NHL Grind Down: Tuesday, December 27th
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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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Boston Bruins at Columbus Blue Jackets
| Boston Bruins | Columbus Blue Jackets | ||||||||
 | Tuukka Rask |  | Sergei Bobrovsky | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 18-14-4 | 23-5-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.31 | 2.39 | 13.90% | 87.30% | Team Stats | 3.38 | 2.00 | 26.90% | 82.20% |
Before the break the Boston Bruins were 3-4-3 in their last ten games which was good enough to hold on to third place in the Atlantic Division. That’s not bad considering they have only scored 19 goals in their last nine games. David Pastrnak leads the team with 19 goals so it was welcome relief to get him back on the top line alongside of Patrice Bergeron and team point leader Brad Marchand. This may not matter as the Columbus Blue Jackets have only given up more than two goals in regulation just once during their current 11 game winning streak. Ryan Spponer, David Krejci and David Backes make for a nice GPP stack as they should have some extra room on the ice being the second line on the road. They will also be very under owned as I suspect many folks will actually be on the other side of this game considering what the Blue Jackets have done so far this season. Spooner has collected four points over the last five games while Backes has tallied three points with a team leading 21 shots over that same time period. Defenseman Torey Krug is the play on defense as he runs the top power play unit and has collected five of his 18 points over the last five games. Make no mistake that Columbus should win this game tonight but the Bruins do have enough talent to put some points on the board.
What else can you say about the Blue Jackets? They were playing solid hockey going into the break as they are the only team in the league with 50 points despite only playing 32 games. All of the other division leaders have played at least two more games which bodes extremely well for Columbus moving forward. Brandon Saad, Alexander Wennberg and Nick Foligno will no doubt be a popular line stack for cash game play tonight as they each have at least 27 points so far this season. Wennberg and Foligno have the edge though as they both play on the team’s top power play unit that has nine goals over the last ten games. Cam Atkinson always makes for a decent one-off play as he not only leads the team in points but has found the score sheet 17 times while skating on the top power play unit with Wennberg and Foligno. Atkinson skates with Boone Jenner and Brandon Dubinsky at even strength which could be used as a GPP stack play tonight. When a team is scoring goals like the Blue Jackets are it seems everyone gets a piece of the pie. Sam Gagner is another good one-off play tonight as he is the fourth forward on the top power play unit and has tallied 14 goals and 12 assists in the 31 games he has played in. Defenseman Zachary Werenski completes the top power play unit who has seen 11 of his 21 points come with the man advantage. Look for Columbus to keep the ball rolling tonight on home ice.
Elite Plays
BOS: David Pastrnak
CBJ: Alexander Wennberg, Cam Atkinson
Secondary Plays
BOS: Torey Krug, Brad Marchand, Ryan Spooner, David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron
CBJ: Nick Foligno, Brandon Saad, Zachary Werenski, Sam Gagner
Pittsburgh Penguins at New Jersey Devils
| Pittsburgh Penguins | New Jersey Devils | ||||||||
 | Matt Murray |  | Cory Schneider | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 22-8-5 | 13-14-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.40 | 2.83 | 22.20% | 79.30% | Team Stats | 2.29 | 2.94 | 15.70% | 82.30% |
Now that the three day Christmas break is over the teams will start to suit up and get back into action. The Penguins will finish their home and home series against the Devils tonight as they will be the away team tonight after winning the first game by a score of 4-1 on home ice Friday night. Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust and Conor Sheary stayed together as one of Pittsburgh’s top scoring lines while Evgeni Malkin centered Chris Kunitz and Patric Hornqvist. The Penguins have scored 121 goals so far this season which is the most in the league so even on the road they will probably have some higher ownership than most of the team’s on the docket tonight. Crosby is in play almost every night as he anchors the top power play unit that has twelve goals in the last eight games as he leads the team in points-per-game with 38 in the 25 games he has suited up for. Malkin and Hornqvist make for a lethal duo as they skate with Crosby when the Penguins have the man advantage. Malkin has two goals and six assists over the last five games to add to his team leading 39 points while Hornqvist has chipped in two goals over that same time period. Phil Kessel makes for a decent one-off play here as the Penguins use him on the third line which effectively gives them almost three different lines that can score at any time. Kessel has registered 14 of his 34 points after the Penguins draw a penalty. Pittsburgh uses their top power play more than almost any other team in the league as they are usually on the ice for at least 75% of any given power play opportunity. Kris Letang and Trevor Daley have been on the sidelines on the back line making Justin Schultz almost impossible not to play every night in the cash game format. He quarterbacks the top power play unit and has seen seven of his 21 points come with the man advantage. If there is a chink in the armor it is probably their 7-6-3 road record but that shouldn’t be a problem after having a few days off.
