NHL Grind Down: Thursday, October 13th
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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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NOTE: Listed team records/statistics are from 2015/16 season.
Montreal Canadiens at Buffalo Sabres
| Montreal Canadiens | Buffalo Sabres | ||||||||
 | Al Montoya |  | Robin Lehner | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 38-38-6 | 35-36-11 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.63 | 2.80 | 16.20% | 81.90% | Team Stats | 2.43 | 2.62 | 18.90% | 82.60% |
Marc Bergevin took a lot of heat for several of his moves this offseason, and will finally put his creation to work this evening in Buffalo. After a blazing start to the 2015-16 season, the Canadiens just flat out imploded down the stretch and were easily one of the most disappointing teams in the NHL. In a very unpopular deal, P.K. Subban was shipped off to the Nashville Predators, but the newfound presence of Shea Weber should, at the very least, help stabilize things down low in front of Carey Price this season. While his best days are likely behind him, Weber still offers plenty of offensive upside thanks to his booming slapshot and slides into Subban’s former role as the point man on the #1 power-play unit. Alternatively, Andrei Markov figures to see a healthy dose of playing time on the point of the second power-play unit and is a fine value option on the blue line as Montreal’s distinct Corsi advantage could lead to some extra power-play opportunities and he’ll be asked to soak up some of Jeff Petry minutes (who is sidelined with a knee injury). If you want to be really sneaky, give Nathan Beaulieu a look. He actually led the entire NHL with eight points in the preseason and has been lining up alongside Weber. Up front, it looks like Michel Therrien is going to rely heavily on his top two forward lines to carry the load offensively. Max Pacioretty is the headliner, and while his 2015-16 wasn’t his best, he still managed to top 30 goals for the third consecutive season and lead the team with 64 points. He’s slated to be joined by Brendan Gallagher and Alex Galchenyuk on the top line, leaving Tomas Plekanec to center the newly acquired Alexander Radulov on the second scoring line. Radulov was highly impressive during his brief NHL career with the Nashville Predators and has been putting up some gaudy offensive numbers in the KHL since leaving the NHL almost a decade ago. Reports are that he’ll join forces with Max Pacioretty on the top power-play unit and he’s definitely a player to watch early this season, particularly in GPP’s.
Buffalo has essentially been the doormat of the Eastern Conference in each of the last four seasons but they made some vast improvements last season and finally have the talent in place to get things moving in the right direction. While the Sabres are likely still a year or two removed from being legit playoff contenders, their years of being overmatched appear to be over. Offensively, Tim Murray will have two very capable scoring lines that will require your attention on a nightly basis… but tread very carefully tonight as they’ve been hit by the injury bug before the season even started. As i write this, there still hasn’t been any type of clarification on status of either Ryan O’Reilly, Kyle Okposo or Jack Eichel, and as such I’ll proceed this analysis as if they’ll all be watching from the press box. With those three offensive forces all potentially sidelined, the scoring weight will fall heavily on the top forward line headlined by Evander Kane. The recent rash of injuries has shaken things up, but Kane figures to be joined by former 2nd overall pick Sam Reinhart both at even strength and on the power-play. Aside from a GPP flier with these two, this looks like a situation to avoid until the Sabres get three of their best offensive weapons back on the ice. On the blue-line, the newly re-signed Rasmus Ristolainen is easily the top option. He broke out for a career high 41 points last season, runs the show on the point of the top power unit, and sees a significant fantasy boost on FanDuel thanks to their new scoring (137 blocked shots last year and no more plus/minus concerns). Alternatively, Cody Franson joins Ristolainen on the point of that top power-play unit and has flashed plenty of offensive upside in the past. Overall, this is not the best matchup for the Sabres specially considering their injuries, but they do at least catch a break as Carey Price is not expected to be between the pipes for Montreal tonight (flu). (Update: Eichel and Okposo are out tonight)
Montreal Canadiens
Team Metrics – 2016 – 51.53 CF%, 5×5 Goal Differential -6, 111.93 CP60
Elite Options
Max Pacioretty – 2016 metrics – 67.37 CF60, 3.05 xGF60, 98.03 PDO
Shea Weber – 2016 metrics – 60.15 CF60, 2.43 xGF60, 98.29 PDO
Secondary Options
Alexander Radulov – 2016 metrics – NA
Tomas Plekanec – 2016 metrics – 60.51 CF60, 2.64 xGF60, 100.98 PDO
