NHL Grind Down: Sunday, November 20th
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 Washington Capitals
| Columbus Blue Jackets | Washington Capitals | ||||||||
 | Sergei Bobrovsky |  | Braden Holtby | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 9-4-2 | 11-4-2 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.40 | 2.33 | 29.30% | 84.80% | Team Stats | 2.71 | 2.12 | 13.70% | 84.60% |
The Columbus Blue Jackets look like a team that is starting to come together, as they have won six of their eight games played in November so far. But upon further scrutiny, they were all home games that they won. Revenge should be on the minds of the Capitals as Columbus took home the 2-1 overtime win just four days ago. The top line of Brandan Saad, Alexander Wennberg and Nick Foligno will be the line the Capitals want to shut down as both Wennberg and Foligno play on the team’s top power play unit while leading the team in scoring by averaging a point per game or better. There are a few one-off plays here as Cam Atkinson skates on the team’s second line and has seven of his 14 points over the last five games. Boone Jenner and Brandon Dubinsky complete the second line and could be used in GPP plays today. Sam Gagner is the other one-off here as he gets the top minutes when the team has the man advantage. Gagner leads the team in goals with seven and has lit the lamp three times in the last four games. Until defenseman Seth Jones gets back into the lineup there is no question that Zachary Werenski is the play on the back line for the Blue Jackets today. He’s been a fixture on the top power play unit, as six of his 13 points have come with the man advantage.
The Capitals have won their last two games on home ice and look to make it three in a row here this afternoon. T.J. Oshie is listed as day-to-day and could very well miss this afternoon’s game. This would Nicklas Backstrom and Marcus Johansson a bit short-handed as it looks like Justin Williams will fill the spot if Oshie cannot go. The power play will also take a hit as well, as four of Oshie’s 12 points have come with the man advantage. Johnasson and backstrom make fine plays here as they will get the top minutes on the Capitals power play unit. Backstrom leads the group with three goals and three assists over the last six games. Alexander Ovechkin needs to heat up a bit as he leads the team in shots with 21 but has only managed one goal over the last six games. Andre Burakovsky and Evgeny Kuznetsov will be Ovechkin’s line mates so look for them to get plenty of opportunities this afternoon. John Carlson has seen better starts over his career, so maybe taking Matt Niskanen here may be a better idea, as it looks like he has supplanted Carlson on the team’s top power play unit.
Elite Plays
CBJ: None
WSH: Alexander Ovechkin
Secondary Plays
CBJ: Alexander Wennberg, Nick Foligno, Zachary Werenski, Cam Atkinson
WSH: Evgeny Kuznetsov, Marcus Johansson, Nicklas Backstrom, Matt Niskanen
Winnipeg Jets at Carolina Hurricanes
| Winnipeg Jets | Carolina Hurricanes | ||||||||
 | Connor Hellebuyck |  | Cam Ward | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 9-9-2 | 6-6-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.89 | 2.89 | 15.30% | 82.30% | Team Stats | 2.56 | 2.94 | 18.40% | 90.70% |
Whoever thought of putting the Jets best line back together for road games should have his head examined. Nikolaj Ehlers, Patrik Laine and Mark Scheifele were red hot a week ago, and then we saw the jets spilt them up for a game or two only to put them back together on the road. The final result has been two road losses to both Philadelphia and Boston. Now, I’m not going to knock Nicolas Petan as he has managed three points over the last four games while centering the second line with Blake Wheeler. All I am saying is that on the road, one of the top line guys should drop to the second line with Wheeler and thus would be a bit tougher to cover on a nightly basis. Hey, at home, fine have at it as you control what lines match up with the opponents, but on the road by keeping the top line together just makes it easier for their opponents to get the win. Adam Lowry makes a nice one-off play for GPPs as he has scored three goals and has added an assist over the last five games. That’s not bad when you consider Winnipeg has just 12 goals over that time frame. Toby Enstrom is starting to heat up from the point as he has scored four of his seven points in the last five games.
