NHL Grind Down: Tuesday, January 31st
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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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Columbus Blue Jackets at New York Rangers
| Columbus Blue Jackets | New York Rangers | ||||||||
 | Sergei Bobrovsky |  | Henrik Lundqvist | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 32-12-4 | 31-17-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.29 | 2.35 | 24.60% | 83.20% | Team Stats | 3.37 | 2.61 | 20.70% | 82.20% |
These two teams have split their first two meetings with the Columbus loss coming with now departed goaltender Curtis McElhinney as the loser. Both games were played in Ohio so now the venue heads east to Madison Square Garden. Brandon Saad, Nick Foligno and Alexander Wennberg skate on the team’s top line and make a sound choice here for your tournament options. Together they have combined for 124 points so far this season with Saad having the least with 16 goals and 10 assists. Cam Atkinson is the one-off here as he leads the team in scoring with 46 points from the second line. Matt Calvert and Brandon Dubinsky are his line mates which is why they won’t attract the Rangers top defensive unit, leaving them a little bit more room on the ice. Atkinson has also benefited from playing on the top power play unit as 19 of his 46 points have come with the man advantage. Speaking of the top power play unit Sam Gagner is having a fine season as he is part of that unit as well. His 14 goals and 19 assists has him fifth on the team in scoring. Zachary Werenski and Seth Jones are the options on the back line and either make a decent play here tonight. Werenski gets the top power play minutes while Jones has steadily been finding the score sheet.
The Rangers sit in fourth place in the Metropolitan Division and for the time being seem to be a bit safer than most other teams. Their 63 points has them eight points up on the surging Toronto Maple Leafs but really need to keep winning as we come down the home stretch. The top line of Derek Stepan, Chris Kreider and Mats Zuccarello are the most consistent as they have scored a combined 10 goals and 18 assists over the last 11 games. Meanwhile Michael Grabner and J.T. Miller should be looked at for tournament play as Grabner leads the team with 21 goals while Miller has paced the team with 11 points over the last month. Ryan McDonagh and Nick Holden are the choices from the back line. McDonagh gets most of the power play time while Holden has been very solid of late as his 24 points is just five behind McDonagh. Mika Zibanejad has returned from injury to play alongside of Rick Nash and Pavel Buchnevich and could be used in tournament play. New York gets their scoring from three lines and tonight should be a good test as they face a team that is not only five points ahead of them in the standings but a good defensive team to boot.
Elite Plays
CBJ: Cam Atkinson
NYR: Mats Zuccarello, Derek Stepan
Secondary Plays
CBJ: Nick Foligno, Alexander Wennberg, Brandon Saad, Sam Gagner, Seth Jones
NYR: Chris Kreider, Michael Grabner, J.T. Miller, Ryan McDonagh
Philadelphia Flyers at Carolina Hurricanes
| Philadelphia Flyers | Carolina Hurricanes | ||||||||
 | Steve Mason |  | Cam Ward | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 25-19-6 | 21-20-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.70 | 3.02 | 21.50% | 81.00% | Team Stats | 2.58 | 2.83 | 16.30% | 88.10% |
It’s good to see that head coach Dave Hakstol is finally starting to figure out his team. He has quit messing around with trying to make Sean Couturier a scorer and has dropped him to the third line which means he now has his top five players playing on the top two lines. Claude Giroux is now centering Jakub Voracek and Michael Raffl while Brayden Schenn centers Travis Konecny and the All-Star MVP Wayne Simmonds. The Flyers have won their last three games and look to continue that streak tonight. It may not matter which line you choose tonight as Voracek and Giroux can be just as productive as Schenn and Simmonds as they all see more than 65% of the ice time when the Flyers draw a penalty. Simmonds leads the team in goals with 21 while Voracek’s 44 points is tops on the team. Shayne Gostisbehere continues to get the extra minutes on the power play even though rookie Ivan Provorov has passed him in points by a tally of 22-20. Look for the Flyers to score a few in this one now that they have their lines set the way they should be.
