NHL Grind Down: Wednesday, February 22nd
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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Edmonton Oilers at Florida Panthers
| Edmonton Oilers | Florida Panthers | ||||||||
 | Cam Talbot |  | Roberto Luongo | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 32-20-8 | 28-20-10 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.80 | 2.53 | 20.70% | 81.90% | Team Stats | 2.52 | 2.71 | 14.90% | 85.20% |
Edmonton has continued to hang tough in the Pacific Division as they have posted a record of 32-19-8 so far this season. This is good enough for 72 points and almost a guarantee into this season’s playoffs. As long as Connor McDavid is healthy it looks like the team is in good shape. McDavid leads the league with 67 points as he skates on the Oilers top line with Jordan Eberle and Patrick Maroon. Now, with that said the Oilers got down early to the Lightning last night which prompted a few line changes that saw Leon Draisaitl join McDavid and Maroon while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was re-united with Jordan Eberle on the team’s second line. Milan Lucic filled out the second line at even strength which saw Anton Slepyshev drop out of the top six. Mark Letestu makes for an intriguing one-off play here as he continues to receive the extra minutes skating next to McDavid on the top power play unit. Florida is a team that has been on fire of late so it may be a tough task to ask Edmonton to come in here and win especially since playing last night. Honestly anyone of these combinations could work as a GPP play tonight but expecting anything more than that might be a reach. Oscar Klefbom mans the point on the team’s top power play unit as he tied Andrej Sekera for the most points by an Oilers defenseman last night by tallying his 25th point of the year.
Florida has lost just one game in their last nine and now control their own destiny in the Western Conference. Their 66 points is tied with Boston for third place in the Atlantic Division but was just four points away from first place going into last night’s action. Aleksander Barkov, Jaromir Jagr and Jonathan Huberdeau should be the chalk here against an Edmonton team that played in Tampa last night. Barkov and Huberdeau have combined for nine goals and nine assists in their last seven games and should see plenty of juicy matchups tonight. Vincent Trocheck skates on the team’s second line with Jussi Jokinen and Reilly Smith. Trocheck looks to be a one-off here as he not only leads the team with 21 goals his 48 points is tops on the team as well. If you are looking for a few GPP plays look no further than Jonathan Marchessault and Nick Bjugstad. Marchessault’s 17 goals and 18 assists has him second on the team’s scoring chart while Bjugstad has lit the lamp three times and garnered three assists in the last eight games. Keith Yandle and Aaron Ekblad are the choices on the back line and either have their merits to be on your roster tonight. Yandle may have three goals and 26 points but Ekblad leads the team with 180 shots on goals while lighting the lamp eight times to add to his 18 points so far this season.
Elite Plays
EDM: Connor McDavid
FLA: Aleksander Barkov
Secondary Plays
EDM: Leon Draisaitl, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Oscar Klefbom, Patrick Maroon
FLA: Jonathan Huberdeau, Jaromir Jagr, Keith Yandle, Vincent Trocheck, Jonathan Marchessault
Washington Capitals at Philadelphia Flyers
| Washington Capitals | Philadelphia Flyers | ||||||||
 | Braden Holtby |  | Steve Mason | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 39-12-7 | 28-24-7 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.34 | 2.09 | 21.80% | 84.30% | Team Stats | 2.53 | 2.97 | 21.30% | 81.30% |
Washington was the best team in the league going into last night’s action as their 85 points lead the Eastern Conference. Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie skate on the top line as well as serve as the top power play unit. Backstrom leads the team with 14 points over the last nine games and leads the team with 61 points so far this season. Ovechkin’s 220 shots on goal is second in the league which has produced 25 goals this season, which leads the team. Marcus Johansson, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Justin Williams skate as the team’s second line with Johansson getting exposure to Ovechkin as he gets tapped to get the extra time on the top power play unit. Johansson’s 40 points is just seven points shy of his career best that he posted three years ago. Kuznetsov is in the middle of having a good season as his 45 points is ranked third on the team. Defensemen John Carlson is back on the top power play unit in which he has grabbed 10 of his 28 points this season. Matt Niskanen perhaps is even a better choice on the back line as his six points over the last nine games has his seasonal total at a healthy 32 points. If you need to punt this position take a look at Dmitri Orlov as he skates on the second power play unit and has tallied 26 points so far this season.
