NHL Grind Down: Tuesday, March 28th
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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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Winnipeg Jets at New Jersey Devils
| Winnipeg Jets | New Jersey Devils | ||||||||
 | Connor Hellebuyck |  | Cory Schneider | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 34-35-7 | 27-35-13 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.93 | 3.16 | 18.50% | 76.50% | Team Stats | 2.24 | 2.91 | 18.60% | 79.80% |
The Jets were lucky enough to make two goals hold up for a win over the Vancouver Canucks the other night but that is a tough way to win a hockey game. The good news is that they didn’t give up too many goals which has been problematic all season. Patrik Laine missed the last game but should be ready to add to his team leading 34 goal effort so far this season. Nikolaj Ehlers and Bryan Little will skate with him at even strength while Mark Scheifele will center Blake Wheeler and Mathieu Perreault on the team’s second line. Scheifele leads the team with 76 points while Perreault and Wheeler lead the team with 10 points each over the last seven games. The Jets are basically out of the race for the end of the season tournament and they have been playing like it over the last few games. Dustin Byfuglien is the choice from the back line as he normally soaks up a lot of extra ice time when the Jets draw a penalty. Byfuglien has lit the lamp 12 times so far this season as his 224 shots on goal has him just to points shy of a 50 point season. Keep a check on this as he has been dealing with an injury in which the team said he should be okay for tonight’s game but you never know.
The 2-1 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars on Sunday night put the final nail in the team’s playoff coffin as they join Arizona, Colorado and Vancouver as the four teams who are mathematically out of playoff contention. With Joseph Blandisi ill on Sunday night the Devils opted to go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Taylor Hall, Travis Zajac and Kyle Palmieri skate on the team’s top line and should be the line to at least take a look at for some light cash game play here tonight. I say light because the team has only scored eight goals in their last five games but have a chance to up that total here tonight on home ice against a really bad defensive team. Both Hall and Palmieri have each lit the lamp three times and have assisted on three other goals in the last seven games so if the Devils are going to score, there’s a good chance they will be in on it. On a team that doesn’t score a lot of goals the back line is usually a crapshoot and that’s exactly what we have here. John Moore has been hot of late grabbing four points over the last seven games while Andy Greene has been the anchor on the team’s top power play unit. Meanwhile Damon Severson leads the defensive corps with 31 points this season. I told you it was a mess.
Elite Plays
WIN: Mark Scheifele
NJ: Taylor Hall
Secondary Plays
WIN: Patrik Laine, Blake Wheeler, Bryan Little, Mathieu Perreault, Dustin Byfuglien
NJ: Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac
Buffalo Sabres at Columbus Blue Jackets
| Buffalo Sabres | Columbus Blue Jackets | ||||||||
 | Robin Lehner |  | Sergei Bobrovsky | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 32-32-12 | 48-19-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.49 | 2.75 | 24.50% | 77.20% | Team Stats | 3.11 | 2.28 | 20.90% | 83.10% |
It seems a bit odd but the two games that defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen has sat out because of a suspension the Sabres have scored nine goals and racked up two wins. It’s purely coincidence for sure but nonetheless it happened. Buffalo is almost out of the mathematical playoff picture as they look to work towards next season. Kyle Okposo returned to the lineup and skated with Ryan O’Reilly and Tyler Ennis on the top line while Jack Eichel centers Marcus Foligno and Sam Reinhart on the second line. Eichel makes for a decent one-off play here as the youngster has become a point-per-game player with the magic number being 55. Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov has resurfaced in the wake of Ristolainen’s suspension and will assume the point when the Sabres have the power play for at least one more game. His three points in two games looks enticing enough but maybe not here tonight on the road against a tough defensive Columbus team. Although the sabres have scored some goals in the last two games I’m pretty sure that both Florida and Tampa do not resemble the Blue Jackets on the defensive side of things.