Before the break Carolina went on a five-game losing streak that saw them light the lamp just five times. Conversely they also had given up 23 goals so the scales may seem to be a bit tilted tonight. Jeff Skinner and Victor Rask are the best bets as they skated on the team’s top line as they are the only two players to have over 32 points in the 48 games the Hurricanes have played. Now it appears that Carolina will switch up the lines a bit and go with Skinner skating with Derek Ryan and Lee Stempniak while Rask will skate with Brock McGinn and Teauvo Teravainen. Jordan Staal has seemed to find something over the past few games as he has recorded ten of his 24 points over the last month. The same could be said for McGinn as his ratio is even higher with his nine points representing 75% of the points he has registered so far this season. Either way on a slate like this I would stick with Skinner and Rask as they have been the more consistent players this season. Justin Faulk is the play on the back line as he gets the lion’s share of the ice time when the hurricanes go on the power play. Despite missing seven games Faulk is second on the team with 131 shots on goal while grabbing nine goals and 12 assists.
Elite Plays
PHL: Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds
CAR: Jeff Skinner
Secondary Plays
PHL: Claude Giroux, Brayden Schenn, Ivan Provorov
CAR: Victor Rask, Jordan Staal , Justin Faulk
Nashville Predators at Pittsburgh Penguins
| Nashville Predators | Pittsburgh Penguins | ||||||||
 | Pekka Rinne |  | Matt Murray | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 24-17-8 | 30-13-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.78 | 2.59 | 18.00% | 83.10% | Team Stats | 3.54 | 2.92 | 22.80% | 78.90% |
Thanks to winning seven of their last nine games the Predators have clawed their way back into the playoff hunt as they now have taken over third place by three points over the slumping St Louis Blues in the Central Division. Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen and Viktor Arvidsson skate on the team’s top line but to be truthful, everyone has been pitching in. This is usually the case when team’s go on big winning streaks or win a lot of games in a certain time period. Johansen and Forsberg have paced the team with nine points each over the last 11 games while the whole top line each has 30 points or more so far this season. Mike Fisher and James Neal make for nice one-off plays here as they skate on different lines but join forces with Forberg, Johansen and defenseman Mattias Ekholm when the Predators draw a penalty. If its goals you want then Neal is your guy as he has lit the lamp 17 times in the 40 games he has played in. P.K. Subban has returned from injury and could be a decent play from the back line as he has collected 18 points in 33 games so far this season.
Pittsburgh has done it before and they will do it again. It looks like Evgeni Malkin will not play in tonight’s game which means that Carter Rowney will take his place between Carl Hagelin and Patric Hornqvist. It will be interesting to see how the Penguins shuffle up the top power play unit as they may elect to keep defensemen Justin Schultz on the point even though Kris Letang will return to the lineup tonight. This would leave Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel and Hornqvist as the forwards that should get some opportunity with the man advantage. Conor Sheary and Crosby look to be the chalk here however as Corsby leads the team with 55 points while Sheary has racked up 12 of his 34 points in the last ten games. It’s crazy but Sheary’s 34 points would lead the Colorado Avalanche in scoring while he is fifth on the Penguins scoring chart. Phil Kessel makes for a decent one-off play here as he has racked up a team leading 21 points when the Penguins draw a penalty. Look for the Penguins to omprove on their 20-3-1 record in front of the home crowd tonight.
Elite Plays
NSH: None
PIT: Sidney Crosby
Secondary Plays
NSH: James Neal, Ryan Johansen, Filip Forsberg, Viktor Arvidsson, P.K. Subban, Mike Fisher
PIT: Conor Sheary, Patric Hornqvist, Phil Kessel, Kris Letang
Washington Capitals at New York Islanders
| Washington Capitals | New York Islanders | ||||||||
 | Philipp Grubauer |  | Thomas Greiss | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 33-10-6 | 21-17-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.24 | 2.08 | 20.70% | 85.10% | Team Stats | 2.87 | 2.83 | 14.60% | 80.10% |
Things are getting back to normal for the Washington Capitals as they have the best record in the league with 72 points going into tonight’s action. Both defenseman John Carlson and forward T.J. Oshie will return to the lineup tonight. This will bump Jay Beagle back to the bottom six and restore the top line of Oshie, Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. Ovechkin leads the team with 23 goals while Backstrom does the honors with 34 assists and 47 points. Meanwhile Oshie has been able to find the score sheet 32 times in the 40 games he has suited up for. Before the break Evgeny Kuznetsov was tied with Brad Marchand for the most points over the last month. Both players has 18 to be exact which would make Kuznetsov and his line mates in Marcus Johansson and Justin Williams a line to look at as we head into tournament play tonight. Williams makes for the better pairing though as he has lit the lamp eight times to go along with five assists over the last 13 games. With Carlson back in the mix he is the choice on the back line as he will reclaim his spot on the top power play unit. Matt Niskanen can be used but only if there is a dramatic difference in price.
