NHL Grind Down: Sunday, January 8th
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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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Tampa Bay Lightning at Pittsburgh Penguins
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Pittsburgh Penguins | ||||||||
 | Andrei Vasilevskiy |  | Marc-Andre Fleury | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 19-18-4 | 25-8-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.80 | 2.88 | 23.50% | 79.70% | Team Stats | 3.45 | 2.79 | 22.40% | 80.00% |
After losing 4-2 to Philadelphia yesterday afternoon the Lightning will head west on the Pennsylvania Turnpike to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins who are 17-2-2 in front of the home crowd. We’ve been over it many times on how many injuries the Lightning have had during the year but yet still remain in the hunt for the final playoff spot. Nikita Kucherov is always in play as he sees a lot of ice time between skating on the team’s top line and logging minutes on the Lightning’s top power play unit. Kucherov notched his 16th goal of the season yesterday and now has 39 points in 34 games, which is tops on the team. Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson complete the team’s top line and could be used as a GPP play here this afternoon. Palat and Johnson have each registered three goals and two assists in the last five games. The second line of Alex Killorn, Valtteri Filppula and Jonathan Drouin could also fly under the radar this afternoon as most players will be focusing on Pittsburgh, Chicago and Anaheim as the top cash plays of the day. Drouin leads the team with six power play goals while Killorn has been pretty steady with his 12 goals and nine assists he has recorded so far this season. Victor Hedman is the play on the back line as he leads the team with 18 power play points and is second on the team in scoring with seven goals and 29 assists. Look for Tampa to stay in the game but eventually fade as the game wears on.
The Penguins have won 12 of the last 15 games as they look to close the gap on the Metropolitan Division leading Columbus Blue Jackets. Pittsburgh has not played a game in 2017 and could come up a bit rusty tonight but I wouldn’t count on it. Sidney Crosby leads the team with 26 goals from the top line that sees Bryan Rust and Conor Sheary getting better by the game by just playing next to the future hall of famer. Sheary has garnered four points over the last five games which gives him a total of 22 points in the 33 games he has played in. Evgeni Malkin, Patric Hornqvist and Carl Hagelin skate on the team’s second line and can be used as a strong GPP play here as they have combined for six goals and eight assists in the last five games. Malkin leads the team with 43 points in 38 games. Phil Kessel has 16 power play points while skating with Crosby, Hornqvist and Malkin on the team’s top power play unit that has struck for seven goals over the last six games. Kessel makes for a good one-of play here as he is a dead even point-per-game player at 38 points in 38 games. With the return of defenseman Kris Letang it appears that the days of using defenseman Justin Schultz are over. Letang game back last game and promptly assisted on two goals which gives him 21 points in 26 games. Schultz can still be used as a punt play but relying him for a steady stream of points may be a little bit presumptuous as he will not get the opportunities that he had with Letang injured.
Elite Plays
TB: Nikita Kucherov
PIT: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin
Secondary Plays
TB: Tyler Johnson, Victor Hedman, Jonathan Drouin, Ondrej Palat
PIT: Phil Kessel, Patric Hornqvist, Kris Letang, Conor Sheary
Boston Bruins at Carolina Hurricanes
| Boston Bruins | Carolina Hurricanes | ||||||||
 | Tuukka Rask |  | Cam Ward | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 21-17-4 | 17-15-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.34 | 2.44 | 14.60% | 87.90% | Team Stats | 2.51 | 2.59 | 18.30% | 87.90% |
The Boston Bruins went into Florida last night and came away with a 4-0 win against a depleted Panther team. The win outs them I sole possession of second place in the Atlantic Division with 46 points as both Ottawa and Toronto lost in last night’s action. The top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak also doubles as the first unit to hit the ice when the Bruins go on the power play. Marchand leads the team with 34 points while Pastrmak leads the team with 19 goals so far this season. The second line that features David Krejci, Ryan Spooner and David Backes should be looked at as a GPP play here as the Hurricanes will try their best to shut down the Bruins top line. Krejci can also be used as a one-off here as he has lit the lamp three times and has assisted on three other goals in the last six games. He also ranks third on the team in scoring with nine goals and 17 assists. Torey Krug continued to add to his power play totals as he registered his eighth assist while quarterbacking the team’s top power play unit. Besides Kris Letang, there aren’t many decent blue line plays on this slate so maybe taking a look at Krug in this spot is the way to go. Boston has to keep marching on as they have played the most games in the Atlantic Division which means that the teams below can easily catch them because they have games in hand.