Columbus is trying to catch the Washington Capitals for the Metropolitan crown with only eight games left to play. Washington has a three point lead on them as they play each other one more time before the season comes to an end. Oliver Bjorkstrand missed practice again yesterday with an undisclosed illness. This has forced the Blue Jackets to go back to what worked for them best before Bjorkstrand arrived on the scene. Alexander Wennberg, Nick Foligno and Brandon Saad will skate on the top line while Cam Atkinson, Boone Jenner and Brandon Dubinsky skate on the team’s second line. Atkinson gets the extra ice time while skating on the team’s top power play with Wennberg and Foligno. 21 of his team leading 60 points has come with the man advantage which makes him a very lucrative one-off play tonight. Wennberg is second on the scoring chart as his 42 assists leads the team in that category. Sam Gagner is back up on the top power play unit as well and should be an okay punt play here against a tired Buffalo team. Zachary is back as the top play form the back line as he has reasserted himself and now leads the team with six points over the last seven games. he has also racked up 47 points so far this season so grabbing three more in the last eight game isn’t out of the question which would give him a nice 50 point campaign.
Elite Plays
BUF: Jack Eichel
CBJ: Cam Atkinson, Alexander Wennberg
Secondary Plays
BUF: Kyle Okposo, Ryan O’Reilly
CBJ: Nick Foligno, Brandon Saad, Zachary Werenski
Nashville Predators at Boston Bruins
| Nashville Predators | Boston Bruins | ||||||||
 | Pekka Rinne |  | Tuukka Rask | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 39-25-11 | 39-30-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.97 | 2.72 | 20.30% | 80.40% | Team Stats | 2.83 | 2.67 | 21.00% | 84.90% |
Very quietly the Nashville Predators have won seven of their last eight games which has enabled the team to breathe a lot easier where making the playoffs are concerned. Their 89 points has them in third place in the central Division and ranks sixth in overall points in the Conference. This is important because if the fall out of the third spot in the division they will need all the points they can get to qualify as one of the two wild card teams. This is probably a given however as the Los Angeles Kings and their 77 points are 11 behind the Predators which is currently good enough for ninth place in the conference. Viktor Arvidsson, Filip Forsberg and Ryan Johansen will be the line to stop tonight as they each have over 55 points on the season and occupy the top three spots on the Predators scoring chart. James Neal jumps up with the top line on the team’s top power play unit that has fond the back of the net just five times this month. Neal has Kevin Fiala and Calle Jarnkrok as line mates at even strength and could be used here as a deeper tournament play. Defesneman Roman Josi completes the Predators top power play unit from the back line and is certainly in play here. Anytime you can squeeze a defenseman on your roster that has snared 46 points in 66 games you probably do it. Boston has given up nine goals in their last two home games so it will be interesting to see if they can tighten things up here tonight.
Over the past few weeks the Boston Bruins have done a good job of holding onto the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They come into tonight’s game with 84 points with just seven games left on their schedule. The top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Backes should be the line to target here as they will be afforded every opportunity to get the better match ups throughout the night. Marchand has registered 10 points over the last two weeks as he leads the team with 37 goals and 43 assists so far his season. Meanwhile Bergeron leads the team with 217 shots on goal which has yielded 17 goals and 32 assists so far this season. David Pastrnak skates on the second line and joins Bergeron and Marchand on the team’s top power play unit. It is for this reason that Pastrnak makes for a nice one-off here as he leads the team with 10 power play goals to help boost his seasonal total to 64 points in 68 games. David Krejci and Drew Stafford skate with him at even strength although it’s probably best to stick with the top line in your cash game endeavors tonight. Torey Krug is the choice on the back line as he soaks almost all of the extra ice time when the Bruins draw a penalty. Krug’s 48 points is tied for the sixth most points scored from the back line this season. The Bruins should be able to improve on their 19-16 home record against a Nashville team that played last night against the New York Islanders.
