NHL Grind Down: Thursday, February 9th - Page Two
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San Jose Sharks at Boston Bruins
| San Jose Sharks | Boston Bruins | ||||||||
 | Martin Jones |  | Anton Khudobin | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 33-17-4 | 26-23-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.70 | 2.31 | 17.60% | 81.60% | Team Stats | 2.56 | 2.67 | 19.20% | 86.00% |
Although the Sharks have lost their last two games they still remain four points ahead of the pack in the Pacific Division. Their top five scorers are the five that get the lion’s share of the power play minutes. Defensemen Brent Burns leads the attack from the blue line as he not only leads the team with 22 goals but his 35 assists is tops on the team as well. Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton have been joined by Tomas Hertl on the team’s top line but the second line may be the one to target here. Pavelski could be used as one-off here as he leads the team with 18 power play points so far this season. Ever since Patrick Marleau was re-eunited with Logan Couture on the second line he has been on fire. His seven goals and three assists in the last six games are a testament to that as Couture has grabbed seven points over that same time period. Because the second line should have more room on the ice tonight you could probably add Mikkel Boedker to the mix as he skates with Marleau and Couture on the team’s second line. Boedker has tallied five of his 19 points over the last six games.
The Bruins will try to keep pace in the Atlantic Conference as their playoff chances could go either way as they have 58 points in 55 games played so far this season. Boston knows they are in trouble and that is probably the reason why they fired head coach Claude Julien and switched up their lines for tonight’s game. Brad Marchand will stay on the top line with Patrice Bergeron but they will have a new wingman in David Backes. This should help the struggling winger especially here on home ice tonight. Marchand leads the team in both goals and assists for a total of 55 points while Backes has just 22 points so far this season. David Pastrnak moves to the second line with David Krejci and Matt Beleskey while Spooner remains on the third line with frank Vatrano and Kevin hayes. Pastrnak is second on the team in points with 22 goals and 22 assists. It’s easy to see what new head coach Bruce Cassidy is trying to do and that’s to create three lines that have the ability to score. Now, whether this works out or not remains to be seen. It may take a while for the new lines to gel but one thing’s for sure, you can always count on Torey Krug to pile up the points. The Bruin defenseman has registered 33 points in the 55 games the Bruins have played so far this season.
Elite Plays
SJ: Brent Burns
BOS: Brad Marchand
Secondary Plays
SJ: Patrick Marleau, Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton
BOS: David Pastrnak, David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, Torey Krug, Ryan Spooner
St. Louis Blues at Toronto Maple Leafs
| St. Louis Blues | Toronto Maple Leafs | ||||||||
 | Jake Allen |  | Frederik Andersen | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 27-22-5 | 25-17-10 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.85 | 2.98 | 22.10% | 84.00% | Team Stats | 3.12 | 2.88 | 23.30% | 83.60% |
The Blues have done something that haven’t been able to accomplish since late in November and that is win two games in a row. Now whether that is because of the coaching change or not remains to be seen but we will find out soon enough when they head to Toronto to face the Maple Leafs tonight. New head coach Mike Yeo has put his best players on the team’s top line and goes with the fourth best player when the Blues get the man advantage. Vladimir Tarasenko leads the team in goals and assists with 52 points while Alexander Steen and Paul Stastny are his line mates. This makes for a very potent trio that should be able to find the score sheet against a Toronto team that has given up 23 goals in their last five games. Jaden Schwartz moves up from the third line to join the power play while defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk rounds out the unit. Shattenkirk is tied with Tarasenko with 18 points with the man advantage as his 37 points is tied with Steen for second best on the team. Colton Paryako and Alex Pietrangelo may be options as well as they each have collected five points in the Blues last six games.
Toronto comes into this one tied with the Boston Bruins for second place in the Atlantic Division with 60 points. For the time being it looks like head coach Mike Babcock is going back to what has worked in the past which means that Auston Mattews and Zach Hyman will be re-united with Connor Brown on one of the team’s three scoring lines. If you recall Brown did very well skating next to Matthews but then again, who wouldn’t? Matthews leads the team with 25 goals as he and Brown will skate on the top power play unit. Tyler Bozak , James van Riemsdyk and Mitchell Marner have been one of the more consistent scoring lines as they find themselves in the top five in scoring so far this season. Marner leads the team with 46 points while van Riemsdyk and Bozak have each grabbed five points over the last seven games. Leo Komarov, William Nylander and Nazem Kadri would be the last option to go to tonight with Kadri being the go-to guy here as six of his 39 points have been tallied over the last seven games. Defensively the choices are either Jake Gardiner or Nikita Zaitsev. Normally we would go with the more proven Gardiner but Zaitsev has shown flashes of becoming a better offensive defensemen over the last two week.
Elite Plays
STL: Vladimir Tarasenko
TOR: Mitchell Marner, Auston Matthews
Secondary Plays
STL: Alexander Steen, Jaden Schwartz, Paul Stastny, Kevin Shattenkirk
TOR: James van Riemsdyk, Nazem Kadri, Connor Brown, Jake Gardiner
Dallas Stars at Ottawa Senators
| Dallas Stars | Ottawa Senators | ||||||||
 | Kari Lehtonen |  | Mike Condon | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 21-23-10 | 27-18-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.74 | 3.17 | 17.90% | 73.30% | Team Stats | 2.61 | 2.75 | 17.20% | 82.80% |
The odds of the Stars chances of making the playoffs have dropped dramatically as the Blues seem to have found what it takes to stay in the playoff race. Dallas has 52 points so far this season which is seven points away from both St Louis and Calgary who are tied for the 7th and 8th playoff spots in the Western Conference. It looks like Jiri Hudler will return to the lineup tonight and skate alongside Tyler Seguin and Brett Ritchie. Ottawa will have to make a decision as the whether to try and shut this line down or the Stars other scoring line that features Jamie Benn, Patrick Eaves and Cody Eakin. Benn’s line is joined by Seguin and defensemen John Klingberg to form the team’s top power play unit that has scored in six of the last seven games. Seguin makes for a decent one-off play here as he not only leads the team with 51 points his 20 points with the man advantage are also tops on the team. Benn is right there with him however as he has found the score sheet 46 times in 50 games while adding nine goals and nine assists on the power play. Patrick Sharp gets lost in all of this mess as he normally is the odd man out in head coach Lindy Ruff’s eyes. I don’t know about you but I think Sharp would be much better served on the top power play unit than Eakin. Klingberg is the play on the back line as he has 31 points so far this season.
The interesting thing to watch in this game is to see if Guy Boucher sticks with the line of Mike Hoffman, Derick Brassard and mark Stone for tonight’s game. The Senators have been flailing a bit as they have won just one game in their last five attempts which has led to Toronto catching them for second place in the Atlantic Division. Stone leads the team with 18 goals while Hoffman has been able to record 37 points and lead the team with 17 power play points so far this season. Kyle Turris, Ryan Dzingel and Bobby Ryan have been unaffected by the apparent line change which means that Turris would make for a nice one-off play here. Turris is fourth on the team with 36 points as is heavily counted on to center the top power play unit. Ottawa has gone to a four forward power play which would leave defensemen Dion Phaneuf out in the cold for now. As of this morning it looks like Boucher has chickened out and has returned Hoffman back to skate with Tom Pyatt and Jean-Gabriel Pageau while Zack Smith moves up to play with Stone and Brassard at even strength. Erik Karlsson should benefit from have Hoffman, Stone, Brassard and Turris on the top power play unit as they need to get things going if they want to hold onto that precious playoff spot. Karlsson leads the team with 44 points and is a decent play here against a Dallas team that has given up three or more goals in their last 11 games.
Elite Plays
DAL: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn
OTT: Erik Karlsson
Secondary Plays
DAL: Patrick Eaves, John Klingberg, Cody Eakin, Patrick Sharp
OTT: Mike Hoffman, Mark Stone, Kyle Turris, Derick Brassard
Los Angeles Kings at Florida Panthers
| Los Angeles Kings | Florida Panthers | ||||||||
 | Peter Budaj |  | Roberto Luongo | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 27-23-4 | 23-19-10 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.43 | 2.41 | 16.80% | 83.90% | Team Stats | 2.33 | 2.65 | 14.80% | 84.80% |
The Kings will be glad to finish this four game road trip as they have been able to manage just one goal in the last three games. They have however managed to win one game by blanking the Philadelphia Flyers last Saturday night. The Kings are the closest team to making the playoffs in the Western Conference as their 58 points has the right behind Calgary and St Louis who hold the final two spots with 59 points. If the Kings are to win tonight both Jeff Carter and Anze Kopitar should be in on the scoring as both lead the team in scoring as they center the top two lines. Carter is the favorite here though even on the road as his 47 points leads the team over Kopitar by 15 points. Both play on the team’s top power play unit as Tanner Pearson and defensmen Drew Doughty and Jake Muzzin join them to round out the unit. Kopitar centers Marian Gaborik and Dustin Brown when the Kings are at even strength. Doughty is the play defensively here as eight of his 31 points have come in the last ten games. The only thing I question is since Tyler Toffoli is back why isn’t he on the top power play line? The Kings slide Jeff Carter to the left wing and switch Tanner Pearson to the right side. Why not just let Toffoli play on the left wing which is his normal position instead of making Pearson make the move. Things that make you go hmm.
It appears that Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau have returned just in the nick of time for the Panthers to actually have a shot at making the end of the year tournament this season. Thanks to Florida winning the last three games they now find themselves just four points way from third place in the Atlantic Division so a few more wins could get them to where they need to be. Both players are joined by Jaromir Jagr not only on the team’s top line but get the first chance to hit the ice when the Panthers draw a penalty. Barkov’s 28 points in 37 game sis easily the best scoring average on the team with Jagr needing all 52 games to score nine goals and collect 20 assists. Vincent Trocheck makes for a decent one-off here as he leads the team with 34 points while centering the second line along with Jussi Jokinen and Reilly Smith. Speaking of one-offs, Jonathan Marchessault is back to his old tricks as he has grabbed five of his 36 points from the third line and can be used in tournament play tonight. Keith Yandle looks to be the more solid play from the back line over Aaron Ekblad as he quarterbacks the team’s top power play unit and has recorded five of his 27 points over the last six games. The Kings have given up five goals in each of their last two games which would indicate that Florida should at least get a couple tonight.
Elite Plays
LAK: Jeff Carter
FLA: Aleksander Barkov
Secondary Plays
LAK: Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, Tyler Toffoli, Jake Muzzin
FLA: Jonathan Huberdeau, Jaromir Jagr, Vincent Trocheck, Keith Yandle
Montréal Canadiens at Arizona Coyotes
| Montréal Canadiens | Arizona Coyotes | ||||||||
 | Carey Price |  | Mike Smith | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 30-17-8 | 17-28-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.85 | 2.47 | 21.90% | 79.30% | Team Stats | 2.18 | 3.14 | 15.60% | 77.00% |
Montreal has won three of their last 11 games which include scoring just three goals in the last four games which all have resulted in losses. It’s lucky they have built up an eight point lead in the Atlantic Conference as otherwise they’d be battling like the rest of them as they jockey for playoff position. Max Pacioretty and Alexander Radulov are the best bets here as they not only skate on the team’s top line they are joined by Alex Galchenyuk to form the team’s top power play unit. Pacioretty leads the Canadiens with 44 points while Radulov’s 28 assists is tops on the team. Phillip Danault will center the two scoring leaders but takes a back seat when it comes to the man advantage. Galchenyuk centers Arturri Lehkonen and Paul Byron but has been able to manage four points in the last seven games since his return. His exposue to the top line gives him an added advantage and should be considered as a one-off tournament play tonight.Shea Weber and Nathan Beaulieu will handle the back line when the team has the man advantage and as long as Beaulieu continues in that role, he makes for a nice punt play. While Weber is the chalk play Beaulieu has grabbed 10 of his 18 points with the man advantage.
Arizona continues to occupy the last spot in the Pacific Division with just 40 points in the 51 games they have played so far. Radin Vrbata seems to be the safest bet here as he not only has recorded seven points in his last eight games, he leads the team with 11 goals and 24 assists as well. He will skate with Tobias Rieder and Martin Hanzal on the team’s top line, both of which have been a major disappointment this season as they have combined for just 40 points so far this season. Shane Doan skates on the second line with Brendan Perlini and Christian Dvorak while Max Domi gets the third line duties with Alexander Burmistrov and Jamie McGinn. This team doesn’t score enough to trust any line in cash games but I think the top line is the closest to that if you feel the need to go with Arizona in cash game play tonight. Oliver Ekman-Larsson is the choice on the back line as he is second on the team with 27 points. 14 of those points have come with the man advantage as he soaks up the majority of the ice time when the team draws a penalty.
Elite Plays
MTL: Max Pacioretty, Alexander Radulov
ARZ: None
Elite Plays
MTL: Alex Galchenyuk, Shea Weber, Phillip Danault, Nathan Beaulieu
ARZ: Radim Vrbata, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Tobias Rieder, Max Domi