NHL Grind Down: Tuesday, March 29th - Page Two

by John Britt (jmbwngfn) Last Updated 2016-03-29 13:36:23

Chicago Blackhawks at Minnesota Wild – 08:00 PM EDT

Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Chicago Blackhawks					Minnesota Wild
			Scott Darling					Devan Dubnyk
			Record					Record
			44-25-7					37-28-11
Team Stats	2.78	2.45	21.70%	79.20%	Team Stats	2.67	2.46	19.80%	78.40%

The Blackhawks clinched a playoff berth with a win in Vancouver on Sunday but they still sit four points behind both Dallas and St. Louis in the Central Division. With just six games left in the regular season, there’s at least some reason to be concerned about their motivation level as they just look to heal up for what they’re hoping will be another deep playoff run. Patrick Kane picked up another assist on Sunday and now leads the NHL with 94 points and has strong chance to post the first 100 point season of his career. If Artem Anisimov is healed up for tonight’s game he’ll rejoin Kane and Artemi Panarin both at even strength and on the top power-play unit, but if he’s unable to go, it’ll be Teuvo Teravainen taking his place. This would obviously be terrific news for Teravainen as the former first round pick has scored goals in back-to-back games and his offensive abilities are undeniable. While the Toews, Hossa, Ladd line will be asked to handle some added defensive responsibilities tonight, they’re clearly too talented offensively to ignore. On defense, the tandem of Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook soak up nearly all of the available minutes on the point of Chicago’s very dangerous power-play and are the top defensive options here.

The once left-for-dead Minnesota Wild won an enormous game in Colorado on Saturday and have now rattled off five straight wins to take a somewhat commanding lead over the Avalanche for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Tonight, they’ll host a Chicago team that they’ve surprisingly defeated in all four prior meetings this season at the Xcel Energy Center looking to figuratively deliver a knockout blow to Colorado’s playoff chances. While the 2015-16 has been predominately a struggle for Zach Parise offensively, he’s certainly come alive lately with five goals in the last two games. He’ll join Mikko Koivu and Coyle on the top forward line and #1 power-play unit, and while they’ll likely be slated for a full dose of the defensively stout Ladd/Toews/Hossa line, they’re all still very fine options considering the Blackhawks have posted the NHL’s worst penalty kill during the second half of the season. With that poor penalty kill still in mind, Jason Pominville and Nino Niederreiter see a small fantasy bump as well. Those two, along with their linemate Erik Haula, have combined for seven goals and seven assists in the four prior meetings with the Blackhawks and providing plenty of secondary scoring lately. Ryan Suter remains one of the true work-horse defensemen in the league and will put a three game point streak on the line tonight. He’s the catalyst from the point of the #1 power-play unit and is one point shy of the first 50 point season of his impressive career. Jared Spurgeon and Matt Dumba also see a healthy dose of playing time with the man-advantage making them nice secondary options.

Chicago Blackhawks

CF%: 51, CP60: 109.6, 5×5 Differential: -1
Elite Options: Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith
Secondary Options: Artemi Panarin, Teuvo Teravainen, Andrew Ladd, Marian Hossa, Brent Seabrook

Minnesota Wild

CF%: 47.7, CP60: 105.9, 5×5 Differential: 13
Elite Options: Zach Parise, Mikko Koivu, Ryan Suter
Secondary Options: Jason Pominville, Nino Niederreiter, Jared Spurgeon

Colorado Avalanche at St. Louis Blues – 08:00 PM EDT

Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Colorado Avalanche					St. Louis Blues
			Semyon Varlamov					Jake Allen
			Record					Record
			38-33-4					45-22-9
Team Stats	2.61	2.83	18.90%	82.20%	Team Stats	2.61	2.38	21.40%	85.00%

