NHL Grind Down: Wednesday, April 6th
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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Columbus Blue Jackets at Toronto Maple Leafs – 07:00 PM EDT
| Columbus Blue Jackets | Toronto Maple Leafs | ||||||||
 | Sergei Bobrovsky |  | Garret Sparks | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 31-40-8 | 28-40-11 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.52 | 3.06 | 16.90% | 81.00% | Team Stats | 2.35 | 2.87 | 15.50% | 80.80% |
In a battle between the two worst teams in the Eastern Conference, the Columbus Blue Jackets will head to Toronto to battle the Maple Leafs in what would usually be a game we could skim over fairly quickly. However, on three-game slate, we’ll need to dig a bit deeper than usual here as Vegas projects this game to be the highest scoring game of the evening. John Tortorella hasn’t done us all many favors with his line combinations as he’s spread his top offensive weapons across three different lines, but you’ll still likely want some exposure to the Blue Jackets this evening. Cam Atkinson has taken over the team lead with 50 points in 78 games and is joined by Boone Jenner and Brandon Dubinsky both at full strength and on the top power-play unit. Jenner has heated up down the stretch, scoring eight goals and adding five assists in his last 15 games. He’s posted two goals and an assists in the two prior meetings with the Maple Leafs and remains very reasonably priced across the industry. Alternatively, with Scott Hartnell a healthy scratch on Monday and apparently in Tort’s dog-house, both Brandon Saad and Nick Foligno will be expected to help pitch in with some secondary scoring. It’s been a very disappointing season for Foligno after last year’s breakout campaign, but his did score a pair of goals against the Rangers on Monday and also found the back of the net the only other time he’s faced the Maple Leafs. Brandon Saad has scored four goals and added three assists in his last seven games and is just two goals shy of his first career 30-goal season. On the blue-line, both Ryan Murray and Seth Jones share the duties on the point of the top power-play unit. Jones has picked up an assist in back-to-back games and the former fourth overall draft pick has posted 19 points in 38 games since joining the Blue-Jackets.
The Maple Leafs sit tied with Edmonton for the fewest points in the NHL and, for the long-term growth of this team, probably shouldn’t be trying to win games at this point of the season to increase their odds at having the opportunity to draft Austin Matthews. However, it’s not in Mike Babcock’s nature to allow his team to lie down and several of these players are auditioning for their jobs for next season. Offensively, they’ve averaged just 2.35 goals per game this season, but with the Blue Jackets allowing 3.08 goals against per game on the road, there’s some opportunity here tonight. However, the waters are further muddied by their leading scorer Nazem Kadri four game suspension that effectively ends his 2015-16 season. With Leo Komarov and Milan Michalek also likely to both still be watching things from the press-box, it’s the trio of Colin Greening, William Nylander and P.A. Parenteau that has my attention. Parenteau is a known commodity and has shown plenty of offensive abilities during his career. However, both Greening and Nylander are somewhat off the fantasy radar for the most part. With that said, Greening has scored three goals in the last two games while Nylander was the 8th overall pick in the 2014 draft and has scored a goal and added two assists in his last three games and owns five goals and five assists in 13 games at the Air Canada Centre. On defense, Morgan Rielly looks to have a bright future and Mike Babcock has been auditioning him as the point-man on the top power-play. He’s racked up 35 points in 79 games and has dished out three assists in the two prior meetings with the Blue-Jackets.
Columbus Blue Jackets
CF%: 48, CP60: 109.2, 5×5 Differential: -19
Elite Options: Cam Atkinson, Brandon Saad
Secondary Options: Boone Jenner, Brandon Dubinsky, Nick Foligno, Seth Jones, Ryan Murray
Toronto Maple Leafs
CF%: 51.8, CP60: 113.6, 5×5 Differential: -31
Elite Options: None
Secondary Options: P.A. Parenteau, Colin Greening, Tyler Bozak, William Nylander, Morgan Rielly
Philadelphia Flyers at Detroit Red Wings – 08:00 PM EDT
| Philadelphia Flyers | Detroit Red Wings | ||||||||
 | Steve Mason |  | Petr Mrazek | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 39-26-13 | 40-28-11 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.56 | 2.56 | 18.90% | 80.10% | Team Stats | 2.56 | 2.67 | 19.30% | 81.20% |
The Flyers were badly outplayed in Pittsburgh on Sunday, but have posted an impressive 13-4-2 in their last 19 games to firmly put themselves in the mix for one of the final playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. With a pretty difficult schedule to close out the season, they should be highly motivated to not only pick up two points for themselves tonight, but to also prevent the Red Wings from climbing closer. Breaking down the Flyers starts with their dynamic top line of Brayden Schenn, Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds. Giroux leads the team with 66 points in 75 games this season and has racked up eight goals and 19 assists in 28 games since the All-Star break. Meanwhile, Wayne Simmonds has been a force lately and has scored four goals and added two assists in his last four games. Meanwhile, Detroit simply didn’t have an answer for Michael Raffl in their last meeting as he scored a pair of goals. With Sean Couturier and Jakub Voracek joining him on the second forward line, all three are fine secondary options. Shayne Gostisbehere is in the mix for the Calder Trophy this season and, with an assist against Pittsburgh on Sunday, he’s now racked up 43 points in 60 games from the blue-line. He’s earned a spot on the point of Philly’s top power-play unit and needs to be on your radar as Detroit has struggled with their penalty kill down the stretch.
