NHL Grind Down: Tuesday, February 28th - Page Two
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Carolina Hurricanes at Florida Panthers
| Carolina Hurricanes | Florida Panthers | ||||||||
 | Cam Ward |  | Roberto Luongo | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 25-25-8 | 28-23-10 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.48 | 2.83 | 16.90% | 86.50% | Team Stats | 2.49 | 2.74 | 16.20% | 85.40% |
Carolina is a much better team at home than they are on the road. The Hurricanes have lost five of their last six games away from home as the look for their eighth road win here in Florida. After scoring the only goal in their 3-1 loss to Calgary on Sunday night Victor Rask is still the free square on FanDuel as his price has jumped up to a whopping $4,100. Yes, I’m being sarcastic and as I mentioned in my Rotoworld.com article on Sunday, this is too low of a price not to take him. He moved up to the top line to skate with Sebastian Aho and Elias Lindholm so look at this line as more of a tournament play as they will no doubt draw the top line Florida has to offer. This would make Jeff Skinner a nice one-off play here as his 20 goals and 40 points leads the team in both categories. Teuvo Teravainen and Lee Stempniak are his even strength line mates while he plays on the top power play unit with Aho, Lindholm and Jordan Staal. Justin Faulk is the defensive choice here as his 25 points leads all Hurricane defensemen in scoring. We have to be careful here as Carolina has scored just eight goals in their last seven games and should be considered as tournament plays only.
After winning five straight road games the Panthers have come home to a house of horrors as they have dropped all three games on their current four game home stand. They will not only try to salvage the home stand but scratch their way back into a playoff spot. Those missed opportunities has found the team three points away from Toronto who owns the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 69 points. The Panthers will look to the top line of Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau and Jaromir Jagr to get the team jump started as they desperately need a win here. Huberdeau has notched 10 points since his return 10 games ago while Barkov leads the team with five goals and seven points in the last seven games. Florida give us two one-offs tonight as Vincent Trocheck leads the team in points from the second line and Jonathan Marchessault skates on the third line at even strength. Marchessault is an interesting play here as he is second on the team with 37 points and has been moved up to the top power play unit with the Barkov line. Defensemen Aaron Ekblad is the defenseman that was knocked off the top power play unit but still has value as his 192 shots on goal leads the team. His 19 points pales in comparison to Keith Yandle and his 32 points as it is Yandle who will remain as the lone defensemen on the top power play unit. Look for Florida to come out with a sense of urgency tonight.
Elite Plays
CAR: Jeff Skinner
FLA: Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov
Secondary Plays
CAR: Sebastian Aho, Victor Rask, Jordan Staal, Justin Faulk
FLA: Jaromir Jagr, Jonathan Marchessault, Keith Yandle, Vincent Trocheck
Edmonton Oilers at St. Louis Blues
| Edmonton Oilers | St. Louis Blues | ||||||||
 | Cam Talbot |  | Jake Allen | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 33-22-8 | 31-25-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.81 | 2.57 | 21.20% | 80.00% | Team Stats | 2.80 | 2.89 | 21.70% | 84.30% |
Edmonton comes into this one tied with Anaheim for second place in the Pacific Division with 74 points and looks to be in good shape in terms of making this year’s playoffs. Connor McDavid is in play on any night as he leads the league with 71 points so far this season. Leon Draisaitl and Patrick Maroon play with the young superstar on the Oilers top line but Draisaitl makes for the better play here as he skates on the top power play with McDavid as well. Draisaitl is second on the team in points with 23 goals and 31 assists making him and McDavid a nice duo in both cash and tournament plays. Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Milan Lucic make up the team’s second scoring line which has yielded six goals and seven assists in the last seven games. Lucic is the only one who gets exposure to McDavid however as he has notched 17 of his 34 points with the extra attacker. Mark Letestu is a cheap punt play here as he comes up from the third line to be the fourth forward when the Oilers draw a penalty. Letestu has grabbed six on his 29 points over the last seven games and has seen seven of his 12 goals come via the power play. Defenseman Oscar Klefbom has been quarterbacking the top power play unit for at least a month now and has notched eight points in the last seven games. The Blues have given up 12 goals in their last four games so I would expect a few goals from the Edmonton tape tonight.
The Blues romance with new head coach Mike Yeo seems to have come to an end as the team has dropped their last three games coming into tonight’s contest. St Louis occupies the last playoff spot in the Western Conference as their 67 points is three points ahead of the ninth place Los Angeles Kings. Jori Lehtera will find himself back on the top line with Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz while the second line will feature Alexander Steen and Paul Stastny with Magnus Paajarvi. Tarasenko is the play here on home ice as he leads the team with 28 goals and 56 points in 61 games so far this season. Tarasenko and Schwartz will pair up with Steen and Stastny when the Blues draw a penalty and that could bode well for the Blues here as Edmonton has given up five power play goals in the last three games. If you need some salary relief look no further than third liners Patrik Berglund and David Perron as the each has recorded six points over the last nine games. Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk has been the subject of a lot of trade rumors over the past week and has been dealt to the Washington Capitals. One would have to assume that Colton Parayko and his big shot from the point will get the first crack at the top power play unit. The Blues should be able to pull out a win here and improve on their 18-10-4 record in front of the home crowd.
