NHL Grind Down: Sunday, November 6th
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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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Edmonton Oilers at Detroit Red Wings
| Edmonton Oilers | Detroit Red Wings | ||||||||
 | Jonas Gustavsson |  | Jimmy Howard | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 8-3-1 | 6-5-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.09 | 2.45 | 19.40% | 91.70% | Team Stats | 2.75 | 2.75 | 17.80% | 82.00% |
The Oilers switched up their lines a little bit last night, and for the most part, it kind of worked. They took the Islanders into a shootout before Mark Letestu scored to take the two points away from the New Yorkers. Connor McDavid and Jordan Eberle were joined by Patrick Maroon on the top line while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins centered the second line. Milan Lucic dropped all the way to the third line with Leon Draisaitl but stayed on the top power play unit as he scored a goal last night with the man advantage. Edmonton is employing a two line power play system which gives equal time to both lines and that’s how Draisaitl found the scoresheet with the man advantage. It only took defenseman Matt Benning three games to grab his first two points of the year and grab a share of the ice time on the power play, so it looks like we can discount Andrej Sekera as it looks like it was his job that Benning took.
The Red Wings will look to break a four-game losing streak as the Edmonton oilers pay a visit to the Joe Louis Arena for possibly the last time. Edmonton should be a bit tired in this one as they are playing their third road game in four nights. Head coach Jeff Blashill saw defenseman Niklas Kronwall return on Friday night and inserted him right back on the team’s top power play unit along with fellow blue liner Mike green. I don’t mind Green in this spot as he leads the team in points with nine points over the first 12 games. Dylan Larkin and Frans Nielsen have been a bit productive of late as they have collected seven points over the last six games but it is their linemate in Gustav Nyquist who is the one-off here as he skates with Tomas Tatar and Henrik Zetterberg on the team’s top power play unit. You can feel free to add Justin Abdelkader with Tatar and Zetterberg to make a full line stack, as they should be the line Blashill elects to put out when the Oilers do not have their shut down line on the ice.
Elite Plays
EDM: Connor McDavid
DET: None
Secondary Plays
EDM: Jordan Eberle, Milan Lucic, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Matt Benning
DET: Mike Green, Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Tatar, Gustav Nyquist, Dylan Larkin
Colorado Avalanche at St. Louis Blues
| Colorado Avalanche | St. Louis Blues | ||||||||
 | Semyon Varlamov |  | Jake Allen | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 5-5-0 | 6-4-2 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.22 | 3.11 | 20.00% | 80.00% | Team Stats | 2.18 | 2.82 | 15.90% | 89.10% |
The Avalanche held on to a one goal lead yesterday afternoon as goaltender Calvin Pickard stopped every shot he faced to beat the Wild on home ice yesterday afternoon. The top line that features Matt Duchene, Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon will probably draw a lot of attention from the Blues best defensive line so maybe playing Gabriel Landeskog and Jarome Iginla isn’t a bad idea here. Landeskog makes a perfect one-off here as he gets time with the top line while the Avalanche have the man advantage and scored their only goal that way in yesterday’s win. Tyson Barrie saw the most ice time from the point, including the value extra time with the man advantage. Colorado has only scored seven goals in their last six games, so even on a six-game slate, it’s probably best to stop right here.
The Blues came away with a hard fought overtime win against a team that scored 10 goals last night, the Columbus Blue Jackets, by a score of 2-1 on home ice last night. Tonight, they remain on home ice to play a Colorado team who played in Minnesota yesterday afternoon. Vladimir Tarasenko scored the overtime winner and is clearly the chalk play here along with line mates Jaden Schwartz and Jori Lehtera. Tarasenko leads the team in goals with five as well as the team in points with ten. Alexander Steen and David Perron play on the second line but based on last night’s game, received the most ice time with the man advantage along with Tarasenko, Paul Stastny and defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk. The Blues have only scored seven goals in their last six games so hopefully tonight is the night they break out.
Elite Plays
COL: None
STL: Vladimir Tarasenko
Secondary Plays
COL: Gabriel Landeskog, Matt Duchene, Nathan MacKinnon, Tyson Barrie
STL: Jaden Schwartz, Paul Stastny, Alexander Steen, Kevin Shattenkirk
New Jersey Devils at Carolina Hurricanes
| New Jersey Devils | Carolina Hurricanes | ||||||||
 | Keith Kinkaid |  | Eddie Lack | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 4-3-3 | 3-4-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.33 | 2.22 | 20.60% | 80.50% | Team Stats | 2.78 | 3.56 | 21.20% | 87.10% |
The Devils continue to try to get the right combinations together, but nothing seems to be working. Actually, I think they are close if they just leave the lines alone, as although they lost 4-1 in Tampa last night, they still outshot them by a count of 38-35. You have to go all the way to December 11th of last year to find the last time New Jersey was able to shoot 38 pucks on net. Damon Severson continues to be a beast on the back line as his goal last night gives him nine points in 10 games. He has been getting a ton of power play time, which by the way, makes him a nice one-off cash game play tonight. Up front, you have to go with Taylor Hall and Travis Zajac as they are next in the pecking order where the Devils best scorers are concerned. They both had the assists on the Severson goal while combining for 13 of the 38 shots New Jersey put on net. The second line of Mike Cammalleri, Adam Henrique and Kyle Palmieri is probably your sneaky stack of the night for GPP play. These guys are much better than what they have shown so far and should have a little more room on the ice as Carolina will probably put their best defensive line against the Hall line.
