NHL Grind Down: Sunday, October 30th - Page Two
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Los Angeles Kings at Chicago Blackhawks
| Los Angeles Kings | Chicago Blackhawks | ||||||||
 | Jack Campbell |  | Corey Crawford | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 2-3-0 | 3-3-0 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.71 | 3.14 | 17.60% | 73.70% | Team Stats | 3.38 | 3.25 | 20.80% | 42.90% |
The Kings saw their four-game winning streak snapped last night at the hands of the St Louis Blues by the score of 1-0. Tonight is a new night, however, and there are some definite flaws in the Blackhawk armor that we can try to exploit. We all know that Chicago can’t seem to kill off penalties with any amount of consistency, as they have let up 15 goals in the first eight games while being short-handed. One could say they are due to have at least one game where the opposition doesn’t score on the power play, but let’s push the envelope here. Jeff Carter and Tanner Pearson skate on the team’s second line but as of last night were seeing the majority of ice time with the man advantage. Normally folks would take Carter as he is the more “popular” name, and that’s fine ,but the stronger play here is Pearson, as he has netted four goals and two assists in the six games he’s played so far this season. Remember that he was suspended for two games at the beginning of the season, so it looks he is a good player but his point a game average is the best on the team. Defenseman Alec Martinez leads the team in points and did get a shot at grabbing more power play time last night which makes him a consideration for tonight as well. The top line that features Anze Kopitar and Tyler Toffoli can be used as a decent GPP play tonight, especially Kopitar as he has collected six points so far this season. Drew Doughty is the other defenseman to consider as he has found the scoresheet four times this season while playing on the top power play line and logging the most ice time on the team. There are a few ways to go here so as always, make sure you take the players that work with each other the most.
Everyone seems to panic when the Blackhawks get off to a mediocre start. It happens every year and then we hear oh, they are getting old or the goaltending isn’t as good as it should be. Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane could be high owned tonight where cash games are concerned as they are in the team’s top line with Richard panic and get the extra ice time when the team has the man advantage. Toews only has three points, so Kane makes a decent one-off play here as he has scored two goals to go along with seven assists. Panik could be in the same situation as he has scored six goals and nine points in the team’s first eight games. I wouldn’t be opposed to a Panik Kane pairing either but pairing Kane with say Artemi Panarin or defensemen Brent Seabrook or Duncan Keith may make more sense as they all get the top power play minutes. Panarin skates with the recently returned Marian Hossa and the team leader in points, Artem Anisimov (5-5-10), on the team’s second line which makes this line a nice GGP play for tonight’s action.
Elite Plays
LAK: None
CHI: Patrick Kane
Secondary Plays
LAK: Alec Martinez, Tanner Pearson, Jeff Carter, Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty
CHI: Jonathan Toews, Artemi Panarin, Artem Anisimov, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook
Ottawa Senators at Edmonton Oilers
| Ottawa Senators | Edmonton Oilers | ||||||||
 | Chris Driedger |  | Cam Talbot | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 3-2-0 | 5-1-0 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.14 | 3.57 | 7.10% | 71.40% | Team Stats | 3.63 | 2.13 | 16.70% | 87.00% |
The Senators have alternated wins and losses in their last six games and will be awfully hard pressed to continue that streak tonight against the surprise team in the league that is the Edmonton Oilers. Defenseman Erik Karlsson leads the team with eight points while Ryan Dzingel is making a push to get into the top six, as he has seven points while getting just over 11 minutes of ice time per game. Both can be used as decent one-off plays, Karlsson for cash and Dzingel for GPP’s. If the Senators are going to try to solve Cam Talbot they will need second liners Derick Brassard and Bobby Ryan to get a few points tonight. The Oilers should be busy trying to shut down the top line of Mike Hoffman, Kyle Turris and Mark Stone, which should give the second line a bit more breathing room tonight. Talbot and the Oilers have given up just four goals in the last five games so the senators may be out of luck here as they conclude their three game Western Canadian road trip.
SENATORS UPDATE
It looks like Ottawa will try to go with three balanced lines on the road here against Edmonton. Hoffman and Turris seem to be on the top line with Tom Pyatt. Dzingel gets a bump here as he is now on a line with Ryan and Brassard while Stone is mired with Pageau and and Zack Smith. this makes Stone a one-off while keeping the Ryan and Brassard pair intact.
