NHL Grind Down: Tuesday, October 13th - Page 2
Tampa Bay Lightning at Detroit Red Wings – 07:30 PM EDT
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Detroit Red Wings | ||||||||
 | Ben Bishop |  | Jimmy Howard | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 50-24 | 43-25 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.16 | 2.51 | 18.80% | 83.70% | Team Stats | 2.82 | 2.57 | 23.80% | 80.90% |
The Lightning bounced this Detroit team from the Stanley Cup Playoffs in a very tightly contested seven-game series last season, and with both teams off to undefeated starts, this should be a fun game to watch tonight. Tampa Bay pummeled the Boston Bruins 6-3 yesterday afternoon to improve to 3-0-0 and will look to make another statement against their new Atlantic Division rival. The Lightning have two dynamic scoring lines that provide nearly all of their offense and both lines will undoubtedly be pleased that Pavel Datsyuk not going to be in uniform tonight for the Wings. Detroit was able to slow down the Stamkos line during their seven game series last spring, but they simply had no answer for the speed and skill of the Johnson/Palat/Kucherov line, making all three of them nice options. Defensively, Victor Hedman is emerging as one the better defenseman in the league and has already racked up four assists through the first three games.
Detroit made it through the preseason without losing in regulation, and after two impressive wins to start the regular season, this is becoming a very intriguing wild-card in the Atlantic Division. Pavel Datsyuk injury is a big blow for this team, but new Coach Jeff Blashill has a nice mixture of experienced veterans and energized youngsters at his disposal. Their Captain, Henrik Zetterberg, is still the catalyst of this offense and he along with his linemates Justin Abdelkader and Dylan Larkin have been an offensive force in the first two games. While that line should demand most of the fantasy attention, the next two forward lines have shown plenty of offensive potential in the past and shouldn’t be ignored (especially in GPPs). The Red Wings did post the NHL’s second best power-play last season, but with Tampa being very solid on the penalty kill and Ben Bishop a monster between the pipes, you’ll want to keep your expectations in check. The newly acquired Mike Green joins Niklas Kronwall as a point-man on their respective power-play units, making both players fine options at one of your “D” spots.
Elite Plays
TAM: Tyler Johnson, Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman
DET: Henrik Zetterberg
Secondary Plays
TAM: Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat, Ryan Callahan, Anton Stralman, Ben Bishop
DET: Justin Abdelkader, Gustav Nyquist, Dylan Larkin, Mike Green, Niklas Kronwall
Edmonton Oilers at Dallas Stars – 08:30 PM EDT
| Edmonton Oilers | Dallas Stars | ||||||||
 | Ben Scrivens |  | Kari Lehtonen | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 24-44 | 41-31 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.35 | 3.37 | 17.70% | 76.70% | Team Stats | 3.13 | 3.13 | 19.00% | 80.70% |
Connor McDavid has been quiet thus far during his two game NHL career, but he’s looked dangerous at times and it’s only a matter of time until he starts racking up points. The Oilers are missing Jordan Eberle to begin the season, but with McDavid firmly in the fold, this is a team that will likely partake in quiet a few offensive explosions this season. They’ll head to Dallas tonight to take on a Stars team that was the quickest in the league last season (61.6 CP60), and while they’re outmatched overall, the quick pace could be just what they need to break-out after two very tough matchups in St. Louis and Nashville. With Dallas having allowed an ugly 3.13 goals against per game last season and struggling mightily in their own zone thus far in 2015-16, there’s some value here. While we wait for McDavid to get up to speed at the NHL level, it’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Taylor Hall and Teddy Purcell that look the more reliable scoring threats at this point. After logging over 24 minutes of ice-time against Nashville on Saturday, Taylor Hall finally looks 100% healthy and torched the Stars last season; scoring three goals and adding a pair of assists in their three meetings. On defense, Justin Schultz is worth consideration as the point man of the top power-play, but there’s not much else to like from the Oilers blue-line.
The Stars defensive struggles are a major concern and something they’ll need to correct if they have any hope of making the playoffs in the Western Conference, but their scoring ability is not in question. Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn form one of the most dangerous offensive pairings in the league, and after tinkering with his lines at practice on Monday, it looks like Coach Lindy Ruff is going to give Patrick Eaves a crack at playing alongside them. With a terrific matchup against the defensively porous Oilers, Seguin and Benn are elite options with Eaves coming in as one of the most intriguing value plays on the board. With Seguin lighting up the Oilers for four goals and an assists in their three meetings last season, I’ll be targeting him particularly heavily. Jason Spezza and Patrick Sharp are both offensive producers and they team up on the team’s second line making them both very appealing GPP options. On the blue-line, John Klingberg has emerged as a nice offensive weapon and is locked into 20+ minutes of ice-time with a healthy dose of power-play time.
