NHL Grind Down: Sunday, January 3rd
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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Dallas Stars at New York Islanders – 05:00 PM EST
| Dallas Stars | New York Islanders | ||||||||
 | Kari Lehtonen |  | Jaroslav Halak | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 28-8-4 | 21-13-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.45 | 2.48 | 22.80% | 80.70% | Team Stats | 2.67 | 2.36 | 17.90% | 86.00% |
In what looked to be a bit of a trap game, the Dallas Stars feel 3-2 in overtime against the New Jersey Devils. They’ll make the short trip to Brooklyn this afternoon to battle a New York Islanders squad for the first time this season. It remains pretty straight forward when breaking down this Dallas team from a fantasy standpoint as the dynamic duo of Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn have both already eclipsed the 50 point plateau on the young season, are both tied with Patrick Kane for the league lead in multi-point games (15) and have combined for points on the same goal more often than any other pair in the NHL this season (33 goals). Patrick Sharp joins them on both the top forward line and #1 power-play unit and his goal last night extended his point streak to eight games (5 goals and 6 assists during that stretch). On defense, John Klingberg continues to hold the reigns as the point man on the #1 power-play unit and owns a three game point streak of his own. With 35 points in 40 games, he’s a fine option in all formats.
The Islanders were embarrassed last night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, but still own a solid 21-13-5 record on the season and are holding on to second place in the Metropolitan Division. John Tavares is the leader of this offense, and after struggling mightily at the beginning of December, he looks to have re-found his groove as he’s scored two goals and dished out four assists over the last five games. He’s posted 18 points in 18 home games and is slated to be joined by Anders Lee and Josh Bailey on the Islanders top scoring line. With Dallas looking to push the pace offensively, all three players look like fine options tonight. Alternatively, Kyle Okposo now finds himself skating alongside the under-rated Frans Nielsen and Nikolay Kulemin. They’ll likely be widely overlooked, making them terrific GPP targets. Johnny Boychuck’s absence on the blue-line gives the trio of Nick Leddy, Travis Hamonic and Marek Zidlicky each a bigger workload. Leddy scored a goal in last night’s game to extend his point streak to four games and, with him slated to man the point of their dangerous #1 power-play unit, he’s my top target here.
Elite Options
DAL: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, Patrick Sharp, John Klingberg
NYI: John Tavares, Anders Lee, Kyle Okposo, Nick Leddy
Secondary Options
DAL: Jason Spezza, Cody Eakin, Alex Goligoski
NYI: Frans Nielsen, Josh Bailey, Travis Hamonic, Marek Zidlicky
Minnesota Wild at Florida Panthers – 06:00 PM EST
| Minnesota Wild | Florida Panthers | ||||||||
 | Devan Dubnyk |  | Roberto Luongo | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 20-10-7 | 22-12-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.70 | 2.35 | 19.30% | 77.50% | Team Stats | 2.61 | 2.18 | 18.00% | 80.80% |
Minnesota lost a grueling 3-2 decision to the Tampa Bay Lightning last night in Tampa and will make the short trip south to Miami today to battle the Florida Panthers. With the Florida Panthers giving up a minuscule 2.18 goals against per game this season, this certainly does not look like the most fantasy friendly game on the board. The Wild were ecstatic to get Zach Parise back into the lineup yesterday and he proved his health by logging over 24 minutes of ice-time. He’s slated to be joined by Mikko Koivu and Charlie Coyle on the top line and it’s actually Koivu who leads this team with 10 goals and 21 assists in 37 games this season. Mike Yeo also has a very strong second forward line at his disposal if the Panthers focus too heavily on slowing down that top line, as Thomas Vanek, Mikael Granlund and Jason Pominville are certainly very dangerous offensively. On defense, Ryan Suter 28:14 in ice-time per game trails only Erik Karlsson in the entire NHL and the workhorse defenseman has racked up 24 points in 37 games this season. He’s still underpriced on several sites, making him an elite option in those cases. Conversely, Jared Spurgeon broke out of a mini-slump with a goal in last night’s game and is in the midst of the best season of his young career.
Don’t look now, but the Panthers are not only the hottest team in the NHL right now (8 game winning streak) but also sit atop the Atlantic Division with a 22-12-4 record. With a nice mix of young talent and veteran leadership, this team looks poised to be a factor in the Eastern Conference when spring time comes around. Their top line of Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov and Jaromir Jagr has been carrying the load offensively lately. Barkov racked up 13 points in 14 games during the month of December, with Huberdeau trailing just behind with 12 points of his own. While they’ll be looking at a full dose of both Zach Parise and Ryan Suter excellent defense, they’re still the top options up front for Florida. Aaron Eklbad may only be 19 years-old, but this kid is quickly establishing himself as one of the best blue-liners in the NHL. He’s posted a very solid 18 points (and +12) in 38 games this season and quarterback’s the Panthers’ #1 power-play unit.
