NHL Grind Down: Tuesday, October 25th - Page Two
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Buffalo Sabres at Philadelphia Flyers
| Buffalo Sabres | Philadelphia Flyers | ||||||||
 | Anders Nilsson |  | Michal Neuvirth | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 1-2-1 | 2-2-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.75 | 3.00 | 19.00% | 92.80% | Team Stats | 3.80 | 3.80 | 19.00% | 77.80% |
The Sabres finish up their four game road trip with a stop in Philadelphia to face the Flyers. Not too many line changes here as head coach Dan Bylsma has moved Sam Reinhart in the middle of Zemgus Girgensons and Tyler Ennis as opposed to being on the wing. Bylsma cites that he wants him to ’start moving his feet more’. This line would normally make a good GPP play tonight as they are the second line and playing on the road but the total points they have accumulated on the Sabres 11 goals is at a paltry three. Instead, let’s make the top line of Ryan O’Reilly, Matt Moulson and Kyle Okposo the GPP play here as the Flyers tend to give up some goals, even on home ice. Rasmus Ristolainen is the choice on the point as he has accumulated 5 assists, four of them on the power play, in the first four games. Just as a side note Moulson and O’Reilly have tallied all four goals with the man advantage with two apiece.
The Flyers come into this one fresh off a 3-1 loss to the Canadiens in Montreal last night. Jakub Voracek makes a great one-off here as he skates on the team’s top power play unit. It also doesn’t hurt that he leads the team in points with eight as he netted his third goal of the season last night. Travis Konecny joins Voracek on the second line but gets the second line power play minutes. Konecny has five assists on the young season. Claude Giroux plays on the team’s top line and top power play unit along with Wayne Simmonds, so pairing these two on your rosters could be a good play as well. Giroux has racked up seven assists while Simmonds has five points, including three power play goals. Shayne Gostisbehere is the choice on the point as he and Mark Streit skate on the top power play unit with the aforementioned forwards. Matt Read leads the team in goals with five, skating on the third line.
Elite Plays
BUF: Ryan O’Reilly
PHL: None
Secondary Plays
BUF: Kyle Okposo, Matt Moulson, Rasmus Ristolainen
PHL: Jakub Voracek, Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds, Shayne Gostisbehere.
Calgary Flames at St. Louis Blues
| Calgary Flames | St. Louis Blues | ||||||||
 | Chad Johnson |  | Carter Hutton | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 1-4-1 | 4-1-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.00 | 4.33 | 4.00% | 74.20% | Team Stats | 3.17 | 2.50 | 26.10% | 95.00% |
Calgary is averaging around three goals per game but tonight’s match up at St Louis will see exactly where this team is, especially after playing at Chicago last night. I think we all know where they are as going into last night’s game the team had scored 18 goals and not one player has more than four points. This only means that they are a bad team as usual, and even Johnny Gaudreau is finding it tough to put points on the board as he has three points going into last night. With Chicago being so bad on the power play, the Flames were able to score a few goals with the man advantage last night, but don’t be fooled tonight as the Blues have killed 19 of the 20 penalties they have taken this year. Sean Monahan, Troy Brouwer and defenseman Mark Giordano remain the only skill players here so if you absolutely have to have a few Flames, this is who I would suggest. I wouldn’t expect much tonight from the Flames, especially on a back-to-back.
After beating Calgary by a score of 6-4 on Saturday night, the team’s change venues for tonight’s game. As mentioned above, the Flames played an extra game last night so look for the Blues to give the Flames just that tonight. There was some confusing Saturday as to what the lines were going to be and as it turned out it was David Perron being the star while grabbing the hat trick skating alongside of Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz. This is the line to target tonight but I wouldn’t discount the second line of Alexander Steen, Paul Stastny and Robby Fabbri either as there should be plenty of goals to go around tonight. It may be a good idea to look toward the power play tonight as the Flames had taken 31 penalties while giving up eight goals while short-handed going into last night’s game. No wonder they aren’t too good. Kevin Shattenkirk takes the point on the top unit so pair up either Tarasenko and Schwartz or Stastny and Steen as those pairs will skate with each other for most of the game.
