NHL Grind Down: Thursday, April 7th - Page Three
Vancouver Canucks at Calgary Flames – 09:00 PM EDT
| Vancouver Canucks | Calgary Flames | ||||||||
 | Garret Sparks |  | Scott Darling | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 30-36-13 | 33-40-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.25 | 2.82 | 16.20% | 82.30% | Team Stats | 2.75 | 3.16 | 16.70% | 74.90% |
Only on this putrid Canuck team can guys like Bo Horvat and Emerson Etem have a combined six goals and seven assists over the last seven games. Having played six games in the last 11 days it’s no wonder they got blown out last night in Edmonton by a score of 6-2. Henrik and Daniel sedin have packed it in as well as they have just five points between them over the last seven games. The defense isn’t much better as Ben Hutton and Dan Hamhuis man the points on the power play but it’s Hamhuis with the lone point, a goal, over the last seven games. It may be wise to avoid this team altogether as they are surely looking forward to the end of this season which has them at -45 goals, tied for last in the league.
The Flames are the home team here so it’s safe to play Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan against the Canucks who are fresh off playing in Edmonton last night. Monahan has accumulated seven points over the last five games while Gaudreau as two goals and two assists in his last three games. Joe Colborne gets the nod on the power play as he has what would seem like a career high two goals and six assists over the last five games. Mark Giordano and Dougie Hamilton round out the team’s top power play with Giordano making the better play but you will certainly have to pay a little more for him.
Elite Plays
VAN: None
CGY: Johnny Gaudreau
Secondary Plays
VAN: Bo Horvat
CGY: Sean Monahan, Mark Giordano, Dougie Hamilton
Winnipeg Jets at San Jose Sharks – 10:30 PM EDT
| Winnipeg Jets | San Jose Sharks | ||||||||
 | Matt Murray |  | Martin Jones | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 33-39-8 | 45-29-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.55 | 2.86 | 14.40% | 78.80% | Team Stats | 2.90 | 2.53 | 22.30% | 80.70% |
All the Winnipeg Jets are playing for are jobs for next season but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few good plays to be had. Blake Wheeler has found the back of the net five times while assisting on two other goals while Mark Scheifele has the same amount of points by scoring three goals and assisting on two others in the last five games. Nikolaj Ehlers gets the minutes on the top line with these two and should be strongly considered for tournament play. Defenseman Dustin Byfuglien has hit the score sheet a few times over the past five games with a goal and three assists. Jacob Trouba makes for a cheaper defensive play as he has three assists in the last ten days.
San Jose has locked up third place in the Pacific division and will look to tighten up their game tonight against the Winnipeg Jets. Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski get the lion’s share of the power play minutes while Tomas Hertl skates with them on the team’s top line only. Thornton and defenseman Brent Burns lead the Sharks with a goal and six assists each over the last five games. Logan Couture has found the scoring touch with five goals and six points over the last ten days while even Patrick Marleau has three goals and an assist over that same time period. All six of these players make nice cash game plays tonight against a Winnipeg team that has given up 232 goals this season.
Elite Plays
WIN: Blake Wheeler
SJ: Joe Thornton, Brent Burns
h3. Secondary Plays
WIN: Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers, Dustin Byfuglien
SJ: Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau, Tomas Hertl
Anaheim Ducks at Los Angeles Kings – 10:30 PM EDT
| Anaheim Ducks | Los Angeles Kings | ||||||||
 | Mike Smith |  | Jonathan Quick | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 44-24-11 | 47-28-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.62 | 2.32 | 23.30% | 87.00% | Team Stats | 2.73 | 2.35 | 20.30% | 81.00% |
With a game in hand the Anaheim Ducks will try to win the Pacific division with a win over the Los Angeles Kings tonight. Both teams are currently tied for the top spot but the Ducks have an extra game to play as the kings only have two games left while Anaheim has three. Ryan Kesler and Jakub Silverberg make for a decent GPP pairing as they not only skate on the team’s second line they have been finding the scoresheet as well. Kesler has three goals and three assists while Silverberg has two and two over the last five games. The top line has all the fire power though as Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry could do some damage, especially since the Kings have given up goal while a man down in five of their last six games. Cam Fowler and Sami Vatanen are the choices on defense in what could be a very physical low scoring game.
If the Kings want to win the Pacific division they almost have to win their last three games. Anze Kopitar skates on the team’s top line but has been in a slump of late with just two assists over the last ten days. Tanner Pearson and Kris Versteeg are his line mates and now with Versteeg back in the fold look for this line to pick it up a bit here tonight. The second line of Tyler Toffoli, Jeff Carter and Milan Lucic has been the hot line for the Kings as each player has at least five points over the last five games. Carter leads with five goals and three assists while Tyler Toffoli has chipped in three goals and seven points. Drew Doughty and Jake Muzzin are the plays on the point with Doughty being the better play of the two if you can afford him.
Elite Plays
ANA: Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf
LAK: Jeff Carter
Secondary Plays
ANA: Ryan Kesler, Sami Vatanen, Cam Fowler
LAK: Anze Kopitar, Tyler Toffoli, Milan Lucic, Drew Doughty, Jake Muzzin