NHL Grind Down: Thursday, February 25th

by Tom Woollam (elctrceye) Last Updated 2016-02-27 15:13:23

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.

Note: As always, if you want to try a new DFS site, be sure to click through a RotoGrinders link and use our DraftKings promo code and FanDuel promo code to receive the best perks in the industry.

Minnesota Wild at Philadelphia Flyers – 07:00 PM EST

Minnesota Wild					Philadelphia Flyers
			Devan Dubnyk					Michal Neuvirth
			Record					Record
			27-23-10					26-22-11
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.62	2.50	18.10%	78.10%	Team Stats	2.42	2.63	17.90%	79.10%

The Minnesota Wild saw their four-game winning streak come to an end Tuesday night as the Islanders beat them on home ice by a score of 4-1. The Wild are just two points out of a playoff spot and could use all the help they can get. Since the firing of head coach Mike Yeo, the team has been primarily using the top line as the first power play unit with two defensemen on the points and that strategy has paid off as there have been five goals scored in the last five games when the Wild have the man advantage. Zach Parise, Charlie Coyle and Mikko Koivu maek up the team’s top line and each is averaging a point a game over the last six with the exception of Coyle as he has netted four goals in the last five games. Ryan Suter and Matt Dumba take the points on the power play and each make a decent play tonight but it is Dumba that has the hot hand with two goals and an assist in his last three games. The GPP play is the second line that features Mikael Granlund and Thomas Vanek who have a combined five goals and eight assists over the last eight games. Chris Porter has been added to the second line and was able to light the lamp last game for the Wild’s only goal. Minnesota should be able to score a few against a Claude Giroux-less Flyers team.

Editor’s note

Zach Parise is out tonight making the Wild a very difficult play tonight.

The big news from the Flyers game the other night was the fact that defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere did not register a point, which was something he was able to do the previous 15 games. I think you come right back with him tonight as some DFS players have very short memories. Sean Couturier returns tonight and will help on the defensive end of things but Claude Giroux remains out of the lineup which the Flyers are now calling a concussion. The top line is also the top power play line which has Brayden Schenn scoring three goals and three assists in the last five games while Wayne Simmonds has added four points over his last four games. Sam Gagner is the third piece to the puzzle and may be gathering steam as he scored his first goal in the last ten games two games ago against the Maple Leafs. Jakub Voracek skates on the team’s second line but will get the lion’s share of power play minutes with the other four players mentioned above. Voracek makes a decent play as he has gathered four points over the last five games.

Elite Plays

MIN: Zach Parise
PHL: Shayne Gostisbehere

Secondary Plays

MIN: Charlie Coyle, Mikko Koivu, Matt Dumba, Ryan Suter, Mikael Granlund, Thomas Vanek
PHL: Brayden Schenn, Sam Gagner, Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds

New Jersey Devils at Columbus Blue Jackets – 07:00 PM EST

New Jersey Devils					Columbus Blue Jackets
			Cory Schneider					Joonas Korpisalo
			Record					Record
			30-24-7					24-29-8
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.23	2.25	21.20%	82.80%	Team Stats	2.49	3.05	17.20%	80.50%

If the season were to end now the New Jersey Devils would be the eighth seed in the Eastern conference. Obviously they would like to climb a little higher as to avoid both Washington and Florida as opponents in the first round, but for now they just have to keep their focus on one game at a time. Columbus has been an up and down team in the past few weeks but they do play their third game in four nights albeit a home game. The top line of Adam Henrique, Joseph Blandisi and Lee Stempniak has tallied four goals and two assists over the last three games with only Blandisi grabbing more than two points in those games. This makes sense as it is Blandisi who gets the time on the team’s top power play unit that has scored 11 times in the last 11 games. Travis Zajac and Kyle Palmieri get the extra minutes on the top power play from the second line with Palmieiri being the goal scorer a three of his four points in the last four games have been goals. Reid Boucher rounds out the second line as this line makes a decent GPP play as evidence of his four points in the last five games. Defensively it’s David Schlemko who gets the extra time on the power play. Look for the Devils to scratch and claw a win against a tried Columbus team.

