NHL Grind Down: Tuesday, November 8th
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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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Vancouver Canucks at New York Rangers
| Vancouver Canucks | New York Rangers | ||||||||
 | Jacob Markstrom |  | Henrik Lundqvist | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 4-8-1 | 10-3-0 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 1.58 | 2.75 | 9.80% | 85.70% | Team Stats | 4.23 | 2.23 | 22.70% | 83.30% |
Vancouver, Vancouver,Vancouver. What are we going to do with this team in terms of fantasy relevance? Sure we were able to play Daniel Sedin last night on a three game slate where plus/minus now means nothing, but on a ten game slate like today’s, I’m not so sure. The Canucks have lost eight games in a row as they attempt to play their third game in four nights on the road. The 36 year old legs of the Sedin brothers will surely be put to the test tonight against a Ranger team that is a stellar 8-1 on home ice. With Vancouver only tallying 22 goals so far this season it’s tough to recommend any of them as GPP, let alone cash games. There’s two ways to go here for GPPs. You could pair the Sedin brothers together or drop to the second line and use Markus Granlund and Brandon Sutter. Granlund has his only two goals of the season in the six games they have played on the road. Not the ringing endorsement that you’d like to see from a player you’re looking to roster but this is a bad team and it is what it is. Philip Larsen and Ben Hutton have been getting the extra work on the power play but that means nothing when you don’t score.
You know you are running good when 12 players on your roster have three or more points over the last five games. The Rangers have won their last five games by scoring five goals or more in each of those games while only giving up a total of eight during that span. As you can imagine a lot of players could be in play tonight when your teams is basically scoring at will. J.T. Miller and Kevin Hayes are leading the team from the third line as they have a combined seven goals and nine assists over the last five games while line mate Michael Grabner has tallied seven points on 13 shots. The line of Rick Nash, Jimmy Vesey and Derek Stepan are in play here as well but it might be the line of Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad and Mats Zuccarello that could be the best bet here against Vancouver. This is the line that gets the first shot on the power play along with Brandon Pirri and defenseman Ryan McDonagh. All make for fine plays just make sure you keep the players together with the lines they play with. Obviously Pirri would be a one-off since he skates on the fourth line but skates on the top unit when the team has the man advantage.
Elite Plays
VAN: None
NYR: Mats Zuccarello, Mika Zibanejad, Ryan McDonagh, Rick Nash, Derek Stepan, J.T. Miller
Secondary Plays
VAN: Daniel Sedin
NYR: Jimmy Hayes, Chris Kreider
San Jose Sharks at Washington Capitals
| San Jose Sharks | Washington Capitals | ||||||||
 | Martin Jones |  | Braden Holtby | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 6-6-0 | 8-2-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.25 | 2.67 | 19.50% | 87.10% | Team Stats | 3.00 | 2.09 | 14.30% | 80.60% |
It looks like ‘The Mikkel Boedker Project’ is not working out the way the Sharks would have liked. Even after being moved up to the top line with Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski, Boedker’s stat line remains at two goals and no assists through 12 games. Tomas Hertl gets the call on the left wing and should be considered as a punt play here as he has grabbed five points over the last five games. Logan Couture skates from the second line and gets the majority of ice time on the team’s top power play with Thornton, Pavelski, third liner Patrick Marleau and stud defenseman Brent Burns. Couture makes a decent one-off play here as the Capitals will be busy trying to shut down the Pavelski line, giving him and Joonas Donskoi a little more room on the ice tonight. The Capitals have only given up 24 goals this season, so this is not an all-in situation if you were thinking about rostering San Jose players tonight.
After reeling off five straight wins it appears that the Capitals will now move T.J. Oshie back to the top line to skate with Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. Considering that these three along with power play partner Marcus Johansson not only lead the team in scoring over the last six games but in overall scoring as well, I think this is a good place to start when selecting Washington players for your lineups tonight. Johansson is the one-off play here as he skates on the second line with Evgeny Kuznetsov and Justin Williams while leading the team with Ovechkin with 11 points through the first 11 games. John Carlson and Matt Niskanen each have five assists on the season so it’s a toss-up here as Carlson sees more ice time with the man advantage.
Elite Plays
SJ: Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns
WSH: Alexander Ovechkin
Elite Plays
SJ: Joe Thornton, Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau, Tomas Hertl
WSH: Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie, Marcus Johansson, John Carlson
Edmonton Oilers at Pittsburgh Penguins
| Edmonton Oilers | Pittsburgh Penguins | ||||||||
 | Cam Talbot |  | Marc-Andre Fleury | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 9-3-1 | 8-2-2 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.00 | 2.38 | 21.10% | 89.50% | Team Stats | 3.00 | 2.58 | 24.40% | 81.60% |
Edmonton finishes up their five game road trip tonight in Pittsburgh tonight as they take on the Stanley Cup Champions. Backed by the emergence of Connor McDavid and goaltender Cam Talbot, Edmonton sits atop the Pacific division by five points through the first 13 games of the season. McDavid and Jordan Eberle lead a power play unit that has struck for four goals in the last three games along with second liner Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and third liner Milan Lucic. The Oilers seem to have found a happy medium and that is having at least two lines be a threat to score so being on the verge of having three may almost be unstoppable. Patrick Maroon plays on the top line with McDavid and should be considered as a nice punt play here as he has grabbed four points over the last seven games, including three goals. It’s kind of a take your pick situation on the back line as Andrej Sekera continues to see time on the power play but Darnell Nurse and now Matt Benning are slowly creeping into the picture. While the Oilers may be tired they still should be able to put a few goals here.
