NHL Grind Down: Sunday, March 26th
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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Philadelphia Flyers at Pittsburgh Penguins
| Philadelphia Flyers | Pittsburgh Penguins | ||||||||
 | Michal Neuvirth |  | Matt Murray | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 34-32-8 | 46-17-11 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.53 | 2.92 | 19.30% | 79.70% | Team Stats | 3.42 | 2.70 | 22.20% | 80.30% |
You know it’s bad when Sean Couturier is the leading scorer for your team over the last seven games as he has recorded two goals and five assists while line mate Brayden Schenn has been able to notch three goals and three asissts over that same time frame. Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek and Matt Read skate on the top line while Valtteri Filppula centers the second line along with Wayne Simmonds and Jordan Weal as his wingmen. The Flyers are shuffling up their lines to see what will work best for next season as their playoff hopes are all but a distant memory. Sure they are still mathematically in this thing but their 76 points is eight points and four teams away from the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The only thing that Philadelphia has going for them is that this is a big rivalry and usually get up for these type of games. Shayne Gostisbehere and Ivan Provorov man the points on the top power play unit that has not found the back of the net in the past five games. This team is a mess but unfortunately we may have to use a Flyers player as a fill in or two on such a small slate. If that is the case it may as well be Couturier as opposed to going with one of the bigger ‘water pistols’ on the team. As a side note Simmonds has been looking for his 30th goal over the last five games and may just get it tonight against the Penguins.
While he’s not out chopping off fingers of the opposing players Sidney Crosby is actually a decent hockey player. Of course I’m talking about the incident that occurred the other night when ‘Attila the Sid’ almost took off the finger of Marc Methot with a slash to the hand. In Sid’s defense there are a few spots on the body where you can ‘send messages’ to the other team. Slashing the glove is one of them while getting a shot into the ribs and the back of the legs are a few others. If you look at the replay you can see where the problem occurs as Crosby was behind him and the slash caught Methot on the inside of the glove, like an open hand swipe, as opposed to catching him on the outside of the fingers where all of the protection is. Anyway, Crosby is the top center of the night as he and his line mates in Conor Sheary and Bryan Rust should have a field day against their cross-state rivals. Sheary has done well skating with the all-world superstar as he has been able to put up a quiet 50 points so far this season. Evgeni Malkin hasn’t played since March 15th as that pesky upper body injury may keep him out of tonight’s game as well. Since the Penguins are solidly locked into a playoff spot it’s probably best to use caution here than bring him back early and re-aggravate any injury this close to the start of the playoffs. If you are looking for an alternative line to use the line of Nick Bonino, Chris Kunitz and Patric Hornqvist looks a bit appetizing while using Phil Kessel as a one-off makes totals sense here. Kessel leads the team with 28 power play points while usually skating on the third line. While his 65 points is good enough to lead most teams in the league they are only good enough for third on this team. Defenseman Justin Schultz is the play on the back line as he has done a nice job in the absence of Kris Letang who is yet another injury that Pittsburgh has had to deal with. Look for the Penguins to improve on their 29-4-4 home record tonight.
Elite Plays
PHL: None
PIT: Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel
Secondary Plays
PHL: Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds, Shayne Gostisbehere, Brayden Schenn
PIT: Conor Sheary, Patric Hornqvist, Justin Schultz
Dallas Stars at New Jersey Devils
| Dallas Stars | New Jersey Devils | ||||||||
 | Kari Lehtonen |  | Keith Kinkaid | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 30-33-11 | 27-35-12 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.76 | 3.10 | 17.70% | 73.90% | Team Stats | 2.27 | 2.92 | 18.60% | 80.30% |
Here’s a battle between two teams that have nothing to play for but their pride. Dallas has had injuries all season which has more than likely negated any chemistry needed to stay in the top half of the Western Conference over the course of the season. Patrick Sharp is the latest casualty as he will undergo season ending surgery. His season has been marred by a few concussions, a hip injury and having to deal with his father being sick. I know some fans like to think that there is a switch that millionaires should be able to turn off and on to control their emotions, but that is not the case. It’s no wonder that Sharp has had an under par season by his standards. Jason Spezza returned to play on the fourth line that helped Adam Cracknell grab three goals en route to the Stars 6-1 boat-racing of the slumping San Jose Sharks. Jamie Benn skates on the top line with Cody Eakin and Ales Hemsky while Tyler Seguin centers Remie Elie and Brett Ritchie. Head coach Lindy Ruff loves to tinker with the lines but It’s probably safe to assume that they stay this way for at least the first period (sarcasm) for tonight’s game considering the wild success they had the other night. John Klingberg and Esa Lindell look to man the points on the top power play that has netted just three power play goals all month. Klingberg is the cash choice here as he has grabbed four of his 44 points over the last seven games. Stick with Benn or Seguin here and build around them with their line mates for your cash game endeavors. You can certainly use Cracknell and Spezza for tournament play if you believe that lightning can strike twice, which it certainly can.
