NHL Grind Down: Tuesday, March 15th - Page Two
Florida Panthers at Montreal Canadiens – 07:30 PM EDT
| Florida Panthers | Montreal Canadiens | ||||||||
 | Roberto Luongo |  | Mike Condon | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 38-21-9 | |||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.72 | 2.41 | 16.70% | 81.50% | Team Stats | 2.64 | 2.77 | 17.10% | 84.00% |
The Panthers lost in heartbreaking fashion last night as the Islanders scored three times in the third period and put a bow on their comeback win with only 1:39 left in regulation. Those two points would have put Florida back on top of the Atlantic Division, but instead they’re now sitting in third place and staring at the possibilty of opening the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs on the road. They’ll look to get back on track tonight as they head to the Bell Centre to battle a Canadiens team who they defeated 3-1 in their only previous meeting this season. The top line of Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov and Jaromir Jagr has been fantastic (when healthy) all season and supplied the offense in the first meeting between these two teams, but Gerard Gallant has now found a very dangerous secondary scoring line with Jussi Jokinen, Vincent Trocheck and Reilly Smith all rolling. Those three have combined for seven goals, 15 assists and a +9 in just seven games this month and have earned an ample amount of playing time on the second power-play unit. On defense, both Aaron Ekblad and see the lions share of the playing time on the point of the power-play and look like the top options.
It may be a lost season for the Canadiens, but they’ll still have a lot to say in how the Panthers open the first round of the playoffs as these teams will square off three times down the stretch. However, they’ve been a disaster down the stetch and are now riddled with injuries to key perfomers like P.K. Subban, David Desharnais, Brendan Gallagher, Lars Eller and Jeff Petry not to mention the fact that they sent both Tomas Fleischmann and Dale Weise packing prior to the trade deadline. With that in mind, the fantasy options are rather limited especially considering Florida’s defensive prowess this season. On the brightside, Alex Galchenyuk looks to have finally blossomed into the offensive threat the Canadiens’ front office was hoping for when they drafted him third overall in the 2012 draft. The 22 year old has poured in 11 goals and an assist in his last nine games and is clearly thriving alongside Max Pacioretty on the top line. Pacioretty has picked up points in four straight games and is slowly salvaging (at least from a stastical standpoint) a very disappointing season as he now owns 24 goals and 27 assists in 69 games. Subban’s absence is a huge blow to this team, but it does also mean that Andrei Markov should approach 30 minutes of playing time tonight. While he’d oddly yet to light the lamp on home ice this season, he has posted two goals and 13 assists in 19 games since the all-star break and runs things from the ‘Habs top power-play unit.
Florida Panthers
CF%: 48.1, CP60: 97.7, 5×5 Differential: 18
Elite Options: Aleksander Barkov, Jaromir Jagr, Jonathan Huberdeau
Secondary Options: Jussi Jokinen, Vincent Trocheck, Reilly Smith, Aaron Ekblad, Brian Campbell
Montreal Canadiens
CF%: 52.3, CP60: 110, 5×5 Differential: -5
Elite Options: Alex Galchenyuk, Max Pacioretty, Andrei Markov
Secondary Options: Tomas Plekanec, Sven Andrighetto, Mark Barberio
Los Angeles Kings at Dallas Stars – 08:30 PM EDT
| Los Angeles Kings | Dallas Stars | ||||||||
 | Jonathan Quick |  | Kari Lehtonen | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 40-22-5 | 41-20-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.66 | 2.27 | 21.80% | 80.80% | Team Stats | 3.21 | 2.87 | 22.40% | 80.80% |
Despite seeing their once huge lead in the Pacific Division completely disappear, the Kings sent a very strong message to the league last night with a 5-0 victory over the Blackhawks at the United Center. Those two points put them back on top of the surging Anaheim Ducks and they’ll look for another statement victory tonight as they square off against the Central Division leading Dallas Stars. This is a battle between the top two puck possession teams in the NHL by Corsi standards and figures to be quite the coaching chess match. Anze Kopitar looks poised to put this team on his back and carry them down the stretch. The Kings captain leads the team in scoring with 60 points and not only dished out two assists in the first meeting against Dallas, but has also tallied three goals and four assists in six games this month. With a goal in Chicago, his linemate Milan Lucic has now extended his point streak to six games (three goals and five assists in that span) and his toughness will be key for the Kings down the stretch. Jeff Carter was eerily quiet in last night’s game, but Darryl Sutter will need him and Tyler Toffoli find their scoring touch. Drew Doughty and Jake Muzzin have combined for 80 points in 68 games from the Los Angeles blue-line and form a formidable duo on the point of the top power-play unit. While they’re the top options, Alec Martinez is emerging as a consistent producer and can be found at a much more reasonable asking price.
