NHL Grind Down: Sunday, March 19th
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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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Columbus Blue Jackets at New Jersey Devils
| Columbus Blue Jackets | New Jersey Devils | ||||||||
 | Sergei Bobrovsky |  | Cory Schneider | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 46-18-6 | 26-32-12 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.17 | 2.32 | 21.60% | 83.10% | Team Stats | 2.29 | 2.90 | 18.20% | 80.60% |
Columbus has won three in a row and are now looking to overtake the Washington Capitals in the Metropolitan Division. Their 46-18-6 record has yielded them 98 points, placing them just one win away from Washington with a game in hand. Alexander Wennberg, Nick Foligno, and Oliver Bjorkstrand are the team’s top line and serve as the top power play unit, as well. Their 3-2 win yesterday in Brooklyn went as scripted: the top line was shut down, while Cam Atkinson lit the lamp in overtime to seal the deal. Atkinson is always a great one-off play on the road because he doesn’t have to tangle with the opposition’s top defensive line and gets the added bonus of playing on the top power play unit. Win-win. That goal was Atkinson’s 33rd of the year, which leads the team and is part of his team leading 60 points so far this season. Atkinson was skating with Brandon Saad and Sam Gagner, which could fare well on the two-game afternoon slate. Boone Jenner and Brandon Dubinsky have been dropped from the second line and can be used as a tournament stack this afternoon if you are looking for something different. Zachary Werenski is the play on the back line, as he mans the blue line when the Blue Jackets have the extra attacker. Twenty-one of his forty-four points have come with the man advantage, which would make him one of the safer defensemen to roster this afternoon.
After beating the Flyers by a score of 6-2 on Thursday night, the Devils have gone back to their losing ways by losing to Pittsburgh by a score of 6-4 on Friday night. They did score four goals, however, which means that the 10 goals they have scored in the last two games is more than the eight goals they had scored in the previous six games. Taylor Hall, Travis Zajac, and Kyle Palmieri skate on the team’s top line and pull double duty when the Devils draw a penalty. This is the line to target for tournament plays while sprinkling in Palmieri and hall in your cash game line ups. Hall has notched six of his 47 points over the last eight games. Meanwhile Palmieri has taken the team lead with 48 points which has been aided by the eight points he has registered over the last eight games. Adam Henrique centers Joseph Blandisi and Beau Bennett and could be used as a deeper GPP play here. Andy Greene is back on the team’s top power play unit, but I would stick with Damon Severson if you are looking to roster a Devils defenseman here. Severson is more productive, as he has recorded 13 of his 30 points with the extra attacker. New Jersey could very well go back to their non-scoring ways, so I’d tread lightly here this afternoon.
Elite Plays
CBJ: Cam Atkinson
NJ: Taylor Hall
Secondary Plays
CBJ: Alexander Wennberg, Nick Foligno, Brandon Saad, Zachary Werenski
NJ: Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac, Adam Henrique, Damon Severson
Florida Panthers at Pittsburgh Penguins
| Florida Panthers | Pittsburgh Penguins | ||||||||
 | James Reimer |  | Matt Murray | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 31-28-11 | 44-17-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.43 | 2.78 | 16.90% | 86.00% | Team Stats | 3.46 | 2.79 | 22.50% | 80.10% |
Florida has won just three games over their last 10 games, which has them on the outside looking in where the playoffs are concerned. Their 73 points is six points away from the transfer spot in the Eastern Conference, as they are ranked 11th if the season were to end today. Jonathan Huberdeau, Jaromir Jagr, and Aleksander Barkov skate as the team’s top line that has seen Barkov notch eight of his 46 points over the last eight games. Vincent Trocheck looks to be a nice one-off here, as he leads the team with 49 points while centering the second line. The third line looks to be the one to target here for your tournament play options, as Thomas Vanek, Nick Bjugstad, and Jonathan Marchessault should have plenty of room to do some damage this afternoon. Marchessault leads the team with 23 goals, as he is the one that gets tapped to skate with the top line on the first power play unit. With Aaron Ekblad hurt, it looks like Keith Yandle, who was already skaing on the top power play unit and grabbing 22 minutes of ice time on a nightly basis, will get an even bigger role. Yandle has found the score sheet 35 times in his 70 games and should be able to grab a point this afternoon against the depleted Penguins.
