NHL Grind Down: Tuesday, November 3rd
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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Washington Capitals at New York Rangers – 07:00 PM EST
| Washington Capitals | New York Rangers | ||||||||
 | Braden Holtby |  | Henrik Lundqvist | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 8-2 | 7-2 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.40 | 2.30 | 24.10% | 87.90% | Team Stats | 2.82 | 1.82 | 14.30% | 87.90% |
The Capitals and Rangers hit the ice tonight tied atop the Metropolitan Division with 16 points a piece. After finishing second in the division behind these Rangers last season, the Capitals will be looking to make a statement when they invade Madison Square Garden. Washington has picked up back-to-back 2-1 victories and have now won seven of their last eight games and have had all summer/fall to plan their revenge after dropping a very tightly contested seven game series to New York in the Eastern Conference semifinals last season. Obviously this Washington offense runs directly through Alex Ovechkin and the Ranger simply had no answer for him last season as the sniper scored five goals in their four regular season meetings. He’s dominating presence on the team’s top forward line elevates his line mates T.J. Oshie and Evgeny Kuznetsov into very attractive fantasy options as well. In fact, Evgeny Kuznetsov actually leads the team with 13 points through the first 10 games. Ovechkin’s long-time partner-in-crime Niklas Backstrom loses some of his fantasy appeal as the center of the much less dangerous second line, but he does still center the team’s #1 power-play unit and Washington did own the best power-play in the NHL last season. On defense, John Carlson has been terrific this season as he’s already tallied two goals and eight assists and is averaging nearly 25 minutes of ice-time per game. As the QB of that #1 power-play unit, he’s a fine option tonight. This is a very tough matchup, but there’s just too much firepower in this lineup to ignore them completely.
Last year’s Presidents’ Trophy winning Rangers have had a bit of a roller-coaster start to the 2015-16 season, but they’ve been excellent in each of their last two games and have now been victorious in four of their last five. The Rangers are deep, both upfront and on the blue-line, and while that one of their biggest strengths as a team, it’s muddied the waters a bit from a fantasy perspective. They’ve had solid offensive production from each of their top three scoring lines, but despite his oddly quiet start to the season, Rick Nash remains their most dangerous weapon. Nash picked up three assists against the Maple Leafs in their last name and posted a career high 42 goals last season. He lit the lamp three times in three meetings against the Capitals last year and he, along with his linemates Derick Brassard and Mats Zuccarello are my favorite options from the Rangers today. The Rangers are stacked on the blue-line, but Keith Yandle has already racked up six points on the young season and should continue to put up very solid offensive numbers as the point-man on the Ranger’s lethal #1 power-play unit.
Elite Plays
WAS: Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, John Carlson
NYR: Rick Nash, Mats Zuccarello, Derick Brassard, Keith Yandle
Secondary Plays
WAS: T.J. Oshie, Marcus Johansson, Nicklas Backstrom, Justin Williams
NYR: Derek Stepan, Chris Kreider, Ryan McDonagh
Dallas Stars at Boston Bruins – 07:00 PM EST
| Dallas Stars | Boston Bruins | ||||||||
 | Kari Lehtonen |  | Tuukka Rask | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 9-2 | 6-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.64 | 2.73 | 26.30% | 81.30% | Team Stats | 3.90 | 3.10 | 35.30% | 75.00% |
Despite out-shooting Toronto 44-26 last night, the Stars saw their three game winning streak snapped as they lost 4-1 against the Maple Leafs. They’ll continue their four game East Coast road trip tonight as they head to BeanTown to take on the Boston Bruins. Dallas is rated as the fastest paced hockey team in the NHL (118.5 CP60), but they’re going to meet some resistance from the Bruins tonight. The Seguin/Benn/Sharp line is easily one of the most dangerous trios on the NHL this season, but they’ll be shadowed by Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand all evening and that is certainly one of the toughest tests they’ll have all season. They’re simply too good to ignore, but the tough match makes it hard from me to invest in their big-ticket asking prices in my cash games. The key to two points for Dallas tonight will likely be determined by two things; 1) Can Jason Spezza create any offense on the 2nd line, and 2) Can Dallas force enough penalties to expose Boston’s rather ugly 75.0% penalty kill.
