NHL Grind Down: Tuesday, January 24th
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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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St. Louis Blues at Pittsburgh Penguins
| St. Louis Blues | Pittsburgh Penguins | ||||||||
 | Carter Hutton |  | Matt Murray | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 23-19-5 | 30-11-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.83 | 3.11 | 22.10% | 83.00% | Team Stats | 3.63 | 2.89 | 23.70% | 79.20% |
St Louis has lost five of their last seven games which has put them in a precarious spot where the playoffs are concerned. While it’s true they do hold the last spot in the Western Conference they now have three teams within three points or less hot on their heels. Vladimir Tarasenko is usually the first player we look at where the Blues are concerned. Tarasenko leads the team with 20 goals and 26 assist while skating with a plethora of line mates throughout the season. Jori Lehtera and Jaden Schwartz are the flavors of the week as the Blues try to back on track. Paul Stastny and Alexander Steen will be the line to target tonight as have combined for ten goals and 13 assists over the last ten games. Robby Fabbri will skate on the left wing with them and should be considered for a full line tournament stack tonight. Kevin Shattenkirk is the play from the back line as he anchors a power play unit that has been able to score eight goals in the last nine games. He also is tied with Tarasenko with 18 power play points while his 32 points is good enough for second on the team scoring chart. The Blues will need Steen and Stastny to keep rolling if they want to win against a team that has only lost two games in their own building.
Pittsburgh is hands down the best team when they play in front of the home crowd. Their 20-2-2 record has helped them stay with the pack in the Metropolitan Division as their 65 points is good enough for third place. Kris Letang looks to be out of the line up again tonight but that really hasn’t deterred them as they are 12-2 in games where Justin Schultz has taken over the top spot on the team’s top power play unit. The 26 year old Schultz has already matched his career high 33 points and should add to that total tonight. Sidney Crosby, Conor Sheary and Bryan Rust have been doing a lot of damage lately as Crosby and Sheary have each tallied 12 points over the last eight games. Sheary has flourished by playing next to Crosby as eight of those 12 points have found the back of the net. With all of that excitement going on we can’t forget about Evgeni Malkin who leads the team with 34 assists and is tied with Crosby for the team lead with 54 points. Patric Hornqvist is a good play to pair with Malkin as they both skate on the team’s top power play unit. Phil Kessel is the one-off here as he leads the team with 20 power play points while skating on the third line with Nick Bonino and Carl Hagelin. The Penguins should be one of the heavier owned teams tonight.
Elite Plays
STL: Vladimir Tarasenko
PIT: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin
Secondary Plays
STL: Alexander Steen, Paul Stastny, Kevin Shattenkirk, Jaden Schwartz
PIT: Conor Sheary, Phil Kessel, Justin Schultz, Patric Hornqvist
Columbus Blue Jackets at New York Islanders
| Columbus Blue Jackets | New York Islanders | ||||||||
 | Sergei Bobrovsky |  | Thomas Greiss | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 32-10-4 | 19-17-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.33 | 2.28 | 25.00% | 83.50% | Team Stats | 2.84 | 2.89 | 14.40% | 80.40% |
Going into last night’s action both Columbus and Washington were in a dead heat with 68 points for the top spot across both conferences. The Blue Jackets put their lines back to the way they were when they won 16 games in a row and they promptly went out and scored seven goals in Ottawa on Sunday night. Brandon Saad, Nick Foligno and Alexander Wennberg skate on the top line and should be looked at as an easy tournament play tonight. Saad’s production has finally stalled a little bit as he was right up there with his line mates in scoring without the benefit of playing on the top power play line. Wennberg leads the team with 31 assists and sits in second place on the teams scoring chart with 39 points while Foligno is just two points back with 16 goals and 21 assists. Cam Atkinson is the one-off play here as he leads the team with 45 points in 46 games while skating primarily with Boone Jenner and Brandon Dubinsky. Atkinson’s value is almost immeasurable as 19 of those 45 points have come with the man advantage. Sam Gagner joins in on the fun while skating on the top power play line as well as he has recorded 15 of his 33 points when the Blue Jackets draw a penalty. Gagner gives you some cheaper exposure to a power play that has the ability to score on a nightly basis. Zachary Werenski and Seth Jones are the options on the back line. Jones is clearly getting better from the broken foot he suffered back in November. He has tallied six assists in the last 11 games while Werenski has found the score sheet just three times over that same time period.