New Jersey continues to slide in the Metropolitan Division standings as their one win in the last nine games has them just one point above the cellar dwelling New York Islanders. The Devils have scored just 14 goals in those nine games and are in desperate need of finding a way to light the lamp on a more frequent basis. Taylor Hall, Travis Zajac and Mike Cammalleri should be the line to target here on home ice as they should be able to match them up with whatever line head coach John Hynes thinks is the weakest defensive Pittsburgh line. Zajac leads the team in points with 23 while Cammalleri is the team leader in goals with nine. Hall however has the best points-per-game average as he has collected 24 points in the 26 games he has played in. Hall skates with second-liners Adam Henrique and Kyle Palmieri on a power play unit that can only be termed as hit-or-miss at best as they have scored three goals in the last eight games with the man advantage. Both players have two goals and three assists apiece over the last five games. John Moore and Damon Severson are the choices from the blue line with nothing separating them form each other except for maybe salary price as they have similar numbers. Be careful here as the devils are not a high scoring team which is why they sit seventh in a loaded Metropolitan Division.
Elite Plays
PIT: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin
NJ: Taylor Hall
Secondary Plays
PIT: Patric Hornqvist, Phil Kessel, Justin Schultz, Conor Sheary
NJ: Travis Zajac, Mike Cammalleri, Adam Henrique, Kyle Palmieri, Damon Severson
Washington Capitals at New York Islanders
| Washington Capitals | New York Islanders | ||||||||
 | Braden Holtby |  | Jaroslav Halak | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 20-8-4 | 13-14-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.69 | 2.06 | 19.00% | 84.80% | Team Stats | 2.70 | 3.03 | 14.30% | 79.10% |
The Capitals went into the break with a solid 4-0 win over the Lightning and will now look to try to steal one here in Brooklyn. Washington is once again one of the better teams defensively as they have given up just 69 goals in 32 games. Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Justin Williams will probably draw the toughest defensive line the Islanders have which would make Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie and Marcus Johansson a fine play here. It also helps that they along with Ovechkin make up the team’s top power play unit that sees most of the ice time when the Capitals draw a penalty. Backstrom leads the team in assists and points while Ovechkin and Johansson are tied for second on the team with 24 points. Defenseman John Carlson rounds out the top power play unit as he has grabbed two goals and two assists over the last four games which puts him at 17 points on the season while logging the most ice time on the team on a nightly basis. Dmitry Orlov could be used as a punt play here as he has three of his 14 points over the last four games. Look for this to be a close game with the Capitals coming out on top.
The Islanders are just one point away from climbing out of the basement in the tough Metropolitan Division. Going into the break they had an impressive 4-2 win at Boston while taking care of the Buffalo Sabres at home by a score of 5-1 last Friday night. The top line of John Tavares, Josh Bailey and Anders Lee look to be a decent GPP play here as they do have the talent to score some goals but with other higher scoring teams on the slate, there’s no doubt they will be overlooked for the most part. They also take the ice first when the Islanders draw a penalty. Lee has recorded four of his last five points by putting the puck in the net while Bailey has been in a giving mood this holiday season by dishing out four assists over the last five games. Your one-off play here is Ryan Strome as he has skates on the third line but gets the extra time with the man advantage. Strome has netted three goals and has assisted on another over the last five games. The second line of Brock Nelson, Shane Prince and Anthony Beauvillier has been a bit quiet of late so maybe it’s best we leave sleeping dogs lie. Nick Leddy mans the top power play from the back line and has six of his 14 points with the man advantage. Travis Hamonic could be a punt play here as four of his 12 points have come over the last five games. New York seemed to be gaining momentum before the break but playing against Washington tonight will be the tell-tale sign as if it was a flash in the pan or not.
Elite Plays
WSH: Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Ovechkin
NYI: John Tavares
Secondary Plays
WSH: John Carlson, T.J. Oshie, Marcus Johansson, Evgeny Kuznetsov
NYI: Anders Lee, Josh Bailey, Ryan Strome, Nick Leddy
Ottawa Senators at New York Rangers
| Ottawa Senators | New York Rangers | ||||||||
 | Mike Condon |  | Henrik Lundqvist | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 20-11-3 | 23-12-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.50 | 2.59 | 17.60% | 81.70% | Team Stats | 3.25 | 2.44 | 20.00% | 83.50% |
In case you haven’t noticed the Ottawa Senators are quietly sitting in second place in the Atlantic Division just three points away from the first place Montreal Canadiens. Earlier on it was the goaltending that was keeping them in games but now it seems they are starting to get the offense going as well. Ottawa has scored 18 goals in their last five games with Zack Smith leading the way with three goals and three assists in the last four games. Smith skates on a line with Derik Brassard and Mark Stone so it’s no wonder that the 28 year old from Maple Creek has seen an uptick in production. Kyle Turris centers Bobby Ryan and Ryan Dzingel on a line that has a combined four goals and nine assists over the last four games. This is no surprise as Turris leads the team in goals with 12 while equaling that same number on the assist side of the ledger. Mike Hoffman leads the team in shots with 97 of them en route to registering ten goals and 12 assists in the 30 games he has suited up for so far this season. The senators top power play line comes from all three lines as they send out Hoffman, Turris and Stone when they draw a penalty. On defense we always look to Erik Karlsson if we can afford him and with good reason as he leads the team in points with seven goals and 24 assists. Dion Phaneuf has made a semi-comeback since being paired with Karlsson on the top power play unit as he has grabbed three of his fifteen points over the last four games. The Rangers have to get back on track as they have given up seven goals in each of their last two games so maybe Ottawa can catch them while they are cold.