Sidney Crosby had a great three game road trip as he four of his five points were goals as the Penguins were able to were able to take two out of three on the west coast. There is no model in the world to predict what will happen tonight as Edmonton finishes up a five game road trip while Pittsburgh returns from the west coast. This one could see a lot of goals in it so I’d look Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel to take over the scoring tonight as they lead the team in points with a combined nine goals and 13 assists through 12 games. Being at home the Penguins will try to match that line against the weaker Edmonton lines. Patric Hornqvist skates with Crosby and are joined by Kessel and Malkin along with defenseman Kris Letang to form one of the top power play units in the league. Chris Kunitz plays alongside of Malkin and Kessel and could be a nice punt play tonight.
Elite Plays
EDM: Connor McDavid
PIT: Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby
Secondary Plays
EDM: Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Milan Lucic
PIT: Kris Letang, Patric Hornqvist, Phil Kessel
Carolina Hurricanes at New Jersey Devils
| Carolina Hurricanes | New Jersey Devils | ||||||||
 | Cam Ward |  | Cory Schneider | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 3-5-3 | 5-3-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.55 | 3.45 | 18.90% | 87.90% | Team Stats | 2.36 | 2.27 | 19.40% | 82.50% |
This will be the second time in three days that these teams have faced off against each other. Carolina ended up on the short end of a 4-1 game on home ice and will try to get revenge here in Newark at the Prudential Center when they face the Devils tonight. The top line that features Jeff Skinner and Victor Rask continue to lead the team in points as they have combined for ten goals and 12 assists so far this year. They both get plenty of time on the top power play unit with line mate Lee Stempniak along with Andrej Nestrasil. Justin Faulk left Sunday’s game with an injury and did not return, which would mean that Noah Hanifin could be in play here as he would take over the point on the power play. Hanifin has racked up seven points in 12 games while logging under 18 minutes of ice time per game. It’s tough to go with anyone else here as Carolina doesn’t score much and while New Jersey has only given up nine goals in five games on home ice.
UPDATE
It looks like Carolina has moved Stempniak down to the third line and Elias Lindholm now gets a shot on the top line with Rask and Skinner. This moves the needle just a hair up on Lindholm and a hair down on Stempniak.
The Devils have looked a little better recently as they have found the back of the net 18 times in their last six games. This is a far cry from the eight goals they scored in their first five games and look to improve on that mark tonight. Their home record of 4-0-1 isn’t bad either so I would look for the devils to come away with the win tonight. Taylor Hall and Travis Zajac are the ones to target here as they are not only the most consistent scoring forwards, they also see plenty of ice time when the Devils have the man advantage. Damon Severson leads the team in points from the back line as he has accumulated seven of his nine pints over the last six games while three of them coming via the power play. You could try to ride the hot hand with Mike Cammalleri as he scored three goals the other night against these same Hurricanes. Your one-off however is Pavel Zacha as he starts to see more time on the power play which should mean that his point total will continue to grow as well. He has found the scoresheet three times over the last six games.
Elite Plays
CAR: Jeff Skinner
NJ: None
Secondary Plays
CAR: Victor Rask, Noah Hanifin, Lee Stempniak
NJ: Taylor Hall, Travis Zajac, Damon Severson, Mike Cammalleri
Detroit Red Wings at Philadelphia Flyers
| Detroit Red Wings | Philadelphia Flyers | ||||||||
 | Petr Mrazek |  | Steve Mason | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 6-6-1 | 6-6-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.62 | 2.69 | 19.10% | 80.50% | Team Stats | 3.46 | 3.69 | 27.40% | 77.50% |
Detroit comes into this one needing a win badly as they have dropped their last five games while only scoring nine goals. This is part of the reason why they have called up Tyler Bertuzzi to play the wing with Frans Nielsen and Dylan Larkin. It will be interesting to see which line the Flyers try to shut down as they could try to match up with the line Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Tatar and Justin Abdelkader, leaving Larkin and company with a bit more room on the ice tonight. Your one-off here is Gustav Nyquist as he has been dropped to the third line but is still on the power play unit with Tatar, Zetterberg and team leader in points, defenseman Mike Green. Again, here is another team that has a defenseman leading the team in points and that’s not good.
The Flyers have tallied ten goals while enjoying the man advantage over the last seven games. Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds lead the charge from the top line while Jakub Voracek joins them from the second line. Giroux and Simmonds will see yet another winger to the left of them when they take to the ice tonight. The Flyers spun the wheel and this time it lands on…..Matt Read! To be fair, Read is tied for the team lead in goals with Voracek and Simmonds, they all have six. Read makes a nice one-off play as well as Voracek, it’s just a matter of how much you have to spend on them. Brayden Schenn has been dropped to the third line but looks like he will remain on the top power play unit, which gives him some value as well. Defensively Shayne Gostisbehere continues to log minutes on the top power play unit but we cannot discount Mark Streit either as they both have chipped in three goals and six assists through the first 13 games. The Flyers can score as they have 47 of them which has them tied for second in the league, the problem is that they give up a lot of them as well.
Elite Plays
DET: None
PHL: Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds
Secondary Plays
DET: Gustav Nyquist, Mike Green, Henrik Zetterberg, Dylan Larkin, Frans Nielsen
PHL: Jakub Voracek, Shayne Gostisbehere, Mark Streit