NHL Grind Down: Thursday, February 9th
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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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New York Islanders at Philadelphia Flyers
| New York Islanders | Philadelphia Flyers | ||||||||
 | Thomas Greiss |  | Steve Mason | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 23-18-10 | 26-21-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.98 | 2.94 | 15.40% | 81.10% | Team Stats | 2.57 | 2.96 | 21.00% | 81.20% |
If the Islanders continue winning at the rate they have been, they will surely make the playoffs. Their seven wins in the last 10 games has them hot on the heels of the Philadelphia Flyers who are just three points ahead of them in the Metropolitan Division. Obviously a win here would be huge as the Flyers haven’t scored a goal in the last two games. John Tavares, Anders Lee and Josh Bailey will look to slice through the porous Flyers defense and continue on their red hot scoring pace. Lee and Bailey lead the team with seven points over the last five games while Tavares leads the team with 20 goals and 43 points. Brock Nelson and Ryan Strome look to make a decent pairing for tournament play as they are not only on the road they have each collected six points in the last five games. Just like any other team in the league, when a team starts scoring it seems like everyone is in play. Nick Leddy is the choice from the point as he anchors the top power play unit. Leddy has registered 10 of his 28 points with the man advantage.
The Flyers are literally fighting for their playoff lives while arguably playing the worst hockey in the league. Their 59 points has them in eighth place in the Eastern Conference with four other teams within just three points of them, one of them being their opponent tonight. Head coach Dave Hakstol has been under fire of late for benching defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere twice this season but one has to believe that he is getting his orders from Ron Hextall who is the team’s general manager. At any rate, the Flyers have scored just 12 goals in their last nine games which hasn’t been conducive to winning any type of contest over the last two weeks. Philadelphia has kept the top line that features Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek and Michael Raffl but to be honest here only Giroux and Voracek should only be considered as a deeper tournament play. Voracek leads the team with 31 assists and 45 points while Giroux has grabbed 41 points so far this season. Wayne Simmonds will skate on the second line with Sean Couturier and Nick Cousins while Brayden Schenn is dropped to the third line to center Matt Read and Dale Weise. Simmonds and Schenn are your best bets here out of this bunch as they join the scoring leaders to form a power play unit that sees more than 60% of the ice time when the Flyers draw a penalty. Schenn has tallied 21 of his 35 points with the man advantage. Gostisbehere returns to quarterback the team’s top power play unit from the back line but we can’t count out fellow defensmen Ivan Provorov as he has tallied 22 points so far this season.
Elite Plays
NYI: John Tavares
PHL: Jakub Voracek
Secondary Plays
NYI: Josh Bailey, Brock Nelson, Nick Leddy, Anders Lee
PHL: Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn, Ivan Provorov
Vancouver Canucks at Columbus Blue Jackets
| Vancouver Canucks | Columbus Blue Jackets | ||||||||
 | Ryan Miller |  | Sergei Bobrovsky | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 23-24-6 | 34-13-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.28 | 2.87 | 14.70% | 78.70% | Team Stats | 3.29 | 2.46 | 24.00% | 81.80% |
It’s more than likely that the Vancouver Canucks will have more than a few problems tonight as they take on the Blue Jackets in Columbus tonight. The Canucks have won just three times in the last ten games as their 6 road wins is tied for the worst in the league. Henrik Sedin will center Daniel Sedin and Loui Eriksson on the team’s top line that should easily be shut down tonight. This line has combined for just one goal and five assists in the last seven games with four of those coming with the man advantage. If Vancouver is to score the power play may be the ticket as the Blue Jackets have given up power play goals in six of the last eight games. Brandon Sutter and Sven Baertschi join the Sedin brothers on the team’s top power play unit. All four players each have two of their last three points come via the power play. Bo Horvat leads the team with 15 goals and 34 points so pairing him with his even strength line mate in Baertschi could be palpable for deeper tournament plays. If it’s a defenseman you’re looking for I’d look elsewhere as Troy Stecher leads all Vancouver defensemen with just 14 points.
