NHL Grind Down: Tuesday, December 20th
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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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New York Islanders at Boston Bruins
| New York Islanders | Boston Bruins | ||||||||
 | Jaroslav Halak |  | Tuukka Rask | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 11-14-6 | 17-13-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.58 | 3.13 | 12.80% | 78.10% | Team Stats | 2.30 | 2.36 | 13.10% | 87.30% |
The Islanders come into this one trying to find some sort of identity as they now sit at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division. The cold hard truth is that that they are not a very good team as their 11-14-6 record would indicate. The top line of John Tavares, Anders Lee and Josh Bailey is the scoring line on this team as they are responsible for seven of the last 15 goals the team has scored. Tavares leads the team in scoring with 23 points in 31 games while Brock Nelson is a close second with seven goals and 12 assists. Nelson had been on both the top line and top power play but in an effort to get more offense was shipped to the second line with Shane Prince and Anthony Beauvillier. Ryan Strome joins defenseman Nick Leddy and the Tavares line to form the team’s top unit when the Islanders draw a penalty. Leddy is a decent play from the point because of his power play exposure but Travis Hamonic has registered four of his ten points over the last six games. The Islanders could have a tough time in Boston tonight as they have only two road wins all season which is the lowest in the league.
The Boston Bruins played a gritty game on Sunday as they beat the Los Angeles Kings on home ice by a score of 1-0. The team scoring leader in David Pastrnak had to sit out this one as underwent successful elbow surgery and will be out for tonight’s game as well. This has forced head coach Claude Julien to put Ryan Spooner back in the top six as he skated with David Krejci and David Backes. Not bad company to be in especially when you factor in that he saw three minutes and 44 seconds worth of ice time during the four penalties that the Bruins had drawn. The top line is the line you want here however as Brad Marchand leads the team with 27 points and is joined by Patrice Bergeron and Riley Nash at even strength. Torey Krug is the choice on the back line as he gobbles up most of the power play minutes but Colin Miller saw some meaningful minutes while the team had the man advantage. Miller normally isn’t a good option as Krug leads the defensive corps with a goal and 13 assists. Boston sits in third place in the Atlantic Division and has a very mediocre 8-8 record in front of the home crowd.
Elite Plays
NYI: John Tavares
BOS: Brad Marchand
Secondary Plays
NYI: Anders Lee, Brock Nelson, Josh Bailey, Nick Leddy
BOS: Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, David Backes, Torey Krug
Nashville Predators at New Jersey Devils
| Nashville Predators | New Jersey Devils | ||||||||
 | Juuse Saros |  | Cory Schneider | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 14-12-5 | 12-12-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.84 | 2.77 | 19.40% | 81.00% | Team Stats | 2.32 | 2.94 | 15.30% | 83.50% |
The Predators will head north on the New Jersey Turnpike to face a New Jersey Devils team that is 8-1-2 on home ice. Nashville has been great at home but lousy on the road which could mean an easy win for New Jersey tonight. Ryan Johansen leads the team in points with 21 while linemate James Neal has collected 12 goals to lead the team in that department. Both get ample ice time on the power play and should be looked at for deeper cash game plays tonight. The Devils will try to shut down that line so maybe turning your attention to the line of Colin Wilson, Mike Fisher and Viktor Arvidsson may be the tournament stack here as this line had combined for four goals and seven assists in the four games before last night’s game. Fisher had all of the markers while Arvidsson assisted on four goals and Wilson chipping in with three helpers. Filip Forsberg skates alongside of Mike Ribeiro and Craig Smith on the third line but gets the top minutes when the Predators go on the power play. P.K. Subban did not play last night so going the straight and narrow on the blue line is the way to go here. Roman Josi is second on the team in shots and has seen eight of his 17 points come with the man advantage so far this season.
The Devils need a little bit of home cooking as they try to break their current six game losing streak. Hopefully going up against a tired Nashville team will do the trick as New Jersey is a sparkling 8-1-2 in the friendly confines of the Prudential Center in Newark New Jersey. They have only scored eight goals in the last six games so trying to predict if and where the scoring may be a dauntless task tonight. Taylor Hall skates on the top line with Travis Zajac and Kyle Palmieri as they should be the line to target on home ice tonight. All three land in the top four of the Devils season scoring chart with Zajac leading the way with 23 points while Hall has registered 20 points in just 23 games. Mike Cammalleri and Adam Henrique are the plays on the second line as line late Miles Wood as scored two of his three goals over the last four games. The 21 year old from Buffalo New York is intriguing as this is his first shot at being a top six player and so far seems to adjusting. Damon Severson and John Moore are the choices on the blue line as both get the extra minutes when the devils draw a penalty. Severson has the slight advantage here as he has 16 points in 31 games. Look for New Jersey to score a few tonight against a Nashville team that is 3-9-2 on the road going into Philadelphia last night.