The Avalanche kept their season alive with an impressive 4-3 victory in the Music City last night, but they desperately need to pick up two more points tonight as they head west to St. Louis for tonight’s game. Facing St. Louis has been a nightmare for opposing offenses lately on a good night, but doing so one the second half of back-to-back games and without your two best offensive players (MacKinnon and Duchene) just seems a bit unfair for Patrick Roy’s squad. St. Louis has allowed an NHL low 2.33 goals per game since the All-Star break and have not allowed a single goal in each of their last four games, so tread very carefully with Colorado tonight. With that said, the Avalanche has defeated the Blues in all three previous meetings this season and know that their next loss could be the nail in the coffin for their season. The absence of Duchene and MacKinnon really thins things out up-front for Colorado, but Gabriel Landeskog stepped up in last night’s game and now sits just one goal short of his 4th career 20-goal season. Mikkel Boedker, Carl Soderberg and Jarome Iginla join him on the top power-play unit have flashed plenty of offensive upside lately. Boedker leads the team with nine points in 12 games this month and his days in Arizona have suppressed his asking price a bit across the industry. On defense, Tyson Barrie has secured his spot as the quarterback of the top power-play and has posted an impressive 47 points in 72 games this season. While the Blues’ rock solid 85.0% penalty kill hurts outlook a bit, his upside makes him a strong GPP candidate.

After a statement 4-0 win in our nation’s capital on Saturday, the St. Louis Blues haven’t allowed a single goal in any of their last four games. Ken Hitchock has this team playing its best hockey of the season as they’ve used a 10-2-0 record to pull even with the Dallas Stars atop the Central Division in what will likely be a dogfight in attempt to avoid a first round playoff matchup with the Chicago Blackhawks. The Blues will be ecstatic to welcome Alex Steen back to the ice tonight and his presence gives three very dangerous forward lines to work with. Vladimir Tarsenko scored his 35th goal of the season on Saturday and has now tallied a team high 65 points in 74 games. He’s tallied two goals and an assist in the three prior meeting with Colorado this season and headlines the top forward line alongside Jori Lehtera and Jaden Schwartz. Alex Steen looks poised to join Tarasenko on the top power-play unit and is one of the most underrated players in the NHL. He’s a proven commodity and worth consideration as soon as it’s confirmed he’ll slot back into the lineup tonight. With all that said, the trio of Paul Stastny, Robby Fabbri and Troy Brouwer have been arguably been St. Louis’ best line over the last month. Stastny leads the team with 20 points in 24 games since the break and the rookie Fabbri is just behind with seven goals and 12 assists in those games. Kevin Shattenkirk has proved to be a top option on the blue-line. The former 14th overall pick by these Colorado Avalanche facilitates things from the point of the #1 power-play unit and owns three goals and five assists in 11 games this month. Alex Pietrangelo and Colton Parayko also see a healthy dose of playing time with the second power-play unit and are fine secondary options on the blue-line.

Colorado Avalanche

CF%: 44.3, CP60: 111.2, 5×5 Differential: -11
Elite Options: None
Secondary Options: Carl Soderberg, Gabriel Landeskog, Jarome Iginla, Mikkel Boedker, Tyson Barrie

St. Louis Blues

CF%: 51.8, CP60: 106.7, 5×5 Differential: 17
Elite Options: Vladimir Tarasenko, Jaden Schwartz, Kevin Shattenkirk
Secondary Options: Paul Stastny, Jori Lehtera, Robby Fabbri, Alex Steen, Alex Pietrangelo

Nashville Predators at Dallas Stars – 08:30 PM EDT

Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Nashville Predators					Dallas Stars
			Pekka Rinne					Kari Lehtonen
			Record					Record
			39-23-13					45-22-9
Team Stats	2.75	2.52	19.80%	80.80%	Team Stats	3.22	2.84	22.20%	81.80%

The Predators made a valiant comeback last night against Colorado, but ultimately fell just short as they lost a 4-3 decision. While traveling to Dallas to face a Stars team sitting on 99 points on the second half of back-to-back games is obviously a slight concern, the Stars have allowed an ugly 3.27 goals against per game since the All-Star break and play at the pasted pace in the NHL, so there’s still some appeal to Nashville tonight. Craig Smith has scored goals in back-to-back games and to reach the 20-goal plateau for the third straight season. He’s torched Dallas this season for three goals and two assists in their three prior meetings and is thriving alongside Filip Forsberg and Mike Ribeiro both at even strength and on the top power-play unit. While those three certainly command your attention, James Neal has exploded down the stretch for nine goals and five assists in 13 games this month and joins forces with Ryan Johansen to form a lethal duo on Nashville’s top forward line. Stud defenseman Roman Josi and Shea Weber have continued to put up big offensive numbers lately and are fine plays on the blue-line in all formats. Both players have posted 12 points in 13 games this month and share the duties on the point of Nashville’s #1 power-play unit.

