NHL Grind Down: Wednesday, January 25th
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 Detroit Red Wings
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Detroit Red Wings | ||||||||
 | Frederik Andersen |  | Petr Mrazek | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 22-14-9 | 20-19-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.09 | 2.78 | 24.10% | 85.20% | Team Stats | 2.43 | 2.89 | 11.30% | 80.40% |
Toronto has quickly and quietly made themselves part of the playoff conversation. Their 53 points was good enough for third place in the Atlantic Division going into last night’s action. The top line of Mitchell Marner, Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk is the one to be reckoned with as they have been the most consistent maple Leaf line in recent memory. Marner and van Riemsdyk have each registered 13 points over the last 10 games while Bozak has snared 30 points in the 42 games he has played in this season. Marner leads the team with 28 assists and 39 points while van Riemsdyk is just one point off of the pace. Auston Matthews and Connor Brown make a decent tournament play here as Matthews leads the team with 22 goals while brown has been able to record eight of his 21 points over the last 10 games. As you can see the maple Leafs get their scoring from a lot of places and we haven’t even touched on Nazem Kadri yet. Kadri leads the team with seven goals in the last ten games as he centers Leo Komarov and William Nylander. Kadri also leads the team with 10 power play goals while Nylander has registered half of his 30 points with the man advantage. Jake Gardiner is the play from the back line as he gets tapped to quarterback the team’s top power play unit. You can also look at Nikita Zaitsev if you need a little salary relief as his 19 points is just four points less than Gardiner’s total for the season. Toronto has won eight of their last nine games on the road so Detroit may have their hands full tonight, especially after playing last night.
The Red Wings went into last night’s game at Boston with 48 points which was good enough for fifth place in the Atlantic Division. They are still playing mediocre hockey as they continue to keep their playoff hopes alive. The top line of Henrik Zetterberg, Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar played a big part in last night’s game as they scored twice within five minutes to give Detroit a 3-2 lead. Head coach Jeff Blashill changed up the lines a bit during the game as we saw Anthony Mantha skating with Frans Nielsen while Andreas Athanasiou was spotted skating with Riley Sheahan. Regardless of how they chop up their lines Zetterberg makes for a decent one-off play here as he leads the team with 33 points so far this season. Mantha has been coming on of late as he has lit the lamp four times in the last 11 games while adding five assists. Mike Green is the play from the back line as he logs over 22 minutes of ice time on a nightly basis while quarterbacking the team’s top power play unit. Green has tallied 24 points in the 40 games he has suited up for this season. Detroit could have a little trouble here against a younger faster Toronto squad.
Elite Plays
TOR: Auston Matthews, Mitchell Marner
DET: Henrik Zetterberg
Secondary Plays
TOR: James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak, Connor Brown, Nazem Kadri, Jake Gardiner
DET: Frans Nielsen, Anthony Mantha, Mike Green, Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar
Philadelphia Flyers at New York Rangers
| Philadelphia Flyers | New York Rangers | ||||||||
 | Steve Mason |  | Henrik Lundqvist | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 23-19-6 | 31-16-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.73 | 3.13 | 21.40% | 80.30% | Team Stats | 3.44 | 2.63 | 21.10% | 82.60% |
It’s one thing to beat the last place Islanders in overtime in their own building but it’s quite another to beat the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. The Flyers have only won three of their last 14 games which have helped them fall out of the top eight in the Eastern Conference and are now on the outside looking in. Philadelphia has only scored 13 goals in their last seven games and need a little boost here to get past the Rangers here in New York. Claude Giroux centers Matt Read and Michael Raffl while Sean Couturier draws Nick Cousins and Jakub Voracek as his wingers. Voracek leads the team with 42 points while Giroux is just three points behind him with 11 goals and 28 assists. The line to Target here however may very well be the third line which finds Brayden Schenn centering Wayne Simmonds and Travis Konecny. Schenn leads the team with nine points over the last ten games while Simmonds has snared 17 of his 36 points with the man advantage. Giroux, Voracek, Schenn and Simmonds are joined by defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere to form the Flyers top power play unit. Gostisbehere is usually the play from the back line but Ivan Provorov has done a spectacular job in his rookie season by leading the defensive corps with 22 points so far this season. With only four games on tonight’s slate it may be tough to stay away from a listless Flyers team.
The Rangers have won their last three games and now sit in fourth place in the Metropolitan Division with 63 points. It’s funny but that is the same amount of points that Montreal has accrued as they lead the other Eastern Conference division. New York has scored 167 goals so far this season which is just two points shy of the Penguins who lead the whole NHL in that department. As you can imagine a team that has scored that many goals probably has a few lines that are more than serviceable for your line ups tonight. Derek Stepan, Chris Kreider and Mats Zuccarello should be looked at closely for your cash game plays tonight as they are the team’s top line. Zuccarello leads the team with 38 points while Stepan is right behind him with 12 goals and 25 assists. Mika Zibanejad centers Rick Nash and Pavel Buchnevich which has seen Buchnevich score two goals and grab six assists in his last six games. Michael Grabner and J.T. Miller are the wildcards here as they both lead the team with nine points apiece over the last nine games. Grabner also leads the team with 21 goals while Miller has chipped in with 35 points of his own so far this season. Ryan McDonagh is the play on the back line with 28 points but Nick Holden has been playing better of late and could be used as a cheaper option tonight. Look for the Rangers to improve on the 14-9-1 record in front of the home crowd tonight.
