NHL Grind Down: Thursday, March 31st
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 Rangers at Carolina Hurricanes – 07:00 PM EDT
| New York Rangers | Carolina Hurricanes | ||||||||
 | Henrik Lundqvist |  | Cam Ward | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 43-24-9 | 33-28-16 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.84 | 2.59 | 19.30% | 77.90% | Team Stats | 2.42 | 2.64 | 16.70% | 84.40% |
The Rangers have been holding on to second place in the Metropolitan division for a while now as the Washington Capitals have made a mockery of the rest of the league. All players that skate on the top two Rangers lines have scored exactly two goals over the last five games. Derek Stepan and Derick Brassard skate on different lines but do get the top power play minutes as they lead the team with five pints in the last five games. Stepan and line mate Mats Zuccarello are the play here as they skate together on the team’s second line while getting the top power play minutes. Defenseman Keith Yandle is the play on the point as his four assists in the last five games has helped keep New York slightly ahead of the Pittsburgh penguins in the Metropolitan division.
Carolina’s playoff chances are hanging on by a thread but based on their play over the last ten games, it looks like they already have their tee times for early April. A 3-2-5 record in their last ten games has basically done them in as they have to jump over two teams and overtake a third to make the playoffs. The top line of Jordan Staal, Elias Lindholm and Joakim Norstrom makes for nice GPP play and although they are on home ice it’s been the second line that has been more productive of late. Victor Rask has lit the lamp four times while Chris Terry has earned a promotion with his two goals and three points over the last five games. Either Noah Hanifin or Justin Faulk would be the choices on defense as they both get the majority of the minutes on the team’s top power play unit.
Elite Plays
NYR: None
Car: None
Secondary Plays
NYR: Derick Brassard, Mats Zuccarello, Keith Yandle, Chris Kreider, Derek Stepan
CAR: Victor Rask, Noah Hanifin, Justin Faulk, Chris Terry, Jordan Staal, Elias Lindholm
Columbus Blue Jackets at New York Islanders – 07:00 PM EDT
| Columbus Blue Jackets | New York Islanders | ||||||||
 | Sergei Bobrovsky |  | Thomas Greiss | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 30-38-8 | 41-25-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.49 | 3.07 | 16.90% | 81.00% | Team Stats | 2.73 | 2.51 | 18.60% | 85.80% |
The Blue Jackets play the third game on their current four game road trip with a stop in Brooklyn tonight to face the New York Islanders. Columbus looks like they wish the season would end now as they have only scored 17 goals in their last nine games. Nine of them were scored in their only two wins over that span which leaves just eight goals scored in the remaining seven losses. Boone Jenner makes a decent one-off play here as he skates on the team’s second line and has tallied four goals and an assist over the last six games. Everyone else on the top two lines has scored three points over that same time period so maybe using Jenner with Oliver Bjorkstrand and Brandon Saad is the GPP play here. Seth Jones gets first crack on the team’s top power play from the point and has accrued two pints over the last six games.
It seems like no one wants to hang on to that last playoff spot in the Eastern conference. Luckily the Islanders have won their last two games to keep them four points ahead of both Detroit and Philadelphia going into last night’s contests. New York is one of only two teams who have less than ten losses on home ice and in all honesty should not have much of a problem tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Stick with the top power play unit tonight as Columbus has allowed four goals over the last six games while a man down. John Tavares is a good start as he has claimed his rightful spot atop the Islanders scoring leaders list with 59 points in 72 games including a team high 27 goals. Kyle Okposo and Fran Nielsen would be next in line as they both skate on the team’s second line and are second and third on the team in scoring. Nick Leddy mans the point on the power play and usually is fairly cheap across the industry while forward Anders Lee rounds out the top five on the power play unit. Nikolay Kulemin makes a decent one-off play here skating with Nielsen and Okposo as he has scored two of his eight goals over the last five games.
Elite Plays
CBJ: None
NYI: John Tavares
Secondary Plays
CBJ: Boone Jenner, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Brandon Saad, Seth Jones, Cam Atkinson
NYI: Nick Leddy, Frans Nielsen, Kyle Okposo, Anders Lee
Nashville Predators at Pittsburgh Penguins – 07:00 PM EDT
| Nashville Predators | Pittsburgh Penguins | ||||||||
 | Pekka Rinne |  | Marc-Andre Fleury | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 39-25-13 | 43-25-8 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.74 | 2.57 | 19.80% | 81.20% | Team Stats | 2.83 | 2.45 | 17.60% | 83.00% |
With six playoff spots wrapped up in the Western conference Nashville has done a great job of keeping pace for the seventh position. One can only assume that the Penguins will try to shut down the top line of James Neal, Ryan Johansen and Calle Jarnkrok who have a combined five goals and nine assists over the last five games. Neal is the one-off here as he has three goals and three assists over those five games. The second line of Craig Smith, Mike Ribeiro and Filip Forsberg get the first crack on the team’s top power play unit that has scored five goals over the last seven games. Conversely the Penguins have given up four goals while being a man down in the last four games. Shea Wbere and Roman Josi are the choices on defense with Josi having the hot hand by collecting six points over the last five games
Pittsburgh will look to grab a higher playoff seed but to do that they have to catch the New York Rangers who are just one point ahead of them. Sidney Crosby is always ab decent choice at home if you can afford him as he has five points over the last five games. The Penguins second line has caught fire over the past five games am Phil Kessel, Nick Bonino and Carl Hagelin have each lit the lamp twice while combining for 11 assists in the process. Patric Hornqvist and Beau Bennett have seen time on the power play with Crosby but before looking at them you may want to take a peek at defenseman Kris Letang. Letang has five points over the last five games and is joined on the power play by Justin Schultz who has lit the lamp once over the last 12 days.
