NHL Grind Down: Tuesday, February 7th - Page Two
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Dallas Stars at Toronto Maple Leafs
| Dallas Stars | Toronto Maple Leafs | ||||||||
 | Kari Lehtonen |  | Curtis McElhinney | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 21-22-10 | 24-17-10 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.77 | 3.17 | 17.80% | 73.10% | Team Stats | 3.08 | 2.86 | 23.40% | 83.80% |
With the injury to Jason Spezza the Dallas Stars task of climbing the Central Division standings will be a bit tougher as their 52 points has the team tied for 11th on the Western Conference. Jamie Benn, Patrick Eaves and Cody Eakin will skate on the team’s top line while Tyler Seguin, Antoine Roussel and Brett Ritchie skate on the second line. Benn and Eaves have combined for 11 goals and 11 assists in the last 11 games while Seguin is right behind them with four goals and five assists over that same time frame. All three players are joined by Patrick Sharp on the top power play unit that has scored in five of the last six games. Sharp has been able to tally 12 points in the 27 games he has played in despite not having many opportunities out of the bottom six. Spezza’s injury will give him a chance to prove himself yet again that he rightfully belongs on one of the top two lines. Defenseman John Klingberg plays the point on the top power play unit and has registered 12 of his 31 points with the man advantage. Toronto has given up at least five goals in each of their last four games which includes the six that they gave up to the Stars four games ago.
Toronto has lost four of their last five games with their only win being against the Boston Bruins who happen to be the team they are tied with for third place in the Atlantic Division. If anything the Maple Leafs have been a scrappy team up until this point as they look to make the playoffs for the second time in the past 12 years. Although Auston Matthews leads the team with 24 goals it has been Mitchell Marner who has been the most consistent so far this season. His 31 assists and 45 points pace the Maple Leafs in scoring while his line mates in James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak have each collected 10 points over the last 12 games. Nazem Kadri centers Leo Komarov and William Nylander on the team’s ‘third’ line with Kadri and Nylander being the pairing you may want here on home ice. Kadri’s 13 points in the last 12 games is tied with Marner over that same time frame while Nylander has recorded nine of his 35 points over the last two weeks. Jake Gardiner will get the first shot on point when the Maple Leafs draw a penalty while Nikita Zaitsev gets the second unit duties. Either one is in play tonight as the both have 23 points so far this season.
Elite Plays
DAL: Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin
TOR: Mitchell Marner, Auston Matthews
Secondary Plays
DAL: John Klingberg, Patrick Sharp, Patrick Eaves
TOR: James van Riemsdyk, Nazem Kadri, Tyler Bozak, Nikita Zaitsev
Columbus Blue Jackets at Detroit Red Wings
| Columbus Blue Jackets | Detroit Red Wings | ||||||||
 | Sergei Bobrovsky |  | Petr Mrazek | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 33-13-5 | 22-21-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.29 | 2.47 | 24.30% | 82.30% | Team Stats | 2.42 | 2.92 | 10.90% | 81.20% |
Columbus seems to be pretty safe where the playoffs are concerned as their 71 points has the team tied with Pittsburgh for the second best team in the Eastern Conference. Backed by the top line of Brandon Saad, Alexander Wennberg and Nick Foligno the Blue Jackets have been able to win 33 games so far this season. Wennberg leads the team with 34 assists and 20 power play points as he and Foligno skate on the Blue jackets top line when they draw a penalty. Cam Atkinson is the one-off play here as he skates on the second line with Boone Jenner and Brandon Dubinsky. Atkinson jumps up on the top power play unit where he has collected 19 of his team leading 47 points. Dubinsky could be a nice player to pair with him as he has awoken over the last ten games as evidence of finding the score sheet seven times which upped his season total to six goals and 16 assists. Sam Gagner is enjoying a nice season from the bottom six but he like Atkinson logs the extra minutes on the power play. Gagner has 15 of his 34 points when skating with the man advantage. Zachary Werenski and Seth Jones are the candidates from the blue line. Werenski started the season out on fire but it’s been Jones who leads the team with nine points in the last 10 games.