Elite Plays
NSH: Filip Forsberg
BOS: Brad Marchand
Secondary Plays
NSH: Viktor Arvidsson, Ryan Johansen, Roman Josi, James Neal
BOS: David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron, Torey Krug, David Krejci
Detroit Red Wings at Carolina Hurricanes
| Detroit Red Wings | Carolina Hurricanes | ||||||||
 | Jimmy Howard |  | Cam Ward | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 31-32-12 | 33-27-14 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.38 | 2.93 | 14.20% | 82.30% | Team Stats | 2.62 | 2.78 | 17.80% | 85.00% |
The Red Wings have a lot of talent but unfortunately have only been getting it together lately as their 6-2 record over the last eight games would suggest. Their overall record of 31-32-12 has the team dead last in the Atlantic Division and although they aren’t mathematically out of the playoffs yet they really have no shot. There’s just too many teams to jump over and too many points to make up for that this late in the game. Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist make for a decent GPP play here as Zetterberg leads the team with 63 points while Tatar’s 23 is tops on the team. In fact this whole line has each registered at least 10 points apiece over the last 10 games. Anthony Mantha, Frans Nielsen and Riley Sheahan skate on the team’s second line while Justin Abdelkader, Dylan Larkin and Andreas Athanasiou get the third line duties. Defenseman Niklas Kronwall missed last night’s 4-3 win over Caolina with an injury which would make Mike Green a decent play here if you can get him on the cheap. This is the second game of a home-and-home with the Hurricanes who will no doubt have a little revenge on their minds tonight.
Carolina still has a shot to get into the end of the season tournament as it looks like they are chasing the Boston Bruins for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They will however have to jump over Tampa Bay and the New York Islanders to get there but the fact remains that they are just four points away from playing some extra hockey in the middle of next month. Carolina will line up with their best player in Jeff Skinner skating with Derek Ryan and Lee Stempniak while Victor Rask is back in the top six as he skates with Elias Lindholm and Sebastian Aho. Both lines could be in play here tonight but I’d still keep Skinner in your back pocket as a one-off as he leads the team with 14 power play points while seeing his 31 goals and 55 points also lead the team in those categories. Lindholm’s 10 points over the last 10 games is second only to Skinner’s 12 so taking him with Rask may be the way to go here tonight. Defenseman Justin Faulk gets the extra time on the power play but Jaccob Slavin hasn’t been doing too bad of late either as he has notched nine of his 33 points over that same 10 game time frame. Look for Carolina to stay competitive here as they try to back into the playoffs.
Elite plays
DET: Henrik Zetterberg
CAR: Jeff Skinner
Secondary Plays
DET: Tomas Tatar, Gustav Nyquist, Frans Nielsen, Mike Green
CAR: Elias Lindholm, Sebastian Aho, Victor Rask, Jordan Staal, Justin Faulk
Ottawa Senators at Philadelphia Flyers
| Ottawa Senators | Philadelphia Flyers | ||||||||
 | Craig Anderson |  | Steve Mason | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 41-25-8 | 35-32-8 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.58 | 2.58 | 17.70% | 80.60% | Team Stats | 2.55 | 2.88 | 19.20% | 79.50% |
Ottawa will look to keep pace with the Montreal Canadiens who are just three points ahead of them for the top spot in the Atlantic Division standings. They do have a game in hand however and need a win here in Philadelphia to have any shot of taking the crown. Zack Smith, Kyle Turris and Bobby Ryan skate on one of the Senators top scoring lines while the return of Mark Stone should have the Flyers shadowing him and Alexandre Burrows and Derick Brassard. Mike Hoffman is the one-off here as he skates on the team’s top power play unit form the third line and has notched 25 of his 55 points with the extra attacker. Hoffman also leads the team with seven point s over the last seven games. Defenseman Erik Karlsson should be one of the better plays on the back line tonight as he leads the team with 67 points so far this season. Stone and Brassard look to be a potent duo here as Stone has accumulated 50 points in 64 games so far this season. The Flyers have been on a run of late so it’s just a matter of whether they feel like keeping their good play up or not.
