NHL Grind Down: Tuesday, December 13th - Page Two
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San Jose Sharks at Toronto Maple Leafs
| San Jose Sharks | Toronto Maple Leafs | ||||||||
 | Martin Jones |  | Frederik Andersen | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 16-11-1 | 11-11-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.43 | 2.18 | 18.10% | 81.40% | Team Stats | 2.93 | 3.00 | 18.30% | 84.00% |
The Sharks embark on a four game journey that will start in Toronto tonight to face the young and feisty Maple Leafs. San Jose is pretty easy to figure out as the top line of Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski are joined by Logan Couture and defenseman Brent Burns to form the team’s top power play unit. All five of these occupy the top five spots on the Sharks scoring chart with Marleau having the lowest total of just 10 points in 28 games. That’s not too consistent which is why you want to stick with the other four when considering plays for your cash line up tonight. Burns leads the team in scoring with 25 points on 120 shots on goal. He is usually priced as the highest defenseman in the pool because his production resembles that of some of the top wingers in the league. Couture is always the one-off here as he skates on the second line but has managed 11 goals and eight assists while getting exposure to Pavelski and Burns when San Jose draws a penalty. If you want to roll the dice in tournament play you could always hope the Couture hooks up with either Melker Karlsson or Joel Ward for a goal or two at even strength as this trio makes up the team’s second line. The only downside here is that Toronto has only given their opponents a total of ten power play opportunities in the last five games in which they have killed off eight of them.
The Maple Leafs are trying to find the right combination as they continue to switch the lines around on what seems to be an every other games basis. James van Riemsdyk, Mitchell Marner and Tyler Bozak don’t have much to worry about here however as they have been the Leafs most productive line so far this season. van Riemsdyk leads the team with 12 goals and 21 points while Marner is right behind him with 20 points through the first 27 games. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this line pop up in some of your cash games as well as in a tournament or two. Auston Matthews is the one-off here as he leads the team with 97 shots while lighting the lamp 12 times so far this season. Zach Hyman and Connor Brown join him on the team’s second line while Leo Komarov, Nazem Kadri and William Nylander could be the team’s third line. I spoke about this before as it would probably be better for the maple Leafs to settle on a true top six and go from there. Jake Gardiner gets the extra ice time on the top power play bit its fellow defenseman in Morgan Rielly that has been the most productive. His three assists in the last four games has bumped his point total to 15 in the first 27 games.
Elite Plays
SJ: Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski
TOR: James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak
Secondary Plays
SJ: Joe Thornton, Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau
TOR: Mitchell Marner, Auston Matthews, Nazem Kadri, Morgan Rielly
St. Louis Blues at Nashville Predators
| St. Louis Blues | Nashville Predators | ||||||||
 | Jake Allen |  | Pekka Rinne | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 16-9-4 | 12-11-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.69 | 2.69 | 21.00% | 87.70% | Team Stats | 2.89 | 2.81 | 20.40% | 81.60% |
The St Louis Blues can make this a productive road trip if they can chalk up a win tonight against the Nashville Predators. Head coach Ken Hitchcock has reunited Vladimir Tarasenko with Robby Fabbri and Jaden Schwartz which could be the most formidable line of the night. This line will no doubt have a lot of ownership across the board in both cash and tournament play. Tarasenko leads the team in both goals and assists so having any exposure to him is always a good thing. Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk is second on the team in points as 12 of his 19 points have come with the with the man advantage. Alexander Steen makes for a decent one-off here as he will skate on the second line with Paul Stastny and David Perron but gets the exposure to Tarasenko when the Blues draw a penalty. The second line has more of a GP feel to it as the top line is responsible for seven of the Blues last 12 goals. Nashville has given up three or more goals in their last seven games so look for some scoring here. Kevin Shattenkirk is the play on defense here as he quarterbacks the Blues top power play unit and is second on the team in points with 12 of his 19 points being registered with the man advantage.
The Predators need to keep winning on home ice just to keep pace with the middle of the pack teams in the Western Conference. Their 9-2-2 home record serves them well but it is their 3-9-2 road record is keeping them from getting any higher than tenth place in the conference. Lucky for us they are on home ice and they have assembled a pretty decent top line. Ryan Johansen will center Filip Forsberg and James Neal and for all intents and purposes, this is the line to target tonight. Neal leads the team with 11 goals in just 23 games while Johansen has registered nine of his 18 points on the power play. Mike Fisher makes for a nice one-off here as he will join the top line when the team has the man advantage. Fisher seems to be a power play specialist of sorts as eight of his 14 points has come via the power play. Roman Josi will round out the top power play unit as he will be the only defenseman on the five man unit. Mike Ribeiro has jumped up to the top of the Predators scoring list with five assists over the last five games. That gives him three goals and 15 assists so far this season as he will center Craig Smith and Kevin Fiala. The GPP play may be pairing Fisher with Viktor Arvidsson as the 23 year old Swedish winger has lit the lamp twice and added an assist on 21 shots over the last five games. Speaking of 21 shots, that’s the same amount of shots that defenseman P.K. Subban has registered over the past ten days and could make for a nice play if you want to deviate from the norm.