Detroit has collected 13 points in their last 10 games and that has just been enough to keep them in the playoff conversation. They have had their problems scoring goals as they have found the back of the net just 14 times in the last seven games. Frans Nielsen is now on the shelf which will make the task at hand a bit tougher as we head to the final two months of play. Henrik Zetterberg, Anthony Mantha and Gustav Nyquist will skate on both even strength and power play lines. This should be the line you want to target as they have combined for 20 points over the last 10 games. Riley Sheahan will fill the spot vacated by Nielsen as he will center Tomas Tatar and Dylan Larkin. Tatar has grabbed seven of his 26 points in the last 10 games while Larkin continues to lead the team with 122 shots on goal. Thomas Vanek leads the team with 12 goals which has him tied for 98th in the league just a mere 18 goals from the league leader in Sidney Crosby. Yes, that was a bit of sarcasm there. Mike Green is the play on the back line but it seems that head coach Jeff Blashill will give Brendan Smith a shot on the first power play unit. At the very least, this should allow you to take Smith as a punt play heading into tonight’s contests.
Elite Plays
CBJ: Cam Atkinson
DET: Henrik Zetterberg
Secondary Plays
CBJ: Alexander Wennberg, Nick Foligno, Seth Jones, Brandon Saad
DET: Anthony Mantha, Mike Green, Dylan Larkin, Thomas Vanek
Los Angeles Kings at Tampa Bay Lightning
| Los Angeles Kings | Tampa Bay Lightning | ||||||||
 | Peter Budaj |  | Ben Bishop | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 27-22-4 | 23-24-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.47 | 2.36 | 17.00% | 83.70% | Team Stats | 2.66 | 2.92 | 21.60% | 80.00% |
The Kings got shut out for the sixth time this season and this time it was the Washington Capitals that did the damage by scoring five goals against goaltender Peter Budaj. To say that the Kings are missing the injured Jonathan Quick may be an understatement as they find themselves fighting for one of the last wild card spots in the Western Conference. Jeff Carter, Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli skate on the team’s top line and it will be up to the Tampa defense to try and shut them down. Carter leads the team with 27 goals and 47 points, which would make him a decent one-off against a Tampa bay team that has given up three power play goals in their last three games. Anze Kopitar joins Carter and Pearson on the top power play unit as he centers Marian Gaborik and Dustin Brown on the team’s second line. Kopitar has been red hot of late as his 11 points in the last ten games leads the team in that department. Jake Muzzin has been placed back on the top power play unit but Doughty remains the chalk play here as he is third on the team with 31 points so far this season. The Kings will look to win their sixth game in their last seven tries.
The Lightning have been giving it the ‘good ole college try’ but it has not been enough without their top player in Steven Stamkos. They continue to shuffle up the lines in search of the right combination and now it looks like Tyler Johnson will center Vladislav Namestnikov and Nikita Kucherov on the team’s top line. This should bode well for Johnson as he ranks third on the team with 33 points and now he gets exposure to Kucherov who has collected 47 points in 46 games. Brayden Point will center Jonathan Drouin and Alex Killorn on the second line while brain Boyle and Valtteri Filppula will skate on the third line. Victor Hedman gets snubbed once again as it will be defenseman Anton Stralman who will quarter back the top power play unit that will feature Kucherov and Johnson. Although this will drive Stralman’s ownership up a bit I think I’d still stick with Hedman here as his 41 points in 50 games is second on one of the worst teams in the conference.
Elite Plays
LAK: Jeff Carter
TB: Nikita Kucherov
Secondary Plays
LAK: Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, Tyler Toffoli, Tanner Pearson, Marian Gaborik
TB: Tyler Johnson, Victor Hedman, Jonathan Drouin, Alex Killorn
Minnesota Wild at Winnipeg Jets
| Minnesota Wild | Winnipeg Jets | ||||||||
 | Devan Dubnyk |  | Ondrej Pavelec | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 34-12-5 | 25-26-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.33 | 2.29 | 20.70% | 82.40% | Team Stats | 2.89 | 3.11 | 18.80% | 76.40% |
Even though the Wild have won four of their last five games they still continue to shuffle up the lines in search of the perfect combinations. The top line of Eric Staal, Nino Niederreiter and Alex Tuch could be in play here as maybe the Winnipeg Jets will try to shut down the second line instead. Mikael Granlund, and Jason Zucker have combined for 30 points over the last 12 games while center Mikko Koivu has added four goals and six assists over that same time frame. Granlund’s 17 points has propelled him to the top of the Wild scoring chart with 48 points in 51 games. Charlie Coyle may be moving to center the third line with Zach Parise and Jason Pominville as his line mates. Head coach Bruce Boudreau has indicated that he wanted Coyle to get more than fourth line minutes and this may be the solution to that dilemma. Ryan Suter and Mathew Dumba anchor the top power play unit from the back line. Both have eight points in the last 12 games making either one a decent play here against a Winnipeg team that has given up 19 goals in the last five games.