While Dallas can at least put up some goals, it appears that the Devils cannot. Their 170 goals on the season are the second worst in the league only to the 145 that Colorado has scored so far this season. With five games on the slate for today we may have to look to the top line of Taylor Hall, Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac for not only a full line stack but for maybe some salary relief as well. Palmieri and Hall are literally mirror images of each other as both have found the score sheet six times over the past six games and both lead the team with 50 points each. Of course Hall has played in eight fewer games than Palmieri and while though that makes him a clear cut one-off here it still wouldn’t be a bad idea to pair them up this afternoon. If you are a bit more daring you could always go with the second line of Adam Henrique, Joseph Blandisi and Beau Bennett as a tournament option this afternoon. Henrique leads this bunch with 38 points while both Bennett and Blandisi haven’t had much of a chance to play in the top six this season. Damon Severson and John Moore have been finding the score sheet of late while Andy Greene, who mans the point on the top power play unit, has been shut out in the last six games. If you absolutely have to take a Devil defenseman, choose the one that fits better into your line up salary wise with Severson being the slightly safer play of the trio.
Elite Plays
DAL: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn
NJ: Taylor Hall
Secondary Plays
DAL: John Klingberg, Jason Spezza, Cody Eakin, Ales Hemsky
NJ: Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac, Adam Henrique
Minnesota Wild at Detroit Red Wings
| Minnesota Wild | Detroit Red Wings | ||||||||
 | Devan Dubnyk |  | Jimmy Howard | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 44-24-6 | 29-32-12 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.21 | 2.46 | 20.80% | 83.60% | Team Stats | 2.37 | 2.95 | 13.70% | 81.90% |
The Minnesota faithful surely must be a bit frustrated with the results that have come from their hockey team of late. They have won twice over the last 11 games that has seen the team score more than two goals in just three of those games. The Wild sit in second place in the Central Division and are on the verge of clinching a playoff spot so there is no clear and present danger on that front. A lot of team’s have gone into a funk and come out of it okay. Washington and Columbus come to mind. Eric Staal has been consistent as his 188 shots on goal lead the team which has yielded 25 goals and 32 assists. While centering Zach Parise and Charlie Coyle. The other scoring line the Wild have consists of Mikko Koivu in the middle of Mikael Granlund and Jason Zucker. This is the line that has been consistent for most of the year as it is also the one that has remained intact the longest. Granlund leads the team with 25 goals and 41 assists while Koivu and Zucker have combined for 99 points this season. This may not seem a lot in comparison to say Connor McDavid but what the Wild have accomplished is having 11 players with 30 points or more this season. This number includes three defensemen as Ryan Suter clocks in with 37 points while Jared Spurgeon and Mathew Dumba have registered 32 and 31 points respectively. Besides Staal, Dumba is the one with the hot hand so to speak as his five points over the last eight games is good enough for second on the team. The Wild will need to jump start the battery and look to do so today against the Detroit Red Wings.
You got to give the Red Wings some credit. Although their 70 points looks like it will come up a little short they still have been trying to play solid, competitive hockey. Over the last five games they have been involved in three overtime games, four one goal games and their fifth game in the block was a 5-1 home win against Colorado back on March 18th. Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist should be the line to target here on a short five game slate. Zetterberg has had a fine campaign so far as his 16 goals and 45 assists lead the team with 61 points while Tatar has grabbed the goal scoring lead by lighting the lamp four times over the last seven games to give him 21 on the season. This is not a lot of goals for a team leader which is the exact reason why they will be golfing in the middle of next month. Riley Sheahan, Frans Nielsen and Anthony Mantha skate on the team’s second line while Andreas Athanasiou, Dylan Larkin and Justin Abdelkader hold down the fort ion the third line. Larkin is the wild card here as his talent far exceeds his production this season although he has grabbed four of his 27 points over the last seven games while getting 163 shots on net this season. Niklas Kronwall mans the point on the power play while Mike Green is the better offensive choice from the back line. Green has snared four points over the last two weeks and leads the defensive corps with 32 points so far this season.
Elite Plays
MIN: Eric Staal
DET: Henrik Zetterberg
Secondary Plays
MIN: Mikael Granlund, Mikko Koivu, Charlie Coyle, Jason Zucker, Zach Parise, Mathew Dumba
DET: Tomas Tatar, Gustav Nyquist, Mike Green, Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha
Vancouver Canucks at Winnipeg Jets
| Vancouver Canucks | Winnipeg Jets | ||||||||
 | Ryan Miller |  | Connor Hellebuyck | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 30-35-9 | 33-35-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.25 | 2.92 | 14.20% | 77.90% | Team Stats | 2.95 | 3.19 | 17.80% | 76.40% |
The Canucks come into this one on the verge of being eliminated from the playoffs. The good news is that not only has the team scored 10 goals over the last three games, they get to end their five game road trip against the Winnipeg jets who have given 240 goals so far this season. Daniel Sedin, Michael Chaput and Henrik Sedin may be the line that the Jets try to shut down and I use that word loosely as it seems that the Jets haven’t been able to shut anybody down all year. This would put the second line into play here as Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi saw newcomer Brock Boeser score his first goal in his first game the other night in their 4-2 win over the Minnesota Wild. It is also interesting to note that Vancouver has also beaten the Chicago Blackhawks on this trip as well so either teams are taking them lightly or they are playing better hockey. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. Horvat leads the team 20 goals and 49 points as he looks like to be the cornerstone of the team’s future. They could easily do worse. Alexander Edler and Chris Tanev man the points on the team’s top power play unit but neither of them make for a decent cash game play tonight.
