NHL Grind Down: Tuesday, March 14th - Page Two
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Dallas Stars at Edmonton Oilers
| Dallas Stars | Edmonton Oilers | ||||||||
 | Kari Lehtonen |  | Cam Talbot | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 27-31-10 | 35-24-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.76 | 3.21 | 18.10% | 74.10% | Team Stats | 2.75 | 2.59 | 21.00% | 79.70% |
This one has all the makings of being one of the higher scoring games of the night. With Dallas out of the playoff conversation we can expect head coach Lindy Ruff to shuffle up the lines more than he normally does and tonight is no different. Remie Elie will skate on the top line with Jason Spezza and Tyler Seguin while Jamie Benn will see Jiri Hudler and Cody Eakin as his line mates on the team’s second line. Breaking up the top players on the road makes sense here as the Oilers will have to worry about shutting down two lines as opposed to one. Seguin and Benn are still just one point shy of being point-per-game players as Seguin leads the team with 67 points while Benn’s 63 points in 64 games is more than adequate. The only problem we face here is that the Stars have scored three goals in the last two games and are just 9-19-4 away from the home crowd. The saving grace is that Edmonton has not been much better as they have dropped their last three home games while scoring a grand total of four goals. Esa Lindell continues to play the point when the Stars have the man advantage while John Klingberg remains the better option on the back line as evidence of his eight points over the last eight games.
The Oilers have started to slip over the last 10 games as all they have been able to muster is four wins. Their 79 points is good enough for a seventh place tie with the Nashville Predators in the Western Conference which has Los Angeles as their closest threat of not making the playoffs with 72 points. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl will no doubt be highly owned in your cash games tonight as this duo has a combined 131 points so far this season. They also get the extra minutes on the team’s top power play unit which has Draisaitl leading the team with 10 power play goals. Patrick Maroon is their line mate at even strength but is dumped in favor of second liners Milan Lucic and Jordan Eberle when it comes to pairing players up on the top power play unit. Mark Letestu has appartently been dropped from the top power play unit and all I can say is it’s about time. Anyway, Oscar Klefbom is the choice on the back line as he quarterbacks the team’s top unit when the Stars have the extra attacker. Klefbom has stepped up his game since the promotion as he has responded with eight of his 28 points coming over the last month. Edmonton should be able to improve on their 16-12-4 record in front of the home crowd tonight.
Elite Plays
DAL: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn
EDM: Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl
Secondary Plays
DAL: Jason Spezza, Cody Eakin, John Klingberg
EDM: Jordan Eberle, Milan Lucic, Oscar Klefbom, Patrick Maroon
Buffalo Sabres at San Jose Sharks
| Buffalo Sabres | San Jose Sharks | ||||||||
 | Robin Lehner |  | Martin Jones | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 28-29-12 | 41-20-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.54 | 2.82 | 23.70% | 76.30% | Team Stats | 2.76 | 2.33 | 16.50% | 81.90% |
Buffalo is another team that has squandered their playoff chances by playing less than stellar hockey over the last 10 games. Two wins all the team could muster as their 68 points is eight points away from the Toronto Maple Leafs who occupy the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. That’s only four wins when you think about it so you can see why the last 10 games kind of did the Sabres in. Nonetheless they still have players that can score and will look to play spoiler in the upcoming weeks. Kyle Okposo continues to be sidelined with an injury which means that Jack Eichel and company will have their work cut out for them tonight here in Los Angeles. Eichel leads the team with 47 points while centering Sam Reinhart and Matt Moulson. It is up to San Jose as to which line they want to shut down but if it were me, I’d choose this one. Ryan O’Reilly and Evander Kane skate on the team’s other scoring line with Justin Bailey and could get a few more scoring chances if San Jose elects to try to shut down the Eichel line. O’Reilly and Kane have grabbed a combined 15 points over the last seven games so it’s really up to the Sharks as who they think won’t be able to beat them as badly with a secondary defensive line. Rasmus Ristolainen is the choice from the back line as he has seen 24 of his 43 points come with the extra attacker. He also logs over 27 minutes of ice time on a nightly basis which of course translates into more scoring opportunities.
The Sharks lead the Pacific Division with 89 points as they look to build on their 22-8-4 record in front of the home crowd tonight. I have a feeling that San Jose’s top five players will be used in a lot of cash games tonight as although the Sabres are a better team than last year, they haven’t elevated high enough to play with the better teams, especially on the road. Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton and Jannik Hansen will patrol the first line while Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau and Mikkel Boedker get the seond line duties. Pavelski, Thornton, Couture and Marlau find themselves in the top five on the team where the scoring is concerned as they maike up 80% of the team’s top power play unit. Pavelski leads the bunch with 61 points while Marleau is on the low end with 23 goals and 16 assists. Defenseman Brent Burns leads the team with 27 goals and 43 assists and should be in your line up tonight regardless of cost. His upside is much greater than any other defenseman in the league as his 70 points ranks sixth in the league.
Elite Plays
BUF: Jack Eichel
SJ: Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski
Secondary Plays
BUF: Ryan O’Reilly, Sam Reinhart, Rasmus Ristolainen, Evander Kane
SJ: Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton
Arizona Coyotes at Los Angeles Kings
| Arizona Coyotes | Los Angeles Kings | ||||||||
 | Louis Domingue |  | Ben Bishop | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 25-35-8 | 33-29-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.35 | 3.18 | 15.10% | 78.10% | Team Stats | 2.46 | 2.48 | 19.20% | 84.70% |
The Coyotes come into this one on a two game winning streak as they have beaten both New Jersey and Colorado over the last four days. Those teams cannot be confused with good teams as they run out one scoring line at best which is why they are a combined 3-15-2 over the last 10 games. Take out the two losses to Arizona and those teams have just one win over the last nine games. Max Domi, Christian Dvorak and Radim Vrbata give the team their best chance to score but could be heavily blanketed, much like what the snow has done to the northeast this morning. Brendan Perlini skates on the team’s second line with Jordan Martinook and Tobias Rieder. Martinook has grabbed eight points in the last 14 games and is very cheap, puntable even, especially if you are looking to get Brent Burns in your line up tonight. Arizona doesn’t score too many goals but has managed to light the lamp 16 times in their last six games. Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Alex Goligoski take over from the blue line when the Coyotes have the man advantage. Goligoski is surely the cheaper option here and may be worth a punt as he has grabbed eight of his 27 points over the last month.
The Kings had a tough time with the St Louis Blues last night as the 3-1 loss now has them five points away from them and the eighth spot in the Western Conference. A win here is needed if they want to try to keep pace with the St Louis hockey club, otherwise they will be golfing in a month. Anze Kopitar will lead the charge from the top line while Jeff Carter looks to be the much safer play as he leads the team with 31 goals and 59 points. Carter centers Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson while Kopitar gets the ‘Geritol Crew’ with Marian Gaborik and Jarome Iginla when he lines up to take an even strength face off. Pearson leads the team with 12 points over the last 13 games while both Carter and Kopitar have collected eight points apiece over that same time frame. The Kings fired 39 shots on goal last night and if they can manage 75% of that number tonight they should win the game going away. Drew Doughty and Jake Muzzin man the points on the top power play unit but it’s been our old buddy Alec Martinez resurfacing from the defensive depths of hell to lead the team with six points over the last six games. Arizona has given up 217 goals so far this season and that number should continue to grow tonight.
Elite Plays
ARZ: None
LAK: Jeff Carter
Secondary Plays
ARZ: Radim Vrbata, Max Domi, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Alex Goligoski
LAK: Anze Kopitar, Tanner Pearson, Tyler Toffoli, Drew Doughty