NHL Grind Down: Sunday, March 20th - Page Two

by Tom Woollam (elctrceye) Last Updated 2016-03-20 15:38:40

Colorado Avalanche at Edmonton Oilers – 09:30 PM EDT

Colorado Avalanche					Edmonton Oilers
			Calvin Pickard					Cam Talbot
			Record					Record
			37-31-4					29-38-7
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.65	2.81	19.10%	81.80%	Team Stats	2.36	2.89	17.40%	81.00%

Backed by some good goaltending by Semyon Varlamov the Colorado Avalanche have been able to stay ahead of the Minnesota Wild for the last playoff spot in the Western conference. The Avalanche have won four of the last five games and look to capitalize on the turnover prone Edmonton Oilers in tonight’s contest. Colorado does have some question marks in its line up as we will see the return of Gabriel Landeskog while Matt Duchene missed last game is day-to-day and Nathan MacKinnon sustained an injury Friday night which renders him as day-to-day as well. Landeskog should be well rested after his three game suspension and should do some damage after his stint observing from the press box. Jarome Iginla continues to produce as he has an assist in each of his last three games while newcomer Mikkel Boedker has two goals and two assists over the last four games. Tyson Barrie should shoot early and often from the point as he makes a nice play on the back line while getting the majority of the power play minutes.

Although the Oilers are virtually out of the playoff race they have been playing good hockey of late as their 6-4 record over the last ten games would indicate. As we said in the past the biggest problem the oilers have had this season is keeping all of their players healthy. Injuries to Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins have hampered the progression of a team that is stocked with first round talent. Speaking of the ‘Boy Wonder’ (McDavid), he makes a good play on any night but especially at home where he has accrued 23 of his 39 points. Jordan Eberle has scored a goal in his last two games and makes an excellent choice to pair up with McDavid tonight. Leon Draisaitl and Taylor Hall skate on the second line but get the top power play minutes with McDavid and although that sounds all well and good, it may not be. You see, Edmonton has scored just 5 goals on the power play over the last 16 games with four of them (yes four!) coming in one game against the St Louis Blues. Somehow Mark Letestu has been playing on the power play and that’s probably one of the reasons why that unit is as putrid as it is. Letestu has five points in the last nine games with three coming in one game. Can you guess which one? If you guessed the St Louis game, you may pass go! Andrej Sekera is the choice on the back line but maybe there are better choices for tonight’s slate.

Elite Plays

COL: None
EDM: Connor McDavid

Secondary Plays

COL: Gabriel Landeskog, Jarome Iginla, Mikkel Boedker, Tyson Barrie
EDM: Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall, Leon Draisaitl, Andrej Sekera

Arizona Coyotes at San Jose Sharks – 10:00 PM EDT

Arizona Coyotes					San Jose Sharks
			Louis Domingue
			Record					Record
			31-32-7					40-25-6
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.67	3.01	19.10%	78.60%	Team Stats	2.93	2.56	22.20%	79.40%

There’s a lot to be said about a team that has a defenseman leading the team in scoring but what’s worse is the fact that Oliver Ekman-Larsson also missed his fifth game of the season last night due to injury and unless he returns tomorrow you can probably expect more of the same. The Coyotes had yet another game where scoring goals did not seem to be the team’s main objective. The top line of Antione Vermette, Alex Tanguay and Anthony Duclair have been doing most of the scoring over the past seven games as Tanguay has notched seven points while Vermette has lit the lamp four times for a total of six points. Shane Doan makes for a good one-off play as he is almost the only player that shows up night in and night out which is probably why he has five points over the last four games. Michael Stone is the choice on the back line as he gets most of the minutes when the team has the man advantage. The extra ice time he has been receiving of late has helped him notch five points over the last five games.

If there is something that hockey players have it is a long memory. They remember every fight, skirmish, playoff loss and game winning goal so it won’t be that hard for the Sharks to remember the 3-1 loss the Coyotes handed them just four days ago in the desert. The sharks play their third game in four nights but so do the Coyotes so I don’t think it is out of the realm of possibility that San Jose comes out on all cylinders tonight. There really is only one line to play when talking about the Sharks and that is the top line, especially at home. Over the last ten games Joe Thornton has three goals and eight assists while line mate and top power play partner Joe Pavelski has six goals to go along with four assists over that same time period. It seems that Tomas Hertl is enjoying his stay playing between these two team leaders in scoring as he has hit the score sheet six times over the last four games. Patrick Marleau and Logan Couture also get the top minutes on the power play but have been struggling of late as neither is on the top line nor do they skate on a line with each other. Marleau has a paltry three points over the last ten games while all Couture has been able to muster is one measly assist in the last five games. Remember when I said maybe it’s a good idea to pay up for defense tonight? Well, here is your chance to grab one of the best in the business in the form of Brent Burns who has registered 13 points over his last ten games. It also doesn’t hurt that San Jose should have a field day in this revenge game tonight.

Elite Plays

ARZ: None
SJ: Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, Brent Burns

Secondary Plays

ARZ: Alex Tanguay, Antoine Vermette, Michael Stone, Shane Doan
SJ: Tomas Hertl, Joel Ward, Patrick Marleau, Logan Couture

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