NHL Grind Down: Thursday, February 18th - Page Two
Winnipeg Jets at Tampa Bay Lightning – 07:30 PM EST
| Winnipeg Jets | Tampa Bay Lightning | ||||||||
 | Ondrej Pavelec |  | |||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 25-28-3 | 30-22-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.52 | 2.86 | 15.70% | 77.40% | Team Stats | 2.63 | 2.43 | 18.40% | 82.80% |
Try as they might the Winnipeg Jets still occupy the basement in the Central division. Scoring 15 goals in the last seven games doesn’t help much as it looks like they have been going in the wrong direction, especially where their secondary lines are concerned. Matthieu Perreault, Mark Scheifele and Drew Stafford have exactly three points in the last four games with Stafford having all of them in one game. The top line also serves as the team’s top power play unit which is led by Blake Wheeler, who leads the team in scoring. Both Bryan Little and Wheeler have collected two goals and two assists each over the last four games while Nikolaj Ehlers has registered nine points in the last ten games. Although defenseman Dustin Byfuglien has 11 points in the last ten games it looks like he has cooled off a bit as he has just two assists over the last five games. Look for Winnipeg to have a tough time tonight.
In an effort to get more consistent scoring, the Tampa Bay Lightning seems to have shuffled up their lines a bit. Ryan Callahan and Alex Killorn will now skate on the top line with Steven Stamkos and also get the top power play minutes. This is good for Callahan as his recent effort of tallying five points in the last six games seems to have paid off. Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov skate on the team’s second line and look to be in play here as Johnson has seven points in his last nine games while Kucherov has scored four goals to go along with five assists in his last ten games. Defenseman Anton Stralman takes the point on the power play but I wouldn’t be surprised if Victor Hedman takes over that spot in upcoming weeks. Hedman has outperformed Stralman over the last ten games by a point count of ten to four. Look for Tampa to be one of the higher owned teams of the night.
Elite Plays
WIN: Blake Wheeler
TB: None
Secondary Plays
WIN: Bryan Little, Nikolaj Ehlers, Dustin Byfuglien
TB: Ryan Callahan, Steven Stamkos, Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman, Anton Stralman
Los Angeles Kings at St. Louis Blues – 08:00 PM EST
| Los Angeles Kings | St. Louis Blues | ||||||||
 |  | Brian Elliott | |||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 33-20-3 | 33-17-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.71 | 2.36 | 22.70% | 82.10% | Team Stats | 2.41 | 2.29 | 20.50% | 87.10% |
The Los Angeles Kings have lost four of their last six games and are slowly but surely losing their grip on the top spot in the Pacific division. The second line that features Jeff carter and Tyler Toffoli should be in play tonight on the road against the St Louis Blues. Carter has six goals in his last ten games while Toffoli has grabbed five points in his last seven. If you want to go a bit more on the chalk side then Anze Kopitar is your man. His four goals and seven assists over the last ten games has even affected line mate Dustin Brown as he has four goals and five assists over that same time period. Jake Muzzin and Drew Doughty are the options on defense but it’s Doughty that gets the nod as he has more points on the season as well as registering ten points in his last ten games.
The Blues are the exact opposite as they have made the most of their 16 goals in the last seven games by being on the winning side in five of them. They have also scored five power play goals in the last five games which doesn’t bode well for the Kings who have given up short-handed goals in five of their last six games. Although Vladimir Tarasenko has tallied only three points in his last ten games he still must be considered in play as he leads the team in goals and points. Alexander Steen and David Backes both play on the power play and are joined by Patrik Berglund on their regular line. Berglund looks like a one-off play tonight as he could be getting back on track while skating with two of teams more skilled players. Jori Lehtera and Jaden Schwartz skate with Tarasenko with Schwartz being the one to pair with the team leader as he has scored two goals to go along with an assist in his last three games. Paul Stastny and defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk round out the top power play unit with Stastny being the play here as he has averaged a point a game over the last six games.