Elite Plays
CGY: None
STL: Vladimir Tarasenko
Secondary Plays
CGY: Johnny Gaudreau, Mark Giordano, Sean Monahan, Troy Brouwer
STL: Jaden Schwartz, Paul Stastny, Alexander Steen, Kevin Shattenkirk
Winnipeg Jets at Dallas Stars
| Winnipeg Jets | Dallas Stars | ||||||||
 | Michael Hutchinson |  | Kari Lehtonen | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 2-3-0 | 2-2-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.80 | 3.80 | 10.00% | 68.80% | Team Stats | 2.80 | 3.20 | 15.80% | 78.90% |
Let’s assume for the moment that the line of Blake Wheeler, Nikolaj Ehlers and Mathieu Perreault will be the line that the Stars will try to shut down. That would leave the line of Patrik Laine, Mark Scheifele and Drew Stafford to have a bit more room to work with. Winnipeg uses both lines as their two power play units and that may be the reason they have only scored twice in 20 attempts with the man advantage and both were scored by Laine. Why oh why do these teams not learn from say San Jose or Anaheim? These two teams historically have had good success while playing their top five guys for over 65% of the ice time on the power play. Dustin Byfuglien is the choice on defense here as he is averaging over 29 minutes of ice time and gets ample time with the man advantage. With Dallas being a bit beat up, Winnipeg should be able to apply pressure and light the lamp a few times tonight.
I guess the Dallas Stars are a little gun shy so giving Jamie Benn a maintenance day yesterday was the way to go. Ales Hemsky re-injured his groin while it looks Jason Spezza and Jiri Hudler will miss the game as well. The only player that ‘may’ play tomorrow is Patrick Eaves and even that’s not a definite. If you like the Dallas side tonight you will probably have to pay up for Benn, Tyler Seguin and defenseman John Klingberg. You could also use ‘the catch lightning in a bottle’ theory but the problem with that is, we won’t have any idea who is skating with who until after morning skates today. I like to get this article up early so you the reader have time to peruse it before lunch. I make updates to it during the day so this is a team that will definitely have some changes. Stay tuned!
UPDATE
Ok, we have updates on both sides of the ledger for this game. Dallas coach Lindy Ruff basically told the beat writers to make up their own likes as Benn and Seguin were split up in am skate, but we’ve seen this before. It is still safe to play the mentioned three below. Where Winnipeg is concerned, Laine , Scheifele and Wheeler are on the top line in am practice and on any other night I’d say stay away. With Dallas banged up, they’d make a great GPP play tonight on the road.
Elite Plays
WIN: Blake Wheeler
DAL: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn
Secondary Plays
WIN: Patrik Laine, Dustin Byfuglien, Mark Scheifele
DAL: John Klingberg
Anaheim Ducks at San Jose Sharks
| Anaheim Ducks | San Jose Sharks | ||||||||
 | John Gibson |  | Martin Jones | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 2-3-1 | 3-3-0 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.33 | 2.67 | 15.00% | 85.20% | Team Stats | 2.33 | 3.00 | 15.00% | 78.90% |
The Ducks finally got to play at home on Sunday night but that will be short-lived as they take a quick jaunt to San Jose to take on the Sharks in a Pacific division battle. Anaheim has scored just 14 goals in the six games they have played and as usual, its Ryan Getzlaf leading the charge with eight points quickly followed by line mate Corey Perry and defenseman Cam Fowler with five points apiece. Ryan Kesler and defenseman Sami Vatanen join them to create the team’s top power play line. Kesler makes a decent on-off play here as he skates on the second line as there will be no doubt the Sharks will try to blanket Getzlaf and company. Jakob Silfverberg is still looking for his first goal of the season as he skates with Kesler on the second line so maybe an even cheaper option is Nick Ritchie, who skates on the top line with Getzlaf and Perry. The good news is that the Ducks have scored half their goals in the last two games, so the offensive seems to be trending upward.
