NHL Grind Down: Thursday, February 2nd - Page Two
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Winnipeg Jets at Dallas Stars
| Winnipeg Jets | Dallas Stars | ||||||||
 | Ondrej Pavelec |  | Kari Lehtonen | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 24-25-4 | 21-20-10 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.89 | 3.08 | 18.20% | 77.00% | Team Stats | 2.76 | 3.12 | 17.70% | 73.70% |
In a battle between two teams currently sitting outside of the Western Conference playoff picture, this is a very important game for both of these two teams. Winnipeg will invade American Airlines Arena tonight having won each of their last two games and put a beatdown on this Stars team in their last meeting (an 8-2 win back in November). With Dallas being one of the fastest paced teams in the NHL, having allowed an ugly 3.54 goals per game during the month of January, and Winnipeg sporting two extremely potent scoring lines, this game has the chance to produce plenty of offense once again. Mark Scheifele leads the Jets with 51 points in 50 games this season and is slated to join Blake Wheeler and Andrew Copp on the top forward line. Playing alongside Scheifele should provide a fantasy boost to long-time stud Blake Wheeler and this situation makes Copp a fine value play in all options. Meanwhile this leaves the dynamic young duo of Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers to skate alongside Bryan Little on the “second” line. Both Laine and Scheifele have torched the Dallas Stars this season, with Laine scoring five goals and adding two assists and Scheifele with three goals and three assists of his own in their three prior meetings. On defense, Dustin Byfuglien shoots up my rankings tonight thanks to his role as the point-man on the Jet’s top power-play unit coupled with Dallas’ league worst 73.7% penalty kill. His shot volume (159 SOG) gives him the high floor you should be seeking in cash games and his offensive aggressiveness makes him a terrific GPP choice. If you can’t afford Byfuglien, Jacob Trouba also looks like a fine (and less expensive option). The former ninth overall pick has posted two goals and five assists in his last six games and is locked into well over 20+ minutes of ice-time per game.
As a Vegas favorite (-130) in a game with a total of six goals, the Dallas Stars will likely be quite popular this evening. They own a solid 14-7-6 record at home this season and enter tonight’s game riding a two-game winning streak. Lindy Ruff continues to tinker with his forward lines, and with Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn now split up once again, it’s both of the top two lines that require your attention this evening. Seguin has been their most consistent weapon all season and enters tonight’s game owning 49 points (and 179 SOG) in 51 games. He’s now slated to play on the top line alongside a terrific playmaker in Jason Spezza as well as Antoine Roussel. This is clearly great news for the fantasy outlooks of both Spezza and Roussel. Meanwhile, Benn will line up with Cody Eakin and Patrick Eaves on the second line and, with those three figuring to see a bit less ownership tonight, they are a really compelling GPP stack. Seguin has already lit the lamp on three occasions against Dallas this season and Eaves has added two goals and an assist. It’s also worth noting that Winnipeg has surrendered the second most power-play goals in the league this season and Spezza, Seguin, Benn and Eaves all join forces up-front on the top power-play unit. Running things from the point of that #1 power-play is John Klingberg. This gives him a large fantasy boost tonight as well and he’s picked up assists in each of the last two games.
Winnipeg Jets
Team Metrics – 2016-17 – 49.6 CF%, 5×5 Goal Differential -11, 105 CP60
Elite Options
Mark Scheifele ($7,900 FD, $6,200 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 53.25 CF60, 2.51 xGF60, 101.99 PDO
Patrik Laine ($7,400 FD, $6,600 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 50.01 CF60, 2.4 xGF60, 103.32 PDO
Blake Wheeler ($7,300 FD, $6,400 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 59.08 CF60, 2.77 xGF60, 96.75 PDO
Dustin Byfuglien ($6,400 FD, $5,900 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 54.95 CF60, 2.58 xGF60, 98.8 PDO
Secondary Options
Nikolaj Ehlers ($6,700 FD, $5,800 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 54.79 CF60, 2.5 xGF60, 101.51 PDO
Bryan Little ($6,500 FD, $5,600 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 57.68 CF60, 2.82 xGF60, 98.41 PDO
Andrew Copp ($3,900 FD, $3,300 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 48.66 CF60, 2.25 xGF60, 103.22 PDO
Jacob Trouba ($5,200 FD, $4,800 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 51.57 CF60, 2.5 xGF60, 99.45 PDO
Expected Netminder
Ondrej Pavelec – My Ratings (out of 10): 4 Cash, 5 GPP
Dallas Stars
Team Metrics – 2016-17 – 49.51 CF%, 5×5 Goal Differential 9, 118.33 CP60
Elite Options
Tyler Seguin ($8,600 FD, $7,300 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 60.2 CF60, 2.53 xGF60, 99.01 PDO
Jamie Benn ($8,300 FD, $6,800 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 58.44 CF60, 2.34 xGF60, 99.22 PDO
