NHL Grind Down: Thursday, January 14th
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.
New York Rangers at New York Islanders – 07:00 PM EST
| New York Rangers | New York Islanders | ||||||||
 | Henrik Lundqvist |  | Jaroslav Halak | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 23-14-5 | 23-15-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.90 | 2.57 | 18.80% | 80.30% | Team Stats | 2.70 | 2.49 | 17.50% | 87.00% |
The Rangers travel to Brooklyn to take on division rival the New York Islanders. The Rangers come into this one fresh off their 2-1 win against the Boston Bruins on home ice Monday night and look to win two games in a row which is something they haven’t done since November 23rd. Although the Rangers have been mediocre at best of late they still hold on to second place in the Metropolitan division with a record of 22-15-5. They haven’t scored much if at all on the power play as they have been dormant in that category over their last six games. The top line of Mats Zuccarello, Derick Brassard and J.T. Miller should get plenty of chances with ‘Zooks and Brass’ being the two you want for your cash games tonight. Brassard has been a bit cold of late by just tallying two points in his last five games but Zuccarello has picked up the slack by scoring two goals to go along with one assist in his last two games. Rick Nash skates on the top power play with those two and should be in play as he has four pints in his last four games. Dan Boyle is in danger of losing some power play time as Keith Yandle is making a push in production by scoring a goal and adding three assists in his last five games.
With their win Tuesday night over the Columbus Blue Jackets the Islanders moved into a second place tie with the New York Rangers, who happen to be their opponent tonight. Head coach Jack Capuano changed up the line ups during warm ups last night and on the surface it looks like it worked as the team scored five goals. In all reality the Hartford Wolf Pack could probably score five goals on the Blue Jackets as they are the worst team in the league. The Rangers have given up power play goals in four of their last six games and although the lines were shuffled, the Islanders did keep their top power play unit together last game. Kyle Okposo leads the team in scoring and makes a solid choice tonight as he has scored two goals to go along with two assists while Nick Leddy and Anders Lee have tallied three points over that same time period. John Tavares and Frans Nielsen have just two points each in their last five games and round out the Islanders top power play unit that has only produced four goals in the last 34 power play attempts. Brock Nelson notched a hat trick last game and may be highly owned because of it so if you feel the urge either use him as a one-off or match him up with Anders Lee as he gets exposure to the top power play unit. Ryan Strome is going to need some production this time around as he skates on the top line next to Tavares. If you remember, Strome was sent down to the minors earlier this year and looks to regain the form he had last year when he netted 17 goals and assisted on 33 others.
Elite Plays
NYR: None
NYI: John Tavares
Secondary Plays
NYR: Derick Brassard, Mats Zuccarello, Rick Nash, Derek Stepan, Ryan McDonagh
NYI: John Tavares, Kyle Okposo, Nick Leddy, Anders Lee, Ryan Strome, Frans Nielsen
Vancouver Canucks at Washington Capitals – 07:00 PM EST
| Vancouver Canucks | Washington Capitals | ||||||||
 | Ryan Miller |  | Braden Holtby | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 17-16-10 | 32-7-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.37 | 2.74 | 17.40% | 79.60% | Team Stats | 3.26 | 2.12 | 26.60% | 85.50% |
After a nice seven-game home stand in which the Canucks went 4-2-1 they travel to the east coast tonight to take on the best team in the league in the form of the Washington Capitals. This game looks like a tough one tonight for a one line Vancouver team that is anchored by both Daniel and Henrik Sedin but even they aren’t safe for cash games. If you want to go ultra contrarian, the second line of Bo Horvat, Sven Baertschi and Radim Vrbata are your guys. They will be very low owned and both Baertschi and Horvat each have at least two goals and two assists in their last five games. Defensively there really is no one to speak of as Alexander Edler mans the point on the power play and finally hit the scoresheet last game after being absent from it in the previous 12 games.
Alexander Ovechkin scored his 500th career goal the other night and should be in line for yet another good game tonight. The Capitals are a stellar 16-3-1 at home and should have no problem taking care of business tonight against Vancouver. T.J. Oshie and Nicklas Backstrom join Ovechkin on the team’s top line and get the top minutes on a power play that has scored six goals in their last five games while having the man advantage. Marcus Johansson returns from his two game suspension and should rejoin that trio while Matt Niskanen rounds out the top power play unit. In the last five games Backstrom has six points while all five of Ovechkin’s points have been goals over that time frame. Oshie, Niskanen, Justin Williams and Andre Burakovsky each have three points in their last five games and if you are looking to change it up a bit, take Evgeny Kuznetsov with either Williams or Burakovsky as they all skate on the team’s second line. With 139 goals this season, Washington is a pretty safe play, especially at home against the Canucks.
Elite Plays
VAN: None
WSH: Alexander Ovechkin
Secondary Plays
VAN: Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, Radim Vrbata
WSH: Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie, Matt Niskanen, Evgeny Kuznetsov
Chicago Blackhawks at Montreal Canadiens – 07:30 PM EST
| Chicago Blackhawks | Montreal Canadiens | ||||||||
 | Corey Crawford |  | Carey Price | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 28-13-4 | |||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.84 | 2.36 | 22.20% | 81.60% | Team Stats | 2.79 | 2.47 | 18.10% | 84.50% |
Head coach Joel Quenneville received a nice contract extension the other day so it will be very interesting to see how the team responds. The Hawks have won their last seven games and are only four points away from the first place Dallas Stars in the Central division. The top line of Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin and Artem Anisimov are in play as they have been hot of late by evidence of their 14 points over the last five games. Jonathan Toews makes a nice play as he has scored three goals to go along with four assists in his last five games and could see some room on the ice if Montreal elects to try to shut down the first line. There is always the debate as to what line is the ‘top’ line especially against a team like the Hawks who have two very good scoring lines. The ‘top’ line is the one the home team tries to shut down when the Hawks are on the road so it is really up to the opposing coach to decide which line he wants to try to shut down. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook man the points on the power play with Keith being the stronger play of the two.
When Brendan Gallagher came back from injury four games ago, it looked like Montreal was back on track after beating the Bruins by a score of 5-1. In the three games since then they have only scored six goals to go along with a 1-2 record. Despite being 3-7 in the last ten games they still are hanging onto third place in the Atlantic division with a record of 23-17-3 and look to improve on that mark tonight. Gallagher, Max Pacioretty and Tomas Plekanec make up the team’s top line and also get the top power play minutes. Pacioretty has five points in his last five games with Plekanec right behind him with four. Defenseman P.K. Subban is the play on defense as he has four points in his last five games and sees the top power play minutes along with Andrei Markov. Alex Galchenyuk finds his way into the top six on the teams scoring list and has Lars Eller and Sven Andrighetto as line mates, which is a far cry from Chicago’s second line. I think I will pass here.
Elite Plays
CHI: Patrick Kane
MTL: None
Secondary Plays
CHI: Artemi Panarin, Artem Anisimov, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook
MTL: Max Pacioretty, Brendan Gallagher, Tomas Plekanec, P.K. Subban, Andrei Markov
Nashville Predators at Winnipeg Jets – 08:00 PM EST
| Nashville Predators | Winnipeg Jets | ||||||||
 | Pekka Rinne |  | Ondrej Pavelec | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 19-17-7 | 19-21-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.49 | 2.72 | 19.60% | 76.20% | Team Stats | 2.60 | 2.86 | 15.80% | 77.30% |
In hopes of some kind of ‘positive’ shake up the Nashville Predators acquired Ryan Johansen for defenseman Seth Jones and so far the exact opposite has happened. The Predators have dropped their last four games and have only scored 12 goals in their last seven, certainly not a recipe for winning hockey games let alone trying to climb the leaderboard in a GPP. Johansen skates on the top line with Filip Forsberg and James Neal, so maybe it just takes a little time for them to gel. Forsberg and Johansen are the ones to target here as Neal has been held scoreless in his last seven games. Speaking of being scoreless, defenseman Shea Weber has not hit the scoresheet in his last six games so this is a perfect example of what you get when teams like Nashville have problems putting the puck in the net. Winnipeg does tend to give up some goals which would make second liner Mike Ribeiro a decent one-off play tonight as he has two goals to go along with an assists in his last five games. With the Predators not scoring much of late it’s tough to recommend any Predators for your cash games tonight.
The Jets are almost in the same boat that Nashville is in with the only difference being that they have lost their last three games as opposed to their last four. With a win tonight Winnipeg can pull to within two points of Nashville in the standings and based on the last time they played, that is not out of the question. In fact, the Jets last win came in Nashville four games ago as they shut down the Predators by a score of 4-1. Winnipeg has only scored 15 goals in their last seven games with eight of them coming in their only two wins during that time period. Blake Wheeler and Bryan Little need to get back on track tonight if the Jets have any thoughts of getting the ‘W’ tonight. Little has only three assists in his last seven games while Wheeler has just one goal in the last four games he’s played in. There’s no need to pay up for defenseman Dustin Byfuglien and his two assists over the last 11 games. That just doesn’t make sense. Drew Stafford has been the most consistent in recent games and skates on the top line with Wheeler and Little. His two goals and two assists come on the heels of getting over 18 and half minutes of ice time per game over the last six games.
Elite Plays
NSH: None
WIN: None
Secondary Plays
NSH: Ryan Johansen, James Neal, Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi, Shea Weber, Mike Ribeiro
WIN: Blake Wheeler, Bryan Little, Drew Stafford, Mathieu Perreault
Carolina Hurricanes at St. Louis Blues – 08:00 PM EST
| Carolina Hurricanes | St. Louis Blues | ||||||||
 | Cam Ward |  | |||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 19-18-7 | 25-14-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.39 | 2.70 | 17.20% | 80.20% | Team Stats | 2.46 | 2.43 | 21.70% | 85.90% |
Nathan Gerbe and Phil DiGiuseppe are very close to returning to action as both skated throughout the teams practice yesterday morning. It looks like head coach Bill Peters switched up the lines a little bit as Riley Nash was seen skating on a line with Jeff Skinner and Victor Rask. This line makes for a nice GPP play tonight as Skinner leads the team in goals with 16 and Rask is good at dishing out assists by evidence of having ten of them on the power play. Eric Staal and Elias Lindholm skate on the top line as well as on the top power play unit that has scored three goals in the last ten times they had the man advantage. Lindholm has two goals and four assists in his last five games which would put him at the top of the list if you are taking any players from Carolina tonight. Kris Versteeg has tallied five points in his last five games and rounds out the team’s top line which would make him a nice choice when paired with either Staal or Lindholm. Defenseman Justin Faulk leads the team in scoring and would be the choice tonight on the back line. Noah Hanifan plays the point on the power play next to Faulk so if you are looking for some salary relief, he may be your guy. The thing we need to keep in mind tonight is the fact that, yes the Hurricanes have been scoring but eight of their last 14 goals have come against those horrendous Columbus Blue Jackets.
After not chalking up a win in five straight games the St Louis Blues have come off the deck to defeat the Los Angeles Kings and the New Jersey Devils. The two wins gets them within just three points of second place Chicago and five points away from the first place Dallas Stars in the Central division of the Western conference. Carolina has only given up two power play goals in their last eleven games and with the Blues scoring power play goals in 12 of their last 18 games, something has to give. Vladimir Tarasenko leads the team with 24 goals and skates on the top line with Jori Lehtera and Robby Fabbri. All this could change however as it looks like Paul Stastny may be ready to return and if that materializes my bet would be Lehtera may be knocked off the first power play unit and maybe even going back down to center the team’s third line. Alexander Steen skates on the second line but is the team leader in power play points with 16 by virtue of getting plenty exposure to Tarasenko skating next to him on team’s top power play line. David Backes and defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk complete the team’s top power play unit but it is Backes who is the one-off tonight as he may be on the third line even if Stastny returns.
Elite Plays
CAR: None
STL: Vladimir Tarasenko
Secondary Plays
CAR: Eric Staal, Justin Faulk, Jeff Skinner, Elias Lindholm, Victor Rask
STL: Alexander Steen, Kevin Shattenkirk, David Backes, Jori Lehtera, Robby Fabbri