NHL Grind Down: Thursday, December 3rd - Page Two

by Tom Woollam (elctrceye) Last Updated 2015-12-03 19:10:42

Toronto Maple Leafs at Minnesota Wild – 08:00 PM EST

Toronto Maple Leafs					Minnesota Wild
			James Reimer					Devan Dubnyk
			Record					Record
			8-11-5					12-7-4
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.25	2.58	20.30%	80.50%	Team Stats	2.83	2.70	19.00%	74.10%

The Maple Leafs’ 6-1 loss to Winnipeg last night was not exactly the way they wanted to start their three-game road trip. Toronto still has a lot of work to do as they sit dead last in the Eastern conference with just 21 total points. Toronto has scored 11 goals in 14 games on the power play, but upon further speculation, four of those came against Colorado back on November 17th. Suddenly their seven power-play goals in the 13 other games don’t look so impressive. The Maple Leafs have had enough problems playing games on a day’s rest, let alone on a back to back. Vegas also has inserted Toronto (+195) as the biggest dog of the night, so Minnesota starter Devan Dubnyk should be your cash game goalie for tonight. If I were to take anyone from the Toronto side, it would be Leo Komarov, as he has four goals in his last four games.

Minnesota looks to improve upon their home record of 8-3-1. One would think that with the return of Zach Parise the Minnesota offense would kick into high gear, but as of now it looks like the opposite is true. They have only scored five goals in the three games since his return, including just one goal against Winnipeg in a 3-1 home loss last Friday night. If there was ever a time to break out of it, tonight would be the night against a bad Toronto team. Parise did tally an assist in the last game as the Wild won by a score of 2-1 at Chicago, so things are starting to look up. Minnesota has scored seven power-play goals in their last 11 games, so with them playing at home tonight, let’s start there. I already mentioned Parise so next up would be Mikael Granlund ($5,400 on FD) who not only centers the top line but gets the extra power-play minutes from the point as well. Granlund has two goals and six assists in his last seven games and should easily find the scoresheet tonight. Ryan Suter seems a bit underpriced on FanDuel as his salary sits at $4,300. Suter has tallied two goals and five assists in his last seven games and is not a bad play tonight considering opportunity and matchup. To wrap it up, it looks like Jason Pominville has missed Zach Parise as he has scored a goal in each of his last two games. This is actually big news as they are the only goals he has this season in the 23 games he has played in.

Elite Plays

Tor: None
Min: None

Secondary Plays

Tor: Leo Komarov, James van Riemsdyk
Min: Zach Parise, Mikko Koivu, Ryan Suter, Mikael Granlund, Jason Pominville

Florida Panthers at Nashville Predators – 08:00 PM EST

Florida Panthers					Nashville Predators
			Roberto Luongo					Pekka Rinne
			Record					Record
			11-9-4					13-7-4
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.54	2.46	20.20%	78.90%	Team Stats	2.58	2.54	18.50%	77.00%

Backed by the strong play of goaltender Roberto Luongo, the Panthers come into this game riding a three-game winning streak. Tough road wins against St Louis and Detroit coupled with an impressive home win against the Islanders has seen Luongo give up just 4 goals during that span. The Panthers have only scored six goals in regulation which further supports the theory that if you have a good goaltender, you are in almost any game, much like Cory Schneider and the New Jersey Devils. Florida plays a Nashville team that has been up and down at best this season, but the lack of scoring is really the sticking point to maybe shy away from them tonight, especially on the road. The Panthers, however, do make a good GPP play as they will surely be under-owned with all of the other options out there tonight. Nashville has given up 13 power-play goals in their last 13 games, so if we are taking Panthers, that’s where we want to be. Jaromir Jagr, Brandon Pirri and Aleksander Barkov comprise Florida’s top power-play unit while forward Jonathan Huberdeau and Aaron Ekblad man the points. None of these player’s salaries rise over $6,300 on FanDuel tonight and should easily fit into any GPP lineup you make tonight.

Nashville wraps up their three-game homestand tonight after losing to Buffalo 4-1 on Saturday night and bouncing back with a 5-2 win Tuesday night against Arizona. I am more likely to think the loss to Buffalo was an aberration as that game not only was their first home game in the last six, it was a back to back game as well. Filip Forsberg has come alive of late as he has scored three goals and added two assists in his last three games. James Neal has a three-game point streak going as well as he has collected a goal and two assists in those games. This could be one to avoid especially if Roberto Luongo is in the opposing net.

Elite Plays

Fla: None
Nash: None

Secondary Plays

Fla: Aaron Ekblad
Nash: Filip Forsberg, James Neal, Mike Ribeiro, Shea Weber, Roman Josi

Dallas Stars at Vancouver Canucks – 10:00 PM EST

Dallas Stars					Vancouver Canucks
			Kari Lehtonen					Ryan Miller
			Record					Record
			19-5-1					9-9-8
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	3.48	2.60	26.30%	81.60%	Team Stats	2.65	2.69	20.00%	77.60%

It always seems that the last few games of the night will determine whether you have a good night or a bad one. Tonight is no different as we find the team with the second-most goals this season visiting the Vancouver Canucks. This game will also feature four of the five top points scorers in the league, so expect heavy ownership in your cash games tonight. The Dallas Stars have done all they could have hoped for in this young season and look to continue their winning ways. Jamie Benn finds himself second in the league in scoring with 18 goals and 17 assists behind Patrick Kane and his 38 points. We can even take a stroll down ‘Narrative Street’ on this one and say Benn has scored a point in each of his last seven games after a game he has been held pointless. In this case, it just so happens that he did not hit the scoresheet the other night in the Dallas 4-3 shootout loss in Calgary. You can’t mention Benn without mentioning Tyler Seguin, who is in third place in the NHL scoring race with 13 goals and 21 assists. This makes a lot of sense since this duo pairs up on both the top line and power-play unit, so whatever one does the other is usually on the other end of the scoring. Rounding out the top five in NHL scoring is Dallas defenseman John Klingberg as he has five goals to go with his 22 assists. Add Patrick Sharp, who skates top line with Benn and Seguin, as well as Jason Spezza and you have the Dallas top power-play unit. This should fall right in line with the Canucks poor penalty killing as opponents have scored 16 power-play goals against them in their last 14 games. Mattias Janmark also skates on the second line with Spezza and looks to be getting comfortable as he found the back of the net the other night against Calgary. His salary is only $3,900 over at FanDuel, which makes him your punt for this game.

I have had many discussions this year as to whether or not the Vancouver Canucks are a one line team. With Daniel and Henrik Sedin leading the team in both goals and assists, I think the answer is obvious. Daniel has the upper hand though as his 12 goals and 16 assists are good for fourth in the league. Vancouver comes home after dropping the last three of four games on their recent road trip including a 3-2 shootout loss to the Dallas Stars. Vancouver has had some problems scoring of late as they have only scored more than two goals once in their last five games. The Sedin’s should be able to get on the board as the Canucks will enjoy the last line change in tonight’s home matchup.

Elite Plays

Dal: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, John Klingberg
Van: Daniel Sedin

Secondary Plays

Dal: Jason Spezza, Patrick Sharp
Van: Henrik Sedin

Jump to Page 1 2