NHL Grind Down: Sunday, November 13th
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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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Los Angeles Kings at Winnipeg Jets
| Los Angeles Kings | Winnipeg Jets | ||||||||
 | Peter Budaj |  | Connor Hellebuyck | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 7-8-0 | 7-7-2 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.40 | 2.53 | 10.90% | 80.00% | Team Stats | 2.94 | 3.00 | 14.80% | 80.00% |
The Kings are easily worried about the status of Anze Kopitar as he left the game against the Ottawa Senators as the team was on their way to their sixth road loss of the season. It looks like either Trevor Lewis or Nick Shore played on the top line with Tanner Pearson and Teddy Purcell in Kopitar’s absence. If this is the case, then the line that features Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli will be the line that Winnipeg would try to shut down tonight. This line has collected seven goals over the last five games and could easily be a GPP play today with only six games on the slate. Defensemen Drew Doughty and Jake Muzzin are the choices on the back line, as each has over 35 shots so far this season, but Doughty is the one finding the scoresheet with more frequency. Alec Martinez got off to a hot start but has fizzled down to just two assists over the last five games. With the Kings 2-6 road record, it looks like GPP-land for the west coasters tonight.
Thanks to the emergence of Patrik Laine, Nikolaj Ehlers and Mark Scheifele the Jets now have a true top line as the team has scored 47 goals in the first 16 games so far this season. They are the hottest line in the league as they have tallied 30 points over the last seven games. With this being a home game they will have every opportunity to get the juicy matchups throughout the night. Blake Wheeler makes a nice one-off play here as he joins them on the team’s top power play unit while defenseman Dustin Byfuglien completes the quintet. Wheeler has added two goals and six assists over the last seven games, while Byfuglien has tallied just two of his eight points over that same time period. Wheeler plays on a line with Nicolas Petan, so this pair is best suited for a GPP type of play rather than throwing them into your cash games tonight.
Elite Plays
LAK: None
WIN: Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers, Patrik Laine
Secondary Plays
LAK: Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli, Drew Doughty
WIN: Blake Wheeler, Dustin Byfuglien
Dallas Stars at Vancouver Canucks
| Dallas Stars | Vancouver Canucks | ||||||||
 | Kari Lehtonen |  | Jacob Markstrom | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 6-6-3 | 5-9-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.67 | 3.33 | 18.00% | 77.20% | Team Stats | 1.80 | 2.87 | 8.70% | 86.40% |
In what seemed like a last ditch effort to save his job, it now looks like head coach Lindy Ruff has caught lightning in a bottle. He has split up Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn, and so far it’s been working on the road, as they won their last two games in Calgary and Edmonton. Seguin now centers Patrick Eaves and Antoine Roussel and this is the line to target tonight as they have a combined 16 points over the last six games with Roussel leading the way with two goals and four assists. Jamie Benn makes a strong one-off play here, as he joins the aforementioned line on the top power play unit along with defenseman John Klingberg. These are the guys to target here, as the Stars have scored with the man advantage in each of the last four games. I wouldn’t be opposed to using Benn with line mate Lauri Korpikoski either, as they will surely see a little more space on the ice tonight.
Daniel and Henrik Sedin are they play here if you’re going to play any Canucks at all. As usual, they lead the team in points and will get to play against some of the Stars weaker lines by getting the last change on home ice. Loui Eriksson appears to be back on the top line with them as Brandon Sutter and Troy Stecher joins them on a power play unit that has scored just four goals with the man advantage so far this season. The Canucks have just scored 15 goals over their last nine games, and that includes a five-goal outburst in their only win during that span over the New York Rangers back on November 8th. No one on this team has over nine points, so it’s very hard to pick and choose one player over the other for GPP play. It may just be easier to throw darts and see what you hit.
