NHL Grind Down: Tuesday, February 16th

by John Britt (jmbwngfn) Last Updated 2016-02-18 02:39:37

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.

Note: As always, if you want to try a new DFS site, be sure to click through a RotoGrinders link and use our DraftKings promo code and FanDuel promo code to receive the best perks in the industry.

Philadelphia Flyers at New Jersey Devils – 07:00 PM EST

Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Philadelphia Flyers					New Jersey Devils
			Steve Mason					Cory Schneider
			Record					Record
			24-21-10					29-21-7
Team Stats	2.35	2.60	17.90%	78.40%	Team Stats	2.19	2.18	21.50%	82.90%

The Flyers dropped an intense battle against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Saturday afternoon and, after losing five of their last six games, are likely destined to become “sellers” at the approaching trade deadline. A five game road trip will continue for them tonight in New Jersey where they’ll face the Devils for the third time this season having lost two of the first three meetings. With New Jersey being the slowest paced team in the NHL and focused on clogging up the nuetral zone, it’s tough to get too excited about this game on a busy eight game schedule. WIth that said, the Flyers top line of Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek and Wayne Simmonds is one of the most dangerous lines in the NHL and can’t be overlooked. They’ve combined for eight goals and 14 assists in eight games since the All-Star break and join forces on the top power-play unit as well. Brayden Schenn has seen his name on the rumor mill lately and the Flyers may look to showcase the former 5th overall pick in the coming weeks. He’ll see a healthy dose of playing time alongside Giroux, Voracek and Simmonds on the top power-play unit and is worth a look as a GPP flier. On defense, Shayne Gostisbehere just continues to produce offensively. He picked up another assist on Sunday to extend his scoring streak to 12 games and has now racked up 31 points in 37 games this season. He’s notched a goal and an assist in the two prior meetings with New Jersey and his asking price has lagged behind his production on several sites. Just tread carefully as the Devils have not allowed an opponent to top three goals in any of their last 13 games.

Fresh off of an impressive 1-0 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday, the Devils have no won three straight games and their 8-2-2 record in their last 12 games has pushed them firmly into the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference. They’ll look to keep things rolling tonight the division rival Philadelphia Flyers who they just defeated over the weekend. While they’ve been one of the league’s biggest surprises to this point in the season, they don’t have too much fantasy appeal. Michael Cammalleri practiced with the team and there are some rumblings that he’ll return to the lineup tonight, which would be a significant boost for a team with very little offensive firepower. Lee Stempniak leads the team with 40 points with 57 games and is joined by Adam Henrique and Joseph Blandisi (assuming Cammalleri is not ready to return) on the top line. All three also see a healthy dose of playing time on the man advantage with should bode well for them considering the Flyers ugly 78.4% penalty kill. Alternatively, Travis Zajac and Kyle Palmieri are a dangerous tandem on the second line and also see plenty of run on the power-play. Palmieri has torched the Flyers for two goals and three assists in their first three meetings and has already topped 20 goals this season for the first time in his young career.

Philadelphia Flyers

CF%: 49.5, CP60: 112.8, 5×5 Differential: 0
Elite Options: Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds, Shayne Gostisbehere
Secondary Options: Brayden Schenn, Mark Streit

New Jersey Devils

CF%: 46.5, CP60: 90.6, 5×5 Differential: -5
Elite Options: None
Secondary Options: Adam Henrique, Lee Stempniak, Travis Zajac, Kyle Palmieri, Michael Cammalleri (if healthy)

Winnipeg Jets at Carolina Hurricanes – 07:00 PM EST

Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Winnipeg Jets					Carolina Hurricanes
			Ondrej Pavelec					Eddie Lack
			Record					Record
			25-27-3					25-21-10
Team Stats	2.55	2.87	16.10%	77.80%	Team Stats	2.45	2.61	16.30%	81.00%