Alex Galchenyuk – 2016 metrics – 63.62 CF60, 2.85 xGF60, 100.38 PDO
Andrei Markov – 2016 metrics – 58.53 CF60, 2.45 xGF60, 100.82 PDO
Expected Netminder:
Al Montoya – My Ratings (out of 10): 8 Cash, 8 GPP
Buffalo Sabres
Team Metrics – 2016 – 47.49 CF%, 5×5 Goal Differential -28, 106.59 CP60
Elite Options
NONE
Secondary Options
Evander Kane – 2016 metrics – 57.13 CF60, 2.34 xGF60, 96.1 PDO
Rasmus Ristolainen – 2016 metrics – 49.58 CF60, 2.03 xGF60, 98.82 PDO
Expected Netminder:
Robin Lehner – My Ratings (out of 10): 5.5 Cash, 6.5 GPP
New York Islanders at New York Rangers
| New York Islanders | New York Rangers | ||||||||
 | Jaroslav Halak |  | Henrik Lundqvist | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 45-27-10 | 46-27-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.77 | 2.63 | 18.30% | 84.50% | Team Stats | 2.84 | 2.71 | 18.60% | 78.20% |
After eclipsing 100 points for the second straight season, the Islanders ultimately saw their season cut short in a five game series loss against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference semi-finals. While this team did see several key contributors depart via free agency (namely Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo), they were able to counteract some of the sting by bringing in both Andrew Ladd and Jason Chimera during the off-season. All-in-all, the expectations are that this Islanders team will still be major players in the Eastern Conference and they’ll look to make a statement on opening night against the cross-town rival who they managed to defeat in all four regular season meetings last year. Up front, John Tavares is the headliner and worth plenty of fantasy consideration night in and night out. Andrew Ladd looks to be locked into a role on his left-side, but with P.A. Parenteau somewhat surprisingly waived earlier in the week, it could be a bit of a revolving door on the other wing until Jack Capuano makes a long-term decision. Behind the Tavares line, plenty of question marks appear that will likely make or break the Islander’s season this time around. They’re loaded with talented forwards like Ryan Strome, Anders Lee, Josh Bailey and Brock Nelson but all three seemed to take a proverbial step back during the 2015-16 season. Throw in former first round pick Mathew Barzal who impressed in camp and has put up huge offensive numbers at the WHL level the last three seasons, and Capuano should be rather confident that he’ll eventually find the right mix to produce quality secondary scoring options behind his top line. While the second (and in some cases third) line guys are acceptable GPP plays tonight, the combination of the unclear line combinations and tough matchup at Madison Square Garden make it tough to trust any of the Islanders Forwards other than Tavares and Ladd in cash games this evening. On the blue-line, it probably makes sense to narrow your fantasy scope down to three guys; Johnny Boychuk, Nick Leddy and Travis Hamonic. Leddy lead the group with 40 points in 81 games last season and will likely get the first crack at quarterbacking the #1 power-play unit, making him my preferred option of the three as the Rangers struggled mightily with their penalty kill last season (26th in the NHL at just 78.2%).
After posting 101 points during the regular season last year, the Rangers were bounced in five games by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Rangers made several key moves during the offseason; trading Derick Brassard to the Senators for Mika Zibanejad, allowing Keith Yandle to sign a massive deal in South Florida, and bring in Hobey Baker winner Jimmy Vesey after he finished up his Harvard career. For all of the changes, it’s not really clear if the Rangers improved themselves, but they are now undoubtedly a much younger and quicker squad. Mats Zuccarello led the charge offensively last season with 61 points in 81 games, and while he need a bit of time to adjust to life without his old partner Derick Brassard, he shouldn’t miss a beat with Derek Stepan slated to join him as the center of the top line. Those two will be joined by the aforementioned Jimmy Vesey both at even strength and on the top power-play unit where they’ll also be joined by sniper Rick Nash. Nash was extremely disappointing last season, but the three-time 40 goal scorer should bounce-back from a career low 15 goal season in 2015-16 so enjoy the early season discount while it lasts. The newly acquired Mika Zibanejad will center the second forward line and also headline the #2 power-play unit. With two burners in Chris Kreider and KHL transfer Pavel Buchnevich on his wings, this will be one of the quicker lines in the NHL. On defense, Keith Yandle is gone, opening the door for Ryan McDonagh to soak up all of the power-play minutes he can handle. While McDonagh is not as offensively talented as Yandle, he’s locked into huge ice-time numbers and his solid shot blocking abilities give him a very nice floor.
