NHL Grind Down: Sunday, November 8th
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 write-ups 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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Dallas Stars at Detroit Red Wings – 03:00 PM EST
| Dallas Stars | Detroit Red Wings | ||||||||
 | Kari Lehtonen |  | Jimmy Howard | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 11-3 | 7-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.57 | 2.71 | 28.90% | 78.00% | Team Stats | 2.46 | 2.46 | 17.80% | 83.30% |
The Stars kept things rolling on Friday as they defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 and will head to Motown with the best record in the Western Conference. These two teams lit up the scoreboard in their two meetings last season, with Detroit ultimately winning both games by a combined score of 12-8. However, with Detroit still missing several key contributors and the Stars playing excellent hockey to open the 2015-16, there’s plenty to like from Dallas this afternoon. The Stars are not only the fastest paced team in the NHL (118.5 CP60), but they’re also rather easy to breakdown from a fantasy perspective. Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn join up on the team’s top scoring line, and find themselves in first and second in the NHL in scoring thus far this season; so they obviously deserve your fantasy attention, especially on a four-game slate. Patrick Sharp was injured in their last game and is officially questionable this afternoon. He had already appeared to lose his spot alongside Benn and Seguin on the top line prior to their last game, but in his absence Ales Hemsky skated as the third wheel on that top line and that would obviously make him an excellent value play if things stayed that way tonight. On the blueline, John Klingberg remains an elite option as the second-year defenseman owns a pair of goals and 11 assists through 13 games.
The Wings escaped Toronto with a fortunate 2-1 victory on Friday night and have now rattled off three straight wins to improve their record to 7-5-1. While they still look to be simply attempting to tread water until they get Pavel Datsyuk and Johan Franzen back into the lineup, this is actually a fairly important game for Detroit as their schedule the next three weeks looks rather daunting. Dallas certainly isn’t an easy opponent, but these Detroit players should see a nice fantasy boost from the likely bump in pace. Much like Dallas, Detroit has seen a large proportion of their scoring come from their top forward line, and with that in mind, Henrik Zetterberg, Dylan Larkin and Justin Abdelkader all look to be very fine options today. With the Stars owning just a 78.0% penalty kill to start the season, you’ll also need to keep Gustav Nyquist on your radar as the youngster has already flirted with the 30-goal plateau in each of his first two seasons in the NHL. Defensively, Mike Green finally looks ready to return from the lineup and, assuming he does, he’ll jump right back onto that very dangerous #1 power-play unit. That makes Green the most intriguing option, but both Niklas Kronwall and Danny DeKeyser are also in play as guys with slightly less upside
Elite Plays
DAL: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, John Klingberg
DET: Henrik Zetterberg, Dylan Larkin, Justin Abdelkader, Gustav Nyquist, Mike Green
Secondary Plays
DAL: Jason Spezza, Ales Hemsky, Alex Goligoski
DET: Tomas Tatar, Niklas Kronwall, Danny DeKeyser
Vancouver Canucks at New Jersey Devils – 05:00 PM EST
| Vancouver Canucks | New Jersey Devils | ||||||||
 | Ryan Miller |  | Cory Schneider | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 6-4 | 7-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.79 | 2.29 | 16.70% | 86.50% | Team Stats | 2.38 | 2.46 | 21.70% | 77.50% |
The Canucks, somewhat surprisingly, fell 3-2 in Buffalo yesterday afternoon, but have a nice chance at snapping their two-game losing streak this evening in New Jersey. However, this is a battle between the two slowest paced teams in the NHL by CP60 standards which really limits the fantasy outlook for anyone involved. With Radim Vrbata still holding onto the wing spot along side the Sedin Twins on the Canucks’ top line, that’s pretty much as deep as you need to dig when breaking down the Canucks. The Sedins once again find themselves leading this team in scoring, and despite the slow start for Vrbata, his 55 shots on goal have him tied for seventh in the NHL and it’s only a matter of time until he starts finding the back of the net with more consistency. Alex Edler and Yannick Weber see a healthy dose of playing time on the point of the Canucks top power-play unit making both fine “Punt” options in this one.
The New Jersey Devils defeated the Chicago Blackhawks in their last outing, and after an ugly 0-4-0 start, they’re now 7-2-0 over their last nine games. However, as mentioned above, this is a very methodical Devils team that finds success by clogging up the nuetral zone with a focus on slowing things down as much as possible. That approach has yielded fine results, but it’s obviously not a recipe for fantasy stardom. Mike Cammalleri once again leads this in scoring, and with four goals and eight assists through 13 games, he’s the top option. His linemates Adam Henrique and Lee Stempniak have also both posted double-digit seasons already on the young season and are fine secondary options, as well. On the blueline, Damon Severson has established himself as a quality defenseman and the 21-year-old holds the reigns as the point-man on the Devils top power-play unit. With six assists and a dirt cheap price tag on some sites, he’s worth a look.
