NHL Grind Down: Thursday, December 31st - Page Two
Nashville Predators at Dallas Stars – 08:30 PM EST
| Nashville Predators | Dallas Stars | ||||||||
 | Pekka Rinne |  | Kari Lehtonen | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 18-12-7 | 27-8-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.65 | 2.57 | 21.10% | 76.60% | Team Stats | 3.45 | 2.50 | 23.60% | 80.70% |
Nashville plays the second game of their brief three game road trip tonight as the head into Dallas to take on the best team in the league. We have talked before about how the Predators are a good team at home but on the road they become a bit suspect as their 6-7-4 away from home can attest to. This has a lot to do with their ability to shut down the top lines at home but when they hit the road, the opposing coaches evidently do a good job of keeping their top lines away from players like Shea Weber and the rest of the crew. Nashville is another team that is trying to split up their top players I an effort to find more consistency. The return of Mike Fisher helps out a lot on this front as he has been placed in between wingers Colin Wilson and Viktor Arvidsson. So far this line has only accounted for a goal and two assists but they have generated 14 shots on goal since Fishers return two games ago. Filip Forsberg and Mike Ribeiro each have done well over the past few games as the duo are responsible for five goals and nine assists over the last six games. Although James Neal skates on the third line he still has managed two goals and two assist in his last five games and should be considered in play as he skates on the top power play unit. Speaking of the power play unit, you can’t go wrong with the aforementioned Weber or Roman Josi on defense as both have two goals and five assists each in their last six games.
The Stars didn’t skate yesterday so with the injury to Ales Hemsky it will be interesting to see if Lindy Ruff elects to put Valeri Nichuskin back on the second line to skate with Jason Spezza and Mattias Janmark. That shouldn’t matter too much tonight though as the top line of Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn and Patrick Sharp are the selections here for your cash games tonight. Both Benn and Sharp come into this game riding six game scoring streaks while Seguin is ‘only’ third in the league in scoring behind Benn and Patrick Kane. John Klingberg mans the point with Spezza on the power play completing the five man unit that is currently second in the league with 29 goals with the man advantage. If Nichuskin does indeed wind up on the second line tonight I would not be opposed of playing him with Spezza and Janmark as they will be very low owned considering they will probably draw one of the toughest shutdown lines in the league.
Elite Plays
NSH: None
DAL: Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin
H3. Secondary Plays
NSH: Filip Forsberg, Mike Ribeiro, Shea Weber, Roman Josi, James Neal
DAL: Patrick Sharp, John Klingberg, Jason Spezza
Anaheim Ducks at Edmonton Oilers – 09:00 PM EST
| Anaheim Ducks | Edmonton Oilers | ||||||||
 | Frederik Andersen |  | Ben Scrivens | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 14-15-6 | 15-20-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 1.89 | 2.46 | 17.00% | 87.70% | Team Stats | 2.50 | 3.11 | 16.70% | 79.80% |
In light of the mess that is the Pacific division, the Anaheim Ducks picked a great year to stumble out of the blocks. Starting out 1-7-2 would surely bury most teams in any other division but the Pacific division is something special. By virtue of going 13-8-4 since their horrendous start the Ducks have been able to climb within just four points of second place San Jose. With a team that has only scored 67 goals in 35 games, the top line of Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and Rickard Rakell are the only ones in play here tonight and even Rakell is iffy at best although he is second on the team in goals with seven so far this year. That’s almost like saying ‘Hey, I’m the tallest midget in the circus!’ As if Sami Vatanen wasn’t the choice on defense before, he certainly is now that Cam Fowler has been placed on the IR list. Because they are playing a team that has given up the second most goals in the league, Anaheim can certainly be considered in GPP’s and are borderline cash plays for tonight’s contests.
After reeling off six straight wins to start out the month of December, the Edmonton Oilers have reverted back to who we know them to be in the last few years by evidence of dropping six of their last seven games. Again, we are dealing with the Pacific division, so even the second worst team in the league is just a mere five points away from second place in the division. Edmonton has only scored 12 goals in their last seven games with just one coming on the power play and that one came exactly seven games ago. Edmonton’s top line of Taylor Hall, Leon Draisaitl and Teddy Purcell also doubles as the team’s top power play line which has accounted for four goals and 12 assists of the 12 they have scored in the last seven games. Trying to pick up the slack is the second line as Benoit Pouliot has three goals while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle have picked up three assists each in the last two games. The blue line is a total crapshoot as Andrej Sekera leads all defensemen on this team in scoring with just four goals and ten assists through the first 38 games.
