NHL Grind Down: Tuesday, April 4th - Page Three

by Tom Woollam (elctrceye) Last Updated 2017-04-04 19:17:18

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Calgary Flames at Anaheim Ducks

Calgary Flames					Anaheim Ducks
			Brian Elliott					John Gibson
			Record					Record
			44-31-4					43-23-13
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.73	2.68	20.60%	81.30%	Team Stats	2.65	2.44	18.80%	84.40%

If the playoffs started yesterday what you would be looking at tonight is a first round playoff match up. Calgary has become a very good team over the second half of the season as not only can Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan pump in some goals from the first line but the second line of Mikael Backlund, Michael Frolik and Matthew Tkachuk can light the lamp as well. This trio has managed to grab a combined 142 points so far which isn’t bad considering this the team’s second line. Troy Brouwer and Kris Versteeg get the extra ice time on the team’s top power play unit with Gaudreau and Monahan and could be used as a punt play her just based on that exposure. T.J. Brodie is finally starting to respond to being on the top power play unit as he has grabbed five of his 35 points over the last two weeks while Dougie Hamilton still remains to be the chalk play from the blue line. Look for a spirited game here tonight with a possibility of some calling cards being left if it gets out of hand.

Anaheim will look to hold on to the top spot in the Pacific Division as their win in the first part of this home-and-home series on Sunday night has kept the team two points in front of the Edmonton Oilers for the divisional crown. The Ducks switched it up a bit last game as Corey Perry skated with Rickard Rakell and Antoine Vermette while Ryan Getzlaf centered Nick Ritchie and Patrick Eaves. Anaheim has elected to keep the line of Ryan Kesler, Andrew Cogliano and Jakob Silfverberg together with Kesler being the one-off here by virtue of getting the extra ice time on the top power play unit. Kesler has recorded 20 of his 57 points with the man advantage as he and Silfverberg get exposure to Eaves and Getzlaf when the Ducks draw a penalty. Getzlaf has garnered nine points over the last six games and remains the team’s leader in points with 15 goals and 53 assists. Defenseman Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen did not play in Sunday’s game because of injury but that should be of no worry to you as Cam Fowler and his 39 points is usually the safest play from the back line.

Elite Plays

CGY: Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan
ANA: Ryan Getzlaf

Secondary Plays

CGY: Dougie Hamilton, Mikael Backlund, Matthew Tkachuk
ANA: Ryan Kesler, Rickard Rakell, Corey Perry, Cam Fowler, Jakob Silfverberg

Vancouver Canucks at San Jose Sharks

Vancouver Canucks					San Jose Sharks
			Ryan Miller					Martin Jones
			Record					Record
			30-39-9					44-28-7
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.19	2.90	13.80%	77.30%	Team Stats	2.65	2.49	16.70%	80.60%

The Canucks have surely seen better days as they are long removed from the days when Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin lead the league in points in back-to-back years. They still skate on the team’s top line but have slowed down a lot in their old age. Henrik has notched 45 points so far this season while his brother Daniel has 14 goals and 26 assists to his credit. It’s unclear as to what line the Sharks will try to shut down tonight but Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi look to be the team’s future. Horvat leads the team with 20 goals and 31 assists while Baertschi has registered 35 points in 66 games in which he is averaging just under 16 minutes of ice time on a nightly basis. Besides the two games that they beat both Chicago and Minnesota the Canucks have scored just four goals in the other six games they have played in since March 18th. Alexandre Edler plays the point on the power play that features the Sedin brothers, Loui Eriksson and Brandon Sutter but it is almost useless to play them here if the team can’t score.

As if it wasn’t bad enough that the sharks have gone 2-8 in their last 10 games now they may have to continue without tow of their best centers in Logan Couture and Joe Thornton. Couture has missed the last the last four games as he was hit in the face with a puck that required dental surgery while Thornton looks to have been injured two nights ago in a win against this same Vancouver team. San Jose doesn’t have many options left as both Patrick Marleau and Tomas Hertl can play center ice position and probably will, thus making it much tougher on the team as players like Mikkel Boedker, Jannik Hansen and Hertl himself will have to step up and start scoring if the Sharks want to win this one here on home ice tonight. Brent burns will have to get his game back in gear as well as he has tallied just three of his team leading 73 points in the last 11 games. With all these injuries it’s probably best to stick with the top four that includes Hertl, Marleau, Joe Pavelski and Burns.

Elite Plays

VAN: None
SJ: Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns

Secondary Plays

VAN: Bo Horvat, Sven Baertschi, Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin
SJ: Patrick Marleau, Tomas Hertl

Edmonton Oilers at Los Angeles Kings

Edmonton Oilers					Los Angeles Kings
			Cam Talbot					Jonathan Quick
			Record					Record
			44-25-9					37-34-7
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.86	2.52	22.20%	80.20%	Team Stats	2.39	2.41	19.20%	85.00%

This game features a tale of two teams that took different paths this season. Edmonton’s turned out to be the better of the two as they will head to the playoffs on the back of superstar Connor McDavid who is leading the league in points with 29 goals and 65 assists. Leon Draisaitl is right there with him at both even strength and on the top power play unit as the 74 points he has registered in 78 games is surely nothing to sneeze at. Patrick Maroon joins them at even strength but takes a seat on the pine when the oilers have the extra attacker. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle and Milan Lucic skate on the team’s second line and if you are feeling a bit lucky, you may want to throw them into a tournament as they will have a bit more room on the ice than the top line this evening. Nugent-Hopkins is the only one from that line who has not reached the 40 points plateau this season. His next point will do the trick. Mark Letestu joins Lucic with the two studs on the top power play unit so if you are looking for a little salary relief that may be one way to go here tonight. Defenseman Oscar Klefbom is the last piece of the power play puzzle but has fallen off a little bit as Andrej Sekera has snared five of his 35 points over the last six games. This should be a good one tonight so grab a beer and enjoy the game.

The kings have finally been eliminated from the playoff conversation and no doubt will turn their gaze towards next year’s team. I’d be very surprised to see both Marian Gaborik and Jarome Iginla on the team next year as both has seen a dramatic drop in their ability to play the game over the past few years. Iginla was skating with Tanner Pearson and Jeff Carter while Gaborik had Anze Kopitar and Tyler Toffoli as his line mates. Los Angeles has scored just eight goals in the last five games which included a 4-1 win over Calgary three games ago. Jeff carter leads the team with 62 points but even he looks a bit sluggish of late as six of those points have come over the last 13 games. Kopitar may be a nice one-off here as he seems to be the only one wanting to paly lately as he has grabbed five points over the last six games. Defenseman Drew Doughty is the play on the back line as he soaks up most of the extra minutes on the team’s top power play unit. Doughty is third on the team with 18 power play points so far this season.

Elite Plays

EDM: Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl
LAK: Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter

Secondary Plays

EDM: Patrick Maroon, Milan Lucic, Oscar Klefbom, Jordan Eberle
LAK: Tyler Toffoli, Drew Doughty, Tanner Pearson

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