Right now 56 points is the magic number in the Eastern Conference. Unfortunately for the Islanders they have 51 points and two teams to jump over just to get to the last playoff spot. John Tavares, Anders Lee and Josh Bailey are your best bets here with Tavares making a nice one-off as he has 15 points in the last 12 games. He also leads the team with 40 points through New York’s first 47 games while Bailey has grabbed three goals and seven assists over that same time frame. Nick Leddy is the choice on defense as he soaks up most of the time on the power play from the back line. Leddy has also been on a hot streak of late by finding the score sheet 12 times over the last month. Although Brock Nelson has 24 points to his credit he has only found the score sheet three times in the last 12 games. The Islanders won five of their last six games before the break but tonight may be a little different as they face the best defensive team in the league.
Elite Plays
WSH: Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom
NYI: John Tavares
Secondary Plays
WSH: Evgeny Kuznetsov, T.J. Oshie, Justin Williams, John Carlson
NYI: Nick Leddy. Josh Bailey, Anders Lee, Brock Nelson
New Jersey Devils at Detroit Red Wings
| New Jersey Devils | Detroit Red Wings | ||||||||
 | Cory Schneider |  | Jared Coreau | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 20-21-9 | 20-20-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.20 | 2.84 | 14.30% | 81.30% | Team Stats | 2.39 | 2.94 | 11.10% | 80.70% |
The Devils are in the same boat as Buffalo, Carolina and Detroit in terms of their playoff hopes as their 49 points puts them seven points away from the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. If New Jersey has any hopes of winning this game they will need to rely on Taylor Hall to get things going. In just 40 games Hall leads the team with 31 points while line mate Kyle Palmieri leads the team with 12 of his 28 points coming with the man advantage. Travis Zajac completes the top line while Adam Henrique, Miles Wood and Mike Cammalleri serve as the second line. Both lines get their shot on the power play as the Devils employ a two-line system. Henrique leads the team with 12 goals while Wood has garnered seven of his 11 points over the past month. Damon Severson is the safer bet on the back line as he leads the blue liners with 22 points. Kyle Stollery has seen some time on the power play where he has recorded all three of his points in the eight games he has played in so far this season.
The Red Wings will look to turn things around as they had dropped their last four games before the break. This obviously doesn’t help their playoff chances especially when they were only able to manage five goals in those losses. Detroit will look to Henrik Zetterberg, Anthony Mantha and Gustav Nyquist to pick up the pace if they are to have any shot of making the playoffs. Zetterberg leads the team with 33 points while Thomas Vanek makes for a decent one-off play here with his team leading 12 goals. Vanek has registered 31 points in the 37 games he has suited up for. Frans Nielsen and Andreas Athanasiou will skate with Vanek at even strength and could be viewed as a tournament play tonight. Athanasiou has recorded nine of his 16 points in the last 12 games and may get a chance to improve on those numbers now that he is skating with Vanek and Nielsen. Mike Green is the play on the back line as he sits fifth on the team with 24 points so far this season.
Elite Plays
NJ: None
DET: None
Secondary Plays
NJ: Taylor Hall, Kyle Palmieri, Adam Henrique, Miles Wood, Damon Severson
DET: Henrik Zetterberg, Frans Nielsen, Thomas Vanek, Anthony Mantha, Mike Green