NHL Grind Down: Tuesday, March 8th - Page Two

by John Britt (jmbwngfn) Last Updated 2016-03-08 16:21:28

Boston Bruins at Tampa Bay Lightning – 07:30 PM EST

Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Boston Bruins					Tampa Bay Lightning
			Tuukka Rask					Ben Bishop
			Record					Record
			36-23-7					39-22-4
Team Stats	3.00	2.71	21.10%	82.20%	Team Stats	2.77	2.34	17.20%	83.80%

In what is likely the most important game of the evening, the Boston Bruins will invade Amalie Arena looking to take the lead in the Atlantic Division for the first time this season. The Bruins have posted a terrific 22-7-3 record on the road this season but could be a bit worn out after defeating the Florida Panthers in overtime last night. Tampa Bay has won two of the prior three meetings in this series and will likely be angry after seeing their nine-game winning streak snapped last night by the Philadelphia Flyers. The duo of Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand lead the charge for this Boston team. They’ve combined for 61 goals and 51 assists (and a +36) this season and both have been on a blistering pace since the All-Star break. They’re now joined by Lee Stempniak on the top line (who has a goal and five assists in his first four games with Boston), and while they’re fine options, they’ll likely be tasked with a few extra defensive responsibilities in this one. With that in mind, David Krejci should see a bit more open ice and he’s quietly posted 50 points in 57 games this season. Krejci has scored a goal and dished out two assists in the three prior meetings against Tampa this season and is still very reasonably priced across the industry. On the blue-line, Zdeno Chara has gone cold lately, but Torey Krug continues to put up fine offensive numbers. Krug has picked up three assists in four games this month and grabbed three helpers in the three games against Tampa Bay.

Since a mediocre start to the season, John Coopers club has really caught fire down the stretch; posting a ridiculous 20-6-0 record in their last 26 games. Tonight’s battle with the Boston Bruins could go a long way in determining which club will have home-ice advantage for at least the first two rounds of the playoffs, and Tampa Bay should be ready to play after a disappointing performance last night. The key to this game from a fantasy perspective, is determining how Claude Julien will deploy the Bergeron/Marchand/Stempniak line. In their last meeting (just last week), Julien used Marchand and Bergeron to shadow Steven Stamkos as much as possible, so it’s reasonable to expect a similar approach this time around. Stamkos is a goal away from recording the fifth 30-goal season of his career and too dangerous to ignore, but this would be a significant blow to his fantasy outlook although he proved that he’s somewhat matchup proof with a goal and an assist in that meeting. With Julien focusing his defensive attention toward the top line, the dangerous trio of Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov appear to have the better matchup on their hands. Kucherov leads the team with 54 points in 64 games and has flourished on home ice where he’s posted 15 goals and 19 assists in 32 games at Amalie Arena. He and Johnson will both put four game point streaks on the line tonight while Palat has scored at least one goal in each of the last three games. Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman soak up nearly all of the available playing time on the point of the power-play and are the top defensive options. Hedman is likely the most consistent of the two, but Stralman does already own four assists in three games against Boston this season.

Boston Bruins

CF%: 48.6, CP60: 110.4, 5×5 Differential: 12
Elite Options: Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron
Secondary Options: David Krejci, Lee Stempniak, Torey Krug, Zdeno Chara

Tampa Bay Lightning

CF%: 52.3, CP60: 105.8, 5×5 Differential: 20
Elite Options: Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Tyler Johnson
Secondary Options: Ondrej Palat, Ryan Callahan, Victor Hedman, Anton Stralman

Nashville Predators at Winnipeg Jets – 08:00 PM EST

Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Nashville Predators					Winnipeg Jets
			Pekka Rinne					Ondrej Pavelec
			Record					Record
			33-21-12					27-33-5
Team Stats	2.70	2.53	20.10%	78.80%	Team Stats	2.57	2.94	15.90%	77.70%

The Predators kicked off a tough five-game road trip in style with a 5-2 win in Colorado on Saturday. They’ve now won six of their last seven games and have picked up at least one point in each of their last 12 games. It’s been the Filip Forsberg Show recently as the 21-year-old Swede has racked up 14 goals and seven assists in the last 14 games. His linemates Mike Ribeiro and Craig Smith have been red-hot as well, combining for four goals and 11 assists in the last four games. That trio also sees plenty of run on the #1 power-play unit and look like terrific options on tonight’s slate. The top line of Calle Jarnkrok, Ryan Johansen and James Neal may not be wielding the same white-hot sticks, they’re every bit as dangerous. On defense, the duo of Shea Weber and Roman Josi are both top tier options, as usual. With Winnipeg being the fourth most penalized team in the NHL and sporting an ugly 77.7% penalty kill, they both see a nice fantasy boost.