Elite Plays
EDM: Taylor Hall
DAL: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, John Klingberg
Secondary Plays
EDM: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Connor McDavid, Teddy Purcell, Justin Schultz
DAL: Jason Spezza, Patrick Eaves, Patrick Sharp, Alex Goligoski
St Louis Blues at Calgary Flames – 09:00 PM EDT
| St. Louis Blues | Calgary Flames | ||||||||
 |  | Jonas Hiller | |||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 51-24 | 45-30 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.91 | 2.40 | 22.30% | 83.70% | Team Stats | 2.89 | 2.60 | 18.80% | 80.60% |
The St. Louis Blues absolutely dominated this Calgary team last season; winning all three games and outscoring the Flames 12-1 during the process. They’ll enter tonight’s game angry after dropping Saturday’s game against the nemesis Minnesota Wild and should be highly motivated to get back on the winning track. Despite injuries to Patrik Berglund and rookie Robby Fabbri, the Blues still have the luxury of rolling with three different very capable scoring lines (as well as a bruising checking line) and have three different rock solid defenseman who are all locked into 20+ minutes per game (Shattenkirk, Pietrangelo, Bouwmeester). Vladimir Tarasenko is the face of this franchise right now and one of the most exciting young offensive talents in the NHL today. Joined by Alexander Steen and Paul Stastny, that trio should be a matchup nightmare for the rather undersized Flames. With the Flames being one of the worst teams in the league by Corsi standards last season (44.5 CF%), St. Louis should be able to dictate the style and pace of this game.
This young and talented Flames team surprised most of the NHL by grabbing a playoff spot last season, and they should continue to grow into a more dangerous hockey club as their young talent blossoms. While the matchup against the very defensively sound St. Louis Blues is less than ideal, the trio of Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and Jiri Hudler combined to form one of the most dynamic forward lines in the NHL last season. That line may be matchup proof to some extent, but only the Los Angeles Kings allowed fewer shots on goal per game last season than St. Louis (27.2) and the lopsided results from last season may make them better served for GPP use. Calgary is stacked with playmaking options on the blue-line, and Mark Giordano, Dougie Hamilton and Dennis Wideman are all well worth consideration on a nightly basis.
Elite Plays
STL: Vladimir Tarasenko, Alexander Steen, Kevin Shattenkirk
CGY: Johnny Gaudreau
Secondary Plays
STL: Paul Stastny, David Backes, Jaden Schwartz, Alex Pietrangelo
CGY: Jiri Hudler, Sean Monahan, Mark Giordano, Dougie Hamilton, Dennis Wideman
Vancouver Canucks at Los Angeles Kings – 10:30 PM EDT
| Vancouver Canucks | Los Angeles Kings | ||||||||
 | Ryan Miller |  | Jhonas Enroth | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 48-29 | 40-27 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.88 | 2.68 | 19.30% | 85.70% | Team Stats | 2.66 | 2.40 | 19.00% | 80.90% |
The Canucks escaped Anaheim with a shootout victory last last night and will make the quick trip to Los Angeles tonight to battle the Kings. Leaving the Staples Center with two points has proven to be quite difficult over the past few seasons, especially on the second half of back-to-back games. I may sound like a broken record every time the Canucks hit the ice, but the Sedin brothers are still the catalysts of their offense. No duo in the NHL combined for points on the same goal more often last season and the Sedin’s did (58 goals) and both brothers still log significant playing time with the man advantage. They’ll be joined by Brandon Sutter on the top line thus far this season but do face a very tough test today as Anze Kopitar is one of the better two-way forwards in the league. With the last line change, Coach Sutter will almost certainly do what he can to slow that line down. However, with Radim Vrbata sliding down to play with Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi on the second forward unit, the Canucks appear to finally have a viable secondary scoring option. There’s not a ton to love from their defense outside of Alexander Edler who’s locked into 22+ minutes and plenty of run on the point of the #1 power-play unit.
The Kings have owned one of the most lopsided home-ice advantages over the past several seasons, and after dropping two very winnable games to start the season, they really need to hunker down and pick up two points tonight against the Canucks. Los Angeles took three of the five meetings between these two teams last season and looked much better despite the losing effort against Arizona as they outshot the Coyotes 41-22. The slow start to the season looks like it’ll result in a shake-up of the forward lines tonight as Darryl Sutter has hinted at Dustin Brown joining Anze Kopitar and Marian Gaborik on the top line, with the newly acquired Milan Lucic dropping down to play with Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli. Regardless of the exact configuration, either of these top two lines should be what you center your fantasy attention around. Tyler Toffoli remains rather cheap across the industry and posted two goals and three assists against the Canucks last season. Drew Doughty and Jake Muzzin are both offensively minded defenseman and are fine plays if you’re looking to target Los Angeles.
Elite Plays
VAN: Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin
LAK: Jeff Carter, Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty
Secondary Plays
VAN: Radim Vrbata, Bo Horvat, Alexander Edler
LAK: Tyler Toffoli, Marian Gaborik, Dustin Brown, Jake Muzzin