NHL Grind Down: Tuesday, November 29th - Page Three
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Montréal Canadiens at Anaheim Ducks
| Montréal Canadiens | Anaheim Ducks | ||||||||
 | Carey Price |  | John Gibson | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 16-4-2 | 10-8-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.05 | 2.14 | 22.40% | 83.10% | Team Stats | 2.59 | 2.41 | 22.20% | 82.00% |
After losing their last three games away from home Montreal put together a 2-1 overtime win in Detroit Saturday night. They play the second game of their current five-game road trip with a stop at Anaheim’s Honda Center to take on a Duck team that has lost their last three home games. Since the Canadiens put Max Pacioretty with Brendan Gallagher and Tomas Plekanec it is now up to the Ducks to choose which line they want to try to shut down. The top line of Alexander Radulov, Alex Galchenyuk and Paul Byron represents Montreal’s most consistent line with Galchenyuk being a point-per-game player and Radulov right on his heels with 18 points in the 20 games he’s played in this season. I’m thinking that the Plekanec line is the one to target here for your GPP plays although I would use Pacioretty and Gallagher if you are using the 2-2-2 system. Shea Weber and Andrei Markov are the plays on defense as they have a combined five points out of the three power play goals Montreal has scored over the last five games. This becomes an even stronger play when you realize that the Ducks have given up a goal in each of the last four games after they take a penalty.
Strangely enough the last five Ducks games have all ended with a score of 3-2 including their last three home losses to Chicago, the Islanders and Los Angeles. They will need to improve on that tonight if they have any aspirations of beating the best team in the league. Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and Rickard Rakell are in play here as they all have found the scoresheet three times over the last four games. Both Perry and Getzlaf lead the team in points but the odd thing is that they only have six goals between them while combining for 30 assists over the first 22 games. Ryan Kesler joins them on the top power play unit that has scored four goals over the last six games. He also leads the team in goals with eight along with Rakell, who is left out of the power play shenanigans. Kesler makes a nice one-off play here as he gets exposure to the team leaders while centering Jakob Silfverberg and Andrew Cogliano. Cam Fowler and Sami Vatanen get to man the points on with the man advantage but until Vatanen starts to catch fire it’s best to stick with Fowler. Vatanen has managed just nine points so far this season while Fowler is outshooting him by a tally of 46-38 but has the better production with six goals and seven assists. This game like many others on the slate could be close.
Elite Plays
MTL: Alex Galchenyuk
ANA: Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf
Secondary Plays
MTL: Alexander Radulov, Shea Weber, Andrei Markov, Brendan Gallagher
ANA: Ryan Kesler, Rickard Rakell, Cam Fowler
Minnesota Wild at Vancouver Canucks
| Minnesota Wild | Vancouver Canucks | ||||||||
 | Devan Dubnyk |  | Ryan Miller | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 11-7-3 | 9-11-2 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.76 | 1.95 | 19.00% | 85.20% | Team Stats | 2.14 | 2.95 | 12.50% | 85.20% |
Thanks to a good defense and great goaltending Minnesota has only given up a league low 42 goals in their first 21 games. Their 11-7-3 record is good enough to be tied for fourth in the Western conference and look to build on that tonight as they head up to British Columbia to take on the Vancouver Canucks. The Wild have a 4-4-3 road record which is a bit better than most one-line teams. Zach Parise, Charlie Coyle and Eric Staal are the team’s first line and can be used as a GPP play here. Coyle has netted four goals and five points over the last five games while Parise and Staal have found the scoresheet three times over the same time frame. With the top line attracting Vancouver’s best shut down line maybe taking a peek at Mikko Koivu and Mikael Granlund from the second line is worth a shot here. They both have registered five points apiece over the last five games. The Wild have scored 17 goals over the last five games but six of them came against the Penguins on home ice last Friday night. Ryan Suter and Jared Spurgeon are good defensive options with Suter having the upper hand by virtue of his 14 points in the first 21 games. Vancouver can put up a fight here as they have been playing better defensively as well.
At first look one might think that the Canucks team leader in goals and assists is a pure scrub. Then you have to look at the fact that he has been in the league for three years and he is only 21. His name is Bo Horvat. Not actually a hockey name but for the moment he is getting the job done with six points over the last four games. Alexandre Burrows has grabbed four points in four games as his line mate while Sven Baertschi has missed the last two games with a lacerated foot but hopes to return tonight. The top line of Daniel Sedin, Brandon Sutter and Henrik Sedin is usually the line to look to when the Canucks are at home but it might be best to lay off of them tonight, especially with the way Minnesota has been stingy with their goal-giving skills. Troy Stecher and Ben Hutton are the choice on defense with the injury to Alexander Edler, but none of the Vancouver players should look attractive for your cash games tonight. There are just too many better options.
Elite Plays
MIN: None
VAN: None
Secondary Plays
MIN: Eric Staal, Charlie Coyle, Zach Parise, Ryan Suter, Mikko Koivu, Jared Spurgeon
VAN: Daniel Sedin, Bo Horvat, Henrik Sedin, Brandon Sutter