Philadelphia is doing what they always do this time of year, securing jobs. See, they play just bad enough to not make the playoffs then, they go on to beat teams like Minnesota and Pittsburgh late in the year to secure their spots for next season thus tricking the top brass into not going for any of the better players on the market. Matt Read continues to play on the top line with Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek while Valtteri Filppula centers Jordan Weal and Wayne Simmonds on the team’s second line. Simmonds continues to look for that elusive 30th goal of the season while Voracek leads the team with 57 points. Sean Couturier and Brayden Schenn haven’t been bad from the third line as they have combined for five goals and 10 assists over the last eight games. It looks like Shayne Gostisbehere is starting to break his sophomore slump as he has grabbed six of his 33 points over the last 13 games. Ivan Provorov could be used as a defensive alternative as he skates next to Gostisbehere on the team’s top power play unit. The Flyers have been playing some inspired hockey of late and could give the Senators a run for their money in front of the home crowd tonight.
Elite Plays
OTT: Erik Karlsson
PHL: Jakub Voracek
Secondary Plays
OTT: Kyle Turris, Mike Hoffman, Mark Stone, Derick Brassard, Bobby Ryan
PHL: Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn, Shayne Gostisbehere
Dallas Stars at Montréal Canadiens
| Dallas Stars | Montréal Canadiens | ||||||||
 | Kari Lehtonen |  | Carey Price | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 31-33-11 | 42-24-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.75 | 3.07 | 18.20% | 73.90% | Team Stats | 2.69 | 2.45 | 20.30% | 80.30% |
The Stars have come up with three wins over their last four games and now have their sights on the Atlantic Division leading Montreal Canadiens. Dallas is virtually out of the playoff picture but much like the Flyers, they seem to playing more for job security than anything else. Dallas has been shuffling the lines up lately but seem to have settled on something they like as Jamie Benn, Cody Eakin and Ales Hemsky skate on the top line while Tyler Seguin, Remi Elie and Brett Ritchie skate on the second line. Benn and Seguin are the keys here as they both have 67 or more points so far this season. Jason Spezza now skates on what could be termed as the third line as he has notched five of his 45 points over the last five games. John Klingberg quarterbacks the top power play unit along with Benn, Seguin, Spezza and Eakin. After going four games without a power play goal they connected for both goals in their 2-1 win in New Jersey on Sunday night. Klingberg has grabbed five of his 45 points over the last seven games. It’s probably best to stick with the top power play unit here so if you can only afford one of them make sure you pair either Benn or Seguin with one of their even strength line mates.
Montreal will look to increase their three point lead over the Ottawa Senators in hopes of holding onto the lead in the race for the Atlantic Division crown. Phillip Danault was moved back between Max Pacioretty and Alexander Radulov to try to get them going as the dynamic pair had only registered five points between them over the last seven games. Pacioretty leads the team with 33 goals and 61 points while Radulov’s 33 assists is tops on the team. Tomas Plekanec centers Paul Byron and Brendan Gallagher on the team’s second line while Alex Galchenyuk makes for a decent one-off play from the third line. Galchenyuk has posted three points over the last six games while skating on the team’s top power play unit along with Pacioretty, Radulov and Byron. Shea Weber gets the call to quarterback the team’s top power play unit form the back line as he leads the team with 22 power play points so far this season. Weber has also registered 42 points this season which is third on the team while logging over 25 minutes of ice time on a nightly basis. I’d expect Montreal will what they have been doing all season and that is win the games they have to. They will also look to improve on their 22-11-5 in front of the home crowd tonight.
Elite Plays
DAL: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn
MTL: Max Pacioretty
Secondary Plays
DAL: Jason Spezza, John Klingberg
MTL: Alexander Radulov, Shea Weber, Alex Galchenyuk, Phillip Danault