NHL Grind Down: Sunday, October 29th
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.
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Anaheim Ducks at Carolina Hurricanes
| Anaheim Ducks | Carolina Hurricanes | ||||||||
 | Ryan Miller |  | Scott Darling | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 5-4-1 | 4-4-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.00 | 3.22 | 6.45 | 84.09 | Team Stats | 2.67 | 2.89 | 15.63 | 80.00 |
Of the three games on the slate tonight it just so happens that all three away teams are playing in their second game in two nights. With that said it is going to be too tough to fade the away teams as you have players like Ryan Getzlaf, Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin all playing last night. My point is that I would take a lot of more talented tired players on the road than I would rested players at home, in this case anyway. Anaheim took care of business last night as they handed the Tampa Bay Lightning their first home defeat by a score of 4-1 and with a win here they could go back home with a 3-1 record to their credit to end their current four game road trip. Much like Tuesday night’s win in Philadelphia the top line of Ryan Getzlaf, Rickard Rakell and Corey Perry were all over the lice last night as they had a hand in three of the Ducks four goals. Ondrej Kase and defenseman Brandon Montour joun the top line when the Ducks draw a penalty and usually soak up most if not all of the extra ice time with the man advantage. This may not be a factor tonight however as Carolina has given the opposing team just five power play opportunities in the last five games. Regardless the top line is still the line to target in cash games tonight as Rakell leads the team in goals, Getzlaf in assists and Perry in points. Andrew Cogliano, Jakob Silfverberg and Antoine make up the team’s second line and should be used as a GPP alternative for tournament play tonight. Kase is already a one-off play because of his exposure to the top line and the fact that he has five points inseven games but Cogliano isn’t bad in that respect tonight either as he has lit the lamp three times to go along with four assists so far this season. Defenseman Sami Vatanen returned from injury last night to play his first game of the season. It will probably take him a few games to get up to speed but he is probably a better option than Josh Manson, who has found the score sheet four times this season and will more than likely lose some ice time to the returning Vatanen.
The Hurricanes come into this one with just one win in front of the home crowd in four attempts. Last year they were a respectable 23-12-6 on home ice but were still a good nine points away from making the playoffs. This season is starting to look a lot like that but on a short slate like today’s we have no choice but to take a look at them. It’s not really as bad as it sounds as Jeff Skinner leads the team with six goals and eight points through the first nine games. His 30 shots is also tops on the team although defenseman Justin Faulk is tied with him but has been a little bit like Aaron Ekblad was last year as he has just two assists to show for his efforts. Carolina finally has put Skinner with someone other than third line players as he now has Derek Ryan and Justin Williams as his line mates while the second line of Sebastian Aho, Jordan Staal and Elias Lindholm serves as the Hurricanes second scoring line. Since the Hurricanes deploy two even lines when they have the man advantage it would behoove you not to keep the line mates together if you are looking at the Hurricanes to win you some money tonight. Skinner is almost a perfcet match as Williams seems to be setting them up and we all know that Skinner can knock them home. Teuvo Teravainen makes for an easy one-off here as he skates on the top power play unit while skating with Jamie McGinn and Victor Rask. Jaccob Slavin is the alternative on the blue line as he leads the team with over 24 minutes of ice time on a nightly basis. Look for Anaheim to come in tired after beating the Lightning last night by a score of 4-1.
Top Plays
ANA: Ryan Getzlaf, Rickard Rakell
CAR: Jeff Skinner
Secondary Plays
ANA: Corey Perry, Brandon Montour, Andrew Cogliano, Jakob Silfverberg, Ondrej Kase
CAR: Justin Williams, Sebastian Aho, Elias Lindholm, Justin Faulk, Derek Ryan, Victor Rask
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