NHL Grind Down: Thursday, November 2nd
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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Vegas Golden Knights at Boston Bruins
| Vegas Golden Knights | Boston Bruins | ||||||||
 | Maxime Lagace |  | Tuukka Rask | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 8-3-0 | 4-3-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.73 | 2.82 | 17.02 | 79.49 | Team Stats | 3.00 | 3.20 | 28.95 | 85.37 |
Pretty much as predicted the Vegas Golden Knights are finding life on the road a bit more stressful than when they play in front of the home crowd. It also doesn’t help that they are down to their fourth string goaltender, which translates to the back-up minor league goalie for most teams in the league. Scoring seven goals in the two road losses is still fantasy relevant so taking a peek here isn’t out of the question tonight. James Neal leads the team with seven goals and 10 points while his line mate in David Perron has goal and assists totals of four apiece. Cody Eaking completes the top line but it is the aforementioned two players that are joined by second liner Jonathan Marchessault that get the first crack at scoring a goal after the Knights draw a penalty. Defensemen Shea Theodore and Collin Miller join the top power play unit that has scored seven goals in their last six games. Since Vegas is on the road this would make Marchessault as a decent one-off here but pairing him with his line mate in Reilly Smith may not be a bad idea either. The 26 year old Smith has garnered four goals and five assists in nine games and should be pumped up for this one as he faces his old team. They are joined by William Karlsson if you are looking to use a full line stack. Brad Hunt makes an alternative on the back end of things as he has grabbed seven assists in the six games he has suited up for. Look for the visitors to score some goals but fall a bit short here tonight.
With Vegas coming in and playing the third game in four nights I think a lot of folks will be on the Boston side of things tonight. The Bruins have some work to do as they try to stay afloat in the Atlantic Division that has at least three teams ahead of them in the standings. Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron is the duo to target here as they skate together on the top line and anchor the Bruins power play unit that has connected for two goals last game which is an indication that maybe they are heating up. David Pastrnak and defenseman Torey Krug also see a lot of extra time when Boston has the extra attacker. Anders Bjork started the last game with Marchand and Bergeron but Pastrnak saw some time with them as well in the 4-3 shoot-out loss to Columbus on Monday night. This looks to be the case tonight which will leave Bjork skating on a second line with Jordan Szwarz and Danton Heinen. With the injuries to David Krejci and David Backes look for Marchand and Bergeron to be the best plays as they have racked up a combined 10 goals and nine assists in 19 man games. Krug has been in an early slump so far so looking at fellow defenseman Charlie McAvoy and his eight points in the first 10 games.
Top Plays
VGS: James Neal
BOS: Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron
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