NHL Grind Down: Sunday, January 22nd
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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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New York Rangers at Detroit Red Wings
| New York Rangers | Detroit Red Wings | ||||||||
 |  | ||||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 29-16-1 | 20-19-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.50 | 2.70 | 22.10% | 81.90% | Team Stats | 2.48 | 2.93 | 11.50% | 80.30% |
The Rangers kick off today’s NHL slate with a trip to Detroit to take on the Red Wings inside the infamous Joe Louis Arena. New York is as healthy as they have been in a long time, as Mika Zibanejad returned to the lineup two games ago to skate with Rick Nash and Pavel Buchnevich and immediately responded by lighting the lamp twice in a 7-6 loss at home to the Dallas Stars. The Rangers then went on to beat a tough Toronto team in their own building on Thursday night by a score of 5-2 in a game in which Buchnevich was able to grab his fifth point in the last five games. This line should have some room to skate tonightm as the Red Wings will surely opt to but their best defensive line against Chris Kreider, Derek Stepan and Mats Zuccarello. Stepan and Zuccarello lead the team with 36 points, while Kreider has scored three goals and two assists in the last seven games. Now that the Rangers have three lines that can score, it is going to be hard to pick which one will perform the best on any given night, as the third line of Michael Grabner, J.T. Miller and Kevin Hayes lead the team with a combined 12 goals and 11 assists over the last seven games. You really can’t go wrong here as long as you keep the lines together. Ryan McDonagh is the play on the back line, as he has 10 of his 28 points while the Rangers had the man advantage. Nick Holden makes for a decent alternative, as he has grabbed four of his 24 points over the last seven games. The Rangers should score this afternoon; the only question is who and how much.
Detroit has done a great job of being just mediocre enough to stay in the Eastern Conference playoff conversation. Their 10-9-4 road record coupled with their 10-10-3 record in front of the home crowd has them at 47 points, which is just three points shy of the last playoff spot. The top line of Henrik Zetterberg, Anthony Mantha, and Gustav Nyquist should be the line to target here, as Zetterberg leads the team with 31 points, while Mantha has a respectable 11 goals to go along with his 11 assists in the 31 games he has played. Thomas Vanek makes for a decent one-off play here, as he will come up from the second line to join Zetterberg and Nyquist on the team’s top power play unit. He also brings along his center in Frans Nielsen, which makes the Red Wing power play four forwards deep with Mike Green being the lone defenseman on the unit. Vanek is just shy of being a point-per-game guy with 12 goals and 19 assists in 35 games. Andres Atahansiou skates with them at even strength and, for all intents and purposes, has been serviceable of late. He has recorded eight of his 15 points over the last nine games and could be used with his line mates as a full line stack for tournament play. Dylan Larkin and Tomas Tatar skate on the third line, and both have been disappointments, especially Larkin, who has managed just 18 points on his team-leading 118 shots on goal. Green is the option on the back line as he soaks up most of the power play time as well as averaging more than 23 minutes of ice time on a nightly basis.
Elite Plays
NYR: Mats Zuccarello
DET: Thomas Vanek
Secondary Plays
NYR: Derek Stepan, Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, Michael Grabner, Ryan McDonagh
DET: Anthony Mantha, Henrik Zetterberg, Mike Green, Andreas Athanasiou, Frans Nielsen
Boston Bruins at Pittsburgh Penguins
| Boston Bruins | Pittsburgh Penguins | ||||||||
 |  | ||||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 23-20-6 | 29-11-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.45 | 2.49 | 17.30% | 87.10% | Team Stats | 3.60 | 2.93 | 23.20% | 78.70% |
Okay kids, it’s trivia time! What do teams do when they start losing games and begin to panic? That’s right! They start to shuffle up their lines. Now in this instance I can’t really disagree with what head coach Claude Julien is doing because the Bruins have only won just three games in the last ten. Their opponent is also tough as the Penguins 19-2-2 record in front of the home crowd is the best in the league. Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron have a new line mate in Frank Vatrano, while David Pastrnak slips to the second line to play with David Krejci and Tim Schaller. Marchand is always a decent one-off play regardless of opponent, as he leads the team with 28 assists and 43 points. Meanwhile, the duo of Krejci and Pastrnak looks tempting here given they will more than likely avoid the Penguins top shutdown line. Pastrnak leads the team with 19 goals, while Krejci is having his usual solid year with 10 goals and 19 assists so far this season. Ryan Spooner drops back to the third line to skate with David backs and Riley Nash. Defenseman Torey Krug joins Spooner, Pastrnak, Bergeron, and Marchand to join the top power play unit that has lit the lamp seven times in the last six games. Krug is also the chalk play here, as 13 of his 29 points have come via the power play. Pittsburgh is tough at home, but that doesn’t mean the Bruins can’t score.
