NHL Grind Down: Tuesday, March 7th - Page Two
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Carolina Hurricanes at Colorado Avalanche
| Carolina Hurricanes | Colorado Avalanche | ||||||||
 | Cam Ward |  | Calvin Pickard | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 26-26-10 | 17-44-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.47 | 2.82 | 16.90% | 85.60% | Team Stats | 1.89 | 3.33 | 13.10% | 77.80% |
This could be another one of those games exactly like the one we saw Sunday night when the Hurricanes beat the Arizona Coyotes by a score of 2-1 on Sunday night. Except this time the team they are playing is the Colorado Avalanche who is much worse than the Coyotes, who are the second worst team in the league. As I mentioned a few weeks ago about teams that are out of the playoffs, the hurricanes are indeed using the ‘merry-go-round’ method with their top three lines as they are changing constantly and will continue to do so for the rest of the season. Sebastian Aho and Victor Rask saw a new linemate last game in Teuvo Teravainen while Jordan Staal centered Elias Lindholm and Phil Di Giuseppe. Meanwhile the team scoring leader in Jeff Skinner skated alongside of Lee Stempniak and Derek Ryan. Skinner makes a decent choice as a one-off here as his 20 goals and 41 points leads the team while Aho and Rask look good enough to pair up here tonight against a Colorado team that has given up 214 goals so far this season. Rask has found the score sheet five times in the last seven games while Aho’s 35 points is good enough for third on the team, just two points away from Rask. Justin Faulk and Jaccob Slavin are the choices on the back line with the only difference being that Faulk’s 159 shots are more than twice as many as Slavin has been able to muster. Look for Carolina to score here and possibly take home the victory.
Colorado has scored 20 goals in the last 14 games which includes a 5-3 win on home ice on Saturday February 25th. They are the worst team in the league but actually have a chance to win tonight against another bad team. When you are the worst team however you need every ounce of energy focused on winning the game as every game seems to be an uphill battle. Gabriel Landeskog leads the team with seven points over those 14 games as he skates with Nathan MacKinnon and Rene Bourque on the team’s top line. MacKinnon leads the team with 30 assists and 42 points while Bourque is basically useless. With that said he will surely light the lamp three times tonight just to make me look bad. It looks like Sven Andrighetto will jump up and play alongside of Matt Duchene and Mikko Rantanen which may make this the line to target for your deeper tournament plays. Duchene leads the team with 16 goals and Andrighetto has to be better than Matt Nieto who really isn’t top six material. Tyson Barrie is the defensive choice here as his 27 points are more than any other two Colorado defensemen’s totals this season. Colorado doesn’t score much which may be a good reason to use them sparingly here tonight.
Elite Plays
CAR: Jeff Skinner
COL: None
Secondary Plays
CAR: Sebastian Aho, Victor Rask, Jordan Staal, Jaccob Slavin
COL: Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, Matt Duchene, Mikko Rantanen, Tyson Barrie
New York Islanders at Edmonton Oilers
| New York Islanders | Edmonton Oilers | ||||||||
 | Thomas Greiss |  | Cam Talbot | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 30-23-11 | 35-22-8 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.89 | 2.94 | 15.40% | 80.10% | Team Stats | 2.82 | 2.55 | 21.30% | 79.70% |
The Islanders playoff hopes are still alive despite winning just five of their last 10 games. Their 71 points is good enough for the last playoff spot if they were to start today but have Toronto bright behind them with 70 points so winning here would be optimal. That however probably won’t happen unless the top line of John Tavares, Anders Lee and Josh Bailey can get some supporting help. Tavares leads the team with 24 goals and 54 points while Bailey’s 33 assists has helped him grab 45 points so far this season which is second on the team. Andrew Ladd hit a hot streak a few weeks back but has cooled off since then as he skates on the second line with Brock Nelson and Josh Ho-Sang. Nelson could be a one-off here as he has tallied four of his 35 points over the last six games. Ryan Strome has been bumped down to the third line but still has a little value here by virtue of skating on the team’s top power play line alongside of Taveras. Defenseman Nick Leddy is the choice on the back line as he soaks up a lot of the extra minutes when the Islanders have the extra attacker. 12 of Leddy’s 35 points have come via the power play. Look for the Islanders to try and bounce back from the 5-2 drubbing they suffered at the hands of the Calgary Flames on Sunday night.
Thanks to the emergence of Connor McDavid the Edmonton Oilers have been able to stay in the top three spots in the Pacific Division for most of the season. Their 35-22-8 record yields them 78 points which is two points better than the third place Anaheim Ducks. McDavid leads the league with 74 points while linemate Leon Draisaitl leads the team with 23 goals to go along with 55 points. This duo should be one of the higher owned plays of the night and you can even add Patrick Maroon in there for good measure as he completes the Oilers top even strength line. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Milan Lucic and Jordan Eberle will skate as the second line and should be considered in play here as both Nugent-Hopkins and Lucic have each tallied two goals and two assists over the last six games. Mark Letestu is the cheap play here if you want some exposure to McDavid as he comes up and skates on the top power play unit from the team’s fourth line. Oscar Klefbom is the play on the back line as he has grabbed nine of his 28 points while quarterbacking the top power play unit. Look for Edmonton to improve on their 16-10-3 record in front of the home crowd tonight.