New York Islanders
Team Metrics – 2016 – 49.51 CF%, 5×5 Goal Differential 8, 112.78 CP60
Elite Options
John Tavares – 2016 metrics – 60.96 CF60, 2.85 xGF60, 101.66 PDO
Secondary Options
Andrew Ladd – 2016 metrics – 57.17 CF60, 2.47 xGF60, 100.15 PDO
Anders Lee – 2016 metrics – 60.03 CF60, 2.59 xGF60, 99.31 PDO
Nick Leddy – 2016 metrics – 57.26 CF60, 2.48 xGF60, 99.57 PDO
Expected Netminder:
Jaroslav Halak – My Ratings (out of 10): 6.5 Cash, 7 GPP
New York Rangers
Team Metrics – 2016 – 47.36 CF%, 5×5 Goal Differential 34, 110.27 CP60
Elite Options
Mats Zuccarello – 2016 metrics – 54.04 CF60, 2.55 xGF60, 102.41 PDO
Ryan McDonagh – 2016 metrics – 52.43 CF60, 2.57 xGF60, 103.93 PDO
Secondary Options
Derek Stepan – 2016 metrics – 54.96 CF60, 2.67 xGF60, 102.81 PDO
Jimmy Vesey – 2016 metrics – NA
Rick Nash – 2016 metrics – 55.61 CF60, 2.59 xGF60, 103.46 PDO
Mika Zibanejad – 2016 metrics – 57.06 CF60, 2.65 xGF60, 102.41 PDO
Expected Netminder:
Henrik Lundqvist – My Ratings (out of 10): 7.5 Cash, 7.5 GPP
Boston Bruins at Columbus Blue Jackets
| Boston Bruins | Columbus Blue Jackets | ||||||||
 | Tuukka Rask |  | Sergei Bobrovsky | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 42-31-9 | 34-40-8 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.88 | 2.78 | 20.50% | 82.20% | Team Stats | 2.60 | 2.96 | 17.30% | 81.00% |
The final day of the 2015-16 regular season is one that all Bruins players/fans/employees are anxious to put behind them. The only problem, however, is that they didn’t really do too much to improve during the offseason. They were easily able to offset the loss of Loui Eriksson by bringing in former St. Louis Blues’ Captain David Backes, but the true core of this team is running out of years to make another run at the Stanley Cup. Up-front, Boston will be without their top player in Patrice Bergeron (lower body injury) and his absence simply can’t be ignored on both ends of the ice. In his absence, David Backes looks likely to join Brad Marchand as the center of the top line. Talented winger David Pastrnak will get the first crack at being the third wheel on this line, giving the former 1st round draft pick a major fantasy boost. Moving down a line you’ll find the often overlooked (and to some degree under-appreciated) David Krejci who is slated to be joined by speedster Ryan Spooner and rookie Danton Heinen to still give the Bruins a capable secondary scoring line. With the Blue Jackets allowing an Eastern Conference worst 3.02 GA/G last season and posting a mediocre 81.0% penalty kill, all six look like fine options this evening if the price is right. On defense, Torey Krug looks to have finally supplanted Zdeno Chara as the #1 fantasy option on the Bruins blue line. He led the way with a career best 44 points and 244 SOG last season and could be in for a real breakout when that 1.6% shooting percentage from 2015-16 finally rebounds back towards his career average of nearly 5%. Krug has a firm grip as the point-man on the Bruins top power-play unit, but Zdeno Chara and John Michael Liles also see a healthy dose together on the back-end of the second unit which makes them fine secondary options where the price is right. Columbus won’t be winning any defensive awards this season, but it is important to properly reflect Bergeron’s absence when targeting the Bruins tonight.