Elite Plays
NSH: None
NJ: Taylor Hall
Secondary Plays
NSH: James Neal, Ryan Johansen, Roman Josi, Filip Forsberg, Mike Fisher
NJ: Travis Zajac, Mike Cammalleri, Damon Severson, Kyle Palmieri
Los Angeles Kings at Columbus Blue Jackets
| Los Angeles Kings | Columbus Blue Jackets | ||||||||
 | Peter Budaj |  | Sergei Bobrovsky | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 16-13-2 | 20-5-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.52 | 2.45 | 15.10% | 83.50% | Team Stats | 3.34 | 2.07 | 27.70% | 81.90% |
The Kings enter game five of their nine game road trip as they go up against one of the hottest teams in the league, the Columbus Blue Jackets. Los Angeles lost a tough game to the Bruins on Sunday as Tuukka Rask saved all 18 shots the Kings were able to put on net in their 1-0 defeat. Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli remains as the best bets on this team as they lead the team in points with 24 and 20 respectively. Toffoli has the hot hand here however as he has two goals and three assists over the last four games. Dwight King joins this duo at even strength but really hasn’t been a factor as he has just ten points so far this season. Marian Gaborik was a healthy scratch on Sunday and hopefully that will help jump start the aging veteran as he had just four points in the nine games he had played since returning from injury. The thought here is that he will go back on the top line Anze Kopitar and Trevor Lewis otherwise Tanner Pearson will stay if he doesn’t. Drew Doughty is the choice on defense as he gets most the top minutes on the team’s top power play unit. Alec Martinez could be another option here as his statistics mirror those of Doughty without getting the top minutes with the man advantage. The Kings will have to bring their ‘A’ game if they want to come away with the win tonight.
The Blue Jackets now own the longest winning streak in the league as the won their ninth game in a row Sunday night in Vancouver by a score of 4-3 in overtime. They return home after a three game Western Canadian road trip to face a team that is currently in the middle of a nine game road trip. Nick Foligno, Alexander Wennberg and Brandon Saad is the line to target here as they are the second to fourth top scorers on the team. Wennberg has recorded 27 points while Foligno has registered 23 points so far this season. Each of them have more than 11 of their points with the man advantage which makes Saad’s 25 points with just one power play point almost remarkable. Cam Atkinson is the one-off here as he leads the team in scoring with 15 of his 31 points coming on the power play. The Blue Jackets have scored eight power play goals in the last six games so this is a good place to start. Boone Jenner and Brandon Dubinsky play alongside Atkinson at even strength but have been struggling this season in terms of where finding the scoresheet is concerned. Sam Gagner comes up from the fourth line to skate with Wennberg, Foligno and Atkinson when the Jackets draw a penalty and for the most part has seemed to be rejuvenated. Ten of his 22 points have come via the power play as he has netted 13 goals to go along with nine assists so far this season. Defenseman Zachary Werenski is having a nice season as he has registered 11 of his 21 points while manning the point on the Blue Jackets top power play unit. This will be an interesting game as Columbus goes for ten in a row against a historically good defensive team.
Elite Plays
LAK: Tyler Toffoli
CBJ: Cam Atkinson, Alexander Wennberg
Secondary Plays
LAK: Jeff Carter, Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, Alec Martinez
CBJ: Nick Foligno, Brandon Saad, Zachary Werenski, Sam Gagner
New York Rangers at Pittsburgh Penguins
| New York Rangers | Pittsburgh Penguins | ||||||||
 | Henrik Lundqvist |  | Matt Murray | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 23-10-1 | 20-7-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.26 | 2.18 | 21.00% | 86.80% | Team Stats | 3.34 | 2.78 | 20.70% | 78.60% |
This could easily be the game of the night as first place in the Metropolitan Division is up for grabs. If the Rangers can pull this one out they will hold a four point lead, if not then the Penguins will pull to within a tie. Henrik Lundqvist had a terrific week as he earned the second star of the week which was hot on the heels of fellow goaltender Antti Raanta earning the same honor just a week ago. The Rangers have only scored 12 goals in the last five games but, backed by that same good goaltending, were able to go 4-1 coming into tonight’s game. The top line of Derek Stepan, Chris Kreider and Mats Zuccarello is the mostly consistent line the Rangers have and will more than likely have the targets on their backs tonight. Rick Nash and Kevin Hayes skated on the second line with J.T. Miller but now with Nash out it looks like sticking with these two could pay the GPP dividends. Hayes leads the team in points with 23 points while Miller is right behind him with nine goals and 13 assists. Ryan McDonagh looks to be the play on the point as he quarterbacks the team’s top power play unit that has scored just two goals over the last six games. Brady Skjei is another option on the back line as he has 15 points in 34 games but has been shooting the puck at bit more lately. The Rangers 11-5 road record is good but is it good enough to beat a Pittsburgh team that has only lost two games in front of the home crowd all year. That is the question.