Elite Plays
NYI: John Tavares
EDM: Connor McDavid
Secondary Plays
NYI: Josh Bailey, Anders Lee, Brock Nelson, Nick Leddy
EDM: Leon Draisaitl, Jordan Eberle, Milan Lucic, Oscar Klefbom, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Nashville Predators at Anaheim Ducks
| Nashville Predators | Anaheim Ducks | ||||||||
 | Pekka Rinne |  | Jonathan Bernier | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 32-24-9 | 33-22-10 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.92 | 2.78 | 20.80% | 81.20% | Team Stats | 2.55 | 2.51 | 18.80% | 84.90% |
By virtue of winning six of their last 10 games the Nashville Predators have held onto the third spot in the Central Division over the St Louis Blues. Filip Forsberg and Ryan Johansen have been racking up the points over the past seven games. Forsberg has lit the lamp 10 times while Johansen has racked up three less points than Forsberg with a goal and 10 assists over that same time frame. Viktor Arvidsson is the third piece to the puzzle on the top line and was able to grab eight of his 47 points over the last two weeks. James Neal and Mike Fisher could be used as one-offs here as Neal has lit the lamp18 times so far this season while Fisher’s 37 points has Neal beat by four points which would indicate that both can find the score sheet even though they skate on different lines. Roman Josi and P.K. Subban are the choices from the point and each should be considered here. Josi has grabbed nine of his 38 points over the last seven games while Subban has found the score sheet 32 times in the 49 games he has suited up for. The Predators have scored seven power play goals over the last five games so this makes the top line in play along with Josi and Neal who complete the top power play unit. Nashville will look to improve on their 13-16-2 road record tonight.
Anaheim’s 20-8-3 home record is a big reason why the team is in third place in the Pacific Division with 76 points. Their acquisition of Patrick Eaves has been able to let the team keep Jakob Silfverberg, Ryan Kesler and Andrew Cogliano together while trying to make two other scoring lines. Eaves skates with Ryan Getzlaf and Ondrej Kase while Rickard Rakell centers Corey Perry and Nick Ritchie. Getzlaf and eaves look to be the chalk here as they have combined for four goals and four assists over the last eight games they have totaled while Getzlaf leads the team with 38 assists and 49 points. Meanwhile Rakell has lit the lamp four times in the last five games which has now given him the team lead in that category with 26 goals. Pairing him up with Perry here makes the most sense if you want to stay with using the even strength lines tonight. Kesler makes for a decent one-off play here as his seven power play goals leads the team while skating with Eaves and Getzlaf on the team’s top power play unit. Cam Fowler and Sami Vatanen man the points when the team has the extra attacker from the back line. Vatanen has registered three of his 20 points over the last five games which would make Fowler the safer play of the two as he has 11 of his 31 points with the man advantage. Anaheim should win this one and grab their 21st win in front of the home crowd tonight.
Elite Plays
NSH: Filip Forsberg
ANA: Ryan Getzlaf
Secondary Plays
NSH: Ryan Johansen, Roman Josi, Viktor Arvidsson, P.K. Subban, James Neal
ANA: Patrick Eaves, Ryan Kesler, Rickard Rakell, Corey Perry, Cam Fowler
Montréal Canadiens at Vancouver Canucks
| Montréal Canadiens | Vancouver Canucks | ||||||||
 | Carey Price |  | Ryan Miller | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 37-21-8 | 28-30-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.74 | 2.47 | 21.00% | 80.10% | Team Stats | 2.30 | 2.83 | 14.10% | 77.40% |
With Alexander Radulov and Tomas Plekanec on the shelf it looks like the Canadiens will have to do some line shuffling for the game in Vancouver tonight. Montreal still leads the Atlantic Division with 82 points and seems to be in good shape where the playoffs are concerned. Max Pacioretty and Phillip Danault will have Brendan Gallagher on their right wing while Alex Galchenyuk will center Dwight King and Artturi Lehkonen. Pacioretty is easily in play here as he leads the team with 31 goals and 58 points while the second line would make sense to use as a deeper tournament play. Galchenyuk has grabbed seven of his 37 points over the last seven games while new comer King looks to make an impression with his new team as he gets a shot to play in the top six tonight. Shea Weber and Andrei Markov man the points when Montreal draws a penalty. Weber leads the team with 11 power play goals and 10 power play assists while Markov has snared three points in the last seven games. Weber is the obvious choice here and pairing him up with Pacioretty or Galchenyuk could help you take down a GPP tonight. Vancouver has won their last two games on the road against Anaheim and Los Angeles so maybe taking some caution here is in order, especially with the injuries the Canadiens have.
After losing five of the last six games the Canucks went out and got two wins on the back end of their brief California three game road trip. Tonight they return home to try to improve on their 18-10-4 in front of their home crowd. Daniel Sedin, Markus Granlund and Henrik Sedin skate on the team’s first line while Bo Horvat skates with Sven Baertschi and Loui Eriksson on the second line. Horvat leads the team with 20 goals and 45 points while Baertschi has lit the lamp twice and has added an assist in the three games he has been back since being injured. Meanwhile Daniel and Henrik Sedin lead the team with 12 power play points each and have both scored over 35 points so far this season. These numbers are a bit off for the brothers as they usually can rack up the points at will. Troy Stecher and Ben Hutton are tied for the most points by a Vancouver defenseman with 18 which kind of makes them off limits tonight. With 17 other teams in action I would look elsewhere for your blue line selections tonight. Vancouver is still a bad team so I wouldn’t let those last two games fool you as they had only scored 11 goals in the previous seven games before scoring six goals in their last two games.
Elite Plays
MTL: Max Pacioretty
VAN: Bo Horvat
Secondary Plays
MTL: Alex Galchenyuk, Shea Weber, Phillip Danault, Andrei Markov, Brendan Gallagher
VAN Sven Baertschi, Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin