NHL Grind Down: Tuesday, November 10th - Page Two
Washington Capitals at Detroit Red Wings – 07:30 PM EST
| Washington Capitals | Detroit Red Wings | ||||||||
 | Braden Holtby |  | Jimmy Howard | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 10-3 | 7-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.23 | 2.38 | 21.90% | 84.60% | Team Stats | 2.36 | 2.57 | 18.00% | 82.30% |
The Red Wings have won three of their past four games, but overall have not been a strong team this year. Both Detroit goaltenders have played well on the season, but their problem has been goal scoring. Petr Mrazek starts in goal tonight for Detroit, who have moved towards a timeshare in net.
Detroit has been really missing Pavel Datsyuk, who is stellar on both ends of the ice. Datsyuk is getting closer to making his season debut but isn’t quite there yet. The Red Wings have been shuffling their lines around in his absence, with the top line tonight anchored by Henrik Zetterberg and with Justin Abdelkader and rookie Dylan Larkin. This line along with defenseman Mike Green is a possible tournament stack and should be low-owned.
The Washington Capitals have been one of the top teams in the NHL all year long. They’re near the top of the league in most offensive and defensive categories, and the advanced stats (i.e. 2nd in Corsi percentage) back-up the fact that this is well built team. Offensively the Caps are led by the league’s top goal scorer in Alexander Ovechkin, who has seemed to elevate his all-around game this season. On any given night, he has the potential for multiple points and to lead your DFS hockey teams to big wins. Ovechkin is tough to fade in cash game lineups also, but on the road and against a good defensive team like Detroit, here is where you’d consider doing it. The Capitals’ top power play unit is the group to stack in tournaments with Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, T.J. Oshie and John Carlson.
Elite Plays
WAS: Alexander Ovechkin, John Carlson, Evgeny Kuznetsov
DET: Henrik Zetterberg
Secondary Plays
WAS: Braden Holtby, Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie
DET: Dylan Larkin, Justin Abdelkader, Tomas Tatar
Buffalo Sabres at Tampa Bay Lightning – 07:30 PM EST
| Buffalo Sabres | Tampa Bay Lightning | ||||||||
 | Robin Lehner |  | Ben Bishop | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 6-8 | 7-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.21 | 2.93 | 22.90% | 75.80% | Team Stats | 2.38 | 2.31 | 18.00% | 80.80% |
This Atlantic division matchup features two teams that were wide apart last season (with Buffalo being historically bad), but the gap has closed considerably this year. The Sabres and Lightning complete their four-game season series tonight, even though we’re less than a quarter way through the season. The Lightning have won all three games so far and will go for the series sweep tonight. Buffalo has scored only one goal in each of those three games, and with Tampa Bay’s strong play at home, the Sabres players are not that fantasy relevant this evening. There isn’t a clear Sabres line that is worth stacking, but as one-off players, Jack Eichel and Rasmus Ristolainen have upside in tournaments.
The Lightning on the other hand are loaded with strong offensive players that are worth a look in both cash game and tournament lineups tonight. Any of the Lightning’s top two lines and power play units could be stacked in tournaments, and multiple Lightning players could be used in cash games. With Buffalo ranking dead last in penalty killing on the road at only 66.67%, Tampa Bay’s top power play unit (Steven Stamkos, Valtteri Filppula, Alex Killorn, Ryan Callahan and Victor Hedman) looks like a strong play.
Tampa Bay is going with backup goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy tonight who has looked great in two starts this year, including a win over Buffalo last week.
Elite Plays
BUF: None
TB: Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov, Andrei Vasilevskiy
Secondary Plays
BUF: Jack Eichel, Rasmus Ristolainen
TB: Alex Killorn, Ryan Callahan, Valtteri Filppula
Winnipeg Jets at Minnesota Wild – 08:00 PM EST
| Winnipeg Jets | Minnesota Wild | ||||||||
 | Ondrej Pavelec |  | Devan Dubnyk | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 8-5 | 8-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.80 | 2.67 | 18.20% | 82.50% | Team Stats | 2.92 | 2.69 | 21.70% | 78.60% |
These two Central division opponents are very familiar with each other, after battling down to the wire last season to make the playoffs. They’ve faced off once so far this season with a thrilling game in Winnipeg a couple weeks ago, and the Jets coming out with a 5-4 win. Since that game, the Wild have gone 3-1-1 and the Jets 3-3-1, and the two teams find themselves tied for third in the division.
