NHL Grind Down: Wednesday, December 2nd
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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Toronto Maple Leafs at Winnipeg Jets – 07:30 PM EST
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Winnipeg Jets | ||||||||
 | Jonathan Bernier |  | Ondrej Pavelec | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 8-11-5 | 11-12-2 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.25 | 2.58 | 20.30% | 80.50% | Team Stats | 2.68 | 3.16 | 15.60% | 78.30% |
The Maple Leafs snapped a three-game losing streak with a shutout victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday, and will head to Winnipeg to battle the Jets tonight. Winnipeg defeated the Maple Leafs in their only previous meeting this season and the MTS Centre has proven to be a very difficult place for opposing teams over the past few years. The Maple Leafs have only averaged 2.25 goals per game this season, but discounting them on a short slate could be a mistake. Winnipeg is the most penalized team in the NHL this season (after being the second most penalized last year) so there’s plenty of merit behind targeting the Maple Leafs solid 20.3% power-play. Offensively, Nazem Kadri, James van Riemsdyk, Leo Komarov and Tyler Bozak are the top options, with both Dion Phaneuf, Morgan Rielly and Jake Gardiner fine options on the blue-line.
It was a very rough November for the Winnipeg Jets and they’ll need to turn things around quickly before digging themselves into too big of a hole in the very tough Central Division. They posted just a 4-9-1 record last month but they’ll take the ice tonight as large favorites by our friends in Las Vegas, and require your attention on tonight’s short slate. Their top line of Andrew Ladd, Bryan Little and Blake Wheeler have carried the offensive load thus far this season, with Blake Wheeler leading the charge with 9 goals and 16 assists in 25 games. While those three are the top options, the second line of Mathieu Perreault, Mark Scheifele and Drew Stafford has flashed plenty of potential offensively and are fine plays considering their suppressed prices across the industry. Dustin Byfuglien is the cream of the crop on the blue-line tonight, and well worth the big-ticket asking price if you can find a way to fit him into your lineup.
Elite Plays
TOR: Tyler Bozak, Nazem Kadri, James van Riemsdyk, Dion Phaneuf
WPG: Blake Wheeler, Andrew Ladd, Bryan Little, Dustin Byfuglien
Secondary Plays
TOR: Leo Komarov, Joffrey Lupul (if healthy), Morgan Rielly, Jake Gardiner
WPG: Mathieu Perreault, Mark Scheifele, Drew Stafford, Nikolaj Ehlers, Tobias Enstrom
New York Rangers at New York Islanders – 08:00 PM EST
| New York Rangers | New York Islanders | ||||||||
 | Henrik Lundqvist |  | Jaroslav Halak | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 17-6-2 | 13-8-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.92 | 2.08 | 21.50% | 84.50% | Team Stats | 2.88 | 2.40 | 18.60% | 83.50% |
Tonight’s action is headlined by a cross-town rival between the Rangers and Islanders in Brooklyn. The Rangers snapped a three game skid with a 4-3 victory against the Hurricanes on Monday and find themselves one point ahead of the surging Washington Capitals for the lead in the Metropolitan Division. It’s not the best matchup on the board tonight for the Rangers, but they’re very much in play considering tonight’s short slate. The Rick Nash, Derrick Brassard and Mats Zuccarello line has carried the load offensively all season, and that trend will likely continue even more heavily now that Derek Stepan has been lost for 4-6 weeks. While Nash remains one of the most dangerous pure goal scorers in the league, it’s Zuccarello who leads the team in both goals and points thus far. On defense, both Keith Yandle and Ryan McDonagh are both logging north of 20 minutes per game and off to solid starts offensively. They’re the top two blue-line options from the Rangers with Dan Boyle also worth a look now that he’s back on the point of the #1 power-play.
It’s been a somewhat disappointing start of the season for the New York Islanders, but they’ve played very well in each of their last two games and finally look to be ready to make their move in the Eastern Conference. They had plenty of success against this Rangers teams last year and, somewhat surprisingly, only the Colorado Avalanche have posted worse puck possession numbers this season than the Rangers (45.3 CF%). John Tavares leads the team with 21 points in 22 games and is one of the top plays on the board tonight. He’s joined by both Kyle Okposo and Brock Nelson both at even strength and on the #1 power-play, making both wingers very nice options as well. Frans Nielsen centers Anders Lee and Josh Bailey on one of the NHL’s most under-rated lines. The matchup is tough, but they look like an intriguing GPP stack. They haven’t seen a ton of offensive productions from their blue-line this season, but Nick Leddy, Johnny Boychuk, Marek Zidlicky and Travis Hamonic are all very capable offensively.