The Bruins were embarrassed in each of the first three games of the season, but they’ve certainly turned things around since. They’ve won six of their last seven games and bring a four game winning streak into tonight’s game with the Stars. Boston has scored at least three goals in each of the last eight games and now find themselves as the highest scoring team in the league with 3.90 goals per game. Both Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin have been on fire offensively, but with them likely being tasked with the unpleasant duty of trying to slow down the Benn/Seguin/Sharp line, their offensive outlook is dinged up bit here as they’ll be hanging back in this matchup much more than usual. With that said, Boston will be counting on David Krejci and his line mates (Loui Eriksson and David Pastrnak) to continue their hot start and provide the secondary scoring that can make this team a very tough out in the Eastern Conference. With seven goals and eight assists in the first 10 games, Krejci’s a terrific option in what should be a faced paced battle. Aside from those rock solid top two forward lines, Boston is also getting plenty of offensive production from their blue-line. Both Torey Krug and Zdeno Chara have picked up eight points with both players averaging over 23 minutes of ice-time per game and soaking up nearly all of the available time with the man advantage.
Elite Plays
DAL: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, Patrick Sharp, John Klingberg
BOS: David Krejci, Loui Eriksson, Torey Krug, Zdeno Chara
Secondary Plays
DAL: Jason Spezza, Alex Goligoski
BOS: Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, Jimmy Hayes, Brett Connolly
New Jersey Devils at New York Islanders – 07:00 PM EST
| New Jersey Devils | New York Islanders | ||||||||
 | Cory Schneider |  | Jaroslav Halak | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 6-4 | 6-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.36 | 2.55 | 23.10% | 75.00% | Team Stats | 3.00 | 2.42 | 28.60% | 92.30% |
These teams squared off on Saturday in New Jersey with the Devils escaping with a 3-2 shootout victory, but New Jersey will be hard pressed to get two more points tonight as the scene shifts to Brooklyn. The Devils were victorious on Saturday despite only firing 17 shots on goal and despite a solid 6-4-1 start, they just don’t look to have enough talent on this team to be a serious playoff threat in the Eastern Conference. The Islanders swept all four games against the Devils last season, and are understandably heavy favorites by Vegas standards this evening. While the Islanders do own the league’s best penalty kill so far in the 2015-16 season, it was one of their major flaws last season as their 78% PK was ranked 26th in the league. With that in mind, there does seem to be at least some merit behind targeting the Devils top power-play unit. Adam Henrique and Michael Cammalleri led this team in scoring last season and both players are off to strong starts once again this season. They team up on the top forward line as well as on the #1 power-play unit and are really the only two Devils on my cash game radar this evening. On the blue-line, 21 year-old Damon Severson has been handed the reigns on the point of the top power-play and he’s shown some offensive upside during his young career making him a fine value play on defense.
The Islanders may have lost to the Devils on Saturday, but as I mentioned above, they swept the season series last year and that loss on Saturday came without their Captain John Tavares in the lineup. Unfortunately for the Islanders, it looks like Tavares is still under the weather and they’ll likely need to suit up without him once again tonight. However, the New Jersey Devils were an abysmal hockey club on the road last season and this superior Islanders squad should be hungry for some revenge. With Tavares out, Frans Nielsen will hop up to center the Islanders top line with the talented Kyle Okposo and Anders Lee surrounding him, there’s a lot to like from that trio tonight. Nielsen has chipped in four goals and two assists over the past five games and yet still comes with a very reasonable asking price across the industry. Tavares’ absence is definitely a big loss for the Islander’s power-play, but with New Jersey owning just a 75.5% penalty kill to begin the season, there’s still plenty of reason for optimism from the Islanders with the man-advantage. While Nick Leddy is my favorite option from their defense, Marek Zidlicky, Johnny Boychuk and Travis Hamonic are all well worth consideration as well.
Elite Plays
NJD: Michael Cammalleri
NYI: Anders Lee, Kyle Okposo, Frans Nielsen, Nick Leddy
Secondary Play
NJD: Adam Henrique, Lee Stempniak, Damon Severson
NYI: Ryan Strome, Brock Nelson, Johnny Boychuk, Marek Zidlicky
Ottawa Senators at Montreal Canadiens – 07:30 PM EST
| Ottawa Senators | Montreal Canadiens | ||||||||
 | Craig Anderson |  | Mike Condon | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 5-4 | 11-2 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.00 | 3.09 | 13.50% | 75.50% | Team Stats | ||||
In general, I’m pretty high on this Senators team this year. They finally pushed their way into the playoffs last season and are loaded with some promising young talent. However, they’ll head to Montreal to face the team that bounced them in the first round of the playoff last season and who made easy work of them in their only meeting this season. While the Carey Price injury does improve their fantasy outlook significantly, I’m just not willing to invest on any team visiting Montreal in my cash games. The Senators are hopeful to get Mike Hoffman back into the lineup tonight, but his return coincides with the announcement of the two-game suspension for Mark Stone. Regardless, Hoffman and his line mate Kyle Turris have some GPP appeal. Erik Karlsson remains one of the most offensively aggressive blue-liners in the league, but this is just not the matchup that can justify paying up for his massive salary.