After going 3-1 in the first four games the Sharks have dropped their last two road games to even their record at 3-3. It is important to note that the only time San Jose has been on home ice was opening night where they downed the Los Angeles Kings to the tune of 2-1. I have a sneaky suspicion that the top power play unit of Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau and defenseman Brent Burns will be used as ‘late hammers’ across the board tonight in cash games. Burns leads the team in scoring as he has found the back of the net three times and assisted on six other goals. This makes him almost a must play as the Sharks have only scored 14 goals so far this season. Pavelski and Thornton are joined by Mikkel Boedker on the team’s top line. This is obviously an attempt to get the ex-Coyote going as he hasn’t done much so far this season. Logan Couture makes a fine one-off play here if you’re looking for minimal exposure and can’t afford Burns. I look for the Sharks to open it up tonight making the ‘Fabulous Five’ in play in almost all formats.
Elite Plays
ANA: Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf
SJ: Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski
Secondary Plays
ANA: Sami Vatanen, Cam Fowler, Ryan Kesler
SJ: Joe Thornton, Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau
Ottawa Senators at Vancouver Canucks
| Ottawa Senators | Vancouver Canucks | ||||||||
 | Craig Anderson |  | Ryan Miller | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 3-2-0 | 4-1-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.40 | 4.00 | 7.10% | 71.40% | Team Stats | 2.33 | 2.17 | 13.00% | 82.30% |
Fresh off a 4-1 loss at home against Tampa Bay, the Senators will make their trek to western Canada where the first stops finds them in Vancouver to take on the upstart Canucks. Vancouver is 4-0 at home while Ottawa can only be measured by their 5-1 loss at Detroit, in terms of home and away anyway. Small sample size for sure but in that game Ottawa’s only goal came while killing a penalty. It may be rough sledding tonight as Vancouver has only allowed 14 goals in six games and has been especially tough at home. Defenseman Erik Karlsson leads the team in points by having a hand in seven of the 18 goals the Senators have scored so fa this season. The only problem is, his price tag may be too high to take in this spot tonight. Mark Stone and Kyle Turris skate on the team’s top line and have four points apiece while second liners Bobby Ryan and Derick Brassard each have three points to their credit. Mike Hoffman joins Karlsson, Stone, Brassard and Ryan on the team’s top power play unit but I think I’d look elsewhere tonight as the Ottawa power play has hardly been that by chalking up just one goal in 14 tries.
Vancouver took one on the chin Sunday as they lost by a tally of 4-2 to the Ducks in Anaheim. The Canucks are a perfect 4-0 on home ice as they host the Ottawa Senators tonight. There’s been a lot of ‘smokescreening’ lately in the NHL and what I mean by that is, teams are practicing with one set of lines and then quickly move back to the ‘old’ lines during the game. Such was the case Sunday night when Sven Baertschi was practicing with Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin but after just a few shifts, it looks like Vancouver decided to put Loui Eriksson back on the top line. As I have said in the past, when teams start pulling this kind of crap it’s best to just stick with the more talented players than try to catch lightning in a bottle, for cash games anyway. That top line is in play tonight along with second liner Brandon Sutter and defenseman Philip Larsen as they get over 60% of the time on the power play. The reason I mention this is that Ottawa has given up six goals while being a man down and that could certainly come into play tonight.
Elite Plays
OTT: None
VAN: Daniel Sedin
Secondary Plays
OTT: Erik Karlsson, Mike Hoffman, Derick Brassard, Bobby Ryan, Mark Stone
VAN: Henrik Sedin, Loui Eriksson, Philip Larsen