NHL Grind Down: Tuesday, November 1st - Page Two
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Boston Bruins at Florida Panthers
| Boston Bruins | Florida Panthers | ||||||||
 | Tuukka Rask |  | Roberto Luongo | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 3-2-0 | 3-1-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.25 | 2.88 | 10.00% | 90.00% | Team Stats | 2.78 | 2.44 | 11.10% | 90.90% |
Lucky for the Bruins that Tuukka Rask is back in between the pipes otherwise this team may have never won another game all season. Rask is 4-0 on the young season while the rest of the scrubs have notched an impressive 0-5 mark while starting four different goalies in consecutive games. The Bruins have just seven goals in the last five games and a lot of that is the extra attention other teams have been giving Brad Marchand after his hot start. Marchand found the scoresheet nine times in the first four games and has just one measly assist in the last four. Look for Marchand and Patrice Bergeron to attract more attention tonight which makes the second line that features Ryan Spooner and David Krejci a GPP play at best on the road. Defensively Zdeno Chara has been able to manage just three assists to lead the blue liners so passing here is a great idea. This is a team not scoring goals and until they figure it out, I’d stay away in cash games.
The Panthers are 3-1 on home ice and look to improve on that mark as they host the Boston Bruins. It’s worth noting that the Panthers just finished up a four game road trip but had Monday off to recover from their trek across the northeast. Colton Sceviour notched a hat trick in the last game which now puts him second on team’s scoring list next to top liner Jonathan Marchessault, who has six goals and five assists in the first nine games. Marchessault is joined by Aleksander Barkov and Jaromir Jagr on the team’s top line and usually get the first crack when the other team takes a penalty. Defensemen Keith Yandle and Aaron Ekblad are seeing over 22 minutes of ice time but Yandle is the play here as he is a shooting machine as evidence of leading the team in shots with 21 of them over the last ten days. If you are in the mood to chase points you can always pair Sceviour with his second line center in Vincent Trocheck who sees almost 20 minute of ice time at the forward position. This may be a low scoring game as we expect Roberto Luongo and Tuukka Rask to be the netminders for tonight’s contest.
Elite Plays
BOS: None
FLA: None
Secondary Plays
BOS: Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Ryan Spooner
FLA: Jonathan Marchessault, Aleksander Barkov, Jaromir Jagr, Keith Yandle
Washington Capitals at Winnipeg Jets
| Washington Capitals | Winnipeg Jets | ||||||||
 | Braden Holtby |  | Connor Hellebuyck | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 3-1-1 | 2-3-0 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.75 | 2.00 | 12.50% | 71.40% | Team Stats | 2.44 | 2.89 | 10.00% | 68.80% |
After a day off, the Washington Capitals will finish up their four game road trip with the start of a home-and-home series with the Winnipeg Jets. The Capitals power play looks like it is coming back to life as it has struck in each of the last two games so it looks like that’s where we will start tonight. Alex Ovechkin has four goals, six points and 32 shots through the first eight games and is almost always in play on a nightly basis. The problem comes in when you roster him and then try to figure out where you can cut corners to stay under the salary cap. Washington switched up their lines a few games back as it is now Nicklas Backstrom and Justin Williams on the top line with Ovechkin. Marcus Johansson leads the team in goals and points as he and line mate Evgeny Kuznetsov could make a decent GPP pair tonight. Johansson is also good by himself as he gets time with Ovechkin on the team’s top power play unit. The same could be said for T.J. Oshie as he sees about 17 minutes a night while playing on a line with Andre Burakovsky and Lars Eller. John Carlson is normally the play on the back line but Matt Niskanen has been a lot more productive in the early going as he has four more points than Carlson with five assists.
When you take a look at the Jets top line and realize that they have scored 18 points in six home games compared to their cumulative total of five points in three road games its becomes clearer that Blake Wheeler, Patrik Laine and Mark Scheifele could be decent cash game plays tonight. The also get the first shot when the team goes on the power play along with Adam Lowry and defenseman Dustin Byfuglien. For GPP plays Nikolaj Ehlers and Mathieu Perreault can be used here, but only if you are multi entering as they skate on the second line but have just seven points between them in the first nine games. Stick with the top line tonight.
Elite Plays
WSH: Alex Ovechkin
WIN: None
Secondary Plays
WSH: Nicklas Backstrom, Marcus Johansson, T.J. Oshie
WIN: Patrik Laine, Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele, Dustin Byfuglien
Buffalo Sabres at Minnesota Wild
| Buffalo Sabres | Minnesota Wild | ||||||||
 | Robin Lehner |  | Devan Dubnyk | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 1-2-1 | 3-2-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.50 | 2.50 | 19.00% | 92.80% | Team Stats | 3.56 | 2.11 | 9.10% | 94.40% |
The Sabres are trying to gain some traction on the rest of the Atlantic division despite some key injuries so far this year. With two straight wins Buffalo’s record now stands at 3-3-1 and if they want to get over the five hundred mark they will more than have to solve Minnesota goaltender Devan Dubnyk who has not given up a goal in the last nine periods of hockey. The Wild have only given up one power play goal all season so maybe it’s best to try to find a pair or two that could possibly score tonight. The easy targets here would be Ryan O’Reilly and Kyle Okposo who skate on the team’s top line with Matt Moulson but with the way Dubnyk has been playing maybe GPPs are the order of the day here. Sam Reinhart could be a one-off here but again, the whole value of the top power play line plummets as they face a formidable opponent on the road. Defensively, Rasmus Ristolainen has seven assists in eight games as he logs over 25 minutes of ice time a night. If the Sabres are going to score, there’s a good chance Ristolainen will be in on it. Next to Moulson, Tyler Ennis has the second most shots on the team with 23 and pairing him with Reinhart in deeper GPPs could pay off if they can crack the ‘Dubnyk Code’ tonight.
