NHL Grind Down: Thursday, February 16th
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The RotoGrinders NHL Grind Down article will give you an in-depth analysis into the NHL schedule. This article will break down the numbers for every single game and give you analysis on which trends you can exploit. While matchups are a major factor in daily fantasy hockey there are plenty of other factors to consider such as injuries, salaries, and more.
The analysis should point you in the right direction, but it is still up to you to decipher the information and make your own selections. Hockey is an extremely high variance sport. The best choice is not always the right choice but following the trends will win you money over time.
Remember, these writeups are done prior to lineups being released, so make sure to check our Starting Lineups page to ensure the recommended options are playing.
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Ottawa Senators at New Jersey Devils
| Ottawa Senators | New Jersey Devils | ||||||||
 | Mike Condon |  | Cory Schneider | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 29-19-6 | 24-22-10 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.61 | 2.69 | 16.40% | 83.80% | Team Stats | 2.29 | 2.80 | 16.40% | 81.60% |
Ottawa will play six of their next seven games away from the home crowd which could spell disaster for a team that is tied for second place in the Atlantic Division. Their 64 points is tied with Boston and is just one better than the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ottawa shuffled up their lines last game as Mike Hoffman was placed on the top line with Zack Smith and Kyle Turris while the second line saw Derick Brassard in the middle of Mark Stone and Ryan Dzingel. This moved Bobby Ryan to the third line who promptly responded with a goal and an assist in the 3-2 loss to Buffalo on Tuesday night. Hoffman leads the team with 11 power play goals as he is joined by Stone, Brassard and Turris to form 80% of the team’s top power play unit. Stone’s four goals over the last six games has given him the team lead with 20 goals while Brassard has been pretty quiet of late as he has been able to manage just three points in the last nine games. Defenseman Erik Karlsson is about as consistent as they come as his 38 assists and 46 points lead the team in each of those categories. He is the last piece of the power play puzzle and will usually log over 26 minutes of ice time on a nightly basis. Ottawa is going to have to scratch and claw to win every battle if they want to have a chance to come away with the victory on the road tonight.
The Devils come into this one winning four of their last six games which has kept them in the playoff conversation. Although they are in seventh place in the metropolitan Division they are only five points away from the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The top line of Kyle Palmieri, Taylor Hall and Travis Zajac should be the one of the better ones to target for your tournament plays tonight. New Jersey doesn’t score enough to be counted in in cash games but that doesn’t that you can’t use Hall as a one-off cash game play. He is the most consistent scorer the Devils have as he leads the team with 37 points in the 46 games he has suited up for. Palmieri leads the team in goals with 15 while Zajac’s 31 points fills in the third spot on the team in scoring. Adam Henrique centers Mike Cammalleri and Miles Wood on the team’s second line. This line has ha flashes of brilliance as well as Henrique has lit the lamp four times en route to finding the score sheet seven times over the last eight games. Wood needs a bit more seasoning as the 21-year old has seven goals and 13 points in the 37 games he has played in. Pavel Zacha could be used as a punt play here as he has registered three goals and three assists in the last eight games for the third line. Defenseman Andy Greene has re-assumed his position on the top power play unit despite the early success that Damon Severson enjoyed earlier in the season. Severson has tallied 24 points so far this season but give the nod to Greene here as it’s too early to tell whether or not he will stick with the top unit.
Elite Plays
OTT: Erik Karlsson
NJ: Taylor Hall
Secondary Plays
OTT: Mark Stone, Mike Hoffman, Derick Brassard, Kyle Turris
NJ: Kyle Palmieri, Adam Henrique, Travis Zajac, Andy Greene
New York Rangers at New York Islanders
| New York Rangers | New York Islanders | ||||||||
 | Henrik Lundqvist |  | Thomas Greiss | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 37-18-1 | 25-20-10 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.39 | 2.61 | 20.00% | 82.10% | Team Stats | 2.93 | 2.95 | 16.00% | 81.30% |
The Rangers look to win their seventh game in a row tonight as they take on division rival, the New York Islanders. New York is in a good position as their 75 points is good enough for a third place tie in the Metropolitan Division. They very well could be the first team to break the 200 goal mark this season thanks to 12 players finding the score sheet at least 20 times so far this season. Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad and Mats Zuccarello will probably draw the Islanders top defensive line which will leave more room for the other two scoring lines to do their thing. Zuccarello leads the team with 30 assists while Kreider has put up a solid 39 points in 50 games. Jimmy Vesey, Rick Nash and Derek Stepan will handle the second line duties while the line of Michael Grabner, J.T. Miller and Kevin Hayes is the line to target here. Grabner leads the team with 26 goals while Miller’s 46 points is tops on the team. This dynamic duo has tallied six goals and ten assists over the last six games, but that’s not the best part. The best part is that Kevin Hayes has lit the lamp twice and has five assists to his credit over the last four games he has played in since returning to the lineup. All of this adds up to major ownership in cash game contests tonight. Ryan McDonagh is the choice on the back line as 12 of his 31 points have come while quarterbacking the team’s top power play unit. Brady Skjei is a safe punt play here as he has quietly put up 25 points so far this season. Although that ranks 10th on this team those 25 points would rank fourth on the Avalanche scoring chart.
