NHL Grind Down: Sunday, November 22nd
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 Carolina Hurricanes – 01:00 PM EST
| Los Angeles Kings | Carolina Hurricanes | ||||||||
 | Jonathan Quick |  | Cam Ward | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 12-7-0 | 6-10-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.47 | 2.16 | 20.00% | 86.10% | Team Stats | 1.89 | 2.84 | 12.70% | 79.50% |
These are the two best teams in the league by Corsi standards to start the 2015-16 season, but it’s tough to imagine the Hurricanes being able to keep the pick away from a much more imposing Los Angeles team. The Kings has their three-game winning streak snapped in Detroit on Friday night, but are still 12-4-0 in their last 16 games. While Anze Kopitar and Marian Gaborik may be the more well-known names, it’s been Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli (as well as the newly acquiring Milan Lucic) carrying the offensive load so far. Carter and Toffoli are easily putting up the best offensive numbers for the Kings as that duo has combined for 19 goals and 18 assists in 19 games. With the Kopitar line likely being tasked with slowing down Eric Staal on the Hurricanes top line, I’ll be targeting Toffoli and Carter with confidence. On defense, both Drew Doughty and Jake Muzzin are workhorses and both guys log huge minutes on the point of the Kings very dangerous #1 power-play unit. With the Hurricanes owning just a 29.5% penalty kill, both are very nice options on the blueline today.
The Hurricanes started the season off a bit better than most expected, but they dropped a shootout decision to the Maple Leafs on Friday night and have now dropped five straight games. Eric Staal remains their most dangerous offensive weapon, but today’s matchup opposite Anze Kopitar and against this Los Angeles team that’s only allowing just 2.16 goals against per game just doesn’t get much tougher. Justin Faulk leads the team with 13 points and is the most appealing fantasy option from the Hurricanes, but even on a four-game slate, this is a pretty easy fade for me in cash games
Elite Plays
LAK: Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli, Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty
CAR: None
Secondary Plays
LAK: Marian Gaborik, Milan Lucic, Tanner Pearson, Jake Muzzin
CAR: Eric Staal, Kris Versteeg, Justin Faulk
San Jose Sharks at Columbus Blue Jackets – 05:00 PM EST
| San Jose Sharks | Columbus Blue Jackets | ||||||||
 | Martin Jones |  | Sergei Bobrovsky | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 12-8-0 | 8-13-0 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.65 | 2.40 | 13.10% | 78.10% | Team Stats | 2.48 | 3.14 | 20.30% | 80.80% |
With the Blue Jackets serving up 3.14 GA/G on the season, the Sharks are likely going to be highly targeted this afternoon. They’ve won each of the first five games on their east coast road trip and should be hungry for the sweep before heading home to battle the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday. Joe Pavelski leads the team with 10 goals and 8 assists and is joined by play-maker Joe Thornton and Melker Karlsson on the top line. Patrick Marleau headlines the second line with Joel Ward and Matt Nieto on his wing. Pavelski, Marleau and Thornton are the top options here, but there’s plenty of value to be found with the other three. Brent Burns is my #1 ranked option on the blueline tonight, and I’ll be doing my best to get him in my cash game rosters. Alternatively, Marc-Edouard Vlasic is off to a solid start and very reasonably priced if you’re looking for some value.
The Blue Jackets started the season with an 0-8-0 record, but after shutting out the Nashville Predators on Friday, they’ve gone 8-5-0 in their last 13 games. The Blue Jackets have benefited from some very balanced scoring as Scott Hartnell, Ryan Johansen and Boone Jenner all share the team lead with 15 points and Brandon Saad, Cam Atkinson, Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Murray have already reached double-digits. With Dubinsky still sidelined, the top forward line of Ryan Johansen, Boone Jenner and Brandon Saad is where i’ll be focusing most of my fantasy attention. Scott Hartnell is also very much in play as he’ll join both Jenner and Johanson on the point of Blue Jacket’s top power-play unit. With San Jose sporting a subpar 78.1% penalty kill, getting exposure to the Columbus power-play seems like a viable strategy, especially in GPP’s.