After missing the playoffs yet again last season, the Columbus Blue Jackets stayed oddly quiet during the offseason. While it may leave some of their supporters frustrated, the Blue Jackets feel that they have plenty of room for improvement from internal options. For starters, the team badly needs Nick Foligno to bounce back from a poor 2015-16 season and put up similar numbers to what he posted in his breakout 2014-15 campaign (31 goals and 42 assists in 79 games). They’ll also need some of their promising young talent to take another big step forward, which certainly seems feasible. Before we dig into the specifics, it’s also worth noting that this team was not quite as poor offensively as it appears on the surface. Their 2.77 xGF/60 (at 5 on 5) was actually the second best mark in the NHL last season and they produced a league best 10.31 SCF/60, which both imply they may have been a bit unlucky in the offensive end last season. Throw in the fact that the Bruins will be without perennial Selke contender Patrice Bergeron, and Columbus could be a sneaky team to target this evening. The tough part about targeting Columbus is that they simply spread their scoring out about as much as any other team in the league. Cam Atkinson and Brandon Saad led the way last season with 53 points a piece, with a handful of others trailing just behind. Because of that, and also coupled by my assumption that they’ll be widely overlooked, I’ll be looking to have some line stack exposure to the Blue Jackets forwards in GPPs this evening, but I’m it’s unlikely I’ll be targeting them in cash games. On defense, Seth Jones looks to be gaining traction at the NHL level and see’s plenty of time on the point of the top power-play, making him a fine target where he’s still cheap. However, it’s rookie Zach Werenski that has me the most excited. He was a standout at the University of Michigan and was tremendous in the preseason. With Coach Tortorella emphasizing that he wants his defenseman to play more aggressively, Werenski makes my “elite” plays list thanks to his dirt cheap asking price on most sites.
Boston Bruins
Team Metrics – 2016 – 49.55 CF%, 5×5 Goal Differential 7, 112.71 CP60
Elite Options
Brad Marchand – 2016 metrics – 66.32 CF60, 2.6 xGF60, 101.02 PDO
Torey Krug – 2016 metrics – 58.45 CF60, 2.29 xGF60, 101.04 PDO
Secondary Options
David Krejci – 2016 metrics – 56.33 CF60, 2.07 xGF60, 102.3 PDO
David Pastrnak – 2016 metrics – 59.97 CF60, 2.3 xGF60, 101.58 PDO
Zdeno Chara – 2016 metrics – 56.54 CF60, 2.15 xGF60, 100.91 PDO
Expected Netminder:
Tuukka Rask – My Ratings (out of 10): 7.5 Cash, 8 GPP
Columbus Blue Jackets
Team Metrics – 2016 – 48.03 CF%, 5×5 Goal Differential -11, 111.47 CP60
Elite Options
Zach Werenski – 2016 metric – NA
Secondary Options
Brandon Saad – 2016 metrics – 58.07 CF60, 3 xGF60, 101.99 PDO
Brandon Dubinsky – 2016 metrics – 59.66 CF60, 3.21 xGF60, 97.94 PDO
Nick Foligno – 2016 metrics – 55.58 CF60, 2.84 xGF60, 98.79 PDO
Seth Jones – 2016 metrics – 61.96 CF60, 2.84 xGF60, 97.69 PDO
Expected Netminder:
Sergei Bobrovsky – My Ratings (out of 10): 6 Cash, 8 GPP
New Jersey Devils at Florida Panthers
| New Jersey Devils | Florida Panthers | ||||||||
 | Cory Schneider |  | Roberto Luongo | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 38-36-8 | 47-26-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.22 | 2.46 | 19.90% | 83.00% | Team Stats | 2.83 | 2.45 | 16.90% | 79.50% |
After fleecing the Edmonton Oilers out of Taylor Hall in the offseason, there’s once again some excitement surrounding the start of on New Jersey Devils season. While Hall will certainly provide them a scoring punch they desperately needed, we still must keep in mind that this New Jersey team posted an NHL low 2.22 goals per game last season. They were far-and-away the slowest paced team in the NHL last season (93.6 CP60) and it’s highly unlikely that John Hynes is simply just going to suddenly open things up this time around. Further souring things here is the fact that they’ll travel to Florida to face a Panthers team that happened to be the league’s second slowest paced team in the 2015-16 season (100.9 CP60). This game does not look to be fantasy friendly, and with eight other games on the board tonight, I’ll likely be avoiding this one all together in cash games… but let’s dig in a bit anyways. Obviously, things have to start with Taylor Hall here. He’ll headline the top forward line at even strength alongside the well rounded Adam Henrique (who quietly scored 30 goals last season) and Devante Smith-Pelly, while also hoping onto the top power-play unit where he’ll grab some exposure to other talented forwards in Travis Zajac and Kyle Palmieri (who also reached 30 goals in 15-16). While those guys are going to have big nights, and therefore GPP options on a nightly basis, the slow pace and strong defense/goaltending combination from Florida make them a bit less ideal tonight. On defense, this was a fantasy wasteland last season, and outside of flier plays like Damon Severson and Andy Greene, there’s no reason to expect much to change this go-around.