Elite Plays
EDM: Connor McDavid
STL: Vladimir Tarasenko
Secondary Plays
EDM: Leon Draisaitl, Jordan Eberle, Oscar Klefbom, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
STL: Jaden Schwartz, Alexander Steen, Paul Stastny
Minnesota Wild at Winnipeg Jets
| Minnesota Wild | Winnipeg Jets | ||||||||
 | Darcy Kuemper |  | Connor Hellebuyck | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 40-14-6 | 28-29-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.31 | 2.31 | 22.60% | 83.20% | Team Stats | 2.89 | 3.14 | 17.70% | 76.70% |
It took Minnesota the extra frame to defeat the Kings last night on home ice as the team had to squeeze a few new pieces into their lineup. Jason Pominville and Zach Parise both missed the game with the mumps and are doubtful to play in tonight’s game. This prompted newly acquired Ryan White to skate on the top line with Nino Niederreiter and Eric Staal while Mikko Koivu centered Jason Zucker and Mikael Granlund. Charlie Coyle dropped down to the third line to skate with Martin Hanzal and Erik Haula. If anything this gives the Wild almost three lines that Winnipeg will have to try and shut down tonight. Even though Minnesota played last night that’s probably not happening as Winnipeg isn’t one of the best defensive teams around. In fact they will probably be the second team to give up 200 goals this season as only the 201 that Dallas has given up is higher than the 199 the Jets have surrendered. Granlund leads the team with 20 goals and 36 assists so getting exposure to him is more than likely the optimal move here. Putting him with Koivu isn’t a bad idea as this duo has combined for 17 points in the last nine games. Niederreiter has picked up the pace a bit as well as he has found the score sheet ten times in the last nine games. Ryan Suter is usually the play from the back line as he soaks up most of the extra ice time when the Wild have the extra attacker. Mathew Dumba may have to be bumped up tonight as he saw just as much power play time as Suter did in last night’s game which isn’t a bad thing as he has 24 points this season compared to Suter’s 33. If Dumba had all the opportunities that have been presented to Suter there’s no doubt he would have a few more points to put on his resume.
Winnipeg has a fairly decent four game road trip as they beat both Montreal and Ottawa before returning home tonight to face a team that had beaten them by a score of 4-2 in this very same building three weeks ago. Winnipeg can usually be counted on for a few goals but will be tested tonight as they face the second best defensive team in the league. Winnipeg’s 62 points leaves them five points shy of the last playoff spot in the Western Conference and should have enough time to make a run if they can win the majority of games on this six game home stand. Nikolaj Ehlers, Bryan Little and Blake Wheeler will skate as one scoring unit while Mark Sheifele, Patrik Laine and Mathieu Perreault will skate in the top six on a second scoring line. It is up to head coach Paul Maurice as to which line he wants to match up with from the other side but will probably end up happening is that both lines will get a shot at one of the Wild’s weaker lines. Laine looks to be an excellent one-off play here as he has collected seven goals and four assists over the last eight games and that’s not even the best part. He has also demonstrated consistency throughout the year as he has found the score sheet 54 times in the 55 games he has played in. Scheifele could make a decent player to pair with him as they both skate on the team’s top power play line along with Nikikolaj Ehlers and Nicolas Petan. I am not sure why we keep seeing Petan on the top power play unit as he did play well in the WHL but the 21 year older has put up just 18 points in his first 68 NHL games. Defenseman Dustin Byfuglien is the play from the back line as he has tallied 11 of his 39 points via the power play. Look for Winnipeg to score a few goals tonight but give up more than they get.
Elite Plays
MIN: Mikael Granlund
WIN: Patrik Laine
Secondary Plays
MIN: Mikko Koivu, Nino Niederreiter, Eric Staal, Ryan Suter, Charlie Coyle
WIN: Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler, Bryan Little, Nikolaj Ehlers, Dustin Byfuglien
Pittsburgh Penguins at Dallas Stars
| Pittsburgh Penguins | Dallas Stars | ||||||||
 | Matt Murray |  | Kari Lehtonen | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 38-14-8 | 24-28-10 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.48 | 2.77 | 21.70% | 80.20% | Team Stats | 2.79 | 3.23 | 18.30% | 73.30% |
Pittsburgh continues to chase Washington for the lead in the Metropolitan Division as their 84 points is just five away from the top slot. Sidney Crosby has been almost unstoppable this season as he has racked up 67 points in just 54 games and should be considered heavily for your cash game play tonight. Chris Kunitz and Jake Guentzel will skate with him on the top line which would make this an easy GPP selection if you choose to do so. Crosby is one of those players that makes everyone on his line better which is why Connor Sheary was able to put up 35 points in the 42 games he played in before his injury. The second part of the Penguins two headed monster would no doubt have to be Evgeni Malkin who has found the score sheet 61 times in the 53 games he has played in. Patric Hornqvist and Carl Hagelin will skate with him at even strength while Hornqvist hits the jackpot by skating with both Crosby and Malkin on the team’s top power play unit. They are joined by third liner Phil Kessel who is the third player on the Penguins roster to eclipse 50 points this season. Unless you want to pair him up with any of his power play line mates it’s probably best to use him as a one-off here as he is exactly what you are looking for, especially on the road against a team that has given up the most goals in the league. Justin Schultz has been quarterbacking the team’s top power play unit form the back line but it has been Kris Letang who has been putting up the points of late. Letang has notched eight of his 34 points over the last eight games while Schultz has found the score sheet 39 times so far this season. It looks pretty even on paper until you realize that Letang has played in just 41 games while Schultz will appear in his 58th game of the season when the puck drops tonight. Look for Pittsburgh to score some goals and be heavily owned in cash game play tonight.
