NHL Grind Down: Thursday, November 17th - Page Two
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Boston Bruins at Minnesota Wild
| Boston Bruins | Minnesota Wild | ||||||||
 | Tuukka Rask |  | Devan Dubnyk | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 10-6-0 | 8-6-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.50 | 2.38 | 13.50% | 83.60% | Team Stats | 2.73 | 1.93 | 13.60% | 87.50% |
Boston looks like they may have to wait at least another day for the return of David Pastrnak. Even if he plays we can safely say he will go back to the top line with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron so maybe it’s the second line we want to target here. David Krejci, Ryan Spooner and David Backes have all been contributing lately and make a good play here especially since they get the first shot when the team has the man advantage. Bergeron makes a good one-off play as he and defenseman Torey Krug join them for the extra ice time. Marchand is still putting up a point per game while Krejci has grabbed five points over the last three games. Even though Boston is 7-3 on the road it still may be a tough task to score against a team that has only given up 29 goals so far this season.
Minnesota is another team that has been very competitive by playing tough on defense. They have only given up 29 goals which is first in the league in terms of pucks not getting to the back of the net. Eric Staal and Charlie Coyle make for a decent pairing here as Staal leads the team with five goals and eight assists. Nino Niederreiter fills out the top line if you want to go for a full line GPP stack here as they have combined for four of the nine goals the Wild have scored over the last five games.Defenseman Ryan Suter is in play as well as he has grabbed ten points so far this season as he is now joined by Jared Spurgeon on the point when the Wild have the man advantage. Zach Parise returned the other night and although he did get time on the top power play unit, he was seen on the third line with Eric Haula and old line mate Jason Pominville. Until Parise gets back on track it’s tough to take anyone from the Wild in cash games. They just don’t score enough goals.
Elite Plays
BOS: None
MIN: None
Secondary Plays
BOS: Brad Marchand, Ryan Spooner, David Krejci, Torey Krug
MIN: Eric Staal, Ryan Suter, Charlie Coyle, Nino Niederreiter, Zach Parise
Colorado Avalanche at Dallas Stars
| Colorado Avalanche | Dallas Stars | ||||||||
 | Semyon Varlamov |  | Antti Niemi | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 7-8-0 | 6-6-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.07 | 2.80 | 18.40% | 80.30% | Team Stats | 2.65 | 3.35 | 16.90% | 77.00% |
Colorado was able to score four goals the other night against a Los Angeles team that has lost four games in a row. The fact of the matter is the Kings look almost as bad as Colorado without Anze Kopitar, but we will get to more on the Kings later. Matt Duchene is on the shelf for the Avalanche which makes it a bit dicier selecting guys from Colorado, especially on the road. Rene Bourque has the hot hand as he has scored four goals over the last six games and can be considered as nothing more than a one-off GPP play here. He does have Mikko Rantanen and Carl Soderberg as his line mates so maybe taking a shot at a full line stack could pay off if you use multiple line ups for tournament play. Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog are expected to lead this team but so far have not lived up to those expectations as each has just eight points through the first 15 games. They skate on the top line tonight and can be nothing more than a GPP consideration. Tyson Barrie is the choice on defense but there are definitely better plays out there on the blue line tonight. Again, with Colorado only scoring 31 goals so far this season, it’s best to stay away if you are paying in cash games tonight.
UPDATE
Gabriel Landeskog is also out for Colorado tonight. Things look pretty bleak for the Avalanche tonight.
Dallas has had their share of injuries and now it’s starting to show up in the standings. The good news is that Cody Eakin could return as early as tonight while Patrick Sharp is eyeing up Saturday’s game against Edmonton for his return. Jason Spezza has missed six games but has since returned while Ales Hemsky has appeared in just one game. Jiri Hudler has been sick for most of the season and by all accounts, the doctors have no clue why he is sick. Now that we went through why the Stars aren’t running on all cylinders let’s take look at what makes them tick. The line of Patrick Eaves, Tyler Seguin and Antoine Roussel has been carrying the team by collecting ten goals and 21 assists in the last seven games. This is the line to use tonight if you want to go with a full line stack. Eaves and Seguin get the extra time with the man advantage making them a nice duo to pair up tonight. Jamie Benn has six points while skating on the second line and makes a nice one-off play here as he and Seguin hook back up on the top power play unit. Jason Spezza is now on the fourth line but makes a decent one-off for GPP play as he does get the extra ice time along with defenseman John Klingberg as they round out the Stars top power play unit that sees more than 60% of the ice time on any given night.
Elite Plays
COL: None
DAL: Tyler Seguin
Secondary Plays
COL:
Nathan MacKinnon, Tyson Barrie
DAL: Patrick Eaves, Jamie Benn, John Klingberg, Antoine Roussel
New Jersey Devils at Anaheim Ducks
| New Jersey Devils | Anaheim Ducks | ||||||||
 | Cory Schneider |  | Jonathan Bernier | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 9-3-3 | 7-6-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.40 | 2.07 | 13.70% | 80.40% | Team Stats | 2.65 | 2.41 | 21.80% | 84.50% |
New Jersey was dealt a huge blow the other night when they learned that Taylor Hall will be out at least three weeks after having surgery on his knee the other day. The Devils may get some resistance as they go for their sixth straight win tonight in Anaheim. The Ducks are 5-2 on home ice while the Devils are even at 3-3-2. Goaltending will be the key here as New Jersey has given up just seven goals over the last five games. Defenseman Damon Severson is about the closest thing you will get to a cash game play tonight as he has 12 points in the first 15 games with five of them coming on the power play. One has to assume that the line of Adam Henrique, Kyle Palmieri and Pavel Zacha would be the line that Anaheim tries to shut down. This would leave the line of Travis Zajac, P.A. Parenteau and Beau Bennett as your GPP play line stack if you choose to go that way. The Devils have scored only 37 goals and without Taylor Hall they will surely need some guys to step it up a bit to become relevant in the categories we need them excel in.
