NHL Grind Down: Tuesday, November 17th
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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Minnesota Wild at Pittsburgh Penguins – 07:00 PM EST
| Minnesota Wild | Pittsburgh Penguins | ||||||||
 | Devan Dubnyk |  | Marc-Andre Fleury | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 10-3-3 | 10-7-0 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.00 | 2.69 | 17.90% | 75.70% | Team Stats | 2.06 | 2.18 | 12.30% | 85.70% |
The Wild continue their four-game road trip tonight without their captain Zach Parise. His absence is obviously an enormous blow to this team and, while they’ve played decently without him, they’ve been badly outshot in each of their last two games and clearly aren’t the same caliber of team without him. With the Penguins actually being one of the best defensive teams in the NHL to start the season, there’s not too much to get excited about here. The Wild have been an entirely different team away from home (3-2-3 record on the road) and were dominated by this Pittsburgh team in their two meetings last season. Guys like Mikko Koivu, Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville and Mikael Granlund are worth a look as GPP options, but Ryan Suter is really the only member of the Wild on my cash game radar in this one.
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The Penguins will open a four-game home stand tonight against the Wild, and they should be hungry for two points after being embarrassed in New Jersey on Saturday night. It’s been an eerily slow start to the season for Sidney Crosby, but this is a guy still in the prime of his career who’s already racked up 862 points 644 career games; the explosion is coming. While his linemates Pascal Dupuis and Beau Bennett are not quite as offensively gifted as we’ve seen in the past, Crosby has elevated the game of pretty much every player who’s ever played alongside him. Evgeni Malkin centers the team’s second line and leads the team with 12 points. As he and his new linemate Phil Kessel continue to develop a rapport together, more and more offensive production can be expected. While Kris Letang -11 plus/minus is concerning, there’s no denying his offensive abilities. With the Minnesota Wild owning an ugly 75.7% penalty kill, he joins the other big names on the Penguins top power-play unit as the top targets.
Elite Plays
MIN: Ryan Suter
PIT: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel, Kris Letang
Secondary Plays
MIN: Mikko Koivu, Jason Pominville, Thomas Vanek
PIT: Beau Bennett, David Peron, Pascal Dupuis, Patric Hornqvist
St. Louis Blues at Columbus Blue Jackets – 07:00 PM EST
| St. Louis Blues | Columbus Blue Jackets | ||||||||
 |  | Sergei Bobrovsky | |||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 11-5-1 | 6-12-0 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.76 | 2.41 | 15.50% | 83.10% | Team Stats | 2.50 | 3.44 | 22.70% | 79.40% |
St. Louis was battled for 60 full minutes last night, but ultimately held on for a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets to halt their mini two game losing streak. Ken Hitchcock tinkered with his forward lines prior to last night’s game against the Jets, moving David Backes up to the top line to play alongside Vladimir Tarasenko and Alex Steen. While it seems Tarasenko and Steen could thrive together with a donkey as their center, this move is a tremendous boost for David Backes fantasy value. That line accounted for all three St. Louis goals last night, with Tarasenko getting things started and Backes scoring a pair. With the Blue Jackets sporting the league’s second worst defense (3.44 GA/G), I’ll be targeting that line heavily. With the Backes promotion comes the Lehtera demotion, as he’ll slide down to center both Troy Brouwer and Dmitrij Jaskin. They’re not nearly as appealing as that dynamic top line, but they are an intriguing line to look to stack in a GPP or two. Defensively, three guys need to be on your radar; Kevin Shattenkirk, Colton Parayko and Alex Pietrangelo all see a healthy dose of playing time with the man advantage and have flashed plenty of offensive upside.
The Blue Jackets shot themselves in the foot once again this season as they’re still trying to climb their way out of the hole their 0-8-0 start to the season put them into. However, since the atrocious start, they’ve gone 6-4-0 in the ten games since and have now won two straight games heading into tonight’s tilt with former division rival St. Louis Blues. While they do benefit from St. Louis potentially dealing with some tired legs after playing last night against Winnipeg, the Blues are a very solid and deep team that has allowed just 2.42 goals against per game this season. To make things a bit tougher for fantasy owners, the Blue Jacket’s forward combinations have pretty much been in a constant state of flux all season and they’ve spread their scoring out across three different lines. While they have plenty of scoring potential littered throughout their lineup, they’ve just been a bit too inconsistent for my liking in cash games against the Blues on such a busy night on the ice.