Elite Plays
STL: Vladimir Tarasenko
NSH: James Neal
Secondary Plays
STL: Robby Fabbri, Jaden Schwartz, Kevin Shattenkirk, Alexander Steen
NSH: Ryan Johansen, Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi, Mike Fisher
Florida Panthers at Minnesota Wild
| Florida Panthers | Minnesota Wild | ||||||||
 | Roberto Luongo |  | Devan Dubnyk | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 13-12-4 | 15-8-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.34 | 2.59 | 13.30% | 84.60% | Team Stats | 2.74 | 2.00 | 15.40% | 83.80% |
The Panthers will probably run into a very hot goaltender in Devin Dubnyk. The Minnesota goaltender has let in just six goals in the past four games in which all have been victories. The Wild are also 9-3 at home so cracking this code may be a tough one tonight. After missing two games it looks like the team leader in goals will return to the lineup as Jonathan Marchessault will skate on the third line with Nick Bjugstad and Colton Sceviour. I can’t imagine Marchessault not jumping up to the top power play unit and it is for this reason he makes for a decent one-off play tonight. The top line of Aleksander Barkov and Jaromir Jagr had a new line mate over the weekend as Seth Griffith looks to improve on his two points in the first ten games he’s played with his new team. Barkov and Jagr have caught fire as they have a combined eight points over the last five games with Barkov having five of them. Jussi Jokinen would normally be the one-off here as he was seeing time on the top power play unit while skating from the second line but I have a sneaky feeling he will be the odd man out if Marchessault does indeed jump up there. Aaron Ekblad and Keith Yandle are the choices on defense play the points when the Panthers have the man advantage. Yandle is still nursing that foot injury so maybe moving Ekblad ahead of him on your rankings sheet isn’t a bad idea.
Minnesota sits in third place in the Central Division thanks to good goaltending and a 9-3 record on home ice. The Wild are trying everything they can to get Zach Parise going but maybe injuries are starting to take its toll on the 32 year old as he has managed just 10 points in the 20 games he’s played in. He will skate with Eric Staal and Jason Pominville on what could be called the team’s top line. Jason Zucker, Mikko Koivu and Mikael Granlund have been doing well from the team’s ‘second’ line as they have scored five of the last 14 goals the Wild have scored. With 11 players having more than ten points bit no one having more than 19 it’s a bit tough to target any one line on any given night. Charlei Coyle leads the team in goals with nine as he skates on the third line with Nino Niederreiter and Erik Haula. Any of these three lines make for a decent tournament play as a player from each line is represented in the top three spots where the Wild season scoring is concerned. Ryan Suter makes for a decent play here as he and Jared Spurgeon man the points when the Wild have the man advantage. Suter is the play here as he has 17 points in 27 games.
Elite Plays
FLA: None
MIN: None
Secondary Plays
FLA: Aleksander Barkov, Jaromir Jagr, Jonathan Marchessault, Aaron Ekblad
MIN: Eric Staal, Zach Parise, Mikko Koivu, Jason Zucker, Charlie Coyle, Ryan Suter
Anaheim Ducks at Dallas Stars
| Anaheim Ducks | Dallas Stars | ||||||||
 | John Gibson |  | Kari Lehtonen | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 15-9-5 | 11-13-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.76 | 2.55 | 23.60% | 80.80% | Team Stats | 2.50 | 3.20 | 17.10% | 76.40% |
The Anaheim Ducks have pulled into a dead heat for first place in the Pacific Division with the Edmonton Oilers. Starting tonight the Ducks will play eight of their next nine games on the road to finish up 2016. They will undoubtedly have to improve on their 5-5-4 road record if they want to stay out in front by the time the ball drops in Times Square on New Year’s Eve. The top line of Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and Rickard Rakell are always in the conversation when talking about cash game plays as they continue to fill up the scoresheet on an almost nightly basis. Perry has leads the team with 88 shots as he has seen 11 of his 25 come with the man advantage while Getzlaf leads the team in assists with 21 of them while scoring just two goals so far this season. Here’s where you have to make a decision. Do you take Rakell who is their line mate or do we go with Ryan Kesler who skates on the second line but gets the call to skate with Perry and Getzlaf when the Ducks draw a penalty. The answer is either although it is probably easier to play Kesler as a one-off here as he leads the team with 25 points while finding the scoresheet 12 times with the extra attacker. Rakell has been sailing along as well since his return as he has lit the lamp 11 times to go along with five assists in the 18 games he has played in since returning to the lineup. If you want to deviate a little you can always use Kesler with one of his even strength partners in Jakob Silfverberg or Andrew Coglaino. Silfverberg may get the nod here as he has six more points than Coglaino while getting 80 shots on goal so far this season. Cam Fowler is the choice on the back end as he anchors the Ducks top power play unit along with fellow defenseman Sami Vatanen. Fowler is the choice here as he has nine of his 18 points on the power play while Vatanen has registered only 12 points with 24 less shots than Fowler’s 64. Yeah, I know some math is required there but I have faith.