Elite Plays
DAL: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn
VAN: None
Secondary Plays
DAL: Antoine Roussel, Patrick Eaves, John Klingberg
VAN: Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Brandon Sutter
Minnesota Wild at Ottawa Senators
| Minnesota Wild | Ottawa Senators | ||||||||
 | Darcy Kuemper |  | Craig Anderson | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 7-5-1 | 9-5-0 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.08 | 2.00 | 15.40% | 86.80% | Team Stats | 2.29 | 2.36 | 10.30% | 85.40% |
Minnesota had a rough one last night in Philadelphia, as they dropped a 3-2 decision while being outshot 36 to 27. The Flyers won without the services of Claude Giroux, as he left the game with an injury after playing only 13 minutes of is regular 19 to 20 minutes. Anyway, we know the Wild has had trouble scoring of late, so even on this short slate, it looks the like the top line of Charlie Coyle, Eric Staal and Nino Niederreiter are probably best suited for GPP plays today. They are responsible for four of the six goals the team has scored in the last three games, and there’s no reason to think that they can’t show well in tournament play today. This is Minnesota’s third game in four days, so being outshot may be the order of the day again, as it is very tough to even think about taking any players from the second line. If you play multi line ups in GPPs, then by all means try Mikael Granlund and Mikko Koivu in a few of them, but I wouldn’t go overboard. I like Granlund as the one-off GPP play here, as Koivu will more likely pass the puck to him instead of the other way around. For what it’s worth, Matt Dumba and Ryan Suter have been playing the points on the Wild’s top power play unit, so taking Suter may be okay here as he has amassed 11 points in the team’s first 13 games.
Ottawa has a tough task tonight against a Minnesota team that hasn’t given up many goals over the last two weeks. Their problem is that they don’t score enough. The top line of Mike Hoffman, Derick Brassard and Bobby Ryan should be in play here, as the Wild come in fresh of a game in Philadelphia which makes this their third game in four nights. Although the senators are 5-3 over their last eight games, they have only scored 12 goals during that span, which should tell you that maybe taking the Ottawa goaltender tonight is a good play. You’d be correct. Ryan Dzingel makes for a decent one-off play here, as he has a goal and an assist in his last four games while playing next to Kyle Turris and Tom Pyatt. Mark Stone skates on the third line and joins the top line along with defenseman Erik Karlsson to form the team’s top unit with the man advantage. It may be a good idea to pay up for Karlsson tonight on home ice, as he leads the team in scoring while logging over 26 minutes of ice time on a nightly basis.
Elite Plays
MIN: None
OTT: Erik Karlsson
Secondary Plays
MIN: Nino Niederreiter, Charlie Coyle, Eric Staal, Ryan Suter
h3. OTT: Bobby Ryan, Derick Brassard, Mike Hoffman, Ryan Dzingel
Boston Bruins at Colorado Avalanche
| Boston Bruins | Colorado Avalanche | ||||||||
 |  | ||||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 9-6-0 | 6-7-0 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.57 | 2.64 | 14.00% | 83.00% | Team Stats | 2.08 | 3.00 | 19.10% | 79.60% |
The Bruins come into this one fresh off a 2-1 win in Arizona last night and on any other day I’d say take caution, but with Colorado so banged up I’m not sure that Boston just doesn’t come in and win this game too. The Avalanche have only scored 27 goals so far this season and now Matt Duchene is on the shelf making it very difficult for Colorado to even come up with one strong line. Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak lead the team from the top line as they have combined for 15 goals and 15 assists in the early going. Patrice Bergeron is the center on that line and any combination of the three is excellent for GPP plays tonight let alone cash games. The second line of Ryan Spooner, David Krejci and David Backes are in play as well as they have collected nine points over the last four games. Krejci is the one-off here though, as he has scored half of his four points over the last four games. Torey Krug is the defenseman you want to target here, as he has three of his measly four points over that same four game time period. Krug also leads the team in shots with 48. On a whole, it looks like Boston is starting to get the secondary scoring needed to make a deep playoff run.