Elite Plays
LAK: Anze Kopitar
STL: Vladimir Tarasenko
Secondary Plays
LAK: Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli, Drew Doughty, Dustin Brown, Milan Lucic, Jake Muzzin
STL: Paul Stastny, Jaden Schwartz, Alexander Steen, Patrik Berglund, David Backes
Boston Bruins at Nashville Predators – 08:00 PM EST
| Boston Bruins | Nashville Predators | ||||||||
 | Tuukka Rask |  | Pekka Rinne | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 31-20-6 | 26-21-10 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.98 | 2.75 | 22.10% | 83.20% | Team Stats | 2.61 | 2.65 | 19.80% | 79.00% |
Slowly but surely the Boston Bruins are closing in on the top spot in the Atlantic division. Backed by a 2-1 overtime win in Columbus Tuesday night, the Bruins are now just four points behind the division leading Florida Panthers. Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron anchor the team’s top line and have been very consistent all year. Bergeron leads the team in points while accumulating three goals in the last three games and Marchand leads the team with 28 goals and has found the score-sheet 12 times over the last ten games. The second line could be in play tonight too, especially with David Krejci grabbing 11 points in the last ten games he has played in. Line mate Loui Eriksson has scored a goal in each of the last four games and makes a nice play with Krecji as they both skate on the team’s top power play unit. Torey Krug gets the top minutes on the power play but it is fellow defenseman Zdeno Chara that has been more productive with three points in his last six games.
After dropping three of four games on their last home stand, the Nashville Predators picked up right where they left off by losing to the Dallas Stars by a score of 3-2 Monday night. They were able to salvage a point out of the deal as it took overtime for the Stars to put the Predators away. Nashville sits in fourth place in the Central division and could be in danger of losing their playoff spot if Minnesota, Arizona or Vancouver were to get hot and they were to go cold. Roma Josi leads the team in points and quarterbacks the team’s top power play. Josi has found the scoresheet five times over the last five games while fellow defenseman Shea Weber has two goals to go along with an assists over the same time frame. A case can be made to play either one of Nashville’s top two lines but one must be careful of the Bruins as they own an 18-6-3 record on the road. Ryan Johansen, James Neal and Calle Jarkrok make up the team’s top line and each has accumulated four points over the last five games with Neal and Johansen leading the way with three goals apiece. The hottest player by far is second liner Filip Forsberg by evidence of finding the scoresheet seven times in the last five games with five of them being goals. Mike Ribeiro hasn’t been too shabby either as he has added five assists to the sudden scoring spree the Predators have been on.
Elite Plays
BOS: Brad Marchand
NSH: Roman Josi, Ryan Johansen, Filip Forsberg
Secondary Plays
BOS: Patrice Bergeron, Loui Eriksson, David Krejci, Torey Krug, Zdeno Chara
NSH: Shea Weber, James Neal, Mike Ribeiro
Minnesota Wild at Edmonton Oilers – 09:00 PM EST
| Minnesota Wild | Edmonton Oilers | ||||||||
 | Devan Dubnyk |  | Cam Talbot | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 24-22-10 | 22-30-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.50 | 2.50 | 17.50% | 78.30% | Team Stats | 2.45 | 3.00 | 18.60% | 80.80% |
Since the firing of head coach Mike Yeo there is no doubt the team has been playing better. After a 5-2 win in Vancouver the Wild went into Calgary last night and came away with a win by the score of 5-3. John Torchetti used his top line as the power play unit against Vancouver but seemed to have jumbled up the power play unit, much like Mike Yeo did, last night in Calgary. Zach Parise seems to be back on points as he has tallied six points in his last seven games while Mikko Koivu has been averaging a point a game over the last five games he has played in. Charlie Coyle completes the top line and has been finding the back of the net with some frequency by virtue if scoring seven goals in the last 11 games. Ryan Suter is the play on defense as he gets the majority of the power play minutes. The second line of Thomas Vanek, Mikael Granlund and Jason Zucker makes an intriguing GPP play but I’d still be careful as Wild are playing their third game in the last four days.