Elite Plays
SAN: Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Brent Burns
CBJ: Boone Jenner, Ryan Johansen
Secondary Play
SAN: Melker Karlsson, Joel Ward, Marc-Edouard Vlasic
CBJ: Scott Hartnell, Nick Foligno, Cam Atkinson, Ryan Murray, Jack Johnson
New York Islanders at Montreal Canadiens – 07:00 PM EST
| New York Islanders | Montreal Canadiens | ||||||||
 | Jaroslav Halak |  | Carey Price | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 10-7-3 | |||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.85 | 2.40 | 17.90% | 85.20% | Team Stats | 3.52 | 2.24 | 21.90% | 85.90% |
Montreal defeated the Islanders in the first half of this home-and-home series on Friday night, and now with the scene shifting to Montreal, it’s tough to see things being much different this time around. The Canadiens are one of the best teams in the NHL and own a 8-2-1 record at the Bell Center, meanwhile the Islanders are just 4-5-2 over their last 11 games. John Tavares (and to some extent, Kyle Okposo) are borderline matchup proof options in DFS, but this may be the one matchup that pushes them into GPP only territory. Even on a short slate, I’ll have very limited exposure to the Islanders tonight.
The Canadiens appear to be running away with the Atlantic Division and have had won both meetings against the Islanders this season after sweeping the season series last year. Max Pacioretty is one of the top options on the board tonight as he leads Montreal with 10 goals and 9 assists and thrived at home last season has he posted 45 points and a +24 in 40 home games. His line-mates Tomas Plekanec and Brendan Gallagher also have 19 points on the season and all three are very intriguing options tonight. While the top line deserves most of the attention, guys like Alex Galchenyuk, David Desharnais, Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann are all solid value plays as well. It’s a two-headed monster on the blue-line for the ‘Habs as both Andrei Markov and P.K. Subban are off to tremendous offensive starts. Their major weapons on the point of the Montreal power-play and while the Islanders have defended well while shorthanded so far this season, their 78.0% penalty kill from last season was ranked 26th in the NHL.
Elite Plays
NYI: None
MON: Max Pacioretty. Brendan Gallagher, Tomas Plekanec, P.K. Subban, Andrei Markov
Secondary Plays
NYI: John Tavares, Kyle Okposo, Frans Nielsen, Anders Lee, Nick Leddy, Johnny Boychuk
MON: Alex Galchenyuk, Tomas Fleischmann, Dale Weise, David Desharnais, Jeff Petry
New Jersey Devils at Vancouver Canucks – 10:00 PM EST
| New Jersey Devils | Vancouver Canucks | ||||||||
 | Cory Schneider |  | Ryan Miller | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 10-8-1 | 7-7-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.37 | 2.47 | 22.70% | 83.30% | Team Stats | 2.75 | 2.70 | 17.60% | 80.30% |
The Devils left for a three-game tour of western Canada playing fairly well, but after losing to the Flames and Oilers to start off their road trip, it’s tough to get too excited about them tonight in Vancouver. New Jersey is easily the slowest paced team in the NHL this season and there’s just not an abundance of fantasy goodness here. Mike Cammalleri continues to lead the team in scoring and with 6 goals and 12 assists on the season, he’s the top option. He’s joined by Adam Henrique and Lee Stempniak on the Devils top forward line and that’s about as far as I’m willing to dig in cash games. Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac have shown some offensive upside on the second line, making them somewhat intriguing GPP options. On the blue-line, Damon Severson leads the way with seven points and see’s a healthy dose of playing time on the point of the #1 power-play unit, making him a fine option where he’s still very cheap.
The Canucks have struggled to gain momentum out of the gates this season, but they’re hoping the 6-3 win last night against the defending Stanley Cup champs gets them moving. As expected, the offensive in Vancouver still very much runs directly through the Sedin brothers. Daniel leads the way with 10 goals and 12 assists and with his brother on his heels with 6 goals and 14 assists. They’re joined by Jannik Hansen on the top forward line, with Alexandre Burrows slated to play alongside them on the #1 power-play unit. Radim Vrbata missed last night’s game with a groin injury and seems unlikely to play once again tonight. His absence puts a further dent in the Canucks search for secondary scoring and really just solidifies the Sedin brothers as elite plays this evening. On defense, Alex Edler is logging nearly 25 minutes of ice-time per game and quarterbacks the team’s #1 power-play unit and he’s picked up four goals and seven assists in 20 games this season.
Elite Plays
NJD: Mike Cammalleri, Adam Henrique
VAN: Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Alex Edler
Secondary Play
NJD: Lee Stempniak, Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac, Damon Severson
VAN: Jannik Hansen, Alex Burrows, Bo Horvat