The one thing we do know about the Winnipeg Jets is that they can score goals. 117 of them on home ice to be exact which puts them 6th in the league in that category. As stated many times before the problem the jets have is keeping the puck out of their own net as the 240 goals they have surrendered this season is the second most in the league. Winnipeg runs out two scoring lines so it’s hard to determine which line will get the juicier match ups on home ice as it is up to them as to who they match up with. Patrik Laine, Nikolaj Ehlers and Bryan Little would seem to be the obvious choice but with Mark Scheifele leading the team with 75 points his line looks to be decent as well. Blake Wheeler and Mathieu Perreault skate with Scheifele at even strength which has combined for six goals and 17 assists over the last eight games. Laine leads the team with 34 goals so you can see why there is credence to go with either line here. Dustin Byfuglien sat out the last game with a lower body injury and it makes no sense to bring him back until he is totally healthy especially when you consider the jets won’t be in the playoffs this season. Defenseman Josh Morrissey took his spot on the back line when the Jets had the extra attacker and scored the only goal in their 3-1 loss to the Dallas Stars. Look for the Jets to improve on their 18-18-1 home record tonight as they will score at least three goals.
Elite Plays
VAN: None
WIN: Mark Scheifele, Patrik Laine
Secondary Plays
VAN: Bo Horvat, Sven Baertschi, Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin
WIN: Blake Wheeler, Mathieu Perreault, Bryan Little, Nikolaj Ehlers, Josh Morrissey
New York Rangers at Anaheim Ducks
| New York Rangers | Anaheim Ducks | ||||||||
 | Henrik Lundqvist |  | Jonathan Bernier | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 46-25-4 | 40-23-11 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.14 | 2.59 | 19.30% | 79.60% | Team Stats | 2.57 | 2.42 | 17.80% | 84.60% |
The Rangers did a good job of disposing of the Kings last night by a score of 3-0 despite getting outshot by a 3-2 margin. New York has 94 points which would be atop of the Atlantic and Pacific Divisions but unfortunately is only good enough for fourth place in the talent laden Metropolitan Division. The top line that features derek Stepan and mats Zuccarello paced the team last night as Stepan had a goal while Zucccarello chipped in two assists. They are joined by Chris Kreider at even strength and should be at least considered as a tournament stack at the very least here tonight. Zuccarello’s eight points in the last seven games has pushed him to the top of the Rangers scoring chart with 15 goals and 39 assists while third liner Michael Grabner continues to lead the team with 27 goals so far this season. Grabner is joined by J.T. Miller and Kevin Hayes while Mika Zibanejad centers Rick Nash and Jimmy Vesey on yet another line that can light the lamp for the visiting New Yorkers. Ryan McDonagh is the choice on the back line as he has notched 14 of his 40 points while quarterbacking the team’s top power play unit. McDonagh is on a bit of a roll as he has lit the lamp three times over the last seven games while fellow defensemen Brendan Smith and Brady Skjei have combined for five points over the last seven games. The Ducks have a little more fire power than the Kings so look for a tougher time for the east-coasters out west tonight.
Backed by a 7-2-1 record over the last 10 games the Anaheim Ducks have indeed caught the slumping San Jose Sharks as both teams are now tied for first place in the Pacific Division with 91 points. This will be Anaheim’s ‘game in hand’ which could prove very helpful if they were to win here tonight. Even taking the game into overtime would be a huge help and the Ducks should at least be able to accomplish that here tonight as they try to improve on their 25-8-4 record in front of the home crowd. Ryan Getzlaf, Rickard Rakell and Patrick Eaves serve as the team’s top line and should be in play tonight for your cash game selections. Getzlaf’s nine points over the last six games has helped him keep the team lead with 62 points while Rakell’s 32 goals is nine more than any other Duck has put on the board this season. Ryan Kesler and Jakob Silfverberg jump up from the second line to join Eaves and Getzlaf on the team’s top power play unit that has not scored in the last five games. Kesler and third liner Corey Perry lead the team with 18 power play points so choosing either as a one-off could be productive in tonight’s contest. Speaking of Perry, he has racked up three of his 15 goals over the last six games while skating with Brett Ritchie and Antoine Vermette. With Anaheim going back to using four forwards on their power play it would only make sense to use Cam Fowler on the back line here as he is the recipient of the extra ice time from the back line. Fowler’s 34 points ranks sixth on the team’s scoring chart behind Perry and the top power play unit. The Ducks should be in good shape here against a tired Rangers team.
Elite Plays
NYR: Mats Zuccarello
ANA: Ryan Getzlaf
Secondary Plays
NYR: Derek Stepan, Mika Zibanejad, Michael Grabner, Ryan McDonagh, Chris Kreider
ANA: Rickard Rakell, Ryan Kesler, Jakob Silfverberg, Patrick Eaves, Cam Fowler