action, Brian Campbell looks poised for as my minutes as he can handle on the point of the #1 power-play unit. He picked up and assist against the Lightning in their only other meeting and is still quite cheap across the industry.

The Lightning finally look to be gaining momentum, and after a overtime victory against the Penguins on Friday, they’ve now won four games in a row for the first time this season. John Cooper has finally re-established a two-headed scoring attack with Steven Stamkos joining Ondrej Palat and Vladislav Namestnikov on the top line and Tyler Johnson centering Alex Killorn and Nikita Kucherov on the second line. Vladislav Namestnikov posted his first career hat trick against Pittsburgh and has now tallied three goals and five assists (and a + 8) over the last four games. On defense, both Anton Stralman and Victor Hedman log huge minutes on a nightly basis and soak up nearly all of the available playing time on the point of the power-play. While I’m expecting Tampa to pick up two points tonight, only the Washington Capitals have allowed fewer goals against per game than Florida this season, so keep your expectations in check.

Elite Options

FLA: Jaromir Jagr, Jonathan Huberdeau
TBL: Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Vladislav Namestnikov, Victor Hedman

Secondary Options

FLA: Aleksander Barkov, Jussi Jokinen, Brandon Pirri, Brian Campbell
TBL: Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson, Anton Stralman

New York Rangers at Washington Capitals – 05:00 PM EST

New York Rangers					Washington Capitals
			Henrik Lundqvist					Braden Holtby
			Record					Record
			24-15-5					33-8-3
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.84	2.57	18.50%	79.60%	Team Stats	3.23	2.14	25.40%	84.80%

The Rangers enter action tonight sitting 12 points behind the Metropolitan Division leading Washington Capitals and will be looking for their first back-to-back victory since November 23rd. The matchup tonight simply doesn’t get much tougher as 1) Washington owns a 17-3-1 home record, 2) have allowed a NHL low 2.14 GA/G this season, and 3) have lost two of the tree prior meetings against the Capitals this season. The Rangers have posted just an 8-10-3 road record on the season and are verging on GPP only plays for me tonight with Washington likely playing some angry hockey after losing to Buffalo last night. Each of New York’s top two lines are worth consideration with Rick Nash likely drawing the most attention. However, Nash has yet to score a goal in 2016 and hasn’t managed much of any offense in the three prior meetings with Washington this season. On defense, Ryan McDonagh continues to log over 23 minutes of ice-time per game and has picked up four assists in the last four games. He’s dished out three assists against Washington this season and is a weapon on the point of the top power-play unit. Alternatively, Keith Yandle also owns three assists against the Capitals and is the most offensively gifted of the Rangers blue-liners.

Washington won’t have to dwell on their disappointing 4-1 loss in Buffalo last night as they’ll host the division rival New York Rangers tonight at the Verizon Center. As usual, Alex Ovechkin is one of the premier plays of the evening. He’s racked up five goals over the last five games and has torched New York for four goals in their three meetings. His linemates Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie are both having very nice offensive seasons as well and can pairing one (or both) of them with Ovechkin can greatly reduce the average cap hit. Evgeny Kuznetsov is quietly sitting tied with Nicklas Backstrom for the team lead in points with 41 and has shown no signs of slowing down. With John Carlson once again doubtful to play tonight, Matt Niskanen inherits the bulk of his offensive responsibility. Niskanen has been logging well over 25+ minutes of ice-time in his absence and will take over on the point of the Capitals’ lethal #1 power-play unit. He’s still moderately priced across the industry and a solid cash game play where the price is right.

Elite Options

NYR: None
WAS: Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie, Evgeny Kuznetsov

Secondary Options

NYR: Rick Nash, Derrick Brassard, Mats Zuccarello, Keith Yandle, Ryan McDonagh
WAS: Justin Williams, Dmitri Orlov

Montreal Canadiens at Chicago Blackhawks – 07:00 PM EST

Montreal Canadiens					Chicago Blackhawks
			Carey Price					Corey Crawford
			Record					Record
								30-13-4
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.76	2.49	17.80%	84.80%	Team Stats	2.85	2.30	22.50%	82.20%

Montreal lost a heart breaker in overtime last night in St. Louis and will head to the Windy City in complete disarray. The once mighty Canadiens have gone 4-14-1 over their last 19 games and were just defeated at the Bell Centre by this Blackhawks team on Thursday night. Chicago is red hot, owns a 19-5-1 record at the United Center and have only allowing 1.60 goals against per game this season at home. Needless to say, this looks like a situation to avoid tonight on a seven game slate. The top line of Mac Pacioretty, Tomas Plekanec and Brendan Gallagher is uberly talented, but they’ll be shadowed by Toews and Hossa all evening and are better suited for GPP use. On defense, P.K. Subban has picked up points in four straight games and logging huge minutes every night. He’s racked up 30 points in 44 games and is really the only ‘Hab on my cash game radar in this one.

The Blackhawks rolled to a 4-1 victory in Toronto on Friday night and have now won won each of their last 10 games. The defending Stanley Cup Champions are clearly poised to make another deep playoff run and will be looking to prolong the struggles of the Montreal Canadiens tonight. Each of Chicago’s top two lines are very dangerous offensively, but with Toews and Hossa likely doing their best to slow down the Max Pacioretty line, the NHL scoring leader Patrick Kane once again looks like an elite option on the wing. Kane picked up a hat trick on Friday (and added an assist) and has now posted 28 goals and 39 assists in just 47 games this season. Newcomers Artem Anisimov and Artemi Panarin join him both at even strength and one the #1 power-play and have taken full advantage of his offensive prowess this season. On defense, both Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith log huge minutes and reside on the point of the #1 power-play unit. They’ve both put up impressive offensive numbers and are fine targets in all formats.

Elite Options

MON: None
CHI: Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin, Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith

Secondary Options

MON: Max Pacioretty, Tomas Plekanec, Brendan Gallagher, P.K. Subban
CHI: Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Artem Anisimov, Teuvo Teravainen

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