Kris Letang skated on his own yesterday, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to jump into the lineup, especially since he is still on the injured reserve list. This means that Justin Schultz will continue to reap the benefits that come along with quarterbacking one of the best power play units in the business. Schultz has been able to register nine points in the last eight games and should be considered in play this afternoon. Speaking of in play, Sidney Crosby and Conor Sheary look to be the chalk plays, as well, as Crosby leads the team with 27 goals while helping Sheary collect seven goals and three assists in the last 10 games. Evgeni Malkin and Patric Hornqvist also make for a decent pairing, as they skate with Crosby and Schultz on the team’s top power play unit. Malkin leads the team with 52 points, while Hornqvist has been able to add 11 power play points in the 39 games he has suited up for this season. The last piece of the power play puzzle comes from the third line, where we find Phil Kessel skating with Nick Bonino and Carl Hagelin. Kessel has been the ultimate team mate this season as his 30 assists is tied with Malkin for the team lead. He has also added 14 goals to go along with a team-high 19 power play points. Look for Pittsburgh to be the first team to win 20 games on home ice this season.
Elite Plays
BOS: Brad Marchand
PIT: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin
Secondary Plays
BOS: David Pastrnak, David Krejci, Torey Krug, Patrice Bergeron
PIT: Conor Sheary, Phil Kessel, Justin Schultz, Patric Hornqvist
Columbus Blue Jackets at Ottawa Senators
| Columbus Blue Jackets | Ottawa Senators | ||||||||
 | Sergei Bobrovsky |  | Mike Condon | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 31-10-4 | 25-15-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.25 | 2.20 | 24.30% | 83.80% | Team Stats | 2.56 | 2.56 | 17.30% | 82.40% |
After shuffling up the lines for about one period, the Blue Jackets went back to their regular lines last night and came away a 3-2 win over Carolina in front of the home crowd. Tonight, they grab their visas and head north of the border to take on the surprising Ottawa Senators. Alexander Wennberg, Nick Foligno and Brandon Saad make up the team’s top line and could be used as a nice tournament stack here tonight. All three players have notched over 33 points so far this season, with Wennberg and Foligno seeing a majority of minutes on the team’s top power play. This brings me to my favorite one-off play of all time, Cam Atkinson. He not only leads the team in points, but he also has a team-leading 19 power play points while he skates with Boone Jenner and Brandon Dubinsky at even strength. His line mates haven’t been as productive as the team would like them to be, but as long as they are winning, I guess it really doesn’t matter. Sam Gagner is also worth a look here, as he skates on the fourth line but had rejuvenated his career by getting the opportunity to skate on the Blue Jackets top power play line. Gagner has tallied 14 of his 32 points while being on the ice as the extra skater. Zachary Werenski is normally the play here, but as indicated in yesterday’s Grind Down, Seth Jones is looking better every game as he slowly gets back to 100 percent after recovering from his broken foot, which he suffered back in November. Jones has found the score sheet six times over the last 12 games.