The Canadiens looked to be toying with a very solid Winnipeg team on Sunday as they cruised to an effortless 5-1 victory and only allowed 19 shots on goal. They’re off to an 11-2-0 start to the season and it’s hard to imagine them not being a very serious cup contender when spring time comes around. Offensively, Max Pacioretty is the headliner and his line mates Tomas Plekanec and Brendan Gallagher have reaped the benefits. That trio has combined for 17 goals and 16 assists through the first 13 games will be a force that Ottawa has no answer for. Tomas Plekanec netter a pair of goals in the first meeting between these two teams this season and Pacioretty posted some drastic home vs road splits last season (45 points in 40 home games). While that top line will draw most of my attention, there are plenty of secondary options up front for the Habs as they already have seven players with double-digit points. On defense, the daily fantasy picture is much more clear; Both P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov have been red-hot to start the season and offer tremendous offensive upside. Both players have already tallied one goal and 11 assists and are lethal weapons on the point of Montreal’s #1 power-play and are superb options against this Ottawa team that has allowed the most power-play goals in the league this season.
Elite Plays
OTT: None
MON: Max Pacioretty, Tomas Plekanec, Brendan Gallagher, P.K. Subban, Andrei Markov
Secondary Plays
OTT: Kyle Turris, Mark Stone, Mike Hoffman, Bobby Ryan, Erik Karlsson.
MON: David Desharnais, Alex Galchenyuk, Tomas Fleischmann, Lars Eller
Tampa Bay Lightning at Detroit Red Wings – 07:30 PM EST
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Detroit Red Wings | ||||||||
 | Ben Bishop |  | Jimmy Howard | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 6-5 | 5-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.54 | 2.54 | 19.50% | 76.90% | Team Stats | 2.55 | 2.73 | 20.50% | 82.50% |
Tampa snapped out of a four game skid with a win in Carolina on Sunday, but the Lightning just haven’t looked like the same team that racked up 108 points last season. They’ve scored just six goals over their last five games and the second line of Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat that made this team so difficult to defend last season, has been eerily quiet to begin the 2015-16 season. The Lightning eliminated this Detroit team from the playoffs in a very tough seven game series last spring, but Detroit exacted some revenge when they squared off earlier this season as they walked away with a 3-1 victory. Steven Stamkos is still the main catalyst of this offense and he leads the team with six goals and, along with his line mate Ryan Callahan, will surely have the attention of the Detroit coaching staff. However, the aforementioned “second” line of Palat/Johnson/Kucherov showed signs of life against Carolina on Sunday and it was the trio that caused Detroit to clean out their lockers last season. With Pavel Datsyuk still out of action, it’s unlikely Detroit will have an answer for their speed. Victor Hedman leads this team with ten points and the 24 year-old defenseman will likely find himself in Norris Trophy consideration for years to come; with Detroit having a mediocre penalty kill, he’s a fine option on the blue-line. His defensive partner Anton Stralman may not have the same upside, but he also sees a healthy dose of power-play time and comes with a much more reasonable asking price.
After a 3-0-0 start to the season, it’s been tough sledding for the Red Wings as they’ve posted a 2-5-1 record in the eight games since. With Pavel Datsyuk return still several weeks away, Detroit looks to be just trying to hang on for the time being and avoid digging themselves a hole they’re unable to climb out of. Somewhat surprisingly, only Colorado has posted worse puck possession numbers by Corsi standards than Detroit this season. However, Detroit did defeat this Tampa team in the first meeting and the Lightning have historically been far less imposing on the road. As expected, Henrik Zetterberg has done his best to absorb the scoring void left behind by the Datsyuk injury, and through 11 games he’s already posted three goals and 11 assists. With Zetterberg still proving to be an dynamic offensive player, his line mates Justin Abdelkader and the very talented Dylan Larkin have been the beneficiaries. Gustav Nyquist joins Zetterberg and Abdelkader on the wing of the top power-play unit, and continues to look like he’ll remain a perennial 30 goal scorer for years to come. With Mike Green sidelined, Niklas Kronwall has been called on to play big minutes as well as run the point of the Detroit’s very dangerous #1 power-play unit. He picked up a pair of assists in their last game and is very reasonably priced on most sites. Alternatively, Danny DeKeyser continues to develop into a terrific defenseman for Detroit and he finally broke out of his scoring slump by scoring a goal and adding an assist against Ottawa on Saturday.
Elite Plays
TAM: Steven Stamkos, Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman
DET: Henrik Zetterberg, Gustav Nyquist
Secondary Play
TAM: Ryan Callahan, Ondrej Palat, Valtteri Filppula, Anton Stralman
DET: Dylan Larkin, Justin Abdelkader, Tomas Tatar, Niklas Kronwall, Danny DeKeyser