Elite Plays
NYR: Rick Nash, Mats Zuccarello, Keith Yandle
NYI: John Tavares, Kyle Okposo
Secondary Plays
NYR: Derek Brassard, Chris Kreider, Kevin Hayes, Ryan McDonagh, Dan Boyle
NYI: Frans Nielsen, Brock Nelson, Anders Lee, Nick Leddy, Johnny Boychuk
Boston Bruins at Edmonton Oilers – 09:30 PM EST
| Boston Bruins | Edmonton Oilers | ||||||||
 | Tuukka Rask |  | Ben Scrivens | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 13-8-1 | 8-15-2 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.27 | 2.91 | 32.40% | 75.30% | Team Stats | 2.44 | 3.08 | 19.50% | 78.90% |
The Bruins head to Edmonton to take on the Oilers tonight in what looks to be the most fantasy friendly game on the four-game slate. The Oilers have allowed 3.08 GA/G this season and Boston will hit the ice riding a five game winning streak. Claude Julien has the luxury of rolling with two very strong forward lines and all six members look like nice options this evening. Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand continue to form one of the best two-way forward lines in the game today, but the be granted plenty of offensive freedom in this back-and-forth style game. Rookie Frank Vatrano joins them on the top line and proved to be an offensive force down the stretch last season at the AHL level, making him a very appealing value play. David Krejci leads the way with 9 goals and 15 assists through the first 22 games and looks energized on a line with Loui Eriksson and Matt Beleskey. Boston has posted an NHL best 32.4% power-play on the season and is definitely something I’ll be looking for exposure to. That gives forwards Ryan Spooner and Jimmy Hayes a nice fantasy boost and locks in both Torey Krug and Zdeno Chara as top tier options on the blue-line.
The Bruins may be rolling right now, but they’ve still been suspect in their defensive zone at times this season. While I don’t expect the Oilers to pick up two points in this matchup, I am expecting them to have a nice showing offensively. They’re a pretty straight-forward team to break down from a fantasy perspective as they have two forward lines that need your attention. Taylor Hall is one of the most dynamic young players in the game and rookie Leon Draisaitl is thriving as his center on the top line. While Hall comes with a lofty price-tag, Draisaitl remains one of the biggest value plays on the board. They’re joined by Teddy Purcell and all three are fine options even considering the likely heavy dose of playing time against the pesky defense of Bergeron and Marchand. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle (with Benoit Pouliot) are immensely talented, but just haven’t put up the offensive numbers they were hoping for entering this season. They’ll likely be widely overlooked and make for prime GPP targets. Justin Schultz has returned to action and joins both Andrej Sekera and Oscar Klefbom as fine options on the blue-line against the Bruins ugly 75.3% penalty kill.
Elite Plays
BOS: Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Brad Marchand, Loui Eriksson, Torey Krug, Zdeno Chara
EDM: Taylor Hall, Leon Draisaitl
Secondary Plays
BOS: Ryan Spooner, Frank Vatrano, Jimmy Hayes, Matt Beleskey, Colin Miller
EDM: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle, Teddy Purcell, Benoit Pouliot, Justin Schultz, Oscar Klefbom
Tampa Bay Lightning at Anaheim Ducks – 10:30 PM EST
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Anaheim Ducks | ||||||||
 | Ben Bishop |  | Frederik Andersen | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 11-11-3 | 9-11-5 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.32 | 2.24 | 16.90% | 76.00% | Team Stats | 2.00 | 2.56 | 19.70% | 87.50% |
Both the Lightning and Ducks entered this season with Stanley Cup aspirations, but they’ve both really struggled out of the gates. The Lightning have dropped two straight games and enter with a very mediocre 11-11-3 record. They’ll kick off a very tough three game road-trip through California tonight and desperately need to get things turned around before falling too far behind in the crowded Atlantic Division. The Lightning have been decimated by injuries up front but are hopeful to have both Jonathan Drouin and Cedric Paquette back in the mix tonight. However, Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson were two of their most valuable forwards last season and it looks like neither will be available tonight. Their absence puts the weight of the offense firmly on the shoulders of Steven Stamkos. He’ll likely be joined by the talented Valtteri Filppula and Alex Killorn on the top line but, even with a short slate, I’m not entirely convinced tonight is the right time to pay his lofty asking price. Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman have been solid producers on the blue-line all season, with the Anaheim owning the league’s best penalty kill, their fantasy outlooks take a bit of a hit as well.
The Ducks are fresh off of an impressive 4-0 beatdown of the Vancouver Canucks, but they’ve failed to gain much traction through the first quarter of the season. Still, this is essentially the same team that finished with the best record in the Western Conference last season and it seems like its only a matter of time until they get rolling. While Tampa Bay has allowed just 2.24 goals per game this season and Ben Bishop is one of the better net-minders in the NHL, Tampa’s struggles on the penalty kill (76%) could really hurt them tonight. The Ducks have tallied five power-play goals in their last four games and the dynamic duo of Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf is the main reason why. They’re joined by Rickard Rakell both at even strength and the #1 power-play unit, and all three players are solid options this evening. Ryan Kesler is starting to show signs of life offensively with points in four straight games and centers the second power-play unit; making him an intriguing secondary option. The trio if Sami Vatanen, Cam Fowler and Hampus Lindholm all see a very healthy dose of playing time with the man-advantage, but Vatanen is proving to be the top defensive option with five goals and nine assists on the young season.
Elite Plays
TBL: Steven Stamkos
ANA: Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Sami Vatanen
Secondary Plays
TBL: Valtteri Filppula, Alex Killorn, Ryan Callahan, Victor Hedman, Anton Stralman
ANA: Ryan Kesler, Rickard Rakell, Jakob Silfverberg, Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm