NHL Grind Down: Thursday, February 16th - Page Two
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Dallas Stars at Minnesota Wild
| Dallas Stars | Minnesota Wild | ||||||||
 | Kari Lehtonen |  | Darcy Kuemper | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 22-26-10 | 37-13-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.76 | 3.21 | 18.40% | 74.10% | Team Stats | 3.29 | 2.29 | 21.30% | 82.40% |
The good news is that Jason Spezza will return to the lineup tonight but that bad news is that it may be too little too late. Thy have only won one game in the last eight games which has seen them slip into seventh place in the Central Division. Another problem that the Stars may run into is their opponent tonight is one of the best defensive teams in the league as they have only given up 130 goals so far this season. Tyler Seguin leads the team in both goals and assists that totals him out at 56 points so far this season. He will be on a line with Spezza and Lauri Korpikoski while the line of Jamie Benn, Cody Eakin and Patrick Eaves will skate as the other scoring line. It’s tough to figure out which line the Wild will put their top defensive line on but it may not matter as Devan Dubnyk has given up just 43 goals in the 23 home games he has played in. Benn has lit the lamp five times en route to his 11 points over the last seven games. It looks like Eakin will be dropped from the top power play unit which will leave Benn, Eaves, Seguin and Spezza as the four forward attack when the Stars draw a penalty. John Klingberg is the choice on the back line as he quarterbacks the top power play unit from the point. He has seen 13 of his 32 points come with the man advantage and could be considered as a deeper tournament option for tonight’s contests.
Minnesota ran into a hot goaltender the other night as they outshot the Anaheim Ducks by a tally of 37-23 but still lost the game 1-0. Tonight should be a bit easier as the Stars come in giving up 27 goals in their last seven games. Eric Staal, Nino Niederreiter and Alex Tuch will skate as the team’s top line while Mikko Koivu centers Jason Zucker and Mikael Granlund on the team’s second line. Granlund leads the team with 34 assists and 50 points while Niederreiter leads the team with 19 goals on the season. The Wild are another team that has been scoring a lot lately so it’s no surprise that the ‘third’ line of Charlie Coyle, Jason Pominville and Zach Parise has been doing some damage as well. Pominville’s nine points over the last seven games has raised his point total to 35 while Coyle’s 14 goals and 30 assists have him second on the team in scoring. Like all teams that have the ability to score from three lines, it’s best to make sure you put them together to increase the maximum output in tournament play. Ryan Suter and Jared Spurgeon play the points when the team goes on the power play. Suter is the safest play however as he leads the Wild defensemen with 30 points while logging over 27 minutes of ice time on a nightly basis.
Elite Plays
DAL: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn
MIN: Mikael Granlund
Secondary Plays
DAL: Patrick Eaves, Jason Spezza, John Klingberg
MIN: Eric Staal, Nino Niederreiter, Charlie Coyle, Jason Pominville, Ryan Suter
Philadelphia Flyers at Edmonton Oilers
| Philadelphia Flyers | Edmonton Oilers | ||||||||
 | Michal Neuvirth |  | Cam Talbot | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 27-22-7 | 30-19-8 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.54 | 2.93 | 20.80% | 80.60% | Team Stats | 2.77 | 2.53 | 20.40% | 81.70% |
The Flyers come into this one fresh off playing in Calgary last night. Philadelphia was on the outside looking in before last night’s game as their 61 points were just two points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The problem with the Flyers is that they have no real sniper. Wayne Simmonds is the only Flyers player with a season of 30 goals or more and he gets most of his goals from in front of the net on the power play. It should be no surprise then that Simmonds leads the team in goals while Brayden Schenn is second on the team with 16. Claude Giroux joins them on the team’s top line and should be considered for tournament play. The second line finds Sean Couturier, Jordan Weal and Jakub Voracek with the latter moving up with the top line when the Flyers have the man advantage. Not that it makes any difference as if you saw last night’s game they squandered a five minute power play which turned into a five-on-three situation with two minutes and six seconds left on the major penalty. People wonder why this Philadelphia team isn’t going anywhere. Anyway, Voracek could be used as a one-off here as he leads the team with 47 points so far this season. Shayne Gostisbehere plays the point on the team’s power play but even he is being outperformed by Ivan Provorov who has recorded 23 points so far this season. Look to the Flyers as a tournament play only option tonight.