The Dallas Stars did not go through line rushes at the morning skate but that doesn’t necessarily mean that Lindy Ruff won’t mix them up a bit. It would best suit the team to keep Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn and Jason Spezza on the top line as Dallas plays seven of the next eight games on home ice. This could mean a lot of points for this line in the coming weeks especially for Benn and Seguin who anchor the team’s top power play line that has found the back of the net just once in the last four games. Jiri Hudler returned last game and makes for a decent one-off play here provided he stays on the top power play unit with the team’s superstars. The same can be said for Antoine Roussel but on a lower scale as he skates on the team’s second line with Radek Faksa and Brett Ritchie but skated on the top power play unit last game. My thought here is that Roussel will be off of that unit soon enough in favor of Spezza, but you never know. John Klingberg quarterbacks the power play unit and so far has not lived up to his expectations. The young defenseman has 14 points in the 28 games he has played in with six of them coming when Dallas had the man advantage. Look for Dallas to start scoring a bit more as one by one, they are getting healthier.
Elite Plays
ANA: Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf
DAL: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn
Secondary Plays
ANA: Ryan Kesler, Cam Fowler, Rickard Rakell
DAL: Jason Spezza, John Klingberg, Jiri Hudler
Columbus Blue Jackets at Edmonton Oilers
| Columbus Blue Jackets | Edmonton Oilers | ||||||||
 | Sergei Bobrovsky |  | Cam Talbot | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 17-5-4 | 15-11-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.31 | 2.12 | 24.60% | 81.40% | Team Stats | 2.97 | 2.68 | 22.40% | 84.80% |
I guess we will get a glimpse of how good the Metropolitan Division really is as we have the fourth place Columbus Blue Jackets who have 38 points facing the co-leaders in the Pacific Division in the form of the Edmonton Oilers who have 35 points. Nick Foligno returns tonight and will go back to the top line with Alexander Wennberg and Brandon Saad. This line has been the most consistent all year as they each have 22 points on the season. The next three players I am going to talk about are all one-off plays but can be paired up as they all skate on the team’s top power play unit. Cam Atkinson leads the team with 27 points in 26 games as skates on the second line with Boone Jenner and Brandon Dubinsky. Atkinson leads the team with 12 power play goals with two short-handed goals thrown in there for good measure. He also has six points over his last five games which isn’t surprising since he is a point-per-game player so far this season. The other forward to look at is Sam Gagner as he gets the tap on the shoulder when the Blue Jackets draw a penalty although he skates on the team’s fourth line. Gagner has six of his 19 points over the last five games and has racked up a total of seven power play points. Zachary Werenski is the defensive play tonight as he has 17 points so far this season while landing second on the team shot chart with 76 of them, which is just one back from Atkinson who leads the team.
The Edmonton Oilers will try to maintain at least a piece of the Pacific Division lead as they are tied with the Anaheim Ducks with 35 points coming into tonight’s action. Columbus has 38 points which would obviously lead this division but is only good enough for fourth place in the tough Metropolitan Division. Connor McDavid continues to lead the league with 12 goals and 27 assists but the problem is that his salary is way up there. You could use Drake Caggiula as cheap otion to try to offset McDavid’s high price as he skates alongside of him at even strength. Milan Lucic rounds out the top line that should get plenty of opportunity here tonight. Leon Draisaitl is my favorite one-off play here as he centers the third line but jumps up with McDavid when the Oilers draw a penalty. Draisaitl has notched five points in the last four games and has 26 on the season with 11 coming with the man advantage. The second line of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Patrick Maroon and Jordan Eberle could be used as a tournament play with Eberle being the only one that is above the half-a-point per game benchmark. Mark Letsetu gets the tap on the shoulder when the Oilers go on the power play and that’s always a good thing when you get to share some ice time with #97. Letsetu has three of his 12 points over the last four games. Andrej Sekera is the flavor of the week on the back line as he and Oscar Klefbom had been taking turns quarterbacking the top power play unit. In all actuality it looks like it doesn’t matter who you select here as their stats look eerily the same until you look at the shot totals. Klefbom leads Sekera in that department by a tally of 73-35 making him the easy choice here.
Elite Plays
CBJ: Alexander Wennberg
EDM: Connor McDavid
Secondary Plays
CBJ: Nick Foligno, Brandon Saad, Cam Atkinson, Zachary Werenski, Sam Gagner
EDM: Milan Lucic, Leon Draisaitl, Jordan Eberle, Oscar Klefbom, Mark Letestu