Columbus has been up and down over the past two weeks as they have won just two games over their last six but have remained in second place in the tough Metropolitan Division. To be fair they have played five of those six games on the road and now get to settle in for a nice six game home stand. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them run off a couple of wins here and build on their 18-6-1 record in front of the home crowd. Look to the top line of Alexander Wennberg, Nick Foligno and Brandon Saad to to some of the damage as this line has combined for 122 points so far this season. Cam Atkinson is always a one-off play in any format as he joins Wennberg and Foligno on the top power play unit. Atkinson leads the team with 26 goals and 48 points while Dubinsky has stepped it up a bit as his seven points over the last nine games has given him 25 for the season. Sam Gagner has found success on the top power play unit as he has earned 15 of his 34 points while skating with the extra attacker. Zachary Werenski was hot early in the season on the back line as he leads all Columbus defensemen with 31 points. Seth Jones is making a run at him however as he has registered eight points in the last nine games to get him within two points of the aforementioned Werenski despite playing in six less games.
Elite Plays
VAN: None
CBJ: Cam Atkinson
Secondary Plays
VAN: Henrik Sedin, Brandon Sutter, Bo Horvat, Sven Baertschi, Daniel Sedin
CBJ: Alexander Wennberg, Nick Foligno, Brandon Saad, Seth Jones, Zachary Werenski, Sam Gagner
Detroit Red Wings at Washington Capitals
| Detroit Red Wings | Washington Capitals | ||||||||
 | Petr Mrazek |  | Braden Holtby | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 22-21-10 | 37-11-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.42 | 2.92 | 11.40% | 81.40% | Team Stats | 3.31 | 2.04 | 21.50% | 84.70% |
Detroit is in a dead heat with the Buffalo and Tampa for 14th place in the Eastern Conference. The good news is that they are only five points away from Philadelphia who owns the last playoff spot with 59 points. The red Wings have three tough road games coming up and will need to win at least two of them to stay in this thing. Henrik Zetterberg, Anthony Mantha and Gustav Nyquist skate on the team’s top line that has seen Zetterberg lead the team with seven points in the last eight games. Zetterberg also leads the team with 38 points so maybe considering him as a one-off play for tournaments may not be a bad idea here. The second line features Tomas Tatar, Riley Sheahan and Dylan Larkin but even these guys may have a tough time against the Capitals who are 22-5-1 on home ice. The only other twp players you could possibly consider for tournament play would be Thomas Vanek and defenseman Mike Green. Vanek leads the team with 13 goals while Green has grabbed five of his 26 points over the last eight games. Detroit could very well get shutout here tonight so tread lightly.
Washington continues to be the best team in the league with 80 points in just 54 games. Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Ovechkin and T.J. Oshie should be one of the chalkier lines of the night. Backstrom leads the team with 39 assists and 54 points while Ovechkin’s 25 goals is tops on the team. Like any team that has been scoring a lot of goals there normally is more than one line or more that does the scoring. This is the case here as Evgeny Kuznetsov centers the second line along with Justin Williams and Marcus Johansson. Kuznetsov has lit the lamp seven times to go along with six assists over the past ten games. Meanwhile third liner Andre Burakovsky has recorded ten of his 29 points over the last ten games. These kind of statistics would make either player a decent one-off play for your tournament games tonight. Defenseman Matt Niskanen has caught fire and now leads the all Washington defensemen with 31 points but john Carlson is still seeing the top minutes on the team’s top unit with the man advantage. Either makes for a decent play here tonight as the Capitals will look for their 23rd win in front of the home crowd this season.
Elite Plays
DET: Henrik Zetterberg
WSH: Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Ovechkin
Secondary Plays
DET: Anthony Mantha, Thomas Vanek, Mike Green
WSH: Evgeny Kuznetsov, T.J. Oshie, Matt Niskanen, Andre Burakovsky, John Carlson
Nashville Predators at New York Rangers
| Nashville Predators | New York Rangers | ||||||||
 | Pekka Rinne |  | Henrik Lundqvist | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 26-19-8 | 34-18-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.72 | 2.53 | 18.00% | 83.30% | Team Stats | 3.38 | 2.62 | 21.10% | 82.50% |
After winning nine of their last 14 games and getting back into playoff position, head coach Peter Laviolette has decided to change up the lines a little. James Neal will now skate on the top line with Filip Forsberg and Ryan Johansen while Viktor Arvidsson will slip to the third line and skate with Colin Wilson and Calle Jarnkrok. This in effect makes a line that is very dangerous and may not be able to be contained. Mike Fisher will center the second line with Pontus Aberg and Craig Smith. To me this doesn’t make sense putting you best three players on the top line, especially on the road, while you could easily make two very good scoring lines. Anyway, Johansen leads the team with 39 points while Arvidsson and Forsberg are tied for second with 34 points. This move obviously will deflate Arvidsson’s value a bit but can still be used as a one-off here as the Rangers will no doubt key on the top line. Roman Josi mans the point on the team’s top power play and still leads the Nashville defensemen in points despite missing nine games this season.