Considering that he was literally pulled off of the scrap heap, goaltender Mike Condon has filled in admirably in between the pipes for the Ottawa Senators. Not only has he kept them in the playoff hunt; he has been able to win five of his last six starts, and he will more than likely start his 19th straight start. Ottawa elects to try and use three lines with Mark Stone, Derick Brassard and Zack Smith make up on scoring line while Kyle Turris, Bobby Ryan and Ryan Dzingel looks like the line that opposing teams would try to shut down. Mike Hoffman skates on the third line along with Tom Pyatt and Jean-Gabriel Pageau. Hoffman and Turris have been battling back and forth for the team lead in goals, as Turris has the slight one goal edge by lighting the lamp 16 times. They both play on the top power play unit along with Stone and defensemen Erik Karlsson and Dion Phaneuf. Karlsson leads the team in points with 38, while Phaneuf has been steady enough to almost grab a point every two games. As you can see, the senators not only try to get three scoring lines going, but their power play is constructed from all three lines, as well. This gives you the option to pair power play players together or even strength players together. For example, you could roster Turris with either Ryan or Hoffman as he sees exposure to both, but not at the same time. Hoffman is easily a one-off here, as his line mates are little less talented than the players on the top two lines.
Elite Plays
CBJ: Cam Atkinson
OTT: Erik Karlsson
Secondary Plays
CBJ: Alexander Wennberg, Nick Foligno, Sam Gagner, Brandon Saad, Zachary Werenski
OTT: Kyle Turris, Mike Hoffman, Mark Stone, Derick Brassard, Bobby Ryan
Philadelphia Flyers at New York Islanders
| Philadelphia Flyers | New York Islanders | ||||||||
 | Michal Neuvirth |  | Jean-Francois Berube | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 22-19-6 | 19-17-8 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.76 | 3.13 | 21.80% | 80.00% | Team Stats | 2.84 | 2.91 | 14.60% | 80.00% |
In the early eighties, this would have been the marquee matchup of the day, as Mike Bossy would take on the aging Bobby Clarke and the Philadelphia Flyers. Those days are gone, however, and in 2016, both of these teams struggle just to the make the playoffs. The Flyers are trying desperately trying to find a way to get the train back on the tracks. What they need is a shot in the arm, as they have only scored ten goals over the last six games which saw four of them coming in their 5-4 shootout win at home against Vancouver. Claude Giroux centers Michael Raffl and Matt Read while Sean Couturier skates with Jakub Voracek and Nick Cousins. Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds and Travis Konecny look to actually have the best chance of scoring here on the road, as I would assume that the Islanders will try to shut down one of the other two lines. Voracek, Giroux, Simmonds, and Schenn should be the first players to look at, as they all have over 15 power play points while skating on the top unit when the Flyers draw a penalty. Schenn and Giroux lead the team with seven points each over the last 10 games, and that is a strong indication of how much the Flyers haven’t been scoring since their the game-winning streak was snapped back on December 17th. Shayne Gostisbehere is back on the point on the power play, but that doesn’t mean he is the best play. Gostisbehere has been struggling this season, which has left the door open for Ivan Provorov to be a viable option, as he has the upper hand on Gostisbehere by two points by lighting the lamp three times and assisting on 18 other goals. Philly needs something here, and the only thing that may work is to put the top six players back together again.
The Islanders have won two games in a row since the firing of Jack Capuano. To be fair, he really didn’t have much to work with outside of John Tavares and Nick Leddy. Yes, Brock Nelson is a nice player, but the Islanders have been waiting for their younger talent like Ryan Strome and Anders Lee among others to step up, which has not happened as yet. Sure, Lee plays great with Tavares, but the again, who wouldn’t? In fact, Lee is part of the top line along with Tavares and Josh Bailey that has given the Islanders the firepower needed to win three games in a row for the second time this season. They have scored six of the Islanders last 11 goals and should be considered as one of the top line stacks in tonight’s contests. The second line features Nelson and Strome, but neither player has registered a point in the last seven games. Nick Leddy is the choice from the point, as he joins the top line on the Islanders top power play unit. Leddy has collected ten of his 23 points with the man advantage, which makes him a cheaper option on the back line tonight. Nikolay Kulemin and Jason Chimera have netted a few goals in the last three games, but for the most part, they should only be considered as deeper punt plays for your tournament action today.