Thanks to winning just three of their last 11 games the Dallas Stars are all but out of the playoff conversation for this season. Their 24-28-10 record yields the team just 58 points which is nine points away from St Louis for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Stars have scored 12 goals in their last three games but basically have the same problems as the Winnipeg Jets have, they have no defense. Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin lead the team with 11 points each over the last nine games while it’s Seguin who has the seasonal edge by a tally of 61-57. They are both one point shy of being point-per-game players so trying to fit one of these guys into your lineup tonight may not be a bad idea if you want to go away from the higher ownership numbers. Benn skates on one line with Cody Eakin and Brett Ritchie while Seguin centers Antoine Roussel and Patrick Sharp. Wait, what? Patrick Sharp is back on a top line and the top power play unit? Has head coach Lindy Ruff lost his mind? Of course I am being sarcastic as Sharp is a good player but it’s difficult to get players on an even keel when they only have been able to play in 36 games all season. Jason Spezza joins Benn, Seguin and Sharp on the top power play unit that has seven goals in the last seven games. Defenseman Esa Lindell has been given a chance to quarterback the top power play unit and has responded with two assists in his last two games. it’s a small sample size for sure so you can either stick with John Klingberg or the guy who is getting a lot of exposure to the better players on the team.
Elite Plays
PIT: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin
DAL: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn
Secondary Plays
PIT: Phil Kessel, Patric Hornqvist, Jake Guentzel, Kris Letang, Justin Schultz
DAL: Jason Spezza, John Klingberg, Antoine Roussel, Patrick Sharp
Los Angeles Kings at Calgary Flames
| Los Angeles Kings | Calgary Flames | ||||||||
 | Ben Bishop |  | Brian Elliott | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 30-27-5 | 33-26-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.44 | 2.43 | 16.60% | 84.70% | Team Stats | 2.63 | 2.78 | 19.80% | 80.30% |
This could be the biggest game of the night where playoff implications are concerned. The Kings not only trail the Flames by five points for the fourth spot in the Pacific Division, they also are just two points away from the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Ben Bishop will make his first start as a member of the Los Angeles Kings since he came over from Tampa Bay late last week. Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown will have Adrian Kempe as their line mate while the line of Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson will stay together as a unit. The Carter line is the one to target here as they have combined for eight goals and eight assists in the last seven games. Carter is the one-off here as his 55 points leads the team while Pearson’s 38 points is second on the team. Kopitar hasn’t been himself this season as we are used to seeing the 29 year old come in anywhere from 64 to 81 points in any given season. His 35 points in 56 games has him on track for being the worst season of his career as he is used to grabbing seven points over eight games not three in five. Drew Doughty and Jake Muzzin are the choices on the back line and either one can be used here as they both get the extra minutes on the top power play unit. Doughty has notched 13 of his 34 points with the man advantage but don’t be fooled by Muzzin’s stats as he has had all of the golden opportunities that Doughty has been afforded.
It looks like Johnny Gaudreau is getting back in the saddle just in time for the Flames final playoff push as the teams head into the last quarter of the season. Calgary’s 70m points has them in fourth place in the Pacific Division and in seventh place where the playoffs are concerned in the Western Conference. Gaudreau’s eight points in the last five games was good enough to snag him one of the three stars that the NHL awards to the top three players on a weekly basis. He now has elevated his point to 43 in the 53 games he has played in while line mate Sean Monahan would be the logical choice to pair him with as they both skate on the team’s top power play unit. Matthew Tkachuk, Mikael Backlund and Michael Frolik skate on the team’s second line that has combined for four goals and 10 assists in the last five games. They also stay intact to take over for the top power play unit as they almost get equal time serving as the second unit when the Flames have the extra attacker. Troy Brouwer and Kris Versteeg may provide you some salary relief as they come up from the third line to get exposure to Gaudreau on the team’s top power play unit. Defenseman T. J. Brodie completes the top power play unit from the back line but Dougie Hamilton is the guy you want here. Hamilton leads the team with 178 shots on goal that has resulted into 39 points which leads all Calgary defensemen in that category. The Flames look to improve on their 15-14 record in front of the home crowd while at the same time increasing their playoff chances.
Elite Plays
LAK: Jeff Carter
CGY: Johnny Gaudreau
Secondary Plays
LAK: Tanner Pearson, Tyler Toffoli, Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty
CGY: Sean Monahan, Dougie Hamilton, Mikael Backlund, Matthew Tkachuk