I mentioned in Tuesday’s Grind Down about how the Islanders have been getting solid scoring from the top two lines to keep them in playoff contention. Well, the house of cards blew down on Tuesday night as they got boat-raced by the Toronto Maple Leafs to the tune of 7-1. This tells us two things. The first thing is, it is very tough to compete in this league with just one consistent scoring line. The second thing is that they are just not fast enough to keep up with teams like Toronto, not in this league. John Tavares, Anders Lee and Josh Bailey should be the line to target in front of the home crowd. Lee leads the team with 21 goals, Bailey leads the team with 27 assists and Tavares paces then all with 46 points so far this season. Ryan Strome and Brock Nelson could be used as tournament plays tonight as each have over six points in the last seven games with Nelson having the advantage as his 31 seasonal points is nine better than his counterparts 22 points. This could also mean that Strome is finding his stride as his seven points in the last seven games represents just a tic under 33% of his total production for the year. Nick Leddy and Johnny Boychuk are the defensive options. Give the advantage to Leddy as he not only quarterbacks the team’s top power play unit, his 31 points betters Boychuk’s point total by 12 points this season.
Elite Plays
NYR: Michael Grabner, J.T. Miller
NTI: John Tavares
Secondary Plays
NYR: Mats Zuccarello, Chris Kreider, Derek Stepan, Ryan McDonagh
NYI: Anders Lee, Brock Nelson, Ryan Strome, Nick Leddy, Josh Bailey
Winnipeg Jets at Pittsburgh Penguins
| Winnipeg Jets | Pittsburgh Penguins | ||||||||
 | Connor Hellebuyck |  | Marc-Andre Fleury | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 26-29-4 | 35-13-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.86 | 3.15 | 18.30% | 77.00% | Team Stats | 3.55 | 2.78 | 21.90% | 79.10% |
The Jets have had an up and down year and because of that, probably won’t make the playoffs this season. They can score goals but the problem is that they can’t stop them from entering their own net. They have managed to score 171 goals, which is second in the conference, but the 187 goals they have given up is tied for the most in the league. Pittsburgh will try to shut down the top line of Nikolaj Ehlers, Bryan Little and Blake Wheeler but truthfully, this game could be a full blown track meet. Wheeler leads the team with 190 shots on goal and is tied with 31 assists for the team lead. Meanwhile Little has regained his form as his 16 goals and 14 assists gives him 30 points in the 36 games he has suited up for. Mark Scheifele and Patrik Laine lead the team from the second scoring line and should be in play here as well. Scheifele leads the team with 56 points while Laine’s 26 goals has him tied for fifth in the league. Look for both lines to have plenty of scoring chances tonight. Defensemen Dustin Byfuglien and Jacob Trouba are the options on the back line. Byfuglien has collected 35 points while playing in all 59 game while Trouba has lit the lamp five times to go along with 19 assists in the 44 games he has played in. Byfuglien is the clear choice but Trouba will give you some salary relief if needed.
By virtue of their 5-0 win over Vancouver on Tuesday night, the Pittsburgh Penguins are now the third best team in the league with 77 points to their credit. If there is one thing for sure in tonight’s game it is that Sidney Crosby will score his 1,000th point in his career. Just by watching Tuesday’s game you could tell they tried like heck for him to get it in front of the home crowd and with the next game being a road game, tonight should be no different. Crosby will skate with Jake Guentzel and Chris Kunitz on the team’s top line while Evgeni Malkin and Patric Hornqvist will skate with Scott Wilson on the team’s second line. Phil Kessel makes for a nice one-off play here as he continues to pile up the points even though he has Nick Bonino and Matt Cullen as linemates. Kessel and his 54 points will join Crosby, Malkin and Hornqvist to form the team’s top power play unit that sees at least 65% of the ice time when the Penguins draw a penalty. Getting a piece of Crosby or Malkin is highly recommended for your cash game selections tonight. Justin Schultz and Kris Letang are the options from the back line and to be honest, either makes for a decent play tonight. Letang has grabbed six of his 29 points over the last six games while Schultz has lit the lamp nine times while grabbing 30 assists so far this season. It should be duly noted that Letang’s 29 points have been scored in just 37 games played.
Elite Plays
WIN: Mark Scheifele
PIT: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin
Secondary Plays
WIN: Blake Wheeler, Patrik Laine, Bryan Little, Nikolaj Ehlers, Dustin Byfuglien
PIT: Phil Kessel, Patric Hornqvist, Justin Schultz, Kris Letang
Colorado Avalanche at Buffalo Sabres
| Colorado Avalanche | Buffalo Sabres | ||||||||
 | Calvin Pickard |  | Robin Lehner | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 15-37-2 | 24-23-10 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.02 | 3.39 | 14.90% | 78.00% | Team Stats | 2.46 | 2.74 | 23.10% | 74.30% |
Colorado continues to struggle in both home and road games as they have registered more than two goals in just four of their last 26 games. That’s pretty bad folks, especially when you are trying to take down a tournament let alone trying to win in your cash game contests. If the Avalanche are to score it’s more than likely that the top line of Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen will be in on it. They have combined to score six goals and 11 assists over the last seven games while MacKinnon leads the team with 38 points. This line also doubles as the top power play unit that has scored four goals in the last six games. To make matters better Buffalo has given up six goals in the last six games while trying to kill a penalty. Matt Duchene jumps up from the second line to skate with the top power play unit while centering Mikhail Grigorenko and Matt Nieto at even strength. Duchene leads the team with 15 goals and could be used here as a one-off in deeper tournament play. Tyson Barrie seems to be back in good health as he quarterbacked the top power play unit last game from the point. Barrie has had some nagging injuries this season which has hurt Colorado’s chances of winning games as he has collected 23 points in the 46 games he has suited up for. With 15 others teams in action tonight you will definitely need to look elsewhere for your cash game options tonight.