The Wild will be without star winger Zach Parise for multiple weeks, and that puts a dent into their offense. The injury does pave the way for Jason Zucker to join the Wild top line (with Nino Niederreiter and Mikko Koivu), and he has been on an offensive surge with eight points in as many games. That top line is also worth stacking in tournaments. On defense, Ryan Suter gets most of the team’s power play time and he’s been fairly consistent as well.
The Jets’ top line with Andrew Ladd, Bryan Little and Blake Wheeler are the players to target, with several big multi-point games already this season (including the past game against Minnesota), and the potential for another tonight. They also make up the team’s top power play unit, along with Mathieu Perreault and defenseman Dustin Byfuglien.
Elite Plays
WPG: Andrew Ladd, Blake Wheeler, Bryan Little, Dustin Byfuglien
MIN: Jason Zucker, Ryan Suter
Secondary Plays
WPG: Mathieu Perreault, Nikolaj Ehlers, Tyler Myers
MIN: Mikko Koivu, Nino Niederreiter, Mikael Granlund
Ottawa Senators at Nashville Predators – 08:00 PM EST
| Ottawa Senators | Nashville Predators | ||||||||
 | Craig Anderson |  | Pekka Rinne | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 7-4 | 8-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.79 | 2.86 | 13.90% | 75.50% | Team Stats | 2.54 | 2.38 | 18.60% | 80.00% |
The Predators continue a five-game homestand tonight, facing the Senators who make their first and only trip to Nashville this season. The Predators are a solid defensive team, especially at home where they play tight, defensive hockey. They are 4-1-1 on the season at home, with their lone loss coming on Saturday to St. Louis.
Ottawa has conversely compiled a 5-1 road record this year, averaging 3.0 goals per game (8th in the league on the road). However, this will be tough matchup for them in Nashville.
The Predators’ top line (Filip Forsberg, Mike Fisher, James Neal) may be worth considering for tournaments, but other than that there is very little to like offensively for this game for DFS purposes, and especially with a low over/under and 11 other games in action. Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne is also a good play in this matchup.
Elite Plays
OTT: None
NAS: Filip Forsberg, Mike Fisher, James Neal, Pekka Rinne
Secondary Plays
OTT: Mark Stone, Erik Karlsson, Bobby Ryan
NAS: Shea Weber, Roman Josi
Toronto Maple Leafs at Dallas Stars – 08:30 PM EST
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Dallas Stars | ||||||||
 | Jonathan Bernier |  | Kari Lehtonen | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 2-8 | 12-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.07 | 3.00 | 14.30% | 78.40% | Team Stats | 3.60 | 2.60 | 29.20% | 78.30% |
This game is a major mismatch, featuring a high powered Stars team and a Leafs team that is in full rebuild mode. Dallas returns home after three straight road wins and outscoring their opponents 13-5. Their offense is dynamic with the top line of Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn and Patrick Sharp, and defenseman John Klingberg who leads all blueliners in points. Tyler Seguin has especially been on fire with points in nine straight games and six goals and nine assists in his past 10.
This same matchup took place a week ago (in Toronto that time) where the Leafs stunned the Stars with a 4-1 win. Although it’s possible that lightning could strike twice, that result is extremely unlikely and the Stars are heavily favored to score big tonight. There aren’t any Leafs players that are recommended in DFS tonight, and several Stars are great targets including the aforementioned top line, plus Jason Spezza, Valeri Nichushkin and Jason Demers. With the high prices of the Stars’ top line players (along with Klingberg), it will be very difficult to stack all of them, however it is worth getting exposure so some of these players in both tournaments and cash game lineups.
Elite Plays
TOR: None
DAL: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, Patrick Sharp, John Klingberg, Antti Niemi
Secondary Plays
TOR: James van Riemsdyk, Morgan Rielly
DAL: Valeri Nichushkin, Jason Spezza, Jason Demers, Antoine Roussel