It’s still a mystery to me as to why a team would not have their top scorer on the top power play unit. Instead mark Scheifele is skating on the second power play line with Nic Petan and Joel Armia. Meanwhile the top line of Nikolaj Ehlers, Bryan Little and Patrik Laine are joined by Scheifele’s line mate in Blake Wheeler to form 80% of the team’s top power play unit. This type of thinking could be one of the reasons that the Jets are sitting in 10th place in the Western Conference. Minnesota has the second toughest defense in the league as evidence of the 119 goals they have given up this season so it may be rough sledding as Winnipeg has won just three of their last eight home games. Scheifele looks like a one-off here as his 14 points over the last 11 games now gives him 53 points in the 52 games he has played in this season. Little has found the spark that he was looking for since being promoted to the top line. Little seems to be keeping pace as his 12 points in the last 11 games has him at 28 points in the 32 games he has suited up for. Dustin Byfuglien is the choice on the back line if you are going with the home team as he has racked up nine of his 34 points over the last two weeks. Winnipeg may have a rough go of it here so I’d use a little caution before clicking that ‘roster button’.
Elite Plays
MIN: Mikael Granlund
WIN: Mark Scheifele
Secondary Plays
MIN: Eric Staal, Jason Zucker, Mikko Koivu, Ryan Suter
WIN: Bryan Little, Patrik Laine, Nikolaj Ehlers, Blake Wheeler, Dustin Byfuglien
Vancouver Canucks at Nashville Predators
| Vancouver Canucks | Nashville Predators | ||||||||
 | Ryan Miller |  | Pekka Rinne | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 23-23-6 | 25-19-8 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.29 | 2.85 | 14.40% | 79.00% | Team Stats | 2.69 | 2.54 | 17.80% | 83.60% |
The Canucks have dropped their last three games and for all intents and purposes have eliminated themselves from the playoff race. Their 52 points have them tied for 11th place in the Western Conference and unless they are the New England Patriots, they basically have no shot to play any games after mid-April. Daniel Sedin, Loui Eriksson and Henrik Sedin skate on the team’s top line but the problem occurs when you realize that Vancouver has lit the lamp just 13 times in the last nine games. The Sedin brothers have combined for 11 points of those 13 goals but will need a power play or two to give them better odds in scoring tonight. Brendan Sutter skates on what could be termed as the third line while Bo Horvat, Sven Baertschi and Alexandre Burrows take the second line duties. Horvat and Baertschi look to make for a decent GPP pairing tonight but only if you make a few lineups. Horvat leads the team with 33 points while Baertschi skates on the top power play unit. Troy Stecher continues to log the most power play minutes with his 14 points leading all Vancouver defensemen in scoring. Yes, this is how bad this team is.
Nashville lost focus in their last game as Detroit came in and shut them out by a score of 1-0 in front of their own fans. They have won six of the last 10 games which has put the team in third place in the Central Division with 58 points. St Louis is right behind them although they have been playing poorly of late which has opened the door for the Predators to walk through. The top line of Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen and Viktor Arvidsson should be the chalk play tonight as they have combined for 11 goals and 13 assists over the last 11 games. They also soak up most of the ice time when Nashville draws a penalty. James Neal leads the team from the third line with 17 goals and is also part of the four man forward top power play unit. Roman Josi has returned from injury to take over his rightful spot on the point when the Predators have the man advantage. Josi leads all Nashville defensemen with 22 points despite playing in just 43 games. The Predators should be able to improve on their 14-6-6 record against a team that is basically dead in the water.
Elite Plays
VAN: None
NSH: Ryan Johansen
Secondary Plays
VAN: Henrik Sedin, Bo Horvat, Daniel Sedin, Sven Baertschi
NSH: Filip Forsberg, James Neal, Viktor Arvidsson, Roman Josi