Carolina rebounded from a 2-1 overtime loss in Ottawa on Thursday to come back and beat the Predators last night in Nashville by a count of 3-2 in shootout fashion. The Hurricanes have scored 11 goals in the last five games which makes Jeff Skinner and his four goals and two assists over the last four games even that more amazing. He is obviously good as a one-off play here for cash but you can also add Victor Rask to the mix if you are looking for a decent top line, top power play duo on home ice tonight. Justin Faulk is the play on defense, as he sees north of 25 minutes of ice time on a nightly basis. Noah Hanifin is also another option on the blue line as he has collected six assists so far this season. Be careful here as we know what happens when two bad teams play each other.
Elite Plays
NJ: None
CAR: Jeff Skinner
Secondary Plays
NJ: Taylor Hall, Travis Zajac, Damon Severson, Kyle Palmieri, Adam Henrique, Pavel Zacha
CAR: Victor Rask, Justin Faulk, Noah Hanifin, Lee Stempniak
Dallas Stars at Chicago Blackhawks
| Dallas Stars | Chicago Blackhawks | ||||||||
 |  | ||||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 4-5-2 | 8-3-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.60 | 3.10 | 13.30% | 76.70% | Team Stats | 3.55 | 2.45 | 22.00% | 64.30% |
It seems like only yesterday that I broke down a game between the Dallas Stars and the Chicago Blackhawks, oh wait a minute, I did. The teams change venues tonight as the Blackhawks beat the Stars last night in their own barn and there is nothing more that would make Dallas happy than to return the favor tonight. Jason Spezza left last night’s game with an injury but by looking at the game logs head coach Lindy Ruff kept the top line of Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn and Patrick Eaves together for the remainder of the game. Defenseman John Klingberg and Dan Hamhuis logged the most ice time when the team had the man advantage along with the top line so if Ruff doesn’t mix things up, these would be the players to target tonight. Devin Shore and Lauri Korpikoski could be used as a deeper GPP play here, as there’s no doubt Chicago will try to shut down the Seguin line, provided they stay together. Korpikoski is fourth on the team in shots, while Shore is more of a set-up man, as evidenced by his five goals compared to scoring just one goal on 14 shots.
There is no coincidence that Chicago has won their last five games almost right after head coach Joel Quennville decided to put Patrick Kane back together with Jonathan Toews. Heck, even Richard Panik continues to rack up the points on the top line as he has seven goals and four assists through the first 12 games. It also helps that Marian Hossa is back in the lineup, as it looks like he is fitting in nicely with Kane’s old line mates in Artemi Panarin and Artem Anisimov. Chicago does keep Kane’s old line together when the team goes on the power play, which has scored six times over the last five games. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook are the choices on defense as they join the ‘Kane Trio’ to man the points when Chicago gets a power play opportunity. I am not sure if Dallas can hold off these guys tonight, as Chicago is clearly the chalk play for cash games tonight.
Elite Plays
DAL: Tyler Seguin
CHI: Patrick Kane
Secondary Plays
DAL: Jamie Benn, John Klingberg, Patrick Eaves
CHI: Jonathan Toews, Artem Anisimov, Artemi Panarin, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook
Winnipeg Jets at New York Rangers
| Winnipeg Jets | New York Rangers | ||||||||
 |  | ||||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 5-6-1 | 9-3-0 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.67 | 3.00 | 10.90% | 81.80% | Team Stats | 4.09 | 2.27 | 22.70% | 82.30% |
By virtue of a 7-1 record at home, the Rangers have become one of the tougher teams to beat in front of the home crowd. Meanwhile, the Jets will look to win two consecutive games in a row for only the second time all season. Winnipeg is another team that is trying to switch up their lines to get a more balanced attack so look for Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele and Nikolaj Ehlers to skate on the top line tonight. This line has contributed five goals and 11 assists over the past six games. Here’s where it gets muddled a little bit, as Patrik Laine is now on a line with Adam Lowry and Brandon Tanev will skate with Alex Burmistrov. Laine is the one-off here as he has netted a team leading seven goals while assisting on three other goals through the first 12 games. The Jets are also switching it up a bit on the top power play line, as the team hasn’t scored a goal with the man advantage in over five games. Dustin Byfuglien is the choice here on defense as he has eight assists while manning the point on the top power play unit.
Backed by the strength of two short-handed goals last night, the Rangers continued their onslaught of the Metropolitan Division by beating the Boston Bruins by a score of 5-2. New York has won their last four games by scoring 21 goals and giving up just six in that time frame so maybe the one-line Winnipeg Jets could be in trouble tonight. Kevin Hayes and J.T. Miller lead the Rangers in scoring from the team’s third line which makes absolutely no sense here as they see about 15 minutes of ice time a night and no power play time. Miller has 12 points while Hayes has 11 through the first 12 games. Now, it’s very rare for me to say use a third liner that gets zero power play time, let alone two of them, but here we are. It’s almost impossible to ignore them in GPP tournaments tonight. Rick Nash, Derek Stepan and Jimmy Vesey make decent plays from the top line while Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad and Mats Zuccarello take care of things on the second line. Pair them up anyway you want, as they all get almost equal power play opportunities. Brandon Pirri continues to get minutes with the man advantage from the fourth line, which makes him a decent one-off play here if you need some salary relief. Ryan McDonagh is the play from the point as he has racked up nine assists through the first 13 games.
Elite plays
WIN: None
NYR: None
Secondary Plays
WIN: Blake Wheeler, Dustin Byfuglien, Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers
NYR: Rick Nash, Derek Stepan, Ryan McDonagh, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider