NHL Grind Down: Thursday, March 17th - Page Two
Tampa Bay Lightning at Dallas Stars – 08:30 PM EDT
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Dallas Stars | ||||||||
 | Ben Bishop |  | Kari Lehtonen | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 40-25-5 | 41-21-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.69 | 2.34 | 16.20% | 83.60% | Team Stats | 3.20 | 2.90 | 22.60% | 80.80% |
After winning nine games in a row and getting a sniff of the top spot in the Atlantic division the Tampa Bay Lightning have dropped three of the last four and need to get back on track tonight in Dallas. The Stars have given up 16 goals over the last four games so look for this game to have some scoring in it. The top line of Steven Stamkos, Alex Killorn and Nikita Kucherov has been a bit cold of late and look to get some chemistry going tonight as they have just been put together. Obviously Tampa is trying to get something going in the offensive end and putting Kucherov on the top line makes sense. With Kucherov now on the top line that leaves Vladislav Namestnikov to slide to the second line with Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson. Both Palat and Johnson have nine points in the last ten games and make a decent line to target for GPP plays tonight. Anton Stralman mans the point on the power play and has four points in the last eight games. Dallas is prone to giving up goals so pick a line and go with it.
The Dallas Stars are in a tie for first place with the St Louis Blues in the Central division as each team has 91 points through 71 games. Patrick Sharp and John Klingberg could return from injury tonight which could very well affect the top two lines so it is probably safe to just go with what we know where Dallas is concerned tonight. Jamie Benn gets the top line and top power play assignments and leads the team in both goals and assists with 34 and 43 respectively. Tyler Seguin and Jason Spezza have been skating on the team’s second line and while Seguin is always in play it’s been Spezza with the hot hand of late as he has tallied seven goals and eight points in the last seven games. If Klingberg does not suit up you can plug in Kris Russell who will no doubt get the top power play minutes on the point and has flourished in Klingberg’s absence by grabbing four assists in the last five games. Cody Eakin has been skating on the top line with Jamie Benn and would make a good play if he stays there as he has netted three goals and an assist in the last four games. Check Dallas beat writer Mark Stepneski tomorrow for updates on the possible return of Sharp and Klingberg, otherwise it’s all systems go.
Elite Plays
TB: Steven Stamkos
DAL: Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin
Secondary Plays
TB: Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson, Anton Stralman
DAL: Jason Spezza
San Jose Sharks at Arizona Coyotes – 10:00 PM EDT
| San Jose Sharks | Arizona Coyotes | ||||||||
 | Martin Jones |  | Mike Smith | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 39-24-6 | 30-32-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.94 | 2.58 | 22.20% | 79.50% | Team Stats | 2.67 | 3.04 | 18.90% | 78.40% |
When talking about where San Jose gets its scoring from it’s pretty cut and dried. Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski skate on the top line while Brent Burns mans the point on defense. Thornton has 11 points in the last nine games while Pavelski has registered five points in the last five games. It is Burns however who is blowing them all away with six goals and seven assists in his last eight games. All three players contribute heavily on the power play so it’s no wonder that all three of them have registered more than 60 points so far this season. Patrick Marleau is next on the list with 40 points as he skates on the third line but gets the top power play minutes as well. This is another position where you may have the temptation to get a bit tricky but sticking to the top guns is the way to go. Logan Couture could be in play tonight as well as he skates on the second line with joonas Donskoi and Melker Karlsson. Couture has two goals and an assist in his last six games but the main reason he is in play is because he rounds out the team’s top power play unit. Look for the Sharks to score some goals against a very depleted Arizona team tonight.
After losing their first two games on the recent road trip the Coyotes bounced back to beat the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers. These are two of the worst teams in the division and will find the going a little tougher tonight as the face the San Jose Sharks. Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson resumed skating this week but is still considered day-to-day. The top line of Alex Tanguay, Antoine Vermette and Anthony Duclair have been leading the way with Vermette on fire as he has scored four goals to go along with five assists in his last five games. Tanguay has been no slouch as he has grabbed three goals and six points in his last five games. Look for defenseman Michael Stone to man the point on the power play as he has registered three assists in his last five games. The second line of Tobias Rieder, Martin Hanzal and Viktor Tikhonov has a combined total of four points over the last five games and should probably be left alone. Arizona is not a good team and would seem to be a GPP play only tonight.
Elite Plays
SJ: Brent Burns, Joe Thornton
ARZ: None
Secondary Plays
SJ: Joe Pavelski, Patrick Marleau, Logan Couture
ARZ: Antoine Vermette, Alex Tanguay, Michael Stone
New York Rangers at Los Angeles Kings – 10:30 PM EDT
| New York Rangers | Los Angeles Kings | ||||||||
 | Antti Raanta |  | Jonathan Quick | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 39-23-7 | 42-22-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.81 | 2.59 | 18.60% | 77.20% | Team Stats | 2.72 | 2.23 | 21.50% | 81.10% |
After beating a good Anaheim Ducks team last night by a score of 2-1 the Rangers will travel 26 miles northeast to take on Pacific division leaders in the Los Angeles Kings. Unless New York has a total collapse it looks like they will gain entry into the playoffs as it’s just a matter of what place they will finish in. Rick Nash has returned to the lineup and was promptly put back on the top line with Derick Brassard and Mats Zuccarello. This line also serves as the team’s top power play unit along with second liner Chris Kreider and defenseman Keith Yandle. Of those five it is Nash that needs to get the legs moving as he hasn’t found the scoresheet in any of the three games he has played in since his return. Brassard has been leading the way with three goals and two assists over the last five games while Zuccarello has collected a goal and four assists over that same time period. Keith Yandle has also registered a point in five of the last six games. If it is a one-off you are looking for I’d take a look at Derek Stepan as he skates on the second line and has nine points in his last nine games. With the Kings only giving up 13 goals in the last eight home games the going might be a little rough for a Ranger team that is playing their second game in as many nights on the west coast.
I have a feeling that you may see a lot of Los Angeles Kings in your cash game contests tonight as they seem to be in full gear with road wins against Chicago and Dallas by a cumulative score of 10-2. The top line that features Anze Kopitar and Milan Lucic is the one to target here as Kopitar has snagged ten points over the last eight games while Lucic has three goals and six assists in the last seven games he has played in. The third part of this line is newcomer Kris Versteeg who may be starting to get acclimated with his new line mates as he has lit the lamp twice in the last two games. Jeff Carter skates on the second line but gets the top power play minutes with Kopitar and Lucic and has tallied three goals to go along with two assists in the last five games. Vincent Lecavalier makes an interesting one-off play by skating on the third line and registering five points over the last six games. Defensively you can take your pick of either Jake Muzzin or Drew Doughty as they both man the points on the team’s top power play unit with Doughty seeing about 4 more minutes of ice time over game over Muzzin. Look for the Kings to stay hot tonight as they continue their quest to be the best team in the Western conference, which would thus wrap up home ice advantage throughout the playoffs.
Elite Plays
NYR: Derick Brassard
LAK: Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter
Secondary Plays
NYR: Keith Yandle, Mats Zuccarello, Derek Stepan, Chris Kreider
LAK: Milan Lucic, Drew Doughty, Jake Muzzin, Kris Versteeg