Thanks to a 2-1 shootout loss to the Detroit Red Wings the Blue Jackets are very close to being the team that has given up the most goals in the league. Head coach John Tortorella was quoted as saying during the loss that the team is working hard but needs to put more pucks on net. The top line of Scott Hartnell, Brandon Saad and Alexander Wennberg is probably the line to target here as the Blue Jackets play at home but it has been Boone Jenner who has the hot hand with five goals in his last five games. Seth Jones has four assists in his last six games from the point as he sees the top power play minutes along with Saad, Nick Foligno, Brandan Dubinsky and fellow blue liner Jack Johnson. The power play unit has scored goals in only four of the last 14 games and this could be a direct result of using players from three lines to make up the top unit. I talk about it frequently but there is something to be said about just throwing guys together for no more than three minutes a game and expecting them to have instant chemistry. Teams like this deserve what they get, which is why they are in last place in the Metropolitan division.

Elite Plays

NJ: None
CBJ: None

Secondary Plays

NJ: Joseph Blandisi, Lee Stempniak, Adam Henrique, Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac, David Schlemko
CBJ: Boone Jenner, Scott Hartnell, Seth Jones, Brandon Dubinsky

Carolina Hurricanes at Toronto Maple Leafs – 07:30 PM EST

Carolina Hurricanes					Toronto Maple Leafs
			Cam Ward					Jonathan Bernier
			Record					Record
			28-23-10					20-28-10
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.48	2.59	17.20%	82.20%	Team Stats	2.36	2.93	14.50%	79.40%

The race for the last playoff spot in the Eastern conference got a little tighter on Tuesday night as Carolina defeated Philadelphia by a score of 3-1. The Hurricanes travel to Toronto to take on the worst team in the conference and if they can play anywhere near the level they have been, they should be able to beat the Maple Leafs tonight. There are a few ways you can go here but I think the best way for cash games would be to use the line of Victor Rask, Elias Lindholm and Jeff Skinner. Both Rask and Lindholm play on the team’s top power play line and have tallied three and four assists respectively over the last five games. Defenseman Justin Faulk returned from injury and is the play as he quarterbacks the team’s top power play unit. If you want top line exposure then Eric Staal and Kris Versteeg would be the play but even they only have a total of three combined points in the last five games. If you are looking for a decent GPP play look no further than Jordan Staal and Joakim Nordstrom, who both play on the team’s second line. Stall has been on fire of late by virtue of scoring three goals to go along with four assists in the last five games while Nordstrom has tallied four points over that same time frame. Look for Carolina to score a few tonight so pick a line and stick with it.

Toronto has only been able to manage one win in the last eight games. Such is life as the worst team in the Eastern conference. Mike Babcock has done a decent job preparing a team that lacks true offensive skill and when you don’t have that it’s awfully tough to win the games needed to qualify for the playoffs. Nazem Kadri and defenseman Jake Gardiner are the plays with both of them playing top minutes on the power play. Leo Komoarov is still out due to suspension so Brendan Leipsic has been placed on the top line with Kadri making that duo a decent GPP play. If you are feeling lucky you could drop to the second line and grab Mark Arcobello and P.A. Parenteau as they skate on the team’s second power play unit but do have four and five points respectively in their last five games. Toronto may score a few, but from where is anyone’s guess. Stick with the guys that get the power play time.

Elite Plays

CAR: Justin Faulk
TOR: None

Secondary Plays

CAR: Jordan Staal, Kris Versteeg, Eric Staal, Elias Lindholm, Victor Rask
TOR: Nazem Kadri, Peter Holland, Jake Gardiner, P.A. Parenteau

Arizona Coyotes at Florida Panthers – 07:30 PM EST

Arizona Coyotes					Florida Panthers
			Louis Domingue					Roberto Luongo
			Record					Record
			27-27-6					34-18-7
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.72	3.07	18.70%	77.90%	Team Stats	2.68	2.29	16.40%	81.60%

Arizona has dropped three games in a row and that doesn’t help their playoff chances much as they are six points away from getting a chance to participate in the end of the season tournament. With only three goals in the last two games it’s pretty obvious that the top line of Max Domi, Anthony Duclair and Martin Hanzal need to kick it back into gear. Their only points in the last three games have come from the stick of Max Domi as he netted two goals three games ago in a losing effort to the St Louis Blues. On the road the second line would normally be in play for a GPP but I would use some hesitation here as Tobias Rieder, Antoine Vermette and Mikkel Boedker have a total of four goals and seven assists over the last ten games. Michael Stone and Oliver Ekman-Larsson play the points on the power play and both have been productive over the last five games with Stone surprisingly having the edge with a goal and five assists. Ekman-Larsson does lead the team in scoring which makes him the safer play of the two.