The Penguins come into this one in third place in the Metropolitan Division with 97 points so far this season. It looks like Evgeni Malkin will not suit up for this one, which has prompted Pittsburgh to shuffle their line up even more than they were last game. Sidney Crosby is back to centering Jake Guentzel and Conor Sheary, while Nick Bonino will center Chris Kunitz and Scott Wilson. Patric Hornqvist and Phil Kessel will skate on the “third” line with Matt Cullen but will move up with Crosby and Sheary to form the team’s top power play unit. Kessel makes for a nice one-off play here, as he has lit the lamp 22 times so far this season en route to tallying 62 points, which is good enough for third on the Pittsburgh scoring chart. If you didn’t use Mark Streit on the back line when he notched an assists on the top power play unit the other night, you missed it. He is back off the top power play unit, which makes Justin Schultz the defensive play of the afternoon. Schultz has seen 18 of his 46 points come with the man advantage, which could bode well here as the Panthers have given up power play goals in three of their last four games. Look for Pittsburgh to persevere and improve on their 28-4-3 record in front of the home crowd.
Elite Plays
FLA: None
PIT: Sidney Crosby
Secondary Plays
FLA: Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Jonathan Marchessault, Keith Yandle, Vincent Trocheck
PIT: Phil Kessel, Patric Hornqvist, Conor Sheary, Justin Schultz, Jake Guentzel
Minnesota Wild at Winnipeg Jets
| Minnesota Wild | Winnipeg Jets | ||||||||
 | Darcy Kuemper |  | Connor Hellebuyck | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 43-21-6 | 31-33-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.25 | 2.41 | 20.90% | 84.00% | Team Stats | 2.96 | 3.17 | 17.40% | 76.80% |
It’s official: the Minnesota Wild are in a slump. Tonight, they travel to Winnipeg looking to break their four-game losing streak, their worst of the season. The Wild have managed to score just nine goals in six of the last seven games, all of which were losses; the only saving grace is the seven goals they put up against Florida back on March 10th. Mikko Kovi, Jason Zucker, and Mikael Granlund will try to get things going from the top line, while Eric Staal centers Nino Niederreiter and Charlie Coyle on the second line. Martin Hanzal has returned to the lineup and will center Zach Parise and Jason Pominville. Clearly, there is no shortage of options for Minnesota, and with the Jets giving up a league-leading 226 goals, they all could be in play here. I think I’d stick with the Staal line for your cash games, as he has grabbed eight of his fifty-four points over the last eight games. Pairing up Granlund with one of his linemates isn’t a bad idea either, as he leads the team with 24 goals and 41 assists. Ryan Suter and Mathew Dumba take care of things on the back line, with Dumba having the hot hand by virtue of notching five points over the last eight games. That’s not bad, especially considering Minnesota lack of scoring as of late. Look for Minnesota to bounce back tonight, most likely scoring in the neighborhood of three goals and taking home the victory, as well.
The Jets have shown that they can score some goals; their problem, rather, has been on the defensive end. This has led to their being mired in their fifth losing streak of four or more games of the season, largely as a result of their lackluster defense. They have given up 18 goals in their last four games and look as distracted as a bunch of 7th graders waiting for the school year to end. Winnipeg has been trying different lines but has kept their top six players on the top two lines. Bryan Little centers Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers, while Mark Scheifele skates with Mathieu Perreault and Blake Wheeler on the Jets’ second scoring line. Laine leads the team with 33 goals, while Scheifele’s 70 points is tops on the team. If you want to roster either of those players, make sure you pair them up accordingly: Scheifele should be paired with Wheeler, as they skate on the team’s top power play unit, while Little should be paired with Laine, as they stay together on the second power play unit. This strategy will give you optimal exposure to each player and increase the odds of getting more points out of one line. On the back line,Dustin Byfuglien is the play, as he has he has recorded 123 of his 46 points while skating with the top power-play unit. Winnipeg should score a few goals tonight, but given their shoddy defense, I expect them to give up a few more.
Elite Plays
MIN: Mikael Granlund, Eric Staal
WIN: Mark Scheifele, Patrik Laine
Secondary Plays
MIN: Mikko Koivu, Charlie Coyle, Mathew Dumba, Jason Zucker
WIN: Blake Wheeler, Dustin Byfuglien, Bryan Little, Nikolaj Ehlers
Colorado Avalanche at Chicago Blackhawks
| Colorado Avalanche | Chicago Blackhawks | ||||||||
 | Jeremy Smith |  | Scott Darling | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 20-47-3 | 46-20-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 1.91 | 3.22 | 12.90% | 77.80% | Team Stats | 2.94 | 2.48 | 18.80% | 78.00% |
Since it’s Sunday, I will pull out one of the biggest religious-themed clichés in the book and tell you that the Colorado Avalanche must feel like Daniel walking into the lion’s den as they prepare to face the Chicago Blackhawks. One could be optimistic and say that they are David going up against Goliath, but that would only be true if they can pull off what could only be called a miracle and defeat the Blackhawks. Colorado is the worst team in the league. Nathan MacKinnon leads their team with 45 points, while their defenseman in Tyson Barrie has five points in the last eight games to lead the team in that category. Maybe you are a Villanova fan and are mad at the world that they lost yesterday and are now thinking, “Heck, if Villanova can lose in the Sweet 16, why can’t Chicago lose as well?” If you are thinking like that, then you want to pair up MacKinnon with Mikko Rantanen, as that will give you the best shot to score fantasy points if you are rostering Avalanche players in tonight’s contests. Gabriel Landeskog skates with Matt Duchene on the top line, which should be blanketed all night. I doubt you will see many Colorado players in your cash game endeavors tonight.