This game should be fairly easy to handicap considering that the Islanders are truly a one line team. There are only five players on the team with more than 17 points so far this season and the top line contains three of them. John Tavares is the easy one-off here as he has tallied eight goals and nine points in the last nine games. Meanwhile Josh Bailey leads the team with 24 assists while 17 of the 24 points that Anders Lee has accumulated have ended up being pulled out of the back of the opponents net. It’s no surprise that they also get the lion’s share of the ice time when the Islanders draw a penalty as they are the best players they have. Nick Leddy is the only defenseman to consider here as he is tied with Lee for third place on the teams scoring chart. Leddy is right there with Tavares as he has lit the lamp three times and garnered six assists over the last nine games. If you want to dig deeper then Brock Nelson and Ryan Strome are the next players to look at. Strome gets the extra time on the top power play unit while Nelson’s 23 points are good enough for fifth on the team.
Elite Plays
CBJ: Cam Atkinson
NYI: John Tavares
Secondary Plays
CBJ: Alexander Wennberg, Nick Foligno, Sam Gagner, Seth Jones
NYI: Josh Bailey, Nick Leddy, Anders Lee
Los Angeles Kings at New Jersey Devils
| Los Angeles Kings | New Jersey Devils | ||||||||
 | Jeff Zatkoff |  | Cory Schneider | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 22-21-4 | 20-19-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.48 | 2.48 | 16.70% | 81.90% | Team Stats | 2.23 | 2.79 | 14.30% | 82.50% |
It was a case of too little too late last night as the Kings fell to Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers by a score of 3-2 at Madison Square Garden. Tonight they take the short trek to Newark New Jersey to take on a Devils team that is a respectable 10-7- 3 in front of the home crowd. Meanwhile the Kings are on the outside looking in as they are three points away from the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Jeff Carter makes for an easy one-off play here as he has tallied a team leading 24 goals and 41 points while centering Tanner Pearson and Dustin Brown. Brown has responded somewhat by playing next to the team leader as he has grabbed six of his 21 points in the last ten games. Anze Kopitar looks to be returning to form although the knock on him is that he is still not shooting the puck enough as 21 of his 25 points have been of the helping out variety. Kopitar centers Marian Gaborik and Dwight King who really don’t give the support that most of the second line wingers in the league provide. King has ten points while Gaborik has managed four goals and nine points in the 25 games he has suited up for. Drew Doughty and Jake Muzzin man the points on the team’s top power play that has lit the lamp once in the last five games. Over the last ten games both defensemen have been contributing so if you like the Kings side of things either one wouldn’t be a bad option tonight.
52 points was the number that the teams below the playoff cut line were shooting for going into last night’s action. The Devils record of 20-19-9 has them at 49 points and very much in the conversation if they can get on a nice run. They have won four of their last five games which is surely encouraging and now they catch a Los Angeles team that is playing their third game in four nights on the east coast. Taylor Hall and Kyle Palmieri skate with Travis Zajac on the team’s top line and should be the line to look at for your tournament endeavors tonight. They are on the borderline for cash game play as both hall and Palmieri lead the team with eight points apiece over the last 11 games. Hall could be used as a one-off play in cash games as he has 31 points in the 38 games he has appeared in. Miles Wood has shown enough to the coaches to give him a shot on the second line alongside of Adam Henrique and Mike Cammalleri which means that P.A. Parenteau will drop down to the third line to skate with Pavel Zacha. Wood has chalked up six of his ten points over the last 11 games which is more than likely the reason for the promotion. Damon Severson and Karl Stollery are the choice on the back line with Severson being the safer bet here as he has chalked up 22 points so far this season. Look for the Devils to battle as they normally do and squeak a victory out in front of the home crowd tonight.
Elite Plays
LAK: Jeff Carter
NJ: Taylor Hall
Secondary Plays
LAK: Anze Kopitar, Tanner Pearson, Drew Doughty, Jake Muzzin
NJ: Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac, Mike Cammalleri, Miles Wood
Detroit Red Wings at Boston Bruins
| Detroit Red Wings | Boston Bruins | ||||||||
 | Jared Coreau |  | Tuukka Rask | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 20-19-8 | 23-21-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.43 | 2.89 | 11.30% | 80.80% | Team Stats | 2.42 | 2.54 | 16.90% | 86.60% |
Detroit has been able to stay in the playoff picture by playing mediocre hockey for most of the season. Their 20-19-8 record earns them 48 points which is just four points away from qualifying for the end of the season tournament. Henrik Zetterberg, Gustav Nyquist and Anthony Mantha will lead the team into Boston to try and wrestle away a victory from the third place Bruins. The Red Wings will be without the services of Thomas Vanek and Dylan Larkin as both are injured and look to be out for possibly tomorrow night’s game as well at Toronto. This will leave the second line duties in the hands of Fran Nielsen, Tomas Tatar and Andreas Athanasiou. Zetterberg and Mantha are the best bets from the top line as Zetterberg leads the team with 31 points while Mantha has tallied nine of his 22 points over the last 11 games. The second line looks tempting here as Athanasiou has lit the lamp five times and has added two assists since the turn of the calendar year while his line mates have each found the score sheet seven times in the past 11 games. Mike Green is back on the point when Detroit draws a penalty as he leads the defensive squad with 22 points so far this season. The next closest is Jonathan Ericsson with a measly eight points in the 44 games he has played in. Detroit could catch a break here as Boston goaltender Tuuka Rask is listed as day-to-day after coming out of the last game with migraine issues.