The Panthers had a few days off since their 3-1 win on home ice against the Winnipeg Jets last Saturday night. The same cannot be said for their opponents who are playing their third game in four nights and should be a bit tired coming into this one. Florida still leads the Atlantic division with 75 points as Boston and Tampa Bay have had their chances but can’t seem to overtake them. Aleksander Barkov will return after being out since February 6th with an injury, He will skate with Jaromir Jagr and Jussi Jokinen making this the line to target tonight. Jagr has three goals to go along with two assists in his last five games while Jokinen has just two assists over that same time period. Jonathan Huberdeau has already been ruled out with an upper body injury suffered against the Jets last Saturday night. The second line of Logan Shaw, Vincent Trocheck and Reilly Smith should only be considered as a GPP play as they have a combined total of three points over the last five games. Brian Campbell is still getting the top minutes on the team’s first power play unit but there are probably better options than that out there tonight.

Elite Plays

ARZ: Oliver Ekman-Larsson
FLA: Aleksander Barkov

Secondary Plays

ARZ: Max Domi, Anthony Duclair, Martin Hanzal, Michael Stone, Shane Doan
FLA: Jaromir Jagr, Jussi Jokinen, Brian Campbell, Logan Shaw

New York Rangers at St. Louis Blues – 08:00 PM EST

New York Rangers					St. Louis Blues
			Henrik Lundqvist					Jake Allen
			Record					Record
			34-20-6					35-18-9
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.83	2.55	17.50%	77.80%	Team Stats	2.47	2.35	21.30%	86.40%

Despite losing to the Devils by a score of 5-2 on Tuesday night the Rangers still hold on to second place in the Metropolitan division. Derek Stepan and Mats Zuccarello anchor the team’s top line and get the first crack on the power play along with line mate Chris Kreider. Stepan has four goals and two assists in the last six games while Zuccarello has tallied 11 points over the last ten games. Kreider gets the same chances but seems to be lagging behind just a bit with five points in the last ten games he has played. Derick Brassard makes a nice one-off play tonight as he gets top minutes on the power play while centering the team’s second line. Brassard has lit the lamp five times while assisting on three others in the last ten games. Defensively Keith Yandle is the play here as he not only gets almost what amounts to double shifts on the power play, he has an assist in six of his last seven games. The Blues have looked sloppy over the past week as evidence of giving up ten goals in the last two games, so look for a few goals from the Rangers tonight.

The Blues will try to shake off the 6-3 loss they suffered at the hands of the San Jose Sharks on Monday night. Brian Elliott started his 19th game in a row and showed some fatigue as he was pulled midway through the first period after he gave up three goals in under 13 minutes. A few days rest can do a team good and that’s what we will look for tonight. Vladimir Tarasenko, Jaden Schwartz and Jori Lethera would be the line to target as they received the top power play minutes with the injury to Alexander Steen. David Backes and defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk join the top line for the team’s top power play unit. The St Louis power play has been fully engaged in the past few weeks as evidence of scoring ten goals in the last eight games with the man advantage. It seems that Tarasenko is back on track as he has accumulated five points over the last two games while Schwartz has added three goals to go along with an assist in his last four games. The other lines for the Blues are basically a mix and match scenario with Backes playing on the second line with Magnus Paajarvi and Patrik Berglund while the third line consists of Paul Stastny, Robby Fabbri and Troy Brouwer. The last two lines would be considered as GPP plays with Backes as the one-off play since he sees the top power play minutes.

Elite Plays

NYR: None
STL: Vladimir Tarasenko

Secondary Plays

NYR: Keith Yandle, Derek Stepan, Derick Brassard, Chris Kreider, Mats Zuccarello
STL: Jaden Schwartz, Jori Lehtera, Kevin Shattenkirk, David Backes

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