Cam Talbot and Connor McDavid have taken this team to the top of the Pacific division with a 7-1 record. Talbot has been in between the pipes for all eight games while McDavid leads the ‘Edmonton Revival’ with five goals and seven assists. With the Oilers being at home Milan Lucic and Jordan Eberle should be pretty high owned tonight as all three players play on the top line, get the majority of ice time with the man advantage and are ranked one, two, three on the Oilers scoring chart. Leon Draisaitl is your one-off play here, as he gets the top power play minutes while skating on the team’s second line. Draisaitl has found the scoresheet six times in the first eight games. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins seems to be the man shuffled out here as he skates on the third line and has just four assists so far this season. Flip a coin for a defenseman here as Andrej Sekera, Kris Russell and Darnell Nurse all have three points so maybe it’s a good day to pay up for your selections on defense tonight.
Elite Plays
OTT: Erik Karlsson
EDM: Connor McDavid, Jordan Eberle
Secondary Plays
OTT: Bobby Ryan, Derick Brassard, Mike Hoffman, Mark Stone,
EDM: Milan Lucic, Leon Draisaitl
Washington Capitals at Calgary Flames
| Washington Capitals | Calgary Flames | ||||||||
 | Braden Holtby |  | Brian Elliott | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 3-1-1 | 1-4-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.33 | 2.17 | 12.50% | 71.40% | Team Stats | 3.22 | 3.44 | 4.00% | 74.20% |
The Washington Capitals shook off their two-game losing streak to bounce back last night to beat the Canucks in Vancouver by a score of 5-2. Washington shuffled up their lines a bit, and it seems to have worked. They did, however, keep the top power play unit of Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Marcus Johansson, T.J. Oshie and defenseman John Carlson intact, so that’s really good news going into tonight. The Flames have taken four or more minor penalties in eight of the first nine games and the puck has found its way behind the Calgary goaltender in seven of those games. So yeah, fire the Caps power play up, tired or not. Oshie and Johansson make decent one-off plays here as they do not skate on the top line in which Calgary will ’try’ to shut down. Heck, Johansson even leads the team in scoring with three goals and four assists in seven games. You can pair him up with his second line center in Evgeny Kuznetsov as they should see a lot of room on the ice tonight. It’s amazing what happens when a player is put in the right situation. To Calgary’s credit, they have rebounded nicely to win their last three games but Washington probably has a little more firepower for them tonight. John Carlson or Matt Niskanen are the choices on defense, and while Carlson gets more ice time and has outshot “Nisky
by a count of 23-11, it is Niskanen who has the point advantage by a 5-1 count.
Calgary has put up some impressive wins at St Louis and at Chicago over the past week, which has gotten them back to the .500 mark with a 4-4-1 record. The Flames have scoring coming from all over, but it has been Johnny Gaudreau who has stepped it up to reclaim his rightful spot as the team’s scoring leader. It took a few games for the youngster to realize exactly how much money his contract was worth before coming back down to earth to play the style of hockey he is capable of playing. Sean Monahan and Alex Chiasson are his partners on the top line while Sam Bennet centers Kris Versteeg and Troy Brouwer to form the team’s second line. Brouwer makes a nice one-off play here, as he is second in scoring as he gets exposure to Gaudreau by playing on the top power play unit with him. Dougie Hamilton has been productive from the blue line, as he has found the back of the net twice while assisting on five other goals. Mark Giordano is the defenseman who gets the most ice time and has tallied five points so far while anchoring the team’s top power play unit. This one could surprise people and end up being a bit more wide open, as both teams can skate and carry the puck, which will leave it up to the goaltenders to keep the scoring down to a dull roar.
Elite Plays
WSH: Alexander Ovechkin
CGY: Johnny Gaudreau
Secondary Plays
WSH: Nicklas Backstrom, Marcus Johansson, T.J. Oshie, John Carlson, Matt Niskanen
CGY: Troy Brouwer, Dougie Hamilton, Mark Giordano, Sean Monahan