The Stars closed out a three game road trip with a big win against the San Jose Sharks and will open a quick (yet very important) two game home stand tonight against the surging Nashville Predators. With six game to play, they’ll hit the ice tonight tied with the St. Louis Blues for the lead in the Central Division. Dallas finally solved Nashville with a 5-3 decision in their last meeting and not only own a solid 24-11-2 record at the American Airlines Arena, but also benefit from watching Nashville battle the Colorado Avalanche last night. While the Tyler Seguin injury stings quite a bit, Lindy Ruff still has two dangerous forward lines at his disposal. Jamie Benn sits in second place in the NHL with 83 points in 76 games and headlines the top forward line alongside Cody Eakin and Patrick Sharp. Benn scored his 37th goal of the season against San Jose on Saturday and owns five goals and eight assists in 12 games this month. Cody Eakin has filled in admirably for Seguin and, at a fraction of the cost, has five goals and four assists in his last nine games. Alternatively, Jason Spezza has posted a goal and two asssits in two games against the Predators this season and owns eight goals and four assists in 12 games this season. Mattias Janmark and Valeri Nichushkin join him on the second line and all three also see plenty of playing time with the man advantage. On defense, John Klingberg quarterbacks the top power-play unit and has dished out four assists in the three games against Nashville. He snapped a brief scoring drought with an assist on Saturday and owns 54 points in 70 games. If you’re playing on FanDuel, Klingberg, Spezza and Sharp all oddly come in at the minimum price, so pass on them at your own risk in cash games.

Nashville Predators

CF%: 52.7, CP60: 106.5, 5×5 Differential: 13
Elite Options: James Neal, Filip Forsberg, Craig Smith, Roman Josi, Shea Weber
Secondary Options: Mike Fisher, Ryan Johansen, Mattias Ekholm

Dallas Stars

CF%: 52.5, CP60: 116.9, 5×5 Differential: 4
Elite Options: Jamie Benn, Jason Spezza, John Klingberg
Secondary Options: Patrick Sharp, Cody Eakin, Valeri Nichushkin

San Jose Sharks at Vancouver Canucks – 10:00 PM EDT

Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
San Jose Sharks					Vancouver Canucks
			Martin Jones					Ryan Miller
			Record					Record
			41-28-6					27-35-13
Team Stats	2.88	2.57	22.10%	79.90%	Team Stats	2.23	2.84	16.60%	82.40%

The Sharks clinched a playoff spot with a 5-2 victory against the Los Angeles Kings last night and climb back into the race for the Pacific Division with two more points tonight in Vancouver. San Jose has taken two of the three prior meetings between these two teams this season and Vancouver looks to be in complete disarray lately, giving San Jose plenty of fantasy appeal. Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton continue to lead the charge offensively for this team. Both players have posted 73 points in 76 games and both also sit with an impressive plus 27. Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau join those two up-front on the #1 power-play unit and are fine options as well. Tomas Hertl has the luxury of playing alongside Thornton and Pavelski on the top forward line and he’s taken full advantage of it lately; posting four goals and five assists in his last nine games. On defense, Brent Burns is one of the premier plays of the evening. The bearded wonder has tallied five goals and ten assists in 14 games this month and his 328 SOG is second in the NHL behind only Alex Ovechkin. He already owns a pair of goals and an assist against the Canucks this season and should be well worth his big-ticket asking price.

Vancouver has lost eight straight games and have scored a Western Conference worst 2.23 goals per game this season. Needless to say, the desirable fantasy options are extremely limited here. Tonight they’ll host the San Jose Sharks in the opener of a home-and-home series and with San Jose still fighting hard for playoff positioning, it seems silly to look any deeper than the Sedin twins in cash games on a nine game slate. Daniel Sedin has scored a pair of goals against the Sharks in their three prior meetings this season and easily leads the club with 59 points in 75 games. His brother Henrik has just a goal and two assists in his last 11 games but has posted six goals and 25 assists in 36 home games. In GPPs, rookie Sven Baertschi has at least some appeal tonight as the former first round pick netted his 15th goal of the season against Chicago on Sunday and has posted a goal and two assists in those three games against San Jose.

San Jose Sharks

CF%: 51.8, CP60: 107.4, 5×5 Differential: 12
Elite Options: Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, Logan Couture, Brent Burns
Secondary Options: Patrick Marleau, Tomas Hertl, Paul Martin

Vancouver Canucks

CF%: 47, CP60: 104.6, 5×5 Differential: -28
Elite Options: Daniel Sedin
Secondary Options: Henrik Sedin, Sven Baertschi