Editor’s Note: Anaheim has yet to confirm who will start in goal.
Anaheim is pretty cut and dried where the scoring is concerned. Corey Perry is the obvious choice here as he has ten points in just seven games that the Ducks have played at Honda Center this season. Ryan Getzlaf will center Perry and Nick Ritchie making this the line to target tonight in your cash games. Ryan Kesler skates on the team’s second line but joins Perry and Getzlaf up front on the team’s top power play unit. Kesler and line mate Jakob Silfverberg have been hot of late as they have combined for 11 points over the last five games. The problem is that New Jersey has given up just seven goals in the last five games so it could be that there isn’t much scoring in this one. Cam Fowler and Sami Vatanen are the choices on the blue line but give the nod to Fowler as he is enjoying one of the better starts in his career with five goals and six assists in 17 games so far this season.
Elite Play
NJ: None
ANA: Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry
Secondary Plays
NJ: Damon Severson, Travis Zajac, Kyle Palmieri
ANA: Ryan Kesler, Cam Fowler, Sami Vatanen, Jakob Silfverberg
Arizona Coyotes at Vancouver Canucks
| Arizona Coyotes | Vancouver Canucks | ||||||||
 | Louis Domingue |  | Jacob Markstrom | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 5-9-0 | 6-9-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.53 | 3.40 | 11.90% | 74.40% | Team Stats | 2.00 | 3.18 | 10.20% | 87.00% |
Much like the game last night which saw Arizona score just one goal against a bad team like Calgary we can almost assess that that will be the case again tonight. I could probably just cut and paste my analysis for the Coyotes from yesterday as virtually nothing has changed. Radim Vrbata and max Domi still play on the team’s top line and they still have 11 points apiece and should only be used in deeper GPP play tonight. The second line is the one that struck for a goal last night as Tobias Rieder snuck one past Chad Johnson to open the scoring but ended up losing 2-1 in overtime. Jordan Martinook and Anthony Duclair round out the second line which could be used as a GPP play tonight especially when you consider the fact that Vancouver has given up 55 goals so far this season. Anthony DeAngelo and Oliver Ekman-Larsson man the points on the Arizona power play that has managed just two goals over the last nine games. Using Arizona in anything other than GPP plays is just throwing money away tonight.
The Canucks have been showing some signs of life lately as they have scored 18 of the 35 goals over the last six games. Although getting up there in age Daniel and Henrik Sedin are still the top choices in for the Canucks as they are borderline cash game plays tonight. They not only lead the team in scoring but have combined for five goals and six assists over the last six games. Brandon Sutter joins them on the top line as even he gets in on the act a little as he has managed to grab four of his nine points over the last six games. Loui Eriksson is yet to get things going as he finds himself on the second line with Markus Granlund and Derek Dorsett. Troy Stecher is the play on the point as he sees extra time on the Vancouver power play along with Alexander Edler. This game could easily be a snooze-fest so use caution in your cash games here.
Elite Plays
ARZ: None
VAN: Daniel Sedin
Secondary Plays
ARZ: Max Domi, Radim Vrbata, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Anthony DeAngelo
VAN: Henrik Sedin, Brandon Sutter, Troy Stecher
Edmonton Oilers at Los Angeles Kings
| Edmonton Oilers | Los Angeles Kings | ||||||||
 | Cam Talbot |  | Peter Budaj | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 9-6-1 | 7-9-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.71 | 2.65 | 17.80% | 88.90% | Team Stats | 2.29 | 2.59 | 9.80% | 78.20% |
If you believe in a team being flat after a long road trip, then Edmonton is the team for you tonight as the Kings come in from the road after playing five on the road. The Oilers started out hot but hit a rough patch here as they have just managed to win two games over the last nine. With losses comes less production which is the reason why Edmonton hasn’t put up more wins over the past few weeks. The have only scored nine goals over the past five games so we will have to dive a little deeper to find the correct plays for tonight’s contests. The top line of Connor McDavid, Jordan Eberle and Patrick Maroon are responsible for four of those nine goals while McDavid leads the group with six assists. The second line that features Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Milan Lucic is the intriguing play here as they do have some talent. They could be ready to have a big game especially on the road where the Kings will look to wrap up the McDavid line. Nugent-Hopkins has fired 19 shots on net over the past five games while Tyler Pitlick has netted two goals while being on their line. Oscar Klefbom plays the point on the power play but taking any Edmonton defenseman in cash games is almost useless as Andrej Sekera leads the group with just five points.
The Kings started out their current road trip on a positive note but beating Toronto by a score of 7-0 but after that it was all downhill. Not only did they lose the next four games, they also lost Anze Kopitar for a few games as well. He is at the point now where he can play without doing any further damage but is day-to-day as it’s just a matter of how much pain he will be in if he plays. The top line of Jeff Carter, Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli are in play here as they have scored two of the Kings last five goals. I know that doesn’t sound like a lot but when you realize they only have one line and were on the road, they should get to see more room on the ice tonight. Drew Doughty and Jake Muzzin join them at the blue line to form the Kings top power play unit that has scored two goals over the past four games. If you want to get a bit daring you could always throw Teddy Purcell and Trevor Lewis together and hope the grab a goal or two, but I’d advise against that strategy in cash games tonight.
Elite Plays
EDM: Connor McDavid
LAK: None
Secondary Plays
EDM: Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Milan Lucic
LAK: Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli, Drew Doughty