Elite Plays
VAN: Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Radim Vrbata
NJD: Mike Cammalleri, Adam Henrique
Secondary Play
VAN: Alex Burrows, Brandon Sutter, Alex Edler, Yannick Weber
NJD: Lee Stempniak, Kyle Palmieri, Damon Severson
Boston Bruins at New York Islanders – 05:00 PM EST
| Boston Bruins | New York Islanders | ||||||||
 | Tuukka Rask |  | Jaroslav Halak | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 6-6 | 7-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.46 | 3.38 | 33.30% | 68.10% | Team Stats | 2.79 | 2.43 | 25.00% | 89.10% |
The Bruins are have been a streaky team this season, and unfortunately for them, they’re trending in the wrong direction right now. They’ve lost three straight games and uncharachteristally coughed up 13 goals during that span. It’s been unchartered water for this Bruins team this season as they’re allowing an ugly 3.38 goals against per game and no longer appear to represent one of the toughest defensive matchups in the NHL. Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron are still putting up quality offensive numbers but I’m expecting them to be more focused on trying to contain John Tavares. Alternatively, David Krejci has suprisingly thrived this season without Milan Lucic and already owns seven goals and nine assists through 13 games. His linemate Loui Eriksson has scored three goals over the last three games and newcomer Frank Vatrano scored a goal in his NHL debut yesterday. Zdeno Chara contonues to be a workhorse on the blueline but it’s Torey Krug that now looks like the best fantasy option.
The Islanders dropped a 5-3 decision against the Bruins in their only previous meeting this season but should be highly motivated to pick up two points tonight before heading out on a tough west coast road trip. They’ll be happy to have John Tavares back to full health tonight and while the matchup opposite Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron is not ideal, it’s impossible to ignore him considering the Bruins defensive struggles this season. The Islanders own the league’s 4th best power-play (25%) and with Boston having the NHL’s worst 68.1% penalty kill, that’s where I’ll be focusing my attention. Anders Lee, Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen join Tavares as forwards on team’s #1 power-play unit, with all four players off to fine starts offensively. Nick Leddy has emerged as the point-man on the #1 power-play making him an excellent option where his price has remained cheap. Johnny Boychuk and Marek Zidlicky soak up the remaining power-play minutes and are fine options here as well.
Elite Plays
BOS: Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Torey Krug
NYI: John Tavares, Anders Lee, Kyle Okposo, Nick Leddy
Secondary Plays
BOS: Loui Eriksson, Brad Marchand, Zdeno Chara
NYI: Frans Nielsen, Josh Bailey, Johnny Boychuk, Marek Zidlicky
Edmonton Oilers at Chicago Blackhawks – 08:00 PM EST
| Edmonton Oilers | Chicago Blackhawks | ||||||||
 | Ben Scrivens |  | Corey Crawford | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 5-9 | 7-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.64 | 3.07 | 21.30% | 79.50% | Team Stats | 2.50 | 2.57 | 18.40% | 83.30% |
Jordan Eberle’s return coincided with the loss of Connor McDavid, but the Oilers were unable to get anything going offensively as they lost 2-1 to the Penguins on Friday. Tonight they’ll head to the Mad House on Madison to battle the defending Stanley Cup Champions, and that’s not a recipe for fantasy success. Even on a short, four-game night, it’s very hard to trust anyone here in cash games. While Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle and Leon Draisaitl have proven to have plenty of firepower, they’ll be shadowed by Jonathan Toews (and quite possible Marian Hossa, as well). I’m not going to try to be too cute here, Edmonton is a GPP only play in Chicago, especially on sites that include plus/minus in their scoring system.
The Blackhawks coughed up a 5-2 lead to lose to St. Louis on Wednesday and followed that up by dropping a 4-2 decision in New Jersey on Friday. They should be very angry tonight, and that’s terrible news for the Edmonton Oilers. The matchups get even more daunting as Chicago is hoping to have Marian Hossa back in action. Despite the subpar start to the 2015-16 season, the Blackhawks have posted an impressive 6-1-1 record at the United Center and have a massive advantage in this game by Corsi standards. Patrick Kane has led the offensive charge with nine goals and ten assists through the first 14 games. If he’s able to play, Marian Hossa will almost certainly jump back onto the wing alongside Jonathan Toews, which would put an end to the fantasy relevance of Ryan Garbutt. Both of the top two lines should see high ownership rates here and getting exposure to the Blackhawks power-play looks like a wise move. Brent Seabrook has thrived since assuming the added responsibilities after Duncan Keith injury.
Elite Plays
EDM: None
CHI: Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Artemi Panarin, Brent Seabrook
Secondary Play
EDM: Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Leon Draisaitl
CHI: Artem Anisimov, Marian Hossa (if healthy), Trevor Daley