With Artem Anisimov sidelined for a few weeks and Marian Hossa questionable for tonight’s game, the Blackhawks will have to rely on the old standbys in Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews tonight. While flipping around the channels yesterday, I was able to catch the intermission interview with Toews, and he explained why he has been a winning captain all of these years. The first lines out of his mouth were, “I don’t know why you are interviewing me. You should be interviewing John Hayden. He’s the one who scored his first NHL goal.” If everyone thought like that, we’d all be in a better place, but I digress. Just like on the old David Letterman Show, I don’t need the cue cards for this one to tell you that Toews, Hayden, and Panik are one line to target while Kane, Artemi Panarin, and Nick Schmaltz is the other. I will bet my bottom dollar that you will see very high Chicago ownership throughout your cash game contests tonight, as Chicago should score early and often in this one. Duncan Keith is the play on the back line and should be considered as one of your defensemen for tonight’s cash game contests. For GPPs, you may want to be a bit different and go with Brent Seabrook, especially if you think Chicago will score a bunch of goals tonight (which you should).
Elite Plays
COL: None
CHI: Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews
Secondary Plays
COL: Nathan MacKinnon, Tyson Barrie, Mikko Rantanen, Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog
CHI: Artemi Panarin, Richard Panik, Duncan Keith, Nick Schmaltz
Carolina Hurricanes at Philadelphia Flyers
| Carolina Hurricanes | Philadelphia Flyers | ||||||||
 | Eddie Lack |  | Steve Mason | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 30-27-12 | 32-30-8 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.54 | 2.82 | 17.20% | 84.60% | Team Stats | 2.51 | 2.94 | 20.10% | 79.50% |
Here we go again. This is yet another game where a bad team is playing another bad team. Sometimes when this happens, people go crazy and go with one side of the coin, thinking it’s a better play than some of the chalkier teams. We saw this happen the other night ,when folks were actually using Vancouver players in their home game against the more talented Dallas Stars. We all know what happened there. As with all bad teams, we can expect a bit of line shuffling, and that is exactly what the Hurricanes continue to do. The top line of Teuvo Teravainen, Sebastian Aho, and Jordan Staal looks to have been able to stay intact, while Victor Rask and Elias Lindholm get a new line mate in Brock McGinn. This leaves Jeff Skinner as a decent one-off play here, as he will not only get power play time but will also be on one of the lines that Philadelphia will not have their best defensive line against. Skinner has grabbed five goals and three assists over the last eight games, which has bumped his point total up to his team-leading 48. Justin Faulk and Noah Hanifin skate on the back line on each of Carolina’s power-play units. Faulk is tied with upstart Jaccob Slavin for the team lead where defensemen are concerned. The Hurricanes are looking for their 10th road win of the season.
For all of the young talent the Flyers are supposed to have, it certainly hasn’t translated to positive results, as their record of 32-30-8 has yielded just 72 points, which is tied with Carolina for 11th-most in the Eastern Conference. Brayden Schenn has been moved back to the top line to skate with Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds, while Valtteri Filppula centers Travis Konecny and Jakub Voracek on the team’s second line. The Flyers beat a depleted Pittsburgh squad by a score of 4-0 on Wednesday night, and for all intents and purposes, that was their Stanley Cup playoff game. They then proceeded to get smoked by New Jersey the following night by a score of 6-2. Inconsistency has been this team’s hallmark all season, and there’s no reason to think that will stop now. Wayne Simmonds will look for his 30th goal tonight, while Voracek continues to lead the team with 55 points, so it makes sense that he is the odd man out when it comes to playing on the top unit when the Flyers draw a penalty (yes, that was sarcasm, as this is life living in the suburbs of Philadelphia, where nothing makes sense a lot of the time). Trust the Process, right? Shayne Gostisbehere is the play on the back line as the younger Ivan Provorov has shown flashes of brilliance, but much like Konecny has struggled for most of the season.
Elite Plays
CAR: Jeff Skinner
PHL: Wayne Simmonds
Secondary Plays
CAR: Sebastian Aho, Jordan Staal, Victor Rask, Elias Lindholm
PHL: Jakub Voracek, Claude Giroux, Shayne Gostisbehere, Valtteri Filppula