Minnesota is without Zach Parise yet again as this will be the fourth year in a row the Wild superstar has not played in all scheduled league games. This puts a crimp in the offensive plans for Minnesota but they should be able to light the lamp a few times tonight on home ice. After all, they do have 17 goals in four games on home ice while brandishing a perfect record at the Xcel Energy Center. If you want to go with the hot hand look no further than Jason Zucker, who skates out of the top six but has recorded six of his seven points in the last four games. Joel Eriksson Ek is making some noise as he has five points in the only five games he’s played in as he skates with Eric Staal and Charlie Coyle. This line could do some damage tonight as well as the top line of Mikko Koivu, Jason Pominville and Mikael Granlund, but for my money, stick with Staal and company. Ryan Suter is the play on defense he has 10 points while logging over 25 minutes of ice time on a nightly basis.
Elite Plays
BUF: None
MIN: Ryan Suter
Secondary Plays
BUF: Kyle Okposo, Ryan O’Reilly, Rasmus Ristolainen
MIN: Eric Staal, Charlie Coyle, Mikko Koivu, Joel Eriksson Ek, Mikael Granlund
Calgary Flames at Chicago Blackhawks
| Calgary Flames | Chicago Blackhawks | ||||||||
 | Brian Elliott |  | Corey Crawford | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 1-4-1 | 3-3-0 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.00 | 3.40 | 4.00% | 74.20% | Team Stats | 3.33 | 2.89 | 20.80% | 42.90% |
The Flames start a four game road trip with a visit to the ‘Madhouse on Madison’ to face a Chicago team that is 4-1-1 on home ice. Calgary reeled off three straight wins before dropping a 3-1 decision to Washington on home ice by a score of 3-1. You have to love the Calgary faithful when picking stars of the game as both Brian Elliott and Mikael Backlund were named two of the three stars in the loss. Anyways, Sam Bennett and Troy Brouwer can be used together in deeper GPPs as the former is on fire with three goals and six points in the last five games and the latter getting the top ice time with the man advantage with Johnny Gaudreau. Despite only scoring one goal on Sunday night the Flames did score 16 goals in the previous four games. The last game Chicago played was the first time this season that they did not give up a goal while a man down so try and focus on the Calgary power play for your GPP action tonight. Brouwer and Gaudreau are joined by Sean Monahan and defensemen Mark Giordano and Dennis Wideman complete the top line when the team has the man advantage. You may want to pass on the defensemen there as Dougie Hamilton has the hot stick as he has recorded five of his six points in the last five games.
The Blackhawks will look to avenge their 3-2 shootout loss to these same Calgary Flames on the same ice surface from eight days ago. The top line of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Richard Panik should get plenty of opportunities to expose a defense that has given up a whopping 35 goals in the first ten games. The second line that features team scoring leader in Artem Anisimov (6-5-11), Artemi Panarin and Marian Hossa isn’t exactly chopped liver and can also be used tonight in cash and GPP play. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook get the call to play the points on the top power play unit so maybe Brian Campbell will make a nice GPP one-off play here as he has snagged five of his six points in the last five games, Chicago should be able to light the lamp at least three times tonight, so jump on them.
Elite Plays
CGY: None
CHI: Patrick Kane
Secondary Plays
CGY: Johnny Gaudreau, Mark Giordano, Dougie Hamilton, Troy Brouwer, Sean Monahan
CHI: Jonathan Toews, Artem Anisimov, Artemi Panarin, Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith
Nashville Predators at Colorado Avalanche
| Nashville Predators | Colorado Avalanche | ||||||||
 | Pekka Rinne |  | Semyon Varlamov | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 2-3-0 | 3-2-0 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.38 | 3.50 | 47.40% | 77.80% | Team Stats | 2.71 | 2.71 | 29.40% | 69.60% |
I guess the balanced attack hasn’t been working for head coach Peter Laviolette as the Predators have dropped the first three games on their current five game road trip. This has prompted him to assemble a top line of Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen and James Neal for tonight’s game in Colorado. I don’t normally subscribe to this line of thinking but drastic times call for drastic measures. They should be the top power play line along with Mike Fisher and defenseman Roman Josi. By virtue of scoring three goals and five points in the last five games it looks like Viktor Arvidsson is your one-off play here as he skates on the second line and is leading the team I scoring with just six points in eight games. We can’t forget about P.K. Subban either as he has four of his five points coming with the man advantage form the second power play line. This is probably a game to stay away from, especially in cash games.
The Avalanche have only scored 19 goals and ten of them came in the first two games of the season. Colorado will try to find some kind of offense tonight and it has to start with the top line of Gabriel Landeskog, Matt Duchene and Jarome Iginla. Duchene has had a hand in seven of the 19 goals so far while Nathan MacKinnon is second on the team with six points. The interesting thing here is that MacKinnon leads the team in shots with 20 which is ranked 97th in the league. Yes, that’s not a typo and the last time I checked, you need to shoot the puck to score. Tyson Barrie is the choice on defense as he has a goal and four assists through seven games. For what it’s worth, Mikhail Grigorenko and defenseman Erik Johnson appear to be on the top power play unit with the Duchenne line.This one could get a bit ugly so don’t go too heavy on Colorado tonight, especially in cash games.
Elite Plays
NSH: None
COL: None
Secondary Plays
NSH: Viktor Arvidsson, James Neal, Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi, Ryan Johansen
COL: Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog, Tyson Barrie, Nathan MacKinnon