Maybe it is just a coincidence but after the Penguins got done scoring 39 goals in seven games they able two goals in their last two games without injured defenseman Kris Letang. This is the same old story however as you really want to think the Penguins are down and out but they always come back to life. Pittsburgh has two competent scoring lines so either could be in store for a good match up tonight. Sidney Crosby centers Conor Sheary and Patric Hornqvist while Evgeni Malkin skates in the middle of Carl Hagelin and Phil Kessel. Crosby and Sheary have hooked up for a combined six goals and six assists over the last six games while Hornqvist has just one assist over that same time period. This is odd because Hornqvist plays on the top power play unit with Crosby while Sheary has seen two of his last five points come from playing on the second power play unit. Malkin and Kessel are the plays from the second line as they have registered seven of their combined ten points over the last six games with the man advantage. With Letang out the choices on defense are Justin Schultz or Trevor Daley with Schultz having a slight advantage as he tallied seven points over the last six games while quarterbacking the team’s top power play unit.
UPDATE It looks as though Kessel is back on the third line with Hagelin and Bonino while Kunitz and Rust will skate with Malkin
Elite Plays
NYR: None
PIT: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin
Secondary Plays
NYR: Derek Stepan, Chris Kreider, Jimmy Hayes, Ryan McDonagh, Mats Zuccarello
PIT: Phil Kessel, Patric Hornqvist, Conor Sheary
Buffalo Sabres at Florida Panthers
| Buffalo Sabres | Florida Panthers | ||||||||
 | Robin Lehner |  | Roberto Luongo | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 12-11-7 | 14-13-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.17 | 2.50 | 22.90% | 73.60% | Team Stats | 2.34 | 2.63 | 14.80% | 86.00% |
Slowly but surely the Buffalo Sabres appear to be turning into a better team. Don’t get me wrong, they are still at the bottom of the Atlantic Division with 31 points but are only six points away from third place. The top line that features Jack Eichel and Kyle Okposo has been hot of late as they have a combined eight points while getting double duty on the top power play unit. Matt Moulson joins them at even strength and has kicked in a goal and two assists over that time frame. The second line may be the one to target here as Ryan O’Reilly and Sam Reinhart should get the easier matchup being on the road but both get tapped to play with Eichel and Okposo when the Sabres draw a penalty. Evander Kane makes for an intriguing one-off play here as since his demotion to the fourth line he has led the team with 14 shots over the last four games while lighting the lamp twice and grabbing an assist in the process. Rasmus Ristolainen is the only choice on the back line here as he quarterbacks the team’s top power play unit and has registered 11 of his 21 points while having the man advantage. Florida is usually tough at home so use these guys sparingly in your cash games tonight.
The Florida Panthers have been able to score more than three goals in just two of the last 15 games they have played and while that may not be good to take down a tournament anytime soon there could be some value to be had here. The top line of Jaromir Jagr, Seth Griffith and Aleksander Barkov should be the one to target here as Barkov not only leads the team in points, he also has grabbed five points over the last five games which is the most on the team. Barkov makes for a decent one-off play in cash games while his line mates should be reserved for tournament play only. The second line of Reilly Smith, Vincent Trocheck and Colton Sceviour may provide salary relief but not much else especially on home ice. Trocheck leads the bunch with six points in the 13 home games the Panthers have played while Smith and Sceviour have three apiece. Nothing you really want to hang your hat on if you know what I mean. Aaron Ekblad and Keith Yandle are the choices on the back line and each make for a decent play here. They both see about the same amount of power play ice time with Yandle tallying a goal and 13 assists while Ekblad hase seven goals and three assists so far this season. Ekblad does have the upper hand in the shots-on-goal department by a 109-72 difference. This could be one of the lower scoring games of the night so take heed.
UPDATE Jonathan Marchessault will move onto the top line with Seth Griffith bumping to the second line. Sceviour is the odd man out as he moves to the third line.
Elite Plays
BUF: Jack Eichel
FLA: Aleksander Barkov
Secondary Plays
BUF: Kyle Okposo, Rasmus Ristolainen, Ryan O’Reilly, Sam Reinhart
FLA: Jaromir Jagr, Aaron Ekblad, Keith Yandle, Seth Griffith