The Jets picked up a shootout victory in Edmonton on Saturday, but they’ll take the ice tonight sitting in last place of the Central Division and will almost certainly on the selling side of things at the trade deadline in two weeks. They’ll head to Raleigh to battle the Hurricanes this evening and Carolina has not only allowed an NHL low 26.8 SA/G this season but have also racked up the most takeaways by a fairly wide margin making this a very tough matchup. Blake Wheeler leads the club with 52 points in 55 games and headlines the top line alongside Bryan Little and the talented Nikolaj Ehlers. Ehlers has racked up seven goals and added five assists over his last 13 games and considering his bargain price-tag across the industry is an intriguing value play. The newly signed Dustin Byfuglien dished out a pair of assists against Carolina in their first meeting and is the NHL’s version of a 5-tool player as he can rack up fantasy points in numerous ways. He’s poured in four goals and five assists in his last eight games and routinely flirts with 25+ minutes of ice-time per game.

After back-to-back 2-1 shootout losses, the Hurricanes finally broke out with a six goal performance in winning effort against the New York Islanders on Saturday. Carolina has averaged just 2.45 goals per game this season and now have six players with 30+ points, but none owning more than 34 (Justin Faulk). The balanced scoring attack pleases Bill Peters behind the bench, but makes them very unfriendly to daily fantasy players. However, with the Winnipeg Jets being the second most penalized team in the NHL this season and sporting an ugly 77.8% penalty kill, you wouldn’t be doing your due diligence if you didn’t give the Carolina power-play a thorough examination. Justin Faulk has already tallied 12 power-play goals this season but has missed the last two games and his status is once again in doubt this evening. Last year’s 5th overall draft pick Noah Hanifin scored his second career NHL goal on Saturday and would inherit the reigns on the point of the top power-play unit if Faulk is forced out once again. Up front, Kris Versteeg has tallied eight goals and 16 assists in 27 games at the PNC Arena this season and Eric Staal, Victor Rask and Elias Lindholm on the top power-play unit. Jordan Staal centers the second power-play unit and is fresh off of a two-assist game on Saturday. He’s quietly racked up five goals and 13 assists (and a +14) in his last 16 games and still tends to fly under the radar on a nightly basis.

Winnipeg Jets

CF%: 52.1, CP60: 107.3, 5×5 Differential: 3
Elite Options: Blake Wheeler, Dustin Byfuglien
Secondary Options: Andrew Ladd, Bryan Little, Nikolaj Ehlers, Mathieu Perreault

Carolina Hurricanes

CF%: 52.9, CP60: 106.6, 5×5 Differential: -8
Elite Options: Jordan Staal, Justin Faulk (if healthy)
Secondary Options: Kris Versteeg, Eric Staal, Victor Rask, Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin

Boston Bruins at Columbus Blue Jackets – 07:00 PM EST

Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Boston Bruins					Columbus Blue Jackets
			Tuukka Rask					Joonas Korpisalo
			Record					Record
			30-20-6					23-28-6
Team Stats	3.00	2.79	22.60%	83.00%	Team Stats	2.53	3.07	17.50%	79.80%

While their defense has been suspect at times lately, the Bruins have still posted an impressive 9-4-1 record in their last 14 games and own an impressive 18-6-3 road record this season. They have a tremendous matchup on tap tonight against a Columbus team that has allowed 3.07 goals per game and who they defeated in their only previous meeting this season. Offensively, Brad Marchand is weilding one of the hottest sticks in the NHL and has now scored at least one goal in every game since the All-Star break and has now racked up 13 goals in the last 13 games. With his partner-in-crime Patrice Bergeron unlikely to suit up once again tonight, he’ll likely be joined by Ryan Spooner and Brett Connolly at even strength while also centering the second power-play unit. David Krejci has racked up two goals and nine assists in his last ten games remains very reasonably priced across the industry. On defense, both Torey Krug and Zdeno Chara deserve your attention. Krug has taken some heat lately from Boston fans for occassional defensive lapses but his offensive potential is undeniable. He’s been quiet lately but his 1.8% shooting percentage is simply unsustainably low and his 169 SOG is tied with Erik Karlsson for the 4th most among defensemen in the league this season. On the other hand, Chara has posted 20 points in 27 road games and his size presents a matchup problem for the Blue Jackets.