The Hurricanes finish up their five-game home stand against the Winnipeg Jets who are playing their third game in the last four nights. Carolina has beaten Montreal, San Jose and Washington over the past week so one would think that if they keep their focus, tonight’s game should be in the bag. Jeff Skinner has a few new line mates as Jordan Staal and Sebeastian Aho join him on the top line while the very hot Teuvo Teravainen draws in with Victor Rask and Elias Lindholm. Teravainen has netted three goals and five points over the last three games while both of his former line mates Aho and Staal have garnered four points apiece over the last three games. Again, here is a team that was doing very well, so let’s go and mess up the lines and chemistry a little bit. It makes no sense whatsoever. There’s not many choices here on defense but I can tell you that Justin Faulk looks to be the only defenseman on the team’s top power play unit. Skinner, Rask, Derek Ryan and Lee Stempniak seem to be filling out the rest of the unit when the team goes on the power play. Teravainin and Rask should be the play here provided they can gel quick enough to do some damage.
Elite Plays
WIN: Mark Scheifele
CAR: None
Secondary Plays
WIN: Nikolaj Ehlers, Patrik Laine, Blake Wheeler
CAR: Teuvo Teravainen, Victor Rask, Jeff Skinner, Sebastian Aho, Justin Faulk
Florida Panthers at New York Rangers
| Florida Panthers | New York Rangers | ||||||||
 | James Reimer |  | Henrik Lundqvist | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 9-8-1 | 13-5-0 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.65 | 2.76 | 14.80% | 83.30% | Team Stats | 4.11 | 2.33 | 23.20% | 85.70% |
The Panthers had to do something to jump start the team so they went right to the old stand-by and switched up the lines. Although their opponent last night was a depleted Ottawa squad it appears that it has at least worked for the time being. Jussi Jokinen was placed on the top line with the struggling Aleksander Barkov and Jaromir Jagr and it only took them 12 minutes into last night’s game to chalk up a full line goal. Jonathan Marchessault lit the lamp as well when he was set up by Jason Demers and new line mate Vincent Trocheck. The point here is that a little mixing it up can help a struggling team, but tonight could be an entirely different story as they face the best team in the league, the New York Rangers. Look for the Barkov line to be shadowed a little bit here, which should leave some room for Marchessault to work his magic as he scored his team leading ninth goal last night. Keith Yandle and Aaron Ekblad are the choices on the point with Yandle having the slight edge as he leads the team in assists.
One would think that a team that has won 11 of their last 14 game would want to keep the chemistry going but the best team in the league is about to do just that. Chris Kreider, Rick Nash and Derek Stepan look to be the top line to target here tonight as they should be able to get all the favorable matchups at home against the Panthers tonight. Jimmy Vesey has jumped up to join Mika Zibanejad and Mats Zuccarello on the team’s second line while Kevin Hayes, Michael Grabner and J.T. Miller take the third line duties. Miller leads the team in points with 17 while Grabner has netted 4 of his 11 goals over the past four games. Brandon Pirri is your one-off play here as he continues to see major minutes on the team’s top power play unit. Ryan McDonagh is the only player to log over 20 minutes a game as he has assisted on 11 goals while playing the point on the top power play unit. Even though the lines are shuffled a bit I wouldn’t expect them to not show up tonight.
Elite Plays
FLA: Jonathan Marchessault
NYR: None
Secondary Plays
FLA: Aleksander Barkov, Jaromir Jagr, Keith Yandle, Vincent Trocheck
NYR: Derek Stepan, Rick Nash, Mika Zibanejad, Mats Zuccarello, J.T. Miller, Ryan McDonagh
Calgary Flames at Detroit Red Wings
| Calgary Flames | Detroit Red Wings | ||||||||
 | Brian Elliott |  | Petr Mrazek | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 7-11-1 | 8-9-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.26 | 3.26 | 8.90% | 73.90% | Team Stats | 2.33 | 2.67 | 16.40% | 77.80% |
It’s hard to believe but the Calgary Flames actually have more wins than the Detroit Red Wings over the last ten games. When you look at the 14 goals the Flames have scored in those ten games it’s a wonder they could come away with three wins, but that is exactly what has happened. Sam Bennett, Sean Monahan and Troy Brouwer are the top line now with Johnny Gaudreau out of the line up for a while and considering they are the Flames, they haven’t been doing that bad. Monahan and Bennett get the top power play minutes so it’s no surprise that they have a combined five points over the last five games. Don’t ask me how but we have a Linden Vey sighting as he plays on the third line but has been getting opportunities on the team’s power play as well. You know if you have to use Vey on your top power play unit, you probably aren’t that good. Dennis Wideman and T.J. Brodie round out the top power play unit that has scored just two goals over the last 11 games. Michael Frolik does lead the team in goals and assists, so maybe a one-off play is in order here. Look for this to be one of the lower scoring games of the day.