Elite Plays
NSH: Roman Josi, James Neal
PIT: Sidney Crosby
Secondary Plays
NSH: Filip Forsberg, Craig Smith, Shea Weber, Ryan Johansen
PIT: Phil Kessel, Nick Bonino, Carl Hagelin, Kris Letang
Toronto Maple Leafs at Buffalo Sabres – 07:00 PM EDT
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Buffalo Sabres | ||||||||
 | Garret Sparks |  | Chad Johnson | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 28-37-11 | 31-35-11 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.37 | 2.84 | 15.60% | 80.60% | Team Stats | 2.38 | 2.64 | 18.90% | 82.30% |
Although Buffalo is a bit higher in the standings it has been Toronto that has been playing the better hockey of late. The Maple Leafs have won six of their last ten games and finally looks like they may have something moving forward into the future. Nazem Kadri has out together a nice little run of seven points over the last five games while line mate Milan Michalek has added three assists over that6 same time period. Both players get the top power play minutes along with Tyler Bozak and Connor Brown who are the plays tonight as they skate on the team’s second line and have a combined three goals to go along with six assists over the last five games. Morgan Rielly gets the first crack on the top power play unit but it has been fellow defenseman Jake Gardiner who has been more productive with four assists in the last five games.
Buffalo has easily been a better hockey this year but as their 31-35-11 record would indicate, they still have a long way to go. Evander Kane missed the last game with an upper body injury forcing head coach Dan Bylsma to put Jack Eichel on a line with Ryan O’Reilly and Sam Reinhart. Bylsma did mix up the lines during the game but if this line starts the game together they would make a GPP play tonight on home ice. Both O’Reilly and Reinhart have four points over the last four games as they get the top power play minutes along with defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen.
Elite Plays
TOR: None
BUF: None
Secondary Plays
TOR: Nazem Kadri, Milan Michalek, Connor Brown, Tyler Bozak, Morgan Rielly
BUFF: Ryan O’Reilly, Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart, Rasmus Ristolainen, Zemgus Girgensons
Montreal Canadiens at Tampa Bay Lightning – 07:30 PM EDT
| Montreal Canadiens | Tampa Bay Lightning | ||||||||
 |  | Ben Bishop | |||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 44-27-5 | |||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.60 | 2.87 | 16.30% | 82.10% | Team Stats | 2.78 | 2.36 | 16.50% | 84.30% |
The Canadiens have been eliminated from playoff contention and now can play the spoiler role tonight if they decide to show up and play a little hockey. The task will be tough however as they play a Tampa bay team that is vying for the top spot in the Atlantic division and have only lost 12 times on home ice all season. Tomas Plekanec makes for s decent one-off play here as he skates on the second line but gets first team power play minutes. Max Pacioretty and Alex Galchenyuk each have four points in their last five games and should be considered as GPP plays only tonight as they skate on the team’s top line and will surely try to be shut down on the road tonight. Andrei Markov and Nathan Beaulieu grab the points on the power play but it has been defenseman Joel Hanley who has been the most productive blue liner with five assists in his last five games.
Tampa Bay has been trying to catch the Florida Panthers for what seems to be the better part of the last two months for the top slot in the Metropolitan division. With only six games left Tampa still has not caught them yet and look to make some inroads tonight. Montreal has had its problems all year so a win tonight out of the boys from the Sunshine State should not be that far of a reach. Steven Stamkos has been on point over the last five games as he has accumulated seven points in the last seven games. He skates on the team’s top line and gets the majority of the power play minutes. Valtteri Filppula has been placed on the top line with Stamkos and Alex Killorn a few games ago but has not done anything productive as yet. Ondrej Palat is the lucky recipient who skates on the team’s second line but sees the top minutes on the power play. Palat has scored three goals and has registered nine points over the last five games and makes an excellent one-off play tonight. Tyler Johnson is the choice if you want to pair Palat with someone other than Stamkos as he skates on the second line and has four points in the last five games. Defenseman Victor Hedman is the main man now as Anton Stralman has been lost for the rest of the season with an injury. Hedman steps right in as always to grab six points in the last six games. Montreal could be in a bit of trouble tonight against Tampa’s high powered offense.
Elite Plays
MTL: None
TB: Steven Stamkos
Secondary Plays
MTL: Max Pacioretty, Alex Galchenyuk, Tomas Plekanec, Andrei Markov
TB: Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson, Victor Hedman, Alex Killorn, Nikita Kucherov