I just about fell out of my chair when I checked what lines the Bruins were running for tonight’s game. After losing the last four games it finally clicked with head coach Claude Julien to put David Pastrnak back on the top line with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron. Marchand has been on fire since January 1st as he has netted seven goals to go along with seven assists which now has him securely at the top of the Bruins scoring chart with 45 points. Pastrnak leads the team with 19 goals while Bergeron has recorded nine of his 21 points in the last 11 games. With numbers like these this line could easily be one of the better plays tonight. Frank Vatrano was dropped to the second line with David Krejci being re-united with David Backes while Tim Schaller was moved out of the top six. Ryan Spooner still gets the time on the top power play unit while skating on the team’s fourth line. Spooner has managed 22 points so far this season despite spending most of his time out of the top six. Defenseman Torey Krug is one of six Bruins to play all 50 games so far this season and is the play on the back line. Krug quarterbacks the top power play unit and has 13 of his 29 points while skating with the man advantage. The Bruins should come away with the win here so don’t hesitate to take any on the top line players.
Elite Plays
DET: None
BOS: Brad Marchand
Secondary Plays
DET: Henrik Zetterberg, Anthony Mantha, Andreas Athanasiou, Frans Nielsen, Mike Green
BOS: David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron, Torey Krug, David Krejci, David Backes
Calgary Flames at Montréal Canadiens
| Calgary Flames | Montréal Canadiens | ||||||||
 | Chad Johnson |  | Carey Price | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 24-23-3 | 28-13-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.61 | 2.78 | 20.60% | 81.30% | Team Stats | 2.98 | 2.50 | 22.40% | 79.80% |
The Flames seemed to have dodged a bullet last night as Johnny Gaudreau was flat out leveled by a clean hit administered by Leo Komarov in last night’s 4-0 loss at Toronto. Luckily Gaudreau would return by the end of the period after getting cleared by team doctors to resume playing. Gaudreau skated on the top line with Sean Monahan and Alex Chiasson with the thinking that that would help Gaudreau get out of his scoring funk. Monahan had been red hot going into the game by grabbing five goals and five assists in the last ten games while Gaudreau has just one goal and four points in the last 11 games he has played in. Calgary holds on to the last playoff spot in the Western Conference and will need the continued production that the second line has provided throughout the season. Mikael Backlund leads the team with 33 points while Matthew Tkachuk continues to work on a fine rookie campaign as he has registered eight of his 30 points over the last 11 games. Michael Frolik completes the second line with 12 goals and 19 assists which out him just one point behind Tkachuk for second place on the Flames scoring chart. Dougie Hamilton is the choice on the back line as he leads the team with 137 shot on goal while finding the score sheet 30 times so far this season. T.J. Brodie and Mark Giordano can also be used as secondary options especially Giordano who is tied with Backlund for the team lead with 12 points with the man advantage.
Alex Galchenyuk has already been ruled out of tonight’s game after re-injuring his knee in the last game against Buffalo. Montreal still leads the Atlantic Division by eight points but Ottawa does have three extra games to play which could make things interesting. Max Pacioretty, Phillip Danault and Alexander Radulov should have no problem slicing through a Calgary team that will play its third game in four nights. All three players have registered nine points over the last 11 games with Pacioretty lighting the lamp six times while Radulov has dished out seven assists. Defensemen Shea Weber and Nathan Beaulieu are right behind them with eight points apiece over those same 11 games. These five players also serve as the team’s top power play unit that has been held scoreless in four of the last five games. Artturi Lehkonen, Paul Byron and Tomas Plekanec could be looked at as a tournament play here but only if you are multi entering and using different line ups. Montreal could score a ton of goals tonight against a Calgary team that could be looking forward to the break.
Elite Plays
CGY: None
MTL: Max Pacioretty, Alexander Radulov
Seconday Plays
CGY: Mikael Backlund, Matthew Tkachuk, Sean Monahan, Johnny Gaudreau, Dougie Hamilton
MTL: Shea Weber, Phillip Danault, Nathan Beaulieu, Artturi Lehkonen