NHL Grind Down: Wednesday, December 16th
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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Ottawa Senators at Washington Capitals – 07:00 PM EST
| Ottawa Senators | Washington Capitals | ||||||||
 | Craig Anderson |  | Braden Holtby | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 16-10-5 | 21-6-2 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.03 | 2.90 | 20.00% | 77.90% | Team Stats | 3.00 | 2.17 | 23.40% | 84.00% |
The Senators snapped a two-game losing streak with a big win over the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night and they’ll be tested once again tonight as they invade Washington D.C. to battle the Metropolitan Division leading Washington Capitals. While it’s hard to get too excited about any team battling Braden Holtby and his ridiculous 19-4-1 record and 1.87 GAA, Ottawa is averaging 3.03 goals per game this season and can’t be overlooked on a mini two game slate. Ottawa is one of the fastest paced teams in the NHL this season (111.5 CP60) and will look to fight firepower with firepower against the Capitals tonight. Erik Karlsson leads the team (and all NHL defenseman) with 34 points in 31 games and he remains a premier option on the blue-line despite the very difficult matchup. Up-front, we’ve seen Dave Cameron shake up his forward lines in an attempt to re-establish two dangerous scoring attacks. The fallout: Mike Zibanejad hoping up to center the dangerous combo of Mike Hoffman and Bobby Ryan while Kyle Turris joins the very underrated Mark Stone and Zack Smith on the second line.
The Capitals continued their hot play with a 4-1 victory in Pittsburgh on Monday night and have now gone 9-1-1 in their last eleven games. With the Ottawa Senators allowing a league worst 34.0 shots on goal against per game this season, this will likely be the most targeted team of the evening. Alex Ovechkin is the premier play on the board and is joined by the very solid combo of Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie on the team’s top line. All three players will likely see sky-high ownership rates, so they’re tough fades in cash games, but avoiding them in GPPs could pay huge dividends. With the Senators owning an ugly 77.9% penalty kill, John Carlson can be locked in as one of the best defensive targets of the evening. He’s logging nearly 25 minutes of ice-time per game and has already racked up 11 points on the point of the #1 power-play.
Elite Options
OTT: Erik Karlsson, Mike Hoffman, Kyle Turris
WAS: Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom. T.J. Oshie, John Carlson
Secondary Options
OTT: Bobby Ryan, Mika Zibanejad, Mark Stone, Jean-Gabriel Pageau
WAS: Evgeny Kuznetsov, Marcus Johansson, Justin Williams, Matt Niskanen
Pittsburgh Penguins at Boston Bruins – 08:00 PM EST
| Pittsburgh Penguins | Boston Bruins | ||||||||
 | Jeff Zatkoff |  | Tuukka Rask | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 15-11-3 | 16-9-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.31 | 2.38 | 15.30% | 83.80% | Team Stats | 3.17 | 2.72 | 29.60% | 79.40% |
In their first game without Mike Johnson behind the bench, the Penguins came out flat once again and were left in the dust by the Washington Capitals on Monday night. Since a solid 10-5-0 start to the season, this team has posted just a 5-6-3 record in 14 games since and uncharachteristically have averaged just 2.38 goals per game this season. While it’s tough to be too confident in them right now, it’s also very dangerous to overlook them…. especially on just a two game slate. Major off-season acquisiion Phil Kessel has played his way into the doghouse in Pittsburgh, and wakes up this morning no longer playing alongside Evgeni Malkin, but rather with Eric Fehr and Daniel Sprong on the third line. Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby still headline the top two forward lines, however, with Boston owning an ugly 79.4% penalty kill, this looks like a nice time to target the Penguins power-play. Crosby and Malkin join forces on the top power-play unit with Nick Bonino and David Perron joining them upfront. With Kris Letang sidelined for several weeks, both Olli Maatta and David Warsofsky are slated to share the playing time on the point of the power-play, making both players fine value options tonight. Also entering the mix is the newly acquired Trevor Daley who was brought on to help jumpstart this offense.
The Bruins are likely very pleased to open up a home-and-home series against the Penguins while they look to be in a state of turmoil. While Boston was disappointed with their performance in a 3-2 overtime loss against Edmonton on Monday, they’ve gone 8-1-3 over their last 12 games and look to be playing their best hockey of the young season. With Pittsburgh not only struggling but now also without the services of goaltender Marc Andre-Fleury, there’s a lot to like from Boston this evening. The Bruins are led by two very dangerous scoring lines, but it’s been their work with the man advantage that has carried them offensively. Boston enters with an NHL best 29.6% power-play and that’s where I’ll be focusing my attention. Only Patrick Kane has posted more power-play points than Patrice Bergeron (15) and he’s joined by David Krejci, Loui Eriksson, Ryan Spooner and Torey Krug on the lethal #1 power-play. Alternatively, Brad Marchand and Zdeno Chara are the household names on the #2 power-play, and with their ownership levels likely much lower than the first group, they look like excellent GPP targets.
Elite Options
PIT: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Patric Hornqvist
BOS: Patrice Bergeron, Loui Eriksson, David Krejci, Torey Krug
Secondary Options
PIT: David Perron, Chris Kunitz, Phil Kessel, Olli Maatta, David Warsofsky
BOS: Brad Marchand, Ryan Spooner, Brett Connolly, Zdeno Chara