NHL Grind Down: Thursday, February 11th - Page Two
Washington Capitals at Minnesota Wild – 08:00 PM EST
| Washington Capitals | Minnesota Wild | ||||||||
 | Braden Holtby |  | Devan Dubnyk | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 39-9-4 | 23-20-10 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.29 | 2.25 | 24.40% | 84.00% | Team Stats | 2.45 | 2.45 | 17.80% | 78.10% |
With a 19-5-2 road record it’s no wonder that the Capitals are the best team in the league. The power play has scored eight goals in the last eight games and should match up well against a Minnesota team that has given up five goals while being a man down over the last four games. The Wild have also given up four or more goals in five of their last six games and look like a team that is in total disarray. Alex Ovechkin, T.J. Oshie and Nicklas Backstrom are all in play tonight as they are the team’s top line and all skate on the power play. The second line is also in play which is led by Evgeny Kuznetsov and Andre Burakovsky. Kuznetsov leads the team in scoring while both players have tallied five points over the last five games. John Carlson is the lone defensemen on the power play but has been struggling of late by only posting one assist in the last five games. Your one-odd special tonight is Marcus Johansson who has four goals and three assists in the last five games while skating on the third line but gets the extra power play ice time with Ovechkin and company.
Nino Niederreiter and Charlie Coyle are the only Minnesota players who have tallied three points over the last five games. The rest of the top six has been slumping horribly as even superstar Zach Parise has tallied just two assists over that same time frame. Coyle, Parise and Mikko Koivu skate on the team’s top line and should be considered only as GPP plays tonight against a tough defensive Washington team. Until head coach Mike Yeo can figure out some sort of offensive combinations, it’s probably best to stay away from Minnesota in anything but GPPs.
Elite Plays
WSH: Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov
MIN: None
Secondary Plays
WSH: T.J. Oshie, Andre Burakovsky, John Carlson, Marcus Johansson
MIN: Zach Parise, Charlie Coyle, Nino Niederreiter
Dallas Stars at Chicago Blackhawks – 08:30 PM EST
| Dallas Stars | Chicago Blackhawks | ||||||||
 | Antti Niemi |  | Corey Crawford | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 34-15-5 | 36-17-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.22 | 2.69 | 21.20% | 79.70% | Team Stats | 2.77 | 2.28 | 20.20% | 82.20% |
Dallas comes into this one just three points away from being the best team in the Western conference. The team they are chasing just happens to be their opponents tonight, the Chicago Blackhawks. This game could see a lot of goals scored as both teams can be shaky defensively at times. The top line of Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Patrick Eaves has accounted for 13 points over the past five games. Eaves has been very productive since his promotion to the top line by grabbing four points in his last three games. The decision to play defenseman Alex Goligoski and John Klingberg on the power play has literally left Patrick Sharp out of luck as all he could muster without the injured Jason Spezza has been three assists in his last ten games. Sharp and his line mates Cody Eakin and Mattias Janmark can only be considered as GPP plays as they are the second line on the road.
Artemi Panarin missed last game with an illness and it is unclear at this time as to whether he will be in the lineup or not. If he is it will be business as usual for Patrick Kane and Artem Anisimov but if not look for Teuvo Teravainen to take his spot as he did last game. It really doesn’t matter who Kane skates with as he should always be a consideration with the only downfall being is high salary. The second line of Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa make a good pair as they each have two goals and an assists in their last three games. It’s a take your pick scenario on the defensive end as both Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith have 33 and 32 points respectively and both have tallied two points over the last four games.
Elite Plays
DAL: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn
CHI: Patrick Kane
Secondary Plays
DAL: Patrick Eaves, John Klingberg, Alex Goligoski
CHI: Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith
Toronto Maple Leafs at Edmonton Oilers – 09:00 PM EST
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Edmonton Oilers | ||||||||
 | James Reimer |  | Cam Talbot | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 19-24-9 | 21-29-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.31 | 2.77 | 15.40% | 80.90% | Team Stats | 2.42 | 3.02 | 18.40% | 79.60% |
Well here it is, the battle of the worst two teams in the league. Normally when you flirt with disaster it normally doesn’t turn out to well. This is not to say there won’t be any scoring in this game it’s just that on any given night one of these teams are liable not to show up. The Maple Leafs are 3-11 in their last 14 games and have scored more than three goals just once in that time frame. With Dion Phaneuf gone the Maple Leafs power play now features Josh Leivo and Richard Clune. This reminds me of the movie ‘Major League’, who are these guys? Clune is a 28 year old who has been in the league for five years and has tallied just 7 goals and 12 assists in 131 games. Yeah, he fits right in with this group. Seriously though the only players you can even think about rostering are Leo Komarov and Nazem Kadri and that would be for GPP plays only.
After a 12 goal outburst in two games the Edmonton Oilers have gone three games in which they have scored just one goal in each game. This is what I mean by either of these teams have the ability to just shut down. The Second line of Connor McDavid, Jordan Eberle and Benoit Pouliot has been the hottest by combining for six goals and 11 points over the last five games. Iro Pakarinen has joined Taylor Hall and Leon Draisaitl on the team’s top line as the latter two players have not found the scoresheet in the last three games. Andrej Sekera would be the defensive choice but with eight other games on the slate, you could probably do better.
Elite Plays
TOR: None
EDM: None
Secondary Plays
TOR: Nazem Kadri, Leo Komarov
EDM: Connor McDavid, Jordan Eberle, Benoit Pouliot, Taylor Hall, Leon Draisaitl
Calgary Flames at San Jose Sharks – 10:30 PM EST
| Calgary Flames | San Jose Sharks | ||||||||
 | Karri Ramo |  | |||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 24-25-3 | 28-20-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.65 | 2.90 | 14.50% | 76.60% | Team Stats | 2.87 | 2.65 | 22.50% | 80.80% |
After head coach Bob Hartley benched Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan for Tuesday’s 4-3 win over Toronto, they are back in the lineup tonight and have been reunited with former line mate Jiri Hudler. Calgary is 8-14-3 on the road this season but with that trio leading the forwards in team scoring, they can only be viewed as a GPP play tonight at San Jose. Gaudreau is two points shy of being a point-per-game player and could be used as a one-off in cash games tonight. You have two choices on defense in either Marc Giordano or T.J. Brodie. It is Brodie with the hotter hand as he has five assists in his last five games while Giordano has seven points in his last nine games. It will be interesting to see how Monahan and Gaudreau respond after being benched the last game.
San Jose is a solid 6-2-2 in their last ten games and look to improve on that tonight as they host the Calgary Flames. Look for Joe Thornton to lead the way along with line mate Joe Pavelski as Thornton has 13 points in the last ten games while Pavelski leads the team in scoring and has racked up nine points over that same time frame. Patrick Marleau and Logan Couture are also on the top power play and Couture could be finally heating up as his three points in the last two games represent almost 25 percent of his scoring in 22 games this season. Brent Burns has cooled off a bit and may not see too much ownership tonight based on his high salary. Tomas Hertl skates with Thornton and Pavelski on the top line and although he has seven points in his last ten games, he has been held scoreless in his last three.
Elite Plays
CGY: Johnny Gaudreau
SJ: Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski
Secondary Plays
CGY: Sean Monahan, Jiri Hudler, Mark Giordano, T.J. Brodie
SJ: Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau, Brent Burns, Tomas Hertl