As mentioned above, this Florida team is perfectly content slowing down the game and grinding out physical victories. Now, with two of their most dangerous offensive weapons in Jonathan Huberdeau and Nick Bjugstad both sidelined for the foreseeable future, Gerard Gallant’s is highly unlikely to soften his defense-first approach. Make no mistake, both of these injuries are a massive blow to this offense. With that said, they still have two very capable forward lines to look towards for some scoring. I will again stress that the pace of this game leaves me generally just turning the page to the next game, but the Panthers shouldn’t be completely ignored as they not only won the Atlantic Division last season, but also scored the 8th most goals in the NHL last season. The ageless wonder Jaromir Jagr lead the team with 66 points last season, and he certainly still looks to have some gas in the tank although it’s highly unlikely he’ll come anywhere near matching his 18.9% shooting percentage of last season. Aleksander Barkov wasn’t far behind Jagr as he broke out for a career high 59 points last season and the former second overall draft pick will be leaned on heavily to take yet another big step forward (although he too had a very high 16.4% shooting percentage last season). With injuries come opportunities, and that’s exactly where Jonathan Marchessault finds himself to start the season as he’ll get the first crack at behind the third wheel on the top forward line; making him a fine value option from that standpoint alone. With Adam Henrique likely being asked to slow down that top line, Florida will be leaning on some offensive support from their second line consisting of Jussi Jokinen, Vincent Trocheck and Reilly Smith. They showed plenty of upside at times last season, but their lack of consistency (and the slow pace) land them on my GPP-only list. The biggest move the Panthers made this offseason was signed Keith Yandle. Say what you will about his defensive game, there’s no denying his passing ability. He’ll hop onto the point of the top power-play alongside budding star Aaron Ekblad where both of them look ready for fine offensive seasons.
New Jersey Devils
Team Metrics – 2016 – 46.17 CF%, 5×5 Goal Differential -23, 93.26 CP60
Elite Options
None
Secondary Options
Taylor Hall – 2016 metrics – 60.48 CF60, 2.91 xGF60, 100.22 PDO
Adam Henrique – 2016 metrics – 42.06 CF60, 2.2 xGF60, 103.21 PDO
Kyle Palmieri – 2016 metrics – 42.55 CF60, 2.01 xGF60, 102.97 PDO
Expected Netminder:
Cory Schneider – My Ratings (out of 10): 6.5 Cash, 8 GPP
Florida Panthers
Team Metrics – 2016 – 48.68 CF%, 5×5 Goal Differential 34, 100.9 CP60
Elite Options
None
Secondary Options
Aleksander Barkov – 2016 metrics – 51.4 CF60, 2.54 xGF60, 103.76 PDO
Jaromir Jagr – 2016 metrics – 53.31 CF60, 2.6 xGF60, 103.87 PDO
Keith Yandle – 2016 metrics – 55.41 CF60, 2.42 xGF60, 101.98 PDO
Aaron Ekblad – 2016 metrics – 49.04 CF60, 2.19 xGF60, 101.55 PDO
Expected Netminder:
Roberto Luongo – My Ratings (out of 10): 8.5 Cash, 8.5 GPP
Detroit Red Wings at Tampa Bay Lightning
| Detroit Red Wings | Tampa Bay Lightning | ||||||||
 | Petr Mrazek |  | Ben Bishop | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 41-30-11 | 46-31-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.55 | 2.65 | 18.80% | 81.50% | Team Stats | 2.73 | 2.40 | 15.80% | 84.00% |
Detroit snuck into the playoffs last season to extend their playoff streak to 25 seasons, but they can’t afford a slow start to the 2016-17 season if they want to see the streak reach 26 years. They’ll be tested right out of the gates by a Tampa team that has sent them packing in the playoffs each of the last two seasons and look to be one of the favorites to bring home the Stanley Cup this spring. The loss of Pavel Datsyuk will be a major setback for this Detroit club, but all hope should not be lost. Frans Nielsen was brought in during the offseason and he’ll be a key piece for them upfront. His defensive prowess will make him a natural fit to assume some of Datsyuk’s old role and he looks to be slated to join Henrik Zetterberg (and Tomas Tatar) on the top forward line. Alternatively, speedster Dylan Larkin will look to build upon a very successful rookie season and things look to be set up nicely for him as he’ll start the season centering Gustav Nyquist and Justin Abdelkader on the second line, while also being tasked with centering the #1 power-play unit. If you’re really digging deeper, Thomas Vanek was also brought in during the offseason and will add a scoring presence on the second power-play unit. While he’s likely not going to be the most consistent fantasy producer, the former 40 goal scorer still has plenty of GPP appeal. Defensively, this is where Detroit looks very vulnerable this season. Mike Green led the way last season with 35 points in 74 games and holds the reigns as the quarterback of the top power-play unit. Behind him are the likes of Niklas Kronwall and Danny DeKeyser, but neither of them are overly exciting from a fantasy perspective. Overall, this Detroit team will be fast and likely rather aggressive (specially if they ever give Anthony Mantha and Andreas Athanasiou the shots the both likely deserve), but tonight’s matchup has be looking elsewhere. Tampa Bay allowed just 2.41 GA/Game last season, matches up well against Detroit’s speed, and looked far more talented than the Red Wings in their playoff series last year.