The Flyers have successfully dropped to 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings and seem to be dying a long, slow death. Their win at Vancouver on Sunday night was just their second over the last seven games a look to find some sort of offense tonight at home against the best defensive team in the league. Yeah, good luck with that. Claude Giroux, Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds skate on the team’s top line and get to see the extra ice time when the Flyers have the extra attacker. Simmonds leads the team with 25 goals while his 42 points are tied with Giroux for second place on the Flyers scoring chart. Philadelphia has only scored 18 goals in their last 12 games which should make them a decent GPP play on tonight’s small three game slate. Jakub Voracek has been chopped of the top power play unit as he skate on the second line with Sean Couturier. At last check, their linemate was the useless Dale Weise, but the way the Flyers have been playing of late, everyone is useless. Voracek does make for a nice one-off here as he leads the team with 49 points. Assuming that Voracek doesn’t come back up to the top power play unit, look for defensemen Shayne Gostisbehere and Ivan Provorov to get the extra ice time when the Flyers have the man advantage. Flip a coin here as Gostisbehere has 25 points while Provorov is right behind him with 24. I’m not sure we can trust the Flyers here in cash games considering their recent history and the history of their opponent.
Elite Plays
WSH: Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Ovechkin
PHL: Jakub Voracek
Secondary Plays
WSH: T.J. Oshie, Matt Niskanen, Marcus Johansson, Evgeny Kuznetsov
PHL: Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn, Shayne Gostisbehere
Boston Bruins at Anaheim Ducks
| Boston Bruins | Anaheim Ducks | ||||||||
 | Tuukka Rask |  | John Gibson | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 30-23-6 | 31-20-10 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.66 | 2.61 | 20.00% | 86.40% | Team Stats | 2.52 | 2.49 | 19.80% | 84.30% |
The Bruins were able to do something that most team’s haven’t been able to and that’s win their first game after their mandatory bye week. Their 2-1 overtime win in San Jose on Sunday night was the team’s fourth win in a row as they are tied with the Florida panthers for third place in the Atlantic Division. Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron have been lighting it up from the team’s first line as they each have found the score sheet 10 times over the last over the last seven games. Marchand leads the team with 25 goals and 34 assists while backs should start to find the score sheet a bit more regularly now that he is on the top line with two of the best players on the team. Peter Cehlarik will skate on the second line with David Krejci and David Pastrnak. Cehlarik has grabbed two points in the three games he has played in while Pastrnak has netted five goals to go along with five assists over the last seven games. I don’t have a problem using either of these lines tonight as they sure seem to score more than any of the lines Philadelphia can throw out there. Ryan Spooner makes for a decent GPP one-off here as he has collected six points in the last seven games while skating on the team’s top power play unit. Torey Krug is the choice on the back line as he quarterbacks the team’s top power play unit and has grabbed 37 points on 162 shots so far this season. Hey, here’s a crazy idea. Take a look at the aging Zdeno Chara as he has scored five of his 16 points in the last six games. With just three games on the slate you must leave no rock unturned.
The Anaheim Ducks have alternated winning and losing games over the last nine they have played which has seen them drop their last game to Arizona by a score of 3-2. By using this logic they should be able to come away with the victory in front of the home crowd tonight. Of course this is a ridiculous way to choose what players to take but watching these guys change their lines up almost every game is a sure sign of panic. Their 72 points in the Western Conference seems safe in terms of making the playoffs as the eighth team in the conference had 61 points going into last night’s action. Ryan Kesler has been re-united with Jakob Silfverberg and Andrew Cogliano which would make the former two a nice duo to pair together tonight. Kesler leads the team with 17 power play points while Silfverberg’s 36 points has him fourth on the teams scoring chart. Ondrej Kase will skate with Ryan Getzlaf and Nick Ritchie while Corey Perry and Rickard Rakell skate on the team’s ‘third’ line. Getzlaf leads the team with 45 points while Perry’s 40 points is third on the team as he leads the Ducks with 168 shots on goal. I guess you’d have to use Rakell and Perry as the second cash game option here as it’s tough to deny the statistics that Kesler and Silfverberg have put up so far this season. Getlaf looks to be a one-off play here as he gets the extra time on the top power play unit. Cam Fowler and Sami Vatanen man the points on the team’s top power play unit that has scored just one goal in the last nine games. Fowler is the safer play here as his 31 points are good enough for sixth on the team.
Elite Plays
BOS: Brad Marchand
ANA: Ryan Getzlaf
Secondary Plays
BOS: David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron, Torey Krug, David Krejci
ANA: Ryan Kesler, Corey Perry, Rickard Rakell, Jakob Silfverberg, Cam Fowler