The Edmonton Oilers have fallen on hard times over the last six games as they have been able to be on the winning end just twice since the beginning of the month. They still remain in a solid playoff position with 68 points but they will have to at least stay competitive to retain their nine point lead over the ninth place Calgary Flames in the Western Conference. Connor McDavid should be very highly owned in cash games tonight as he is the NHL leader with 63 points going into last night’s action. On the other hand, maybe he won’t be high owned as there are a few other juicy matchups to exploit tonight. I will tell ya, the NBA picked a heck of a night to go on their all-star break as they are many ways to win money on tonight’s slate. Patrick Maroon and Jordan Eberle make the most sense if you are looking to pair McDavid with one of his line mates as Eberle is third on the team with 32 points. Maroon has netted 20 goals so far this season so you really can’t go wrong with either one tonight on home ice. Leon Draisaitl leads the team with 21 goals and skates on the second line with Anton Slepyshev and Milan Lucic. Draisaitl also gets exposure to McDavid by playing on the top power play unit. This would explain why Draisaitl has 20 of his 50 points with the man advantage. Mark Letestu comes up from the fourth line to center the top power play unit and has garnered eight of his 25 points right after the Oilers draw a penalty. Oscar Klefbom is back on the power play from the back line which deflates the value of Andrej Sekera. Klefbom has registered four of his 23 points over the last six games while Sekera’s 25 points lands him in seventh place on the Oilers scoring chart.
Elite Plays
PHL: Wayne Simmonds
EDM: Connor McDavid
Secondary Plays
PHL: Jakub Voracek, Claude Giroux, Brayden Schenn, Ivan Provorov
EDM: Leon Draisaitl, Jordan Eberle, Patrick Maroon, Milan Lucic, Oscar Klefbom, Mark Letestu
Arizona Coyotes at Los Angeles Kings
| Arizona Coyotes | Los Angeles Kings | ||||||||
 | Mike Smith |  | Peter Budaj | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 19-29-7 | 28-23-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.29 | 3.15 | 15.60% | 77.30% | Team Stats | 2.49 | 2.42 | 17.10% | 84.30% |
After scoring nine goals in two games the Arizona Coyotes remembered who they were as they lost 5-2 in Edmonton on Tuesday night. To their credit they have put their three best players on the top line which is something they haven’t been able to do all year as Max Domi will skate with Martin Hanzal and Radim Vrbata. Hanzal leads the team with 14 goals while Vrbata has 27 assists and 38 points which is also tops on the team. Tobias Rieder, Jamie McGinn and Alexander Burmistrov skate on the second line while Christian Dvorak, Shane Doan and Brendan Perlini get the third line duties. Dvorak has been getting the job done of late as his seven points over the last six games has upped his point total to 20 on the season. Arizona is not known for their scoring which is why they are in last place in the Pacific Division. That is also the reason why you don’t want any of them in your cash game line ups tonight. Oliver Ekman-Larsson could be a borderline cash play if you can fit him in as he quarterbacks the team’s top power play unit. His 16 power play points leads the team while his 32 points has him second on the Coyote scoring chart. Arizona is one of four teams that has a league low seven wins in games away from home.
The Kings come into this one just one point away from becoming the ninth team in the Conference and that was before Calgary played last night. The Kings do have two games in hand against every team in the Pacific Division so a win here could go a long way. Marian Gaborik was demoted to the third line right before the break and for now it looks like he will stay there as the 35 year old veteran is showing signs of slowing down. Anze Kopitar and Tyler Toffoli will have a new line mate in Adrian Kempe while Jeff Carter will continue to center Tanner Pearson and Dustin Brown. A lot of sites have Andy Andreoff as the winger here instead, but it was Kempe who was wearing the yellow jersey with Kopitar and Toffoli in practice. The Kings are coming off their mandatory break where 12 teams have gone 3-8-1 after a week off. I don’t think the Kings will lose here however as they get a break in playing one of the worst teams in the league. Kopitar and Toffoli probably have the edge talent-wise over the Carter line as Kopitar is second on the team with 32 points while Toffoli has netted nine goals and 12 assists in the 36 games he has played in. I like this line for your tournament plays as Kempe is the wild card here as he makes his NHL debut. Jeff Carter makes a fabulous one-off here tonight in either format as he leads the team with 29 goals and 51 points. Brown and Pearson are serviceable and you could easily use one of them here if you wanted to pair up Carter with one of his line mates. Defensemen Drew Doughty and Jake Muzzin should man the points when the Kings draw a penalty. Doughty gets the edge here as 13 of his 32 points have come with the man advantage. Muzzin hasn’t has as many chances as Doughty as he has tallied 17 points in the 55 games he has played in. Look for the Kings to win tonight despite their week off.
Elite Plays
ARZ: None
LAK: Jeff Carter
Secondary Plays
ARZ: Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Max Domi, Radim Vrbata, Christian Dvorak, Martin Hanzal
LAK: Anze Kopitar, Tyler Toffoli, Tanner Pearson, Drew Doughty