For the second straight season it looks like the Blue Jackets are going to be unable to dig themselves out of an early season hole despite playing very well in the second half of the season. Despite posting a 6-2-0 record over their last eight games, they still find themselves in the cellar of the Metropolitan Division with almost no chance of forcing their way into the playoff picture. They’ll face a very solid Boston Bruins team tonight in Columbus and while Boston may be favored, ignoring some of their recent defensive lapses could prove to be dangerous. The Blue Jackets are led by two very capable forward lines and it looks like they’ll catch a nice break as they avoid the tough matchup opposite Patrice Bergeron. Scott Hartnell, Cam Atkinson and Brandon Saad are tied atop the team leaderboard with 37 points with Saad and Harnell joining Alexander Wenneberg on one line and Atkinson skating alongside Boone Jenner and Brandon Dubinsky on another. On defense, Seth Jones has benefited from the trade to Nashville as the former first round pick has racked up ten assists in 16 games with the Blue Jackets and is averaging nearly five full extra minutes of ice-time per game with his new team.

Boston Bruins

CF%: 49.1, CP60: 110.7, 5×5 Differential: 5
Elite Options: Brad Marchand, David Krejci, Zdeno Chara, Torey Krug
Secondary Options: Loui Eriksson, Ryan Spooner, Matt Beleskey

Columbus Blue Jackets

CF%: 47.7, CP60: 108.2, 5×5 Differential: -12
Elite Options: None
Secondary Options: Scott Hartnell, Brandon Saad, Brandon Dubinsky, Cam Atkinson, Seth Jones

Los Angeles Kings at Washington Capitals – 07:00 PM EST

Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Los Angeles Kings					Washington Capitals
			Jhonas Enroth					Braden Holtby
			Record					Record
			33-19-3					40-10-4
Team Stats	2.75	2.35	23.10%	81.60%	Team Stats	3.30	2.30	24.40%	83.70%

It’s been almost a month since the Los Angeles Kings have picked up consecutive victories and they’ll now limp into Washington to battle the NHL leading Capitals with their lead in the Pacific Division as small as it’s been since Halloweeen. Washington has posted a ridiculous 20-4-2 record at the Verizon Center with Braden Holtby owning a sparkling 1.99 GAA on home ice, leaving even a terrific team like the Kings as GPP only options for me in this matchup. Anze Kopitar headlines the top line and has racked up a team high 50 points in 55 games. Milan Lucic joins him on the top line and has posted two goals and four assists in the last four games. Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli give Darryl Sutter a terrific secondary scoring option and both players join Kopitar on the top power-play. That power-play has been on fire since the All-Star break; converting on eight of their 18 chances. Drew Doughty and Jake Muzzin join those three as the point men of the top power-play and are the two blue-liners that should be on your radar. However, I’ll reiterate that this does not look like the time to grab exposure to the Kings in cash games.

The Capitals will return home tonight with a chip on their shoulder after being out played a bit in Dallas on Saturday and will look to send the rest of the NHL a message in what could be a Stanley Cup preview against the Los Angeles Kings. The Capitals own an absurd 40-10-4 record on the season and have only lost back-to-back games on two occassions this season. While squaring off against Anze Kopitar is less than ideal, Alex Ovechkin remains one of the premier plays of the evening. The Russian sniper has scored goals in four straight games (six total goals) and has lit the lamop 19 times in 24 home games. He’ll once again be joined by both Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie both at full strenth and on the power-play making both players fine options as well. Evgeny Kuznetsov still somewhat surprisingly leads this team with 56 points in 54 games and figures to see more favorable matchups with the Kopitar line focused on slowing down Mr. Ovechkin. John Carlson is their workhorse defenseman and will put a three-game scoring streak on the line. He’s locked into big minutes on point of their lethal #1 power-play unit and is easily the top defensive option from this team.