Elite Plays
STL: Vladimir Tarasenko, Alex Steen, David Backes, Kevin Shattenkirk
CBJ: None
Secondary Plays
STL: Jori Lehtera, Troy Brouwer, Alex Pietrangelo, Colton Parayko
CBJ: Ryan Johansen, Brandon Saad, Scott Hartnell, Boone Jenner, Ryan Murray
Los Angeles Kings at Philadelphia Flyers – 07:00 PM EST
| Los Angeles Kings | Philadelphia Flyers | ||||||||
 | Jonathan Quick |  | Steve Mason | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 11-6-0 | 6-8-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.53 | 2.12 | 20.40% | 87.10% | Team Stats | 1.88 | 2.94 | 14.30% | 76.20% |
With the Flyers having dropped eight of their last ten games while allowing 3.20 GA/G during that stretch, there’s a lot to like from the Kings tonight. Los Angeles has posted an 11-3 record over their last 14 games (after starting the season 0-3-0) and look to once again be one of the top teams in the Western Conference. Offensively, it’s a two-headed monster for the Kings as Darryl Sutter has two very dangerous offensive lines to unleash. Anze Kopitar headlines the top line with Marian Gaborik and Tanner Pearson alongside him, and while it’s been a somewhat slow start for that group, they’re all fine plays against the Flyers. Jeff Carter leads the charge on the second line and with seven goals and ten assists in 17 games this season, he leads the Kings in scoring. He’s joined by the newly acquired Milan Lucic and the Kings leading goal scorer in Tyler Toffoli. That line has been a force all season and is one group I’ll be paying very close attention to this evening. Averaging over 26.5 minutes of ice-time per game, Drew Doughty remains on of the league’s true work-horses on the blue line. As expected, he’s once again off to another very strong offensive start to the season as he’s already racked up 11 points. His understudy, Jake Muzzin, hasn’t quite matched his offensive production, but he’s much more reasonably priced and offers plenty of offensive upside.
I’ll keep this one nice and short; the Flyers have averaged just 1.88 goals per game this season and targeting them against the strongest puck possession team in the NHL just seems foolish. With their top defenseman Mark Streit also out of commission and 15 other teams to focus on tonight, fading the Flyers is an easy decision for me in cash games. While Claude Giroux is always worth a GPP flier, the matchup opposite Anze Kopitar is a very tough one and his partner-in-crime from last season, Jakub Voracek, is still stuck on just one goal this season.
Elite Plays
LOS: Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli, Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty
PHI: None
Secondary Plays
LOS: Tanner Pearson, Marian Gaborik, Milan Lucic, Jake Muzzin
PHI: Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds, Jakub Voracek
Dallas Stars at Buffalo Sabres – 07:00 PM EST
| Dallas Stars | Buffalo Sabres | ||||||||
 | Kari Lehtonen |  | Robin Lehner | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 14-4-0 | 8-8-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.61 | 2.61 | 29.80% | 80.00% | Team Stats | 2.29 | 2.71 | 23.60% | 75.00% |
No duo in the NHL this season has combined for points on the same goal more than Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin (18) and, with a matchup against the Sabres on tap tonight, they’re going to be very highly owned across the industry. Buffalo has clearly improved its hockey product this season, but Dallas is the fastest paced team in the NHL and Buffalo is simply not yet equipped to keep up with them defensively. The Stars bring an impressive 14-4-0 record into tonight’s game and have won five of their last six games. Patrick Sharp joins both Seguin and Benn on the top forward line and, while he’s not quite as appealing as his two linemates, he’s still a top-tier option on the wing this evening. Jason Spezza centers the team’s second forward line, but he joins that three previously mentioned forwards on the team’s top power-play and therefore is a fine option in all formats as well. John Klingberg hit the ground running at the NHL last season and has never looked back. The 23 year-old Swede leads all NHL defenseman in points with 20 and has racked up two goals and five assists over the last four games. He’s taken over the reigns as the quarterback of that #1 power-play unit and is my top option on the blue-line against the Sabres and their ugly 75% penalty kill.