Elite Plays
ANA: None
EDM: Taylor Hall
Secondary Plays
ANA: Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Sami Vatanen
EDM: Leon Draisaitl, Teddy Purcell, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Benoit Pouliot, Jordan Eberle
Los Angeles Kings at Calgary Flames – 09:00 PM EST
| Los Angeles Kings | Calgary Flames | ||||||||
 | Jonathan Quick |  | Jonas Hiller | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 23-11-2 | 17-17-2 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.67 | 2.22 | 19.00% | 82.90% | Team Stats | 2.64 | 3.22 | 12.60% | 74.70% |
The Los Angeles Kings are back on top in what can only be termed as a weak Pacific division. Their 48 points is a full ten points over the second place San Jose Sharks. Jeff Carter has been sidelined the past two games with an upper body injury, but that didn’t stop Tyler Toffoli from scoring four goals and surpassing him to take the lead atop the Kings scoring leaderboard. Check the status for Carter for as he was listed as questionable for tonight’s game. If Carter can’t go one would think that Tiffoli stays on the top line with Anze Kopitar, which wouldn’t be a bad thing as they have accounted for five goals and four assists since Carter’s absence. The Kings have scored four power play goals in their last 11 tries making Milan Lucic, Drew Doughty and Alec Martinez in play as well. Martinez is the value play here as he has three assists in the last four games and is relatively cheap across the industry. The Kings will score some goals tonight but with Carter in question this game has an ‘either or’ feel to it depending on his game status.
After winning 11 straight games at home the Calgary Flames finally dropped a game on home ice to the Anaheim Ducks by a score of 1-0. Their 12-6 record on home ice speaks volumes about this one line team as those wins represent 24 of the 36 points the flames have accrued so far this season. For as bad as that seems the Flames find themselves just a meager two points from the second place San Jose Sharks. It appears that coach Bob Hartley will stick to his guns and run out the top line of Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and Jiri Hudler. Not only is this a smart move on home ice, this trio should be the only forwards that you should be considering for your lineups tonight as they are the top three scores on this Calgary team. Gaudreau is the choice here as his 17 goals and 22 assists have him up over the point-a-game benchmark that we gauge most superstars with. You know if Michael Frolik is your fourth top scoring forward, you have big problems. Defenseman Mark Giordano and T.J. Brodie continue to pile up the points but it’s Gio that gets the nod for me as he has tallied three goals to go along with four assists in his last five games.
Elite Plays
LAK: None
CGY: Johnny Gaudreau
Secondary Plays
LAK: Tyler Toffoli, Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, Alec Martinez, Milan Lucic
CGY: Sean Monahan, Jiri Hudler, Mark Giordano, T.J. Brodie
Winnipeg Jets at Arizona Coyotes – 09:00 PM EST
| Winnipeg Jets | Arizona Coyotes | ||||||||
 | Ondrej Pavelec |  | Mike Smith | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 17-17-2 | 17-16-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.69 | 2.89 | 14.30% | 77.90% | Team Stats | 2.78 | 3.22 | 16.30% | 78.60% |
Winnipeg starts a five game road trip tonight with their visit to the desert to take on the Arizona Coyotes. Although Winnipeg has only scored just one power play goal in their last six games it bears mentioning that the Coyotes have let in seven goals while a man short in their last four games. This should bode well for Blake Wheeler and Bryan Little as they not only lead the team in scoring, they have each have more than seven points in their last 11 games. Wheeler has nine assist in his last six while Little has three goals and four assists in his last five. Consider the fact that the Jets have scored 15 goals in their last six games and you can see why these two should be looked at while constructing your lineups tonight. Andrew Ladd has been bumped down to the second line but still remains on the top power play unit and makes an ok play tonight as he should see a bit more room on the ice the both Wheeler and Little. It doesn’t hurt that Ladd has two goals to go along with two assists in his last five games. Mathieu Perreault and defenseman Dustin Byfuglien round out the top power play unit which should have a few opportunities tonight.
Speaking of power plays, the Winnipeg Jets have given up at least a goal when a man down in six of their last eight games. This would make Mikkel Boedker a decent play as he has accumulated a goal and five assists in his last three games while skating on both the top line and top power play unit. Veteran Shane Doan has found some energy of late by virtue of scoring five goals and adding an assist in his last four games. Doan also skates on the top power play and leads the team with six power play goals. Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson is probably the safest play tonight for the Coyotes as he is second only to Boedker in terms of power play points by tallying four goals and six assists with the man advantage. Antoine Vermette and Tobias Rieder round out the Coyote top power play unit and can be plugged in along with any of the three mentioned above. Max Domi has gone stone cold in the last six games as his lone assist came back on December 26th against the Kings during that time period. I expect a few goals in these are two teams out of the 13 teams that have given up more than 100 goals so far this season.
Elite Plays
WIN: Blake Wheeler
ARZ: None
Secondary Plays
WIN: Bryan Little, Andrew Ladd, Dustin Byfuglien, Drew Stafford, Mathieu Perreault
ARZ: Shane Doan, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Mikkel Boedker, Antoine Vermette, Tobias Rieder