Los Angeles Kings

CF%: 56.3, CP60: 110.6, 5×5 Differential: 4
Elite Options: None
Secondary Options: Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli, Drew Doughty, Jake Muzzin

Washington Capitals

CF%: 50.4, CP60: 108.7, 5×5 Differential: 35
Elite Options: Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov
Secondary Options: T.J. Oshie, Justin Williams, John Carlson, Matt Niskanen

San Jose Sharks at Tampa Bay Lightning – 07:30 PM EST

Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
San Jose Sharks					Tampa Bay Lightning
			Martin Jones					Ben Bishop
			Record					Record
			29-20-5					30-21-4
Team Stats	2.93	2.67	23.00%	80.50%	Team Stats	2.64	2.40	18.60%	82.50%

Despite outshooting the Lightning 34-20 in their only previous meeting, the Sharks dropped a 4-3 decision at the Shark Tank and will be out for retribution this evening in Tampa. San Jose has turned things on lately, going 11-2-3 over their last 16 games to finally get within striking distance of the division leading Los Angeles Kings. They’ll look to improve upon their very impressive 18-8-2 road record this season as they kick off what looks to be a very difficult five-game road trip. With Logan Couture finally back up to full speed, Peter DeBoer now has three very dangerous forward lines at his disposal. Joe Pavelski leads the charge with 53 points in 54 games and has the luxury of receiving passes from Joe Thornton both at even strength and on the top power-play unit. It took awhile for Couture to get going, but he’s now tallied two goals and six assists during his current four game scoring streak and has the luxury of joining Pavelski and Thornton up-front on that #1 power-play unit. On defense, Brent Burns is a special talent. The big man has picked up a pair of points in each of the last two games and has now racked up 18 goals and 30 assists in 54 games. If that’s not enough, his 231 SOG trails only Alex Ovechkin in the entire NHL. While the matchup is not ideal, he did score a goal and add an assist against Tampa Bay in their first meeting and has one of the highest ceilings among all defenseman.

The Lightning have dropped three of their last four games and slipped into fourth place in the Atlantic Division, so John Cooper will be expecting his team to come out of the gates with some intensity tonight against the visiting San Jose Sharks. While their recent skid is a small concern, the Lightning have posted a 11-4-0 record over their last 15 games and been far more productive at Amalie Arena where they own a 18-9-2 home record. While Logan Couture is known for his terrific defense, the Lightning have two very dangerous forward lines so it’ll be tough to tell who Peter DeBoer will choose to deploy him against. Steven Stamkos is the focal point of the top line alongside Vladislav Namestnikov and Ondrej Palat. He’s been somewhat quiet lately but still owns 12 goals and 17 assists in 29 home games and has the upside to help bring home a GPP. Nikita Kucherov leads the Lightning with 48 points in 55 games and has also feasted on home ice, tallying 14 goals and 17 assists in 29 games. He potted a pair of goals against San Jose in their only other meeting this season and has posted 17 goals and 18 assists in his last 29 games after a slow start to the season. Tyler Johnson joins him at both even strength and with the man-advantage and has started to heat up as well. On defense, both Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman will be eager to get a crack at San Jose’s mediocre 80.5% penalty kill. Hedman looks like a potential Norris Trophy contender in the near future and has caught fire down the stretch; posting three goals and 14 assists in his last 15 games.

San Jose Sharks

CF%: 51.1, CP60: 107.4, 5×5 Differential: 3
Elite Options: Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns
Secondary Options: Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, Joel Ward, Marc-Edouard Vlasic

Tampa Bay Lightning

CF%: 52.4, CP60: 105.7, 5×5 Differential: 7
Elite Options: Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman
Secondary Options: Tyler Johnson, Vladislav Namestnikov, Ondrej Palat, Anton Stralman