The Wings will have to earn their 25th straight playoff berth during the final five days of the regular season and it all starts tonight as they welcome the Philadelphia Flyers to the Joe Louis Arena. While they have two crucial away game to follow after tonight, Coach Blashill is at least pleased that they control their own destiny. They’ve dropped both prior games to this Flyers team (in two very tightly contested games) and it’s unlikely that the veteran players on this Detroit team will go down without a major fight. With that said, both Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg lead Detroit with 48 points and have a long history of making key plays in big games. Datsyuk has come alive lately with three goals and seven assists in his last ten games. He’s scored a goal and added two assists in those two games against Philadelphia this season and leads Darren Helm and Brad Richards on the second line and centers the #2 power-play unit. Alternatively, Zetterberg headlines the top line alongside Justin Abdelkader and Dylan Larkin and all three players join Gustav Nyquist on the top power-play unit. On defense, Mike Green has come alive at just the right time. The former fantasy all-star facilitates things from the point of the #2 power-play unit and has racked up three goals and right assists in his last 14 games. Niklas Kronwall has been a disappointment this season, but has picked up three assists in his last four games and does still hold the reigns as the point-man on the top power-play unit.
Philadelphia Flyers
CF%: 50.1, CP60: 114.3, 5×5 Differential: 5
Elite Options: Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds, Shayne Gostisbehere
Secondary Options: Jakub Voracek, Michael Raffl, Mark Streit
Detroit Red Wings
CF%: 51.9, CP60: 102.5, 5×5 Differential: -6
Elite Options: Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Mike Green
Secondary Options: Dylan Larkin, Justin Abdelkader, Tomas Tatar, Niklas Kronwall
Vancouver Canucks at Edmonton Oilers – 10:00 PM EDT
| Vancouver Canucks | Edmonton Oilers | ||||||||
 | Ryan Miller |  | Cam Talbot | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 30-36-13 | 30-43-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.25 | 2.82 | 16.20% | 82.30% | Team Stats | 2.38 | 2.96 | 17.40% | 80.60% |
After dropping eight straight games, the hockey gods have been playing tricks on us all as the Canucks have suddenly picked up three wins in a row against each of the three playoff bound California teams. While they’ve been borderline unplayable in cash games (Sedin twins aside) over the last several months, their recent success and a matchup against the defensively challenged Edmonton Oilers make then require your attention on tonight’s three-game slate. As usual, both Daniel and Henrik Sedin are easily the top fantasy options here. Daniel Sedin leads the way with 61 points in 79 games while Henrik has picked up assists in each of the last three games. Jannik Hansen has the luxury of playing third wheel alongside those two on both the top forward line and #1 power-play and has tallied two goals in two prior meetings with Edmonton this season, making him a fine value play for the risk tolerant. With Alex Edler sidelined for the past month, the Canucks haven’t received much of any fantasy production from their blue-line. However, if you’re in need of some cost savings, Dan Hamhuis has taken over as the point man on the top power-play unit and has shown enough offensive upside during his career to warrant consideration.
The Oilers have lost three straight games and are tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the fewest points in the NHL. They were embarrassed 5-0 by the Calgary Flames on Saturday and have now dropped five of their last six games. While this all makes them very risky on any given night, it’s also impossible to ignore their firepower on such a short slate. Connor McDavid has wasted no time becoming a superstar in this league, and despite missing over two months of the season with a shoulder injury, with 45 points in 43 games, he’s still very much in the mix for the Calder Trophy. McDavid owns a pair of assists in the two meetings against Vancouver and will be joined by Patrick Maroon and Jordan Eberle on the top forward line. While Eberle and McDavid are obviously the preferred options, Maroon has posted an impressive five goals and six assists in 14 games since joining Edmonton. Taylor Hall leads Edmonton with 61 points and is joined by the talented Leon Draisaitl at even strength (and also Nail Yakupov) and both Hall and Draisaitl join Eberle and McDavid up-front on the top power-play unit. Edmonton hasn’t seen much offensive production from their blue-line all season, but both Jordan Oesterle and Andrej Sekera see the lions share of the playing time with the man-advantage and are worth a look as value plays.
Vancouver Canucks
CF%: 47.2, CP60: 104.7, 5×5 Differential: -27
Elite Options: Daniel Sedin
Secondary Options: Henrik Sedin, Jannik Hansen, Bo Horvat, Dan Hamhuis
Edmonton Oilers
CF%: 49, CP60: 111.1, 5×5 Differential: -37
Elite Options: Connor McDavid, Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle
Secondary Options: Patrick Maroon, Leon Draisaitl, Andrej Sekera, Jordan Oesterle