After being competitive for the majority of the first half of the season, things have turned a bit ugly in Winnipeg down the stretch. After a 19-19-2 start to the season, they’ve limped their way to a 8-14-3 record in the 25 games since and find themselves easily in the cellar of the Central Division. With that in mind and the fact that Nashville has allowed just 2.31 goals against per game since the All-Star break, this does not look to be a good spot to over expose yourself in cash games. With that said, the Bryan Little injury has opened the door for former first-round pick Mark Scheifele to hop onto the top line alongside Blake Wheeler and Drew Stafford and the 22 year-old has been red-hot. He lit the lamp yet again against Edmonton on Sunday and has now racked up six goals and an assists over his last four games. Dustin Byfuglien saw his eight game point streak snapped on Sunday but is still a fine option in all formats tonight. He already owns a pair of goals against Nashville this season and should be anxious to get a crack at the Predators subpar 78.8% penalty kill.

Nashville Predators

CF%: 52.5, CP60: 106, 5×5 Differential: 11
Elite Options: Filip Forsberg, Craig Smith, James Neal, Shea Weber, Roman Josi
Secondary Options: Mike Ribeiro, Ryan Johansen, Mattias Ekholm

Winnipeg Jets

CF%: 51.9, CP60: 106.8, 5×5 Differential: -1
Elite Options: Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler, Dustin Byfuglien
Secondary Options: Drew Stafford, Toby Enstrom

San Jose Sharks at Edmonton Oilers – 09:00 PM EST

Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
San Jose Sharks					Edmonton Oilers
			James Reimer					Cam Talbot
			Record					Record
			35-23-6					26-35-7
Team Stats	2.97	2.66	22.10%	79.00%	Team Stats	2.40	2.93	17.00%	81.00%

San Jose was oddly man-handled at times by the Calgary Flames, but still somehow escaped the Saddledome with an overtime victory. Peter DeBoer will undoubtedly be expecting a more inspired performance tonight as his Sharks make the short trip north to face the Edmonton Oilers. These two teams have split their first two meetings this season, but with Edmonton allowing 2.93 goals against per game this season, fading San Jose completely could be a mistake. Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton to set the pace offensively. Thornton picked up an assist last night to extend his point streak to five games while Pavelski potted his 30th goal of the season for the game-winner in overtime. Both Patrick Marleau and Logan Couture join those two on the #1 power-play unit and have plenty of offensive upside. Brent Burns is once again one of the best defensive options on the board tonight if you can afford him. He’s scored goals in each of the last four games (while also picking up for assists) and only Alex Ovechkin has unloaded more shots on goal this season. Marc-Edouard Vlasic has slowed down a bit lately, but with 38 points and a +13 in 62 games, he’s a nice option as well.

After a successful four game road trip, the Edmonton Oilers will return to the Rexall Place for tonight’s battle with the San Jose Sharks. They’ve actually played this San Jose team fairly tough this season, benefit from the Sharks being on the back end of back-to-back games, and own a respectable 16-14-2 home record, so don’t overlook them tonight. Connor McDavid was held off the scoresheet in Winnipeg over the weekend but has posted 34 points in his first 31 games at the NHL level and has developed a very nice rapport with Nail Yakupov and Jordan Eberle on the top forward line. While they’ll likely draw the full attention of Logan Couture, they’re still very fine options, particularly in GPP’s. Taylor Hall looks to be heating back up lately, posted two goals and two assists (with 24 SOG) over his last six games and still leads the team with 57 points. Both he and his linemate Leon Draisaitl have scored a goal and added an assist in the two prior meetings against San Jose and join McDavid and Eberle on the top power-play unit. With Justin Schultz gone, Andrej Sekera is locked into as big of a workload as he can handle. He’s tallied three assists over the last two games and not only remains very cheap across the industry, but also sees a healthy dose of playing time on the point of that dangerous #1 power-play unit.

San Jose Sharks

CF%: 51.1, CP60: 106.7, 5×5 Differential: 12
Elite Options: Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, Brent Burns
Secondary Options: Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau, Marc-Edouard Vlasic

Edmonton Oilers

CF%: 49.1, CP60: 110.7, 5×5 Differential: -28
Elite Options: Connor McDavid, Taylor Hall
Secondary Options: Jordan Eberle, Leon Draisaitl, Nail Yakupov, Andrej Sekera