Carolina is another team on the outside looking in if the playoffs were to start today. They have only scored 20 goals in the last nine games but have somehow managed to go 5-4 despite the low scoring production. The Hurricanes have an impressive 11-4-1 record in front of the home crowd but still remain six points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Jeff Skinner and Victor Rask are the easy chalk plays here as they skate on the team’s top line and are the first ones on the ice when the hurricanes draw a penalty. Skinner leads the team with 14 goals and 29 points while Rask is right behind him leading the team with 17 assists and 28 points. Take your choice as to which punt play you want to use with them as Ty Rattie skates with them at even strength while Derek Ryan gets the call from the third line to round out the front line of the top power play unit. The second line that features Teuvo Teravainen and Sebastian Aho could be used as a GPP duo with line mate Lee Stempniak being used if you want a full line stack. All three players are within three total points of each other on the season with Aho leading the way with eight goals and 13 assists. Justin Faulk has returned from injury on the back line and is joined by Noah Hanifin on the team’s top power play unit that has managed just one goal in the last nine games. Carolina’s home record should help them squeak past the Bruins tonight.
Elite Plays
BOS: Brad Marchand
CAR: Jeff Skinner, Victor Rask
Secondary Plays
BOS: David Pastrnak, David Krejci, Torey Krug, Patrice Bergeron, Ryan Spooner
CAR: Sebastian Aho, Justin Faulk, Derek Ryan, Teuvo Teravainen
Philadelphia Flyers at Columbus Blue Jackets
| Philadelphia Flyers | Columbus Blue Jackets | ||||||||
 | Steve Mason |  | Sergei Bobrovsky | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 21-15-5 | 27-7-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.85 | 3.03 | 21.70% | 81.30% | Team Stats | 3.35 | 2.11 | 27.20% | 81.70% |
Shuffling up the lines worked for Philadelphia yesterday as each of the top three lines had a hand in pulling off the 4-2 win on home ice against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tonight is a different story however as they will pay a visit to the best team in hockey, the Columbus Blue Jackets. Because the Flyers have shuffled up their lines so much it will tough to predict what line Columbus will actually try to shut down. Claude Giroux and Michael Raffl now skate with Matt Read while Jakub Voracek and Travis Konecny will see Sean Couturier as their center. Wayne Simmonds and Brayden Schenn also stay together but will have Nick Cousins riding shotgun on the left wing. You can pair these guys up anyway you want but maybe the best thing to do is stick with the top power play unit that is second in the league with 31 goals so far this season. If that’s the way you choose then Giroux, Voracek, Schenn and Simmonds are the guys you want. Schenn leads this group with two goals and three assists over the last five games and is tie with Wayne Simmonds for the team lead with eight power play goals. Shayne Gostisbehere plays the point on the top power play but Ivan Provorov has been getting better every game as he has moved within two points of Gostisbehere on the Flyers seasonal scoring list. Both teams come into this one after playing yesterday so look for the Flyers to try to utilize all three lines like they did yesterday to try and steal one here in Columbus.
It didn’t take for Columbus to get over their 16 game winning streak ending as they kept the offensive machine moving right along with a win over the Rangers last night. That was going to be the lead-in to the Columbus part of this article but with two Luke Glendening goals and a Michael Grabner goal with 16 seconds left, the Rangers came back to hand Columbus their second loss in a row. Tonight the Philadelphia Flyers come to town in what can only be termed as a homecoming of sorts as Steve Mason and Jakub Voracek used to play for Columbus, while Sam Gagner, Scott Hartnell and Sergei Bobrovsky used to play for the Flyers. The top line of Nick Foligno, Alexnader Wennberg and Brandon Saad should see a lot of ownership in cash games tonight as they have together recorded over 100 points so far this season. Not many teams have been able to stop this trio and get the extra advantage of the last line change on home ice tonight. Cam Atkinson continues to be a strong one-off each and every night as he leads the team 19 goals and 39 points. 19 of those points have come on the power play in which he joins Wennberg, Foligno and Gagner as the four forward attack when the blue jackets draw a penalty. Speaking of Gagner, he is easily one of the better one-off plays of the night as he is well ahead of his career year with the Edmonton Oilers back in 2007 where he had 49 points in 79 games. So far Gagner has scored 14 goals to go with 16 assists in the 37 games he has played in this season. Zachary Werenski quarterbacks the top power play unit and is tied for second in the league with 15 power play points where defensemen are concerned.
Elite Plays
PHL: Jakub Voracek, Claude Giroux
CBJ: Cam Atkinson, Alexander Wennberg, Nick Foligno
Secondary Plays
PHL: Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn, Ivan Provorov
CBJ: Brandon Saad, Sam Gagner, Zachary Werenski
Edmonton Oilers at Ottawa Senators
| Edmonton Oilers | Ottawa Senators | ||||||||
 | Jonas Gustavsson |  | Mike Condon | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 21-13-7 | 20-14-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.83 | 2.60 | 21.40% | 81.30% | Team Stats | 2.46 | 2.62 | 15.60% | 82.80% |
It took Edmonton 63 minutes and 59 seconds to beat New Jersey last night in Newark as Travis Zajac took a fatal slashing penalty with less than three minutes to go in overtime to seal the Devils fate. Mark Letestu continues to thrive on the power play as he comes up from the fourth line to get the exposure to team superstar Connor McDavid. Letestu scored his fourth power play goal of the season to give the Oilers the victory and the much needed two points. The win also gets the oilers back on track as they have now won six of their last ten games which puts them just one point away from the Pacific Division leading Anaheim Ducks. McDavid leads the team in scoring with 46 points as he centers the top line along with Leon Draisaitl and Patrick Maroon. Draisaitl is second on the team in points and also leads the team with 15 power play points. Milan Lucic skates on the second line along with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zack Kassian and could make for a decent line stack for tournament play if you leave Kassian out. This of course would make Nugent-Hopkins and Lucic a pair to use in GPP play as Kassian is more of a physical player than he is a scorer. In all this mixing up of the lines Jordan Eberle has been lost in the shuffle. He has lit the lamp eight times and has assisted on 18 other goals. These aren’t bad stats but I guess when you have McDavid tearing it up everything else pales in comparison. The carousel continues on the back line where the top power play unit is concerned. One game it’s Andrej Sekera, then its Oscar Klefbom, then back to Sekera, then Klefbom. Make up my mind already! Klefbom is the flavor of the day as he recorded nine shots last night and did have the power play assist on the game winning goal.
Ottawa needs a win here to keep pace in the playoff race that is shaping up in the Atlantic Division. By virtue of Boston winning last night they moved two points ahead of both Ottawa and Toronto by two points for second place in what looks like could be a division that only sends three teams to the playoffs. For some god-forsaken reason someone thought it would be a good idea to place Mike Hoffman on the third line with Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Tom Pyatt while Zack Smith moved up to the second line to play with Derick Brassard and Mark Stone. The top line of Ryan Dzingel, Kyle Turris and Bobby Ryan seems to be the best line to use for your cash game selections tonight. Turris is third on the team in scoring with 13 goals and 12 assists while Dzingel has 20 points so far this season. Hoffman makes for a great one-off play regardless of what line he plays on. He leads the team with 104 shots and has lit the lamp ten times so far this season. He will also get to play on the top power pay unit along with Turris and Stone which gives him a few more scoring opportunities that the rest of the team doesn’t get. Erik Karlsson would seem to be the defensemen of the night if you feel like paying up at that position. Karlsson leads the team in points with seven goals and 25 points while quarterbacking the team’s top power play unit. If you are looking for some salary relief maybe Dion Phaneuf can fit the bill as eight of his 15 points have come with the man advantage. Both teams played last night so I’d look for a more open style of play tonight which could equate into scoring more goals than usual.