Elite Options
MIN: Zach Parise, Mikko Koivu, Ryan Suter
FLA: Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov, Jaromir Jagr, Aaron Ekblad
Secondary Options
MIN: Thomas Vanek, Jason Zucker, Jason Pominville, Jared Spurgeon
FLA: Jussi Jokinen, Brandon Pirri, Brian Campbell, Dmitry Kulikov
Ottawa Senators at Chicago Blackhawks – 07:00 PM EST
| Ottawa Senators | Chicago Blackhawks | ||||||||
 | Craig Anderson |  | Corey Crawford | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 18-14-6 | 22-13-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.84 | 2.92 | 18.50% | 76.30% | Team Stats | 2.74 | 2.49 | 23.80% | 81.10% |
Despite outshooting New Jersey 36-21 on Wednesday, they were shutout 3-0 by the Devils and have now dropped four of their last five games. They own just a 4-7-1 record over their last 12 games and will kick off a very tough mini two-game road trip tonight in Chicago. Ottawa was able to pick up a 4-3 overtime victory against the Blackhawks in their only previous meeting this season, but Chicago has posted a 14-5-1 record at the United Center and should be hungry for revenge. It’s a two line offensive attack for the Senators, as Mika Zibanejad centers talented wingers of Mike Hoffman and Bobby Ryan on the top line. However, with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa likely focused on making life difficult on those three, the second line with Kyle Turris centering Mark Stone and Zack Smith looks to have a bit better matchup. Erik Karlsson is simply the most dangerous offensive defenseman in the league right now and has racked up 41 points in 38 games this season. While he’s proven to be somewhat matchup proof, his sky-high asking price makes him more of a GPP play for me tonight.
The defending Stanley Cup Champions just completed a sweep on their short two-game road trip and have posted a 7-3-0 record over their last seven games. Much like the Ottawa Senators, the bulk of their offense comes from their two very dangerous top forward lines. Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa and Andrew Shaw have plenty of offensive upside on the top line, but (as mentioned above) they’ll be focused a bit more heavily on the defensive end tonight and that puts a small dent in their fantasy outlook. Meanwhile, Patrick Kane continues to lead the NHL in scoring with 56 points and continues to elevate the games of his linemates Artemi Panarin and Artem Anisimov. With the Ottawa Senators allowing more shots on goal against per game (33.8) than any other team in the league this season, all three look like terrific options tonight. On defense, both Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith join Kane/Anisimov/Panarin on the #1 power-play unit and have posted impressive offensive numbers this season. With the Senators also owning an ugly 76.3% penalty kill, they become top tier options on the blue-line.
Elite Options
OTT: Mark Stone, Kyle Turris, Erik Karlsson
CHI: Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin, Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith
Secondary Options
OTT: Mika Zibanejad, Bobby Ryan, Mike Hoffman,
CHI: Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Artem Anisimov
Winnipeg Jets at Anaheim Ducks – 09:00 PM EST
| Winnipeg Jets | Anaheim Ducks | ||||||||
 | Ondrej Pavelec |  | Frederik Andersen | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 17-18-2 | 15-15-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.68 | 2.92 | 13.90% | 77.30% | Team Stats | 1.84 | 2.35 | 18.40% | 88.30% |
Winnipeg picked up an important 4-1 victory over San Jose in the Shark Tank last night and will continue a tough five game road trip tonight as they head south to Anaheim to battle the Ducks for the first time this season. With Mark Scheifele out of action, we’ve recently seen the Jets shake up their forward lines. Bryan Little and Blake Wheeler will now be joined by Drew Stafford on the top line, with Andrew Ladd dropping down to play alongside Adam Lowry and Alex Bumistrov on the second line. Blake Wheeler leads the team with 39 points in 38 games and picked up a pair of assists last night. Meanwhile, Drew Stafford lit the lamp last night and is the biggest beneficiary of the new forward lines. On defense, can rack up fantasy points in a myriad of ways and has picked up an assist in each of the last two games. Just keep your expectations in check a bit as Anaheim has played solid defensively lately and owns an NHL best 88.3% penalty kill.
The Anaheim Ducks may be the lowest scoring team in the entire NHL this season (just 1.84 goals/game), but it’s tough to overlook them completely on just a four game slate. While they may be offensively challenged, at least it’s quite easy to pin-point where the offense is coming from and the Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry combo is producing a disproportionate amount of their offense. Rickard Rakell joins those two on both the top forward line and #1 power-play unit and therefore remains an intriguing value play. Cam Fowler injury creates plenty of opportunities for both Sami Vatanen and Hampus Lindholm, and while they may not be the most exciting defensive options on the board, they’re fine cash game targets. With Winnipeg being one of the most penalized teams in the NHL this season (12:22 PIM/G) and owning just a 77.4% penalty kill, getting some exposure to the Ducks top power-play unit looks wise.
Elite Options
WPG: Blake Wheeler, Bryan Little, Dustin Byfuglien
ANA: Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry
Secondary Options
WPG: Drew Stafford, Andrew Ladd, Mathieu Perreault, Tyler Myers
ANA: Rickard Rakell, Patrick Maroon, Sami Vatanen, Hampus Lindholm