Despite still sitting tied with the St. Louis Blues in the Central Division, things haven’t been easy for the Stars lately as they’ve posted just a 4-5-4 record over their last 13 games. They have yet another tough matchup awaiting them tonight as the Los Angeles Kings invade American Airlines Arena. Lindy Ruff’s decision to split up the duo of Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn was generally viewed as an annoyance by DFS’ers, but it may work in their favor tonight as Darryl Sutter will now have to make a choice on who to lock Anze Kopitar up against. Benn leads the team (and is second in the NHL) with 77 points in 70 games and will likely see the better matchup as Kopitar seems likely to counter the combination of Tyler Seguin and Jason Spezza. Benn has tallied two goals and four assists during his four-game point streak and elevates the fantasy outlook of his new linemates Cody Eakin and Patirck Eaves. John Klingberg will remain in the press-box for tonight’s game, handing Kris Russell and Alex Golisoski plenty of playing time on the man advantage. Russell has picked up four assists in the last four games with his new team and sees a major fantasy boost on sites that reward blocked shots.
Los Angeles Kings
CF%: 56, CP60: 110.2, 5×5 Differential: 15
Elite Options: Anze Kopitar, Milan Lucic, Drew Doughty, Jake Muzzin
Secondary Options: Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli, Kris Versteeg, Alec Martinez
Dallas Stars
CF%: 53, CP60: 116.4, 5×5 Differential: 4
Elite Options: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, Jason Spezza
Secondary Options: Cody Eakin, Patrick Eaves, Ales Hemsky, Alex Goligoski, Kris Russell
Boston Bruins at San Jose Sharks – 10:30 PM EDT
| Boston Bruins | San Jose Sharks | ||||||||
 | Tuukka Rask |  | James Reimer | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 39-23-8 | 38-24-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.99 | 2.67 | 21.60% | 82.20% | Team Stats | 2.94 | 2.59 | 22.20% | 79.40% |
A 7-1-2 record over their last ten games has put the Bruins right into the thick of the race for the Metropolitan Division title, but will have to be at the top of their game to hang on as eight of their next nine games will take place away from the TD Garden in Beantown. The top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Lee Stempniak have been rolling since Stemniak joined the Bruins; combining for eight goals and 12 assists in seven games this month. Both Bergeron and Marchand lit the lamp when these teams squared off earlier this season and are fine options in all formats. Alternatively, David Krejci leads Loui Eriksson and David Pastrnak on a very dangerous secondary scoring line. Eriksson has found the back of the net in back-to-back games and also scored a goal against San Jose in their first meeting. With the Sharks owning just the 23rd ranked penalty kill, both Torey Krug and Zdeno Chara need to be on your radar on defense. Krug has picked up assists in each of the last three games while Boston will need Chara’s pure size to counter the beefed up Sharks.
The Sharks bounced back from a disappointing 3-0 shutout loss to the New Jersey Devils with an inspired 5-2 winning performance against the Washington Capitals on Saturday. They’re still sitting in third place in the suddenly very competitive Pacific Division but, with seven of their next eight games one home ice, two points tonight would set them up nicely for the stretch run. With that said, the Sharks have inexplicably struggled at the Shark Tank this season (13-15-3 home record) and won’t last long come playoff time if they can’t get that turned around. Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton sit tied for the team lead with 66 points and join forces on the top forward line and #1 power-play unit. While they’ll likely be shadowed by Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, they combined for two goals and four assists in the only other meeting against Boston this year. Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau join Thornton and Pavelski on the #1 power-play and deserve your attention as well. Brent Burns trails only Erik Karlsson for the NHL lead in scoring among defensemen and his 288 SOG trails only Alex Ovechkin. Burnsie dished out a pair of assists in that only other meeting against Boston and has racked up five goals and six assists in his last seven games. If you can’t afford his services, Marc-Edouard Vlasic has already posted a career high 39 points this season and sees a very healthy dose of playing time on the point of the second power-play unit.
Boston Bruins
CF%: 48.5, CP60: 110.5, 5×5 Differential: 14
Elite Options: Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand
Secondary Options: David Krejci, Lee Stempniak, Loui Eriksson, Torey Krug, Zdeno Chara
San Jose Sharks
CF%: 51, CP60: 106.7, 5×5 Differential: 14
Elite Options: Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, Brent Burns
Secondary Options: Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau, Tomas Hertl, Marc-Edouard Vlasic