The Edmonton Oilers have only won one game in their last six games and have given up 23 goals in the process. That’s almost an average of four a game as Edmonton is the worst team in the Western conference. The only chance they may have of winning this game is that fact that Minnesota just played last night in Calgary as they finish up their three game Canadian road trip. The top line of Connor McDavid, Jordan Eberle and Benoit Pouliot is the play here as they continue to rack up the points. The line has been in existence for only eight games and both Pouliot and Eberle have 11 p[oints while McDavid has 13 points over that time period. Being the home team against a tired team, I’d say they are definitely a GPP play and a borderline cash play. Taylor Hall and Leon Draisaitl both scored last game after a five game scoring drought and could be considered as GPP plays as well. Andrej Sekera plays the point on the power play and has collected two assists in the last three games.
Elite Plays
MIN: Zach Parise
EDM: Connor McDavid, Jordan Eberle, Benoit Pouliot
Secondary Plays
MIN: Charlie Coyle Mikko Koivu, Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon
EDM: Taylor Hall, Leon Draisaitl, Andrej Sekera
Dallas Stars at Arizona Coyotes – 09:00 PM EST
| Dallas Stars | Arizona Coyotes | ||||||||
 | Kari Lehtonen |  | Louis Domingue | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 37-15-6 | 26-24-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.21 | 2.66 | 21.10% | 80.00% | Team Stats | 2.68 | 3.04 | 19.30% | 78.00% |
After reeling off four straight wins the Dallas Stars dropped a close one in St Louis by a score of 2-1 in overtime. Dallas and Chicago have been battling back and forth for Central division supremacy and now it looks like the Stars need a win to regain it back. With the injury to Jason Spezza it’s been the top line that has been doing most of the damage. Jamie Benn leads the team in points while Tyler Seguin leads the team in goals. Both are always in play regardless of matchup as each is well over the point-per-game threshold. Patrick Eaves has drawn the golden ticket as he has grabbed eight points in the last seven games while skating next to the teams superstars. Defensemen John Klingberg and Alex Goligoski get the extra power play minutes but is Klingberg that has regained his form by virtue of scoring four goals and adding five assists in his last nine games. If you are looking for a one-off take a look at third liner Mattias Janmark. Now normally I am not a fan of third liners but since they are on the road against a bad team and Janmark has scored a goal in his last three games he just may be worth a look.
EDITOR’S NOTE
Jason Spezza returns to play on the second line with Cody Eakin while Patrick Sharp will see his value increase as he has been promoted to the top line with Benn and Sequin. Patrick Eaves has been dropped to the fourth line. Adjust accordingly.
It took a while for the Coyotes to drop in the standings and now it’s finally happened. If the playoffs were to start today they would be dusting off the old golf clubs to play a round of 18 in the Arizona sun. All hope is not lost however as they still have 26 games left on their schedule and anything can happen. Over the last eight games Arizona has scored 12 goals in their six losses while scoring ten goals in the two games they have one. It is pretty much feast or famine when it comes to this bunch and maybe tonight it just may be famine as the two wins they collected were against Calgary and Montreal. Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson continues to produce as the team leader with 11 points over his last ten games. Shane Doan plays on the third line and has scored five goals to go along with three assists in his last eight games while playing on the team’s second power play unit. Martin Hanzal and Anthony Duclair both get the top power play minutes and could do some damage tonight with Hanzal finding his groove since his injury by scoring three goals and adding two assists in his last four games. If you want a cheap one-off take a look at defenseman Michael Stone. His three assists in the last three games may be good enough for his low price tag as he has been promoted to the team’s top power play unit.
Elite Plays
DAL: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn
ARZ: Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Secondary Plays
DAL: John Klingberg, Alex Goligoski, Patrick Eaves
ARZ: Martin Hanzal, Anthony Duclair, Shane Doan