The Sabres are clearly no longer the doormat of the Eastern Conference, but with just 2.29 goals scored per game this season, that doesn’t mean they’re chock full of fantasy goodness, either. Newcomer Ryan O’Reilly is off to a nice start with his new team, as he’s already racked up five goals and nine assists as the center on the team’s top forward line. Matt Moulson and Brian Gionta are both a pair of former 30+ goal scorers that join O’Reilly to form a very capable top line. Jack Eichel has already flashed the offensive talent that made him the #2 overall pick in last year’s entry draft and has already lit the lamp six times during his rookie season. Rasmus Ristolainen is yet another former first round pick (2013) that’s excelling so far this season as the 21 year-old blue-liner has puts his four game point streak on the line tonight and has already racked up four goals and seven assists on the young season. Alternatively, Cody Franson is off to a fine start to the season as well and benefits from plenty of run as the point man on the Sabres top power-play unit. While Buffalo should benefit some from the Dallas’ up-tempo style, you’ll still want to tread carefully on sites that factor plus/minus in their scoring.
Elite Plays
DAL: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, Patrick Sharp, John Klingberg
BUF: None
Secondary Plays
DAL: Jason Spezza, Alex Goligoski, Jason Demers
BUF: Ryan O’Reilly, Jack Eichel, Tyler Ennis, Matt Moulson, Rasmus Ristolainen, Cody Franson
San Jose Sharks at Boston Bruins – 07:00 PM EST
| San Jose Sharks | Boston Bruins | ||||||||
 | Martin Jones |  | Tuukka Rask | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 9-8-0 | 8-7-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.59 | 2.53 | 12.50% | 79.20% | Team Stats | 3.25 | 3.06 | 33.30% | 71.70% |
After a 4-0-0 start to the 2015-16 season, it’s been a rather up-and-down season for the Sharks since. They’ve picked up much needed victories in each of their first two games of a tough six game road trip, but will be tested tonight in Boston. This is not however, the same Bruins team we’ve grown accustomed to over the past several seasons. They’ve allowed an ugly 3.06 GA/game this season, own the league’s worst penalty kill at just 71.7% and Tuukka Rask sports just a .896 SV% in during his 12 starts. WIth all that in mind, you likely don’t need to shy away from the Sharks in this road test. They may still be without Logan Couture for a few more weeks, but Joel Ward emergence alongside Patrick Marleau has still resulted in a balanced scoring attack for Peter DeBoer. With Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand likely focusing their attention on slowing down Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton on the top line, both Marleau and Ward look to have a bit more favorable matchup in this one. Obviously, with the Bruins owning the league’s worst penalty kill, you’ll want to give the Sharks power-play plenty of consideration. This not only makes Brent Burns one of the better options on the blue-line, but also introduces Tomas Hertl and Marc-Edouard Vlasic as nice value plays.
The Bruins picked up a much needed victory against Detroit on Saturday and defeated this San Jose team in both meetings last season. While they’re certainly not the defensive stalwarts that they have been in recent years, they still have plenty of offensive firepower that deserves your attention from a fantasy perspective. Despite the loss of Milan Lucic during the offseason, Claude Julien still has plenty of sources for offensive production. Julien split long-time partners Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron prior to Saturday evening’s game, and judging by the results, that change will likely stick tonight. WIth Marchand playing alongside Ryan Spooner and Jimmy Hayes, Julien now has three very capable scoring lines at his disposal. Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci are the top offensive options here, and with the Sharks owning a subpar 79.2% penalty kill and Bergeron leading the NHL with 10 power-play points, he’s my favorite target here. Defensively, Captain Zdeno Chara remains an intimidating force on the blue-line, but it’s been Torey Krug holding the reigns to the point spot on the #1 power-play unit, and with a goal and ten assists, he’s posting the more attractive fantasy numbers.
Elite Plays
SJ: Patrick Marleau, Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski
BOS: Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Torey Krug
Secondary Plays
SJ: Joe Thornton, Joel Ward, Tomas Hertl, Marc-Edouard Vlasic
BOS: Loui Eriksson, Jimmy Hayes, Brett Connolly, Matt Beleskey, Zdeno Chara