As if the Avalanche didn’t have enough problems, it now looks like their leading scorer in Matt Duchene may have a concussion. He will not play tonight as he goes under further evaluation. This puts an awful lot of pressure on Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon as they now become part of a top line on a team that has scored 27 goals in 13 games. Mikko Rantanen fills out the right wing on their line and at least they are protected a bit tonight by being on home ice. The bad news is that tonight they face the Bruins, while the good news is that Boston is playing their third game in four nights, including a game last night. On a six-game slate, you have to look for something different to mix in your GPP play, so maybe Jarome Iginla and Mikhail Grigorenko fit that bill as they play on the top power play unit with Landeskog and MacKinnon. It’s obviously not an optimal play but if the Bruins commit a few “lazy penalties,” there could be some opportunity at the very least. Erik Johnson rounds out the top unit with the man advantage, so it’s a toss-up between him and Tyson Barrie on the blue line tonight. Take caution here, as Colorado is not scoring many goals so far this season.
Elite Plays
BOS: Brad Marchand
COL: None
Secondary Plays
BOS: David Pastrnak, David Krejci, Torey Krug
COL: Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, Tyson Barrie
Montréal Canadiens at Chicago Blackhawks
| Montréal Canadiens | Chicago Blackhawks | ||||||||
 |  | ||||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 13-1-1 | 10-3-2 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.29 | 2.14 | 21.70% | 80.60% | Team Stats | 3.33 | 2.40 | 19.70% | 67.30% |
Montreal continued their dominance of the NHL last night by shutting out the Detroit Red Wings on the strength of five goals. They have 27 points so far this season, and that puts them well ahead of teams like Pittsburgh, the New York Rangers, and tonight’s opponent, the Chicago Blackhawks. All of those teams are trailing by five points in the race to have the most points in the league. Although Montreal played last night, they have played two back-to-back games thus far this season, and on both occasions have come through with flying colors, as they beat both Tampa Bay and Philadelphia in those games. Who knew Paul Byron could score goals besides his parents? Ever since he was moved to the top line with Alex Galchenyuk and Alexander Radulov he’s collected three goals and two assists over the last five games. This has been the most consistent line and can be used as a GPP play or possibly use a pair for cash game play today. Montreal has their talent split on the other lines as to where Brendan Gallagher plays on the second line and Max Pacioretty drops to the third line. I think both are safe one-off plays here, as they both lead the team in shots with 40 and are always a threat to put the biscuit in the basket. Paying up for Shea Weber in cash games may not be a bad idea today, but if you want to go on the cheap, Andrei Markov will do just fine. Markov has grabbed five of his nine points over the last five games so he is clearly heating up.
After losing a tight game to the Capitals on home ice on Friday night, the Blackhawks get right back at it tonight against the Montreal Canadiens, who happen to be the best team in the league. Montreal took on Detroit last night, and like a lot of teams today, this is their third game in last four days. A lot of speculation surrounds Artem Anisimov as his upper-body injury kept him out of the Washington game and could be out for tonight’s game as well. Head coach Joel Quenneville indicated that he could be able to play today but that remains to be seen. Marcus Kruger to his spot between Artemi Panarin and Marian Hossa on the second line and can be had for cheap on many sites across the industry. Because this article has to be posted by 11 am, I would check @TramyersCSN for the morning update. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are joined by Nick Schmaltz on the team’s top line and that would be the one to target here on home ice. Both have tallied two goals and two assists over the last four games and should get the favorable matchups tonight. Duncan Keith is the play on the point, as he and Brent Seabrook joins Panarin, Kane, and Toews to form the team’s top power play unit. If Montreal has a fault, it’s been the inability to kill a penalty, as they have given up eight goals while a man down over the last four games before last night.
Elite Plays
MTL: Shea Weber, Alex Galchenyuk
CHI: Patrick Kane
Secondary Plays
MTL: Alexander Radulov, Brendan Gallagher, Max Pacioretty, Andrei Markov
CHI: Jonathan Toews, Artemi Panarin, Duncan Keith, Marian Hossa