Detroit is looking for a spark on offense, as they have only managed nine goals in their last six games. The top line of Henrik Zetterberg, Gustav Nyquist and Justin Abdelkader should be in play here against a Calgary team that has given up 63 goals in 19 games so far this season. This line gets the first crack when the Flames take a penalty and are joined by defensemen Mike Green and Ryan Sproul. The two that stick out here are team leader Henrik Zetterberg and Sproul, the young defenseman. Zetterberg has three points over the last four games while Sproul has managed four points in the first seven games he’s played in so far this season. The second line of Dylan Larkin, Frans Nielsen and Luke Glendening make for a nice GPP play especially on a short slate like today. This is a tough game to handicap as Detroit hasn’t been scoring and the Flames have been giving up a ton. Let’s stick with the team playing in front of the home crowd today.
Elite Plays
CGY: None
DET: Henrik Zetterberg
Secondary Plays
CGY: Sean Monahan, Sam Bennett, Michael Frolik
DET: Gustav Nyquist, Dylan Larkin, Frans Nielsen, Ryan Sproul, Mike Green
Los Angeles Kings at Anaheim Ducks
| Los Angeles Kings | Anaheim Ducks | ||||||||
 | Jeff Zatkoff |  | John Gibson | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 9-9-1 | 9-6-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.39 | 2.56 | 10.30% | 80.60% | Team Stats | 2.67 | 2.39 | 21.70% | 86.20% |
The Kings come into this one fresh off a win against New Jersey yesterday afternoon. Anze Kopitar is very close to returning as he has been given a fifty-fifty chance to play in this one tonight. The problem I have is that this article needs to be posted before they take their morning skate on the west coast, so I will give you the possible scenarios. If Kopitar returns the guess is that he will replace Nic Dowd who now centers Devin Setoguchi and Dustin Brown OR he Darryl Sutter can put him between Dwight King and Jordan Nolan and move Trevor Lewis down a line. My guess is the first scenario which would make Setoguchi and Brown a duo to play in deeper GPP’s only. The top line of Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson have registered just as many points as the Dowd line over the last three games. Anaheim has given up just one goal in the nine games they have played in November while having a man in the box, so looking at the Kings power play is almost fruitless. Even on the road we should probably stick with the team leaders in scoring and that would be Carter and Toffoli as they have 14 and 12 points respectively. Alec Martinez leads the Kings defensive corps in scoring with 11 points while Drew Doughty still seems to be struggling a bit. Doughty has received all the power play time on the top unit and has just managed one assist in those situations. His seven points in 19 games isn’t all that terrific either so maybe Martinez is the play here, if at all.
Anaheim comes into this one leading the Pacific conference with 21 points and if they would happen to lose tonight, the kings would pull into a tie with them. No one needs to tell you that this is usually an intense rivalry game anyway but with first place on the line this early in the season you may see a few extra sparks tonight. Power play specialists Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf are joined by Nick Ritchie to form the team’s top line while Ryan Kesler jumps up from the second line and replaces Ritchie when the Ducks have the man advantage. There is no doubt that you will run into Perry and Getzlaf a lot in your cash games today so your only choice is to block them or go against the grain and roster other players. Kesler makes a nice one-off play here as he has lit the lamp four times over the last five games. Jakob Silfverberg and Andrew Cogliano are Kesler’s line mates and make for a decent GPP play here as Silfverberg leads the team over the last five games with three goals and four assists. He obviously has the hot hand. On the back line the choice is Cam Fowler as he has 11 points in 18 games so far and plays the point with Sami Vatanen when the Ducks have the man advantage.
Elite Plays
LAK: Jeff Carter
ANA: Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf
Secondary Plays
LAK: Tyler Toffoli, Alec Martinez, Tanner Pearson
ANA: Ryan Kesler, Jakob Silfverberg, Cam Fowler