After dropping a tightly contested seven-game series to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals last season, hopes are once again very high for the Tampa Bay Lightning. They gained some more valuable playoff experience in the 2015-16 and now enter this season as perhaps the favorite to represent the Eastern Conference in the finals this year. Simply put, the Lightning are just loaded with talent at pretty much every position. They were very pleased to lock Steven Stamkos up to a eight-year deal this offseason rather than test free-agency and just announced earlier this week an extension on rising star Nikita Kucherov. While an argument can certainly be made that he’s not even the best player on his own team, I’ll start the fantasy discussions here with Mr. Stamkos nonetheless. His “disappointing” 2015-16 season still saw him tally 36 goals and the former first overall draft pick has now racked up 312 goals and 250 assists in 569 career games. He looks to be back to full health after seeing his season cut short in March last season and should benefit from playing alongside the mega-talented Jonathan Drouin on the ‘Bolt’s top forward line. With that said, Detroit Coach Jeff Blashill has always seemed oddly focused on slowing Stamkos, and has instead allowed his team to be repeatedly burned by the duo of Nikita Kucherov and Tyler Johnson on the “second” line. Including their five game playoff series, that duo combined for 11 goals and 13 assists in just nine games against the Red Wings last season and, with the expectation that Blashill will continue to concern himself more about Stamkos and look to deploy the solid defense of Frans Nielsen against the top line, Kucherov and Johnson look poised for a nice 2016-17 debut. On defense, looks poised to bring home a Norris Trophy sooner rather than later. The 6’6’ former second overall draft pick posted 47 points in 78 games and logged nearly 24 minutes of ice-time per game last year. Meanwhile, Anton Stralman still sees plenty of run on the point of the Tampa power-play and is generally much cheaper across the industry than his defensive counterpart.
Detroit Red Wings
Team Metrics – 2016 – 51.73 CF%, 5×5 Goal Differential -8, 104.46 CP60
Elite Options
NONE
Secondary Options
Dylan Larkin – 2016 metrics – 57.32 CF60, 2.55 xGF60, 102.1 PDO
Henrik Zetterberg – 2016 metrics – 53.53 CF60, 2.49 xGF60, 98.98 PDO
Gustav Nyquist – 2016 metrics – 55.57 CF60, 2.46 xGF60, 99.9 PDO
Mike Green – 2016 metrics – 57.98 CF60, 2.64 xGF60, 98.47 PDO
Expected Netminder:
Petr Mrazek – My Ratings (out of 10): 5.5 Cash, 6.5 GPP
Tampa Bay Lightning
Team Metrics – 2016 – 52.19 CF%, 5×5 Goal Differential 23, 108.6 CP60
Elite Options
Nikita Kucherov – 2016 metrics – 60.52 CF60, 2.54 xGF60, 102.11 PDO
Steven Stamkos – 2016 metrics – 57.76 CF60, 2.24 xGF60, 102.21 PDO
Tyler Johnson – 2016 metrics – 58.76 CF60, 2.46 xGF60, 102.35 PDO
Victor Hedman – 2016 metrics – 64.19 CF60, 2.56 xGF60, 101.98 PDO
Secondary Options
Jonathan Drouin – 2016 metrics – 53.34 CF60, 1.79 xGF60, 109.36 PDO
Ondrej Palat – 2016 metrics – 57.44 CF60, 2.34 xGF60, 103.2 PDO
Anton Stralman – 2016 metrics – 58.46 CF60, 2.44 xGF60, 101.54 PDO
Expected Netminder:
Ben Bishop – My Ratings (out of 10): 9 Cash, 9 GPP