Elite Plays
PHL: Jakub Voracek
NYI: John Tavares
Secondary Plays
PHL: Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn, Ivan Provorov
NYI: Anders Lee, Josh Bailey, Nick Leddy
Vancouver Canucks at Chicago Blackhawks
| Vancouver Canucks | Chicago Blackhawks | ||||||||
 |  | ||||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 22-19-6 | 29-14-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.34 | 2.74 | 13.20% | 79.70% | Team Stats | 2.73 | 2.48 | 18.10% | 75.60% |
Despite what you may think of the Vancouver Canucks, they slowly but surely have been becoming a better team. Their record of 22-19-6 gives them 50 points, which is just one point away from claiming the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The problem occurs when they hit the road, as they have managed just 13 points away from the home crowd with a record of 5-13-3. Chicago will more than likely try to shut down the top line of Henrik Sedin, Loui Eriksson and Daniel Sedin, which would give a little more room to Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi, who skate on the team’s second line. Henrik and Horvat are tied with 30 points for the team lead, while Daniel is third with 26 points. Baertschi gets the nod when the Canucks have the power play, as he skates with the Sedin Brothers along with third line Brandon Sutter and defenseman Troy Stecher. The Canucks power play has struck once in the last six games, so it’s probably better to stick with the even-strength lines here. Sutter makes for s decent one-off play here only because of the small slate as he has lit the lamp twice in the last six games while collecting 12 goals and 11 assists so far this season. Stecher, meanwhile, has chipped in three assists over the last six games, which has given him just 13 points on the season. As you can probably tell, Vancouver has won a lot of by playing defense and getting solid goaltending, as they have only scored more than three goals nine times in their 22 victories.
Chicago will need a win here to pull back into a first place tie with the Minnesota Wild for supremacy in the Central Division. The Wild will have four games in hand, however, which could make it difficult for the Blackhawks to get that ever-precious home ice advantage throughout the playoffs. That’s neither here nor there today, as Patrick Kane, Artem Anisimov and Artemi Panarin should be the chalk plays today for both cash and tournaments. This line doubles as the top power play unit, which gives us even more reason to roster them tonight. Kane leads the team with 33 assists and 47 points, while Anisimov’s 18 goals is tops on the team. Panarin has been solid all year by lighting the lamp 17 times and assisting on 26 other goals. The Blackhawks have switched things up a bit after that; I think they realize that the aging Jonathan Toews needed more help than fellow veteran Marian Hossa was able to provide. Ryan Hartman has collected three goals and two assists in the last six games while playing to the left of Toews while Richard Panik has even got into the act by grabbing three points on Toews’ right wing over that same time period. This line looks good to go for tournament play as the Canucks have given up 30 goals in their last eight road games. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook anchor the top power play unit from the back line which makes both of them reliable enough to use for your cash game plays tonight. Keith has 31 points while Seabrook has three goals and 20 assists, to his credit. Oddly enough, both have 10 power play points going into tonight’s game. If you are looking to chase points, then Tanner Kero is your guy. Kero has notched three goals and three assists in the last six games while skating on the third line with Vincent Hinostroza and Marian Hossa. The Blackhawks should be able to improve on the 17-5-4 record in front of the home crowd as the visiting Canucks should be sitting ducks. Bang bang!
Elite Plays
VAN: None
CHI: Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin
Secondary Plays
VAN: Henrik Sedin, Bo Horvat, Sven Baertschi, Daniel Sedin, Brandon Sutter
CHI: Artem Anisimov, Duncan Keith, Jonathan Toews, Ryan Hartman, Brent Seabrook