Elite Plays
EDM: Connor McDavid
OTT: Erik Karlsson
Secondary Plays
EDM: Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Milan Lucic, Mark Letestu, Oscar Klefbom
OTT: Kyle Turris, Mike Hoffman, Mark Stone, Bobby Ryan, Ryan Dzingel
Nashville Predators at Chicago Blackhawks
| Nashville Predators | Chicago Blackhawks | ||||||||
 | Pekka Rinne |  | Corey Crawford | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 17-15-7 | 25-12-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.79 | 2.62 | 19.50% | 82.10% | Team Stats | 2.69 | 2.40 | 18.60% | 75.40% |
The Nashville Predators may very well have to play with two of their best players in James Neal and Viktor Arvidsson. Both players missed the last game with injuries and there hasn’t been any word so far on their status for tonight’s game. If they cannot suit up you would have to look at Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen and Kevin Fiala as tournament plays only as Chicago should have no problem shutting down a one line team on home ice. Mike Fisher will join Johansen and Forsberg on the team’s top power play unit while centering Austin Watson and Colton Scissons on the team’s second line. Fisher has recorded 11 goals to go along with 11 assists in 34 games and can be used as a one-off here as his line should have a bit more skating room on the ice tonight. The third line sees Mike Ribeiro centering Calle jarnkrok and Harry Zolniercyzk. Folks, Zolniercyzk should probably not even be in the league let alone skating on someone’s third line. This is how bad the Predators injuries have left them decimated. Roman Josi and Mattias Ekholm are the choice from the back line as P.K. Subban continues to heal from a herniated disc in his back. Josi has nine of his 20 points on the power play and is second on the team with 115 shots on goal. This should at least warrant a look on a short slate that has just six games to choose from.
Chicago continues to improve on their 15-4-4 record in front of the home crowd. They also have their share of road wins which has helped them stay atop of the Eastern Conference with 55 points. The only thing that will stand in the way of a victory is themselves as they clearly have more talent than the team that will dress in the visiting locker room tonight. Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin and Artem Anisimov will surely be high owned in cash game play tonight as they have lead the Hawks in scoring for most of the year. Kane has really turned it on of late as he has lit the lamp twice and has four assists over the last five games while leading the team with 29 assist and 41 points. Anisimov leads the team with 18 goals on 67 shots while Panarin has netted 16 goals for a total of 40 points so far this season. This line also serves as the top power play unit that usually sees more than 65% of the ice time when the Hawks draw a penalty. Jonathan Toews makes for a decent one-off play here as he has collected five of his 20 points over the last five games. This also coincides with head coach Joel Quennville’s decision to move Toews up to the top power play unit in favor of defensemen Brent Seabrook. This will obviously depress Seabrook’s value while Duncan Keith will reap the spoils. Keith logs over 26 minutes of ice time a night as he quarterbacks the team’s top power play unit. If that wasn’t enough, he is currently fourth on the team in scoring with 28 points which would make him one of the better choices on the back line tonight. Marian Hossa and Vincent Hinostroza skate with Toews at even strength on the team’s second line and could be used with him as a GPP pairing.
Elite Plays
NSH: Ryan Johansen
CHI: Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin
Secondary Plays
NSH: Filip Forsberg, Mike Fisher, Roman Josi
CHI: Artem Anisimov, Duncan Keith, Jonathan Toews