Through the eight games this month the Sabres have alternated winning and losing every other game they have played so far. They aren’t as bad as Colorado in the scoring department which is why Buffalo is just five points away from a playoff spot and the Avalanche can start scheduling their tee times for April 10th. Ryan O’Reilly and Kyle Okposo skate on the top line with Justin Bailey and could be used here as a nice GPP line stack. Okposo leads the team with 18 goals and 38 points while O’Reilly has grabbed 36 points in 47 games, which is nine fewer than the 56 games Okposo has played in. Both players also get the extra work in when the team draws a penalty which should bode well here tonight in front of the home crowd. Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart also skate on the top power play unit while plating on the team’s second line. Their linemate has changed over the past few games as it was Evander Kane but he was unable to play in the last game. Matt Moulson took his place but to be on the safe side, I’d stick with Eichel as a one-off here. Eichel has recorded 13 of his 30 pints via the power play in the 36 games he has suited up for this season. Rasmus Ristolainen is the play on the back line as he gets the majority of the minutes on the team’s top power play. His 18 power play points suggest that he will keep retain that duty for many years to come. Look for Buffalo to improve on their 13-10-4 home record this evening.
Elite Plays
COL: None
BUF: Kyle Okposo, Jack Eichel
Secondary Plays
COL: Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog, Mikko Rantanen, Tyson Barrie
BUF: Ryan O’Reilly, Rasmus Ristolainen, Sam Reinhart
Vancouver Canucks at St. Louis Blues
| Vancouver Canucks | St. Louis Blues | ||||||||
 | Jacob Markstrom |  | Jake Allen | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 25-26-6 | 30-22-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.30 | 2.84 | 15.50% | 79.30% | Team Stats | 2.86 | 2.93 | 21.30% | 84.50% |
As if things weren’t bad for the Vancouver Canucks they now have two key injuries to players inside their list of top four scorers. Sven Baertschi has missed the last three of the last four games and now it looks like Bo Horvat, who leads the team in scoring, will be out a bit as he missed the last game with an injury. This is the Canucks game of their five game road trip which has seen wins over Columbus and Buffalo, so maybe all hope is not lost after all. Daniel Sedin, Markus Granlund and Henrik Sedin will skate on the team’s top line while Brandon Sutter centers the second line alongside of Alexandre Burrows and Jayson Megna. The Sedin line has the most talent as the twins have combined for 23 goals and 42 assists in 57 games so far this season. Daniel trails Henrik in the total point department by a tally of 34-31. This team isn’t good and could very well get shut out tonight if this top line isn’t on the top of their game. Sutter makes for a decent one-off tournament punt play here as he does skate on the team’s top power play unit and should see the extra room on the ice tonight as the Blues will probably put their best defensive line against the top three. Sutter has managed 26 points in 56 games so barring any unforeseen miracles the Canucks could be in a heap of trouble tonight. Troy Stecher is the best they have on the back line who has tallied just 16 points so far this season. Enough said.
The Blues come into this one riding a nice five game winning streak which has propelled them back into third place in the Pacific Division. Paul Stastny will remain out of the lineup until at least Saturday which has prompted head coach mike Yeo to make some line changes ahead of tonight’s game against the Vancouver Canucks. Vladimir Tarasenko, Alexander Steen and Jori Lehtera will skate as the team’s top line and should be considered very heavily for your cash game endeavors tonight. Tarasenko leads the team with 26 goals and 56 points while Steen had registered five of his 37 points since the first of the month. Patrik Berglund and his six goals over the last six games will take his act to the second line to skate alongside of Jaden Schwartz and David Perron. Berglund, Schwartz, Tarasenko and Steen look to make up the team’s top power play unit that usually gets more than 65% of the ice time when the Blues draw a penalty. Mix and match them as you wish for GPP plays but stick to Tarasenko and Steen for your cash game pairings. Kevin Shattenkirk is the play on the back line as he quarterbacks the top power play unit. He is second on the team with 39 points and is tied with Tarasenko with 18 power play points. Look for the Blues to roll here so make sure you have some exposure in both cash game and tournament formats.
Elite Plays
VAN: None
STL: Vladimir Tarasenko, Kevin Shattenkirk
Secondary Plays
VAN: Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Brandon Sutter, Loui Eriksson
STL: Alexander Steen, Jaden Schwartz, Patrik Berglund