Jason Spezza ($6,500 FD, $5,200 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 61.7 CF60, 2.51 xGF60, 100.52 PDO
John Klingberg ($5,900 FD, $4,800 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 58.14 CF60, 2.73 xGF60, 101.93 PDO
Secondary Options
Patrick Eaves ($5,800 FD, $5,100 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 60.56 CF60, 2.54 xGF60, 97.08 PDO
Cody Eakin ($4,200 FD, $3,900 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 59.23 CF60, 2.43 xGF60, 96.34 PDO
Antoine Roussel ($3,900 FD, $3,900 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 61.89 CF60, 2.92 xGF60, 100.33 PDO
Patrick Sharp ($5,800 FD, $4,500 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 54.99 CF60, 2.35 xGF60, 99.06 PDO
Expected Netminder
Kari Lehtonen – My Ratings (out of 10): 4.5 Cash, 5 GPP
Chicago Blackhawks at Arizona Coyotes
| Chicago Blackhawks | Arizona Coyotes | ||||||||
 | Corey Crawford |  | Mike Smith | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 30-17-5 | 16-27-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.71 | 2.58 | 17.30% | 75.70% | Team Stats | 2.16 | 3.14 | 15.20% | 77.20% |
After a tough loss in San Jose Tuesday night, the Blackhawks have now dropped three straight games and will continue on their tough six game road trip tonight. Luckily, tonight’s opponent is the Arizona Coyotes and that likely means we’ll see some high exposure levels to the main weapons on Chicago. Chicago rolled to an easy 4-0 shutout win the only other time these two teams have faced this season and Arizona has allowed an ugly 3.14 goals against per game to go along with an abysmal 77.2% penalty kill. Offensively, it’s well known that the Hawks are lead by the trio of Artemi Panarin, Artem Anisimov and Patrick Kane. Kane and Panarin have combined for points on the same goal more than any other duo in the NHL this season (24 times) and they’re elite options in all formats this evening. Meanwhile, Coach Quenneville continues to shake up his other forward lines and it looks like Nick Schmaltz is set to be the biggest beneficiary of the new changes this evening as he’s slated to join Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa on the “second line”. Schmaltz is a former first-round draft pick that has shown the ability to put the puck in the net on his way to the NHL, and this would make him one of the top value plays on the board tonight (assuming he stays in this role). On defense, both Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook see a nice fantasy boost thanks to Arizona’s poor defense and penalty kill. Neither has the top-end upside as a player like Brent Burns, but they are both rock solid options in all formats.
The Colorado Avalanche may be the worst team in the NHL this season, but Arizona is not all that far behind (well, above I guess) them. The Coyotes saw a rare three game winning streak snapped on Tuesday night against Los Angeles and this team has now posted an ugly 5-13-1 record over their last 19 games. They’ve averaged just 2.16 goals per game this season (only Colorado is worse) and it’s awfully tough to get too excited about anyone here tonight. The top line of Tobias Rieder, Martin Hanzal and Radim Vrbata have carried the load offensively all season, but with Toews and Hossa likely shadowing them at every opportunity, they should be downgraded this evening. On defense, Oliver Ekman-Larsson is arguably the top option here. He quarterback’s the teams #1 power-play unit which does bode well for him considering the Blackhawks’ main weakness is their 75.7% penalty kill.
Chicago Blackhawks
Team Metrics – 2016-17 – 50.41 CF%, 5×5 Goal Differential 9, 110.18 CP60
Elite Options
None
Artem Anisimov ($6,500 FD, $5,800 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 55.26 CF60, 2.36 xGF60, 103.95 PDO
Duncan Keith ($6,700 FD, $5,200 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 55.87 CF60, 2.41 xGF60, 101.39 PDO
Brent Seabrook ($5,500 FD, $4,400 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 60.07 CF60, 2.43 xGF60, 100.99 PDO
Secondary Options
Jonathan Toews ($7,200 FD, $5,900 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 61.86 CF60, 2.63 xGF60, 100.21 PDO
Marian Hossa ($6,100 FD, $5,100 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 55.31 CF60, 2.46 xGF60, 101.74 PDO
Richard Panik ($4,000 FD, $4,000 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 54.97 CF60, 2.39 xGF60, 101.1 PDO
Nick Schmaltz ($3,200 FD, $3,600 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 51.76 CF60, 2 xGF60, 99.22 PDO
Brian Campbell ($3,400 FD, $3,300 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 53.04 CF60, 2.3 xGF60, 102.67 PDO
Expected Netminder
Corey Crawford – My Ratings (out of 10): 8 Cash, 7 GPP
Arizona Coyotes
Team Metrics – 2016-17 – 46.25 CF%, 5×5 Goal Differential -23, 117.07 CP60
Elite Options
None
Secondary Options
Radim Vrbata ($5,600 FD, $5,200 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 56.15 CF60, 2.28 xGF60, 97.92 PDO
Martin Hanzal ($5,500 FD, $4,600 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 55.84 CF60, 2.31 xGF60, 96.51 PDO
Oliver Ekman-Larsson ($5,600 FD, $4,700 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 53.76 CF60, 2.17 xGF60, 99.13 PDO
Expected Netminder
