NHL Grind Down: Sunday, January 17th - Page Two
Philadelphia Flyers at Detroit Red Wings – 07:30 PM EST
| Philadelphia Flyers | Detroit Red Wings | ||||||||
 | Steve Mason |  | Jimmy Howard | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 19-15-8 | 23-14-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.26 | 2.60 | 15.90% | 78.20% | Team Stats | 2.48 | 2.55 | 18.20% | 78.90% |
The Flyers saw their four game winning streak snapped with an overtime loss against the New York Rangers last night, but will look to get things back on track tonight in a one game road trip to the Joe Louis Arena. Dave Hakstol has finally reunited Jakub Voracek and Claude Giroux (with Wayne Simmonds) on the top forward line, and that’s been terrific news for all three players. While Pavel Datsyuk will likely be deployed to make things difficult for that trio, their offensive upside is undeniable and they should find plenty of scoring opportunites against the Detroit’s poor 78.9% penalty kill. Alternatively, Brayden Schenn and Sean Couturier have developed a nice rapport on the second line and have combined for six goals and seven assists in six games this month. For the first time all season, the Flyers have both Shayne Gostisbehere and Mark Streit healthy at the same time on the blue-line. Both defenseman have proven to be very dangerous with the man advantage and look like fine options this evening.
Detroit opened the new year with a daunting six game road trip, but after winning five of the six games, Coach Blashill has this team positioned nicely in the Altantic Division as we approach the All-Star break. Their face a Flyers team that has posted just a 8-10-3 on the road this season and are solid -155 favorites according to our friends in Vegas. Detroit has been one of the slowest paced team in the NHL this season (99.9 CP60) and will likely be content in slowing things down tonight as Philadelphia has been pushing the pace all season (112.3 CP60). While the Wings balanced scoring attack is by design, it’s also a headache for DFS players. The top line of Nyquist, Zetterberg and Abdeklader has been the most consistent scoring source, but Pavel Datsyuk has been turning things on lately with five points over the last two games. Mike Green and Niklas Kronwall should both benefit from Philly’s poor 78.2% penalty kill and also come with depressed price-tags across the industry.
Elite Options
PHI: Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, Mark Streit, Shayne Gostisbehere
DET: Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Gustav Nyquist, Mike Green
Secondary Options
PHI: Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn, Sean Couturier
DET: Dylan Larkin, Tomas Tatar, Justin Abdelkader, Niklas Kronwall
Los Angeles Kings at Anaheim Ducks – 09:00 PM EST
| Los Angeles Kings | Anaheim Ducks | ||||||||
 | Jonathan Quick |  | Frederik Andersen | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 27-13-3 | 19-17-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.63 | 2.21 | 20.60% | 81.80% | Team Stats | 1.95 | 2.33 | 20.00% | 89.40% |
The evening will be capped off with an entertaining battle in Southern California between the Kings and Ducks at the Honda Center. The Kings have cooled off a bit lately but still hold a commanding lead in the atrocious Pacific Division and will look to make a statement tonight as they’re still slated to face this Anaheim team five times this season. The newly signed Anze Kopitar has been on fire lately with three goals and 13 assists over the last 10 games. He’ll center Milan Lucic and Tyler Toffoli on the Kings’ top line and represent the biggest matchup problem for Anaheim. Jeff Carter came alive against Ottawa yesterday with a goal and an assist and will center Dwight King and Tanner Pearson on the newest version of the “that 70’s line”. While Anaheim’s league best 89.4% penalty kill takes away some of the fantasy appeal, Los Angeles is still loaded on the blue-line. Both Jake Muzzin and Drew Doughty have both put up very similar offensive numbers and pair up on the point of the #1 power-play unit. Conversely Alec Martinez and Christian Ehrhoff see a healthy dose of playing time on the second power-play unit and can be found at a fraction of the cost.
The Ducks finished the regular season last year as the #1 seed in the Western Conference and finally look to be headed in the right direction as they’ve posted a 7-2-1 record over their last 10 games. Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry remain the most dangerous weapons on this Ducks team and they’ll be joined by Rickard Rakell both at even strength and the #1 power-play unit. While they’ll draw the most attention, Ryan Kesler has finally come alive offensively and given the Ducks some consistent secondary scoring. Kesler has posted four goals and a pair of assists in seven games this month and torched Los Angeles for five goals and two assists in their five meetings. He’ll be joined by Jakob Silfverberg and the newly acquired David Perron on the second line and that trio has some GPP appeal. With Cam Fowler still out of action, Hampus Lindholm, Sami Vatanen and rookie Shea Theodore all see plenty of run on the power-play and are in play despite the tough matchup.
Elite Options
LAK: Anze Kopitar, Tyler Toffoli, Drew Doughty
ANA: Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf
Secondary Options
LAK: Jeff Carter, Milan Lucic, Tanner Pearson, Jake Muzzin, Alec Martinez
ANA: Ryan Kesler, Jakob Silfverberg, Rickard Rakell, David Perron, Sami Vatanen, Hampus Lindholm, Shea Theodore