It really doesn’t matter what the final scores are when a team is missing three of its top six forwards due to injury. Rick Nash, Mika Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich have all been on the shelf making it very difficult for the Rangers to have any sense of defensive consistency. They have given up seven goals to each the Penguins and the Wild in their last two games and are hopeful a little break was what they needed to get back on track. Much like the game against Minnesota the top line of Chris Kreider, Derek Stepan and Mats Zuccarello is the line to target here on home ice. This makes sense as not only do they get the extra power play time they also lead the team with a combined six goals and nine assists over the last five games. The second line of Kevin Hayes, J.T. Miller and Michael Grabner all have good statistics but now that they have been relied on to score in the wake of all of the injuries they have just one goal and three assists between them over the last five games. The game gets a lot harder when you are considered as one of the top two lines. Third liner Brandon Pirri is worth a look here as he skates with Kreider and Company when the Rangers draw a penalty. Ryan McDonagh is the play on the back line as he quarterbacks the top power play unit while receiving more than 24 minutes of ice time per game. Stick with the top line tonight.
Elite Plays
OTT: Erik Karlsson
NYR: Chris Kreider
Secondary Plays
OTT: Kyle Turris, Derick Brassard, Mark Stone, Mike Hoffman, Bobby Ryan
NYR: Derek Stepan, Mats Zuccarello, Brandon Pirri, Ryan McDonagh
Buffalo Sabres at Detroit Red Wings
| Buffalo Sabres | Detroit Red Wings | ||||||||
 | Robin Lehner |  | Petr Mrazek | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 12-13-8 | 15-15-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.12 | 2.61 | 22.30% | 74.30% | Team Stats | 2.29 | 2.82 | 11.90% | 81.90% |
If there are two teams that could have used a three day break it is the Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings. Buffalo is sitting in the basement of the Atlantic Division thanks to scoring just 71 goals through their first 33 games. The top line of Jack Eichel, Matt Moulson and Kyle Okposo should be the trio that the Red Wings try to shut down as they pose the biggest threat to find the score sheet. Okposo leads the team in goals with nine while Eichel has registered eight points in the 12 games he’s played in thus far. The second line that features Ryan O’Reilly and Sam Reinhart should be the line to target here as Reinhart has had in four of the Sabres’ last nine goals. It seems everywhere that the talented Evander Kane lands he doesn’t fit in the way he should. He has registered three of his 11 points over the last five games from the third line but a talent like this on a team like this should not be playing on the third line. Rasmus Ritolainen is the choice on the back end as he gets to play with Eichel, Okposo, O’Reilly and Reinhart when the Sabres draw a penalty. He has chalked up four points over the last five games and has seen 13 of his team leading 23 points come with the man advantage. Buffalo doesn’t score much but when they do it’s usually the players on the power play unit doing the work.
UPDATE
Ryan O’Reilly looks to be out for a while with an emergency appendectomy. Evander Kane will skate with Jack Eichel and Kyle Okposo while Marcus Foligno will skate with Johan Larsson and Sam Reinhart. I’d look to the top line for nothing more than a tournament play tonight.
The Red Wings may be getting back on track as they had won two of their last three games before the Christmas break. They still sit in seventh place in the Atlantic Division but the good news is that they are just three points away from the fourth place Tampa Bay Lightning. Henrik Zetterberg, Anthony Mantha and Tomas Tatar should be the line to target here as they get the first crack on the power play when the Red Wings draw a penalty. This line has five of the last 11 goal Detroit has scored and should be matched up against some of the weaker Buffalo lines tonight. The second line of Gustav Nyquist, Frans Nielsen and Thomas Vanek could be used as a deeper tournament play here as they all can score as evidence of each of them chalking up 18 points so far this season. Dylan Larkin is the one-off here as he leads the team with ten goals while skating with the Zetterberg when the team earns the man advantage. With defenseman Mike Green being tagged as ‘out for a while’ it will be very tough to find a serviceable play on the back line where Detroit is concerned. Niklas Kronwall gets the power play minutes but has just two points in the 21 games he has played in. look for the top line to do some damage tonight.
Elite Plays
BUF: Jack Eichel
DET: Henrik Zetterberg
Secondary Plays
BUF: Kyle Okposo, Rasmus Ristolainen, Sam Reinhart, Ryan O’Reilly
DET: Anthony Mantha, Tomas Tatar, Dylan Larkin, Frans Nielsen