Mike Smith – My Ratings (out of 10): 3 Cash, 5 GPP
San Jose Sharks at Vancouver Canucks
| San Jose Sharks | Vancouver Canucks | ||||||||
 | Martin Jones |  | Ryan Miller | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 32-17-2 | 23-21-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.67 | 2.29 | 16.90% | 82.60% | Team Stats | 2.30 | 2.76 | 14.10% | 79.80% |
The Sharks started the second half of the season off in style as they swept aside the Chicago Blackhawks by a 3-1 score. They will get used to life on the road over the next month and should be eager to pad their Pacific Division lead by picking up two more points tonight in Vancouver. Amazingly, this is the first of five meetings between these two teams this season and, while the matchup is clearly not one too shy away from, it is worth noting that Vancouver owns a very impressive 17-6-3 record at Rogers Arena this season. If you’re looking for fantasy points from this Sharks team, you have to start with Brent Burns. The monstrous blue-liner leads the team with 53 points in 51 games this season and his 196 shots on goal is tops in all of the NHL. With the Canucks owning a subpar 79.8% penalty kill, he’s locked in as an elite defensive option. If you can’t afford Burns (he’s expensive) and still want some exposure to the Shark’s blue-line, then both Marc-Edouard Vlasic and David Schlemko are acceptable secondary options. Up-front, it’s Peter DeBoer top two forward lines that are responsible for nearly all of this team’s offense. Joe Pavelski headlines the top line alongside Joe Thornton and the finally healthy Tomas Hertl leaving Logan Couture to center Patrick Marleau and Mikkel Boedker on the second line. Couture posted four goals and two assists in five games against the Canucks last season and has posted three goals and dished out four assists during his current six game point streak.
Vancouver is somehow still in the playoff hunt in the Western Conference, but this is not a team I want to target tonight against the division leading San Jose Sharks in cash games. Sure they’ve actually played quite well on home ice this season, but they’ve also averaged just 2.30 goals per game and the Sedin twins are no longer the only line worth looking into. Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin still join forces on the top forward line and will be joined by Loui Eriksson. Eriksson has been a disappointment thus far with his new team and both Sedins are clearly starting to slow down. Meanwhile, former first-round pick Bo Horvat has taken his game to another level this season. He’s posted 14 goals and 18 assists in 50 games and is developing a nice rapport with Sven Baertschi and Alex Burrows on the second line. With the Sedins not the same offensive force they once were, this does mean that Horvat and company may see a heavy dose of Logan Couture pesky defense, which does limit their ceiling to some degree. Vancouver has not received too much production from their blue-line this season, but both Troy Stecher and Alex Edler see a healthy dose of playing time with the man-advantage and are very reasonably priced across the industry. They aren’t consistent enough for my liking in cash games, but they’ll likely be almost completely overlooked tonight considering the matchup and that does give them a little bit of GPP appeal.
San Jose Sharks
Team Metrics – 2016-17 – 50.87 CF%, 5×5 Goal Differential 12, 113.76 CP60
Elite Options
Joe Pavelski ($7,700 FD, $7,200 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 59.08 CF60, 2.59 xGF60, 101.76 PDO
Logan Couture ($7,000 FD, $6,200 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 58.32 CF60, 2.92 xGF60, 103.44 PDO
Brent Burns ($8,500 FD, $8,200 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 65.58 CF60, 3.16 xGF60, 102.8 PDO
Secondary Options
Joe Thornton ($5,300 FD, $4,800 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 60.25 CF60, 2.62 xGF60, 99.13 PDO
Patrick Marleau ($6,400 FD, $5,000 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 60.76 CF60, 2.87 xGF60, 100.89 PDO
Tomas Hertl ($5,100 FD, $4,600 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 62.81 CF60, 2.28 xGF60, 96.52 PDO
David Schlemko ($3,600 FD, $3,300 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 57.53 CF60, 2.49 xGF60, 101.1 PDO
Marc-Edouard Vlasic ($4,600 FD, $4,100 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 51.28 CF60, 2.24 xGF60, 101.01 PDO
Expected Netminder
Martin Jones – My Ratings (out of 10): 8 Cash, 7.5 GPP
Vancouver Canucks
Team Metrics – 2016-17 – 48.51 CF%, 5×5 Goal Differential -11, 105.17 CP60
Elite Options
None
Secondary Options
Daniel Sedin ($6,200 FD, $5,300 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 51.06 CF60, 2.14 xGF60, 101.08 PDO
Bo Horvat ($4,800 FD, $5,100 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 50.67 CF60, 2.46 xGF60, 101.89 PDO
Henrik Sedin ($5,200 FD, $4,900 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 50.67 CF60, 2.09 xGF60, 99.8 PDO
Alex Edler ( FD, DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 52.66 CF60, 2.22 xGF60, 98.75 PDO
Troy Stecher ($4,600 FD, $3,500 DK) – 16-17 Metrics – 52.02 CF60, 2.28 xGF60, 100.88 PDO
Expected Netminder
Ryan Miller – My Ratings (out of 10): 4 Cash, 6 GPP