Thanks to winning their last three games they have been able to keep their heads above water as their 69 points are good enough for fourth in the very competitive Metropolitan Division. As you can imagine, the Rangers will keep their three lines together with Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad and mats Zuccarello acting as the top line. This has actually been the second best productive line for New York over the last eight games as they have combined for six goals and seven assists. Rick Nash, Jimmy Vesey and Derek Stepan skate on the team’s second line but it has been the third line that has been surprising so far this season. J.T. Miller leads the way with 10 points in the last eight games which has also put him atop of the Rangers scoring chart with 42 points while Michael Grabner leads the team with 25 goals. As you can see the rangers have a lot of scoring depth which has been able to keep them in the playoff race despite a semi-goaltender controversy. Ryan McDonagh is the play on the back line leads the defensive cops with 30 points this season. Brady Skjei makes for an interesting play as he has tallied seven of his 24 points over the last two weeks.
Elite Plays
NSH: Ryan Johansen
NYR: J.T. Miller
Secondary Plays
NSH: James Neal, Filip Forsberg, Viktor Arvidsson, Roman Josi
NYR: Michael Grabner, Mats Zuccarello, Chris Kreider, Derek Stepan, Ryan McDonagh
Anaheim Ducks at Buffalo Sabres
| Anaheim Ducks | Buffalo Sabres | ||||||||
 | John Gibson |  | Robin Lehner | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 28-17-10 | 22-21-10 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.55 | 2.49 | 20.70% | 84.40% | Team Stats | 2.45 | 2.72 | 23.00% | 73.70% |
The Ducks run into a Buffalo team that is just five points away from the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Anaheim seems to be safe for now as their 66 points has them tied with Edmonton for the second spot in the Pacific Division but a win here sure wouldn’t hurt. Corey Perry seems to be back in the dog house as the Ducks will go back to using two defensemen on the top power play unit. This time Shea Theodore will join Cam Fowler on the back line while Ryan Kesler joins Ryan Getzlaf and Rickard Rakell to complete the top unit with the man advantage. While Perry joins Getzlaf and Rakell on the top line it’s Kesler that makes for a decent one-off play here on the road. While Kesler leads the team with 42 points you could probably use his line mate in Jacob Silfverberg as decent tournament pairing tonight. Silfverberg has racked up 34 points so far this year as this line should have some room on the ice tonight. Andrew Cogliano fills out the second line and although he will give you some salary cap space, he has found the score sheet just one time over the last seven games. Buffalo has been tough winning two of their last three games so the ducks will have to be focused to be up to the task tonight.
As mentioned above the Sabres are still hanging around in the Eastern Conference and with a couple of wins could actually have a shot at playing after the regular season ends. Evander Kane has finally earned a spot in the top six as he will skate on the second line with Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart. One could do much worse in this league while skating on the second line but in this case Kane should to continue to score as he has registered a team leading seven points in the last eight games. Meanwhile Eichel has chipped in 25 points in the 32 games he has played in. While they make for decent plays I’d look to the top line to do the damage tonight. Ryan O’Reilly has grabbed six of his 33 points in the last eight games while Kyle Okposo leads the team with 17 goals and 34 points so far this season. Rasmus Ristolainen is the only choice on defense as he is afforded all the time he needs to be productive. Ristolainen has been seeing more than 29 minutes of ice time on a nightly basis as he has collected three goals and 27 assists this season. It now looks like Kane will be a game time decision so use caution with him, otherwise the other players should be in play for your tournament selections tonight.
Elite Plays
ANA: Ryan Kesler
BUF: Kyle Okposo
Secondary Plays
ANA: Ryan Getzlaf, Cam Fowler, Rickard Rakell, Corey Perry, Jakob Silfverberg
BUF: Ryan O’Reilly, Jack Eichel, Rasmus Ristolainen, Evander Kane, Sam Reinhart