Elite Plays
PHL: None
NYR: Mats Zuccarello, Derek Stepan
Secondary Plays
PHL: Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn, Ivan Provorov
NYR: Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, Michael Grabner, Ryan McDonagh
Vancouver Canucks at Colorado Avalanche
| Vancouver Canucks | Colorado Avalanche | ||||||||
 | Jacob Markstrom |  | Calvin Pickard | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 22-20-6 | 13-30-2 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.33 | 2.77 | 13.60% | 79.80% | Team Stats | 2.02 | 3.38 | 14.60% | 78.90% |
Vancouver was just one point away from the final playoff spot in the Western Conference going into last night’s action. If they bear down just a little here they could come out of Denver with a win against the worst team in the league. Henrik Sedin will look to stay atop of the Canucks scoring chart as he has grabbed 31 points while playing on a line with Daniel Sedin and Loui Eriksson. The Canucks have only scored 12 goals in the last seven games so this one may very well go to a 0-0 shootout. Bo Horvat, Sven Baertschi and Alexandre Burrows make for a decent line stack for tournament play as this line has done a lot better than most folks thought they would have. Horvat leads the team with 14 goals and is tied with Henrik for the team lead in points whole Baertschi has lit the lamp 11 times to go along with 13 assists. Brandon Sutter plays on the third line but gets to play on the team’s top power play unit. Sutter’s 24 points in 48 games is good enough for fourth place on the teams scoring chart. Troy Stecher is about the only player worth looking at on the back line and even he isn’t that impressive. In 39 games he has managed just 14 points which leads all Vancouver defensemen in that department. I think I’d look elsewhere to fill out the defenseman position even if there is only four games on the slate.
Colorado is the only team in the league who has yet to score 100 goals on the season and it still may take them a few games to get there. Matt Duchene leads the team with 15 goals as he skates on a line with Gabriel Landeskog and the recently acquired Matthew Nieto. It’s pretty bad when you pick a player off of waivers and he goes right into your top six but this is the game that the Avalanche have to play as they really don’t have much to work with. Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen can be used as a tournament duo here as MacKinnon leads the team with seven points over the last nine games. He also leads the team in scoring with 21 assist and 32 points so far this season. With defenseman Tyson Barrie out with an injury Colorado has placed Francois Beauchemin on the point when the team draws a penalty. Beauchemin has 11 points so far this season and could be used as a tournament punt play if you get that desperate. Like I said earlier, this game could see a lot of inept play and could end up 0-0.
Elite Plays
VAN: Henrik Sedin
COL: Matt Duchene, Nathan MacKinnon
Secondary Plays
VAN: Bo Horvat, Sven Baertschi, Daniel Sedin, Brandon Sutter
COL: Gabriel Landeskog, Mikko Rantanen
Edmonton Oilers at Anaheim Ducks
| Edmonton Oilers | Anaheim Ducks | ||||||||
 | Cam Talbot |  | Jonathan Bernier | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 26-15-8 | 27-14-9 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.88 | 2.59 | 20.90% | 81.40% | Team Stats | 2.62 | 2.48 | 22.00% | 83.20% |
The Oilers sit safely in third place in the Pacific Division with 60 points to their credit. Calgary was nine points behind them before the start of last night’s action so as long as they can keep racking up the points they should be in good shape. The top line of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Patrick Maroon has 12 goals and 18 assist to their credit over the last 11 games. McDavid is always a top choice if you can afford him as he paces the NHL with 56 points so far this season. Maroon leads the team with 18 goals while Draisaitl is second on the team with 42 points in 49 games. The Ducks will try to shut this line down but the difference between saying it and doing are usually two different things. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle look to be a decent tournament pairing as they skate on the team’s second line. While Eberle has been pretty solid for most of the season it was Nugent-Hopkins that was the one with the slow start. They each have lit the lamp three times and have assisted on four other goals over the last 11 games. McDavid and Draisaitl are joined by Milan Lucic and Mark Letestu from the third and fourth lines respectively. Any exposure to McDavid is worth a look which makes both players a decent one-off option tonight. Andrej Sekera has been soaking up most of the power play minutes from the point but it’s been Oscar Klefbom who has tallied six points over the last 11 games. Either is fine here as there are not that many high end defensemen available tonight.
Anaheim is in the mix for the top spot in the Pacific Division. Going into last night’s action their 63 points were good enough for first place but not only did San Jose play last night they also have played 50 games whereas some of the teams behind them have played less. The ducks have won nine of their last 12 games and look to improve on their 16-5-1 record in front of the home crowd tonight. Rickard Rakell, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry should lead the charge tonight from the top line as they sit 2-3-4 on the Anaheim scoring chart. Getzlaf leads the team with 30 points while Perry’s 35 points has him just two points behind Getzlaf. Ryan Kesler makes for a decent one-off play here as he not only leads the team with 39 points from the second line he also leads the team with 17 power play points as well. Kesler usually has a good partner in Jakob Silfverberg but he will not play tonight because of an injury. Logan Shaw and Andrew Cogliano will be Kesler’s line mates but they should only be used in deeper tournament play. Cam Fowler and Sami Vatanen are the choices from the back line and to be quite honest, both have not been playing well of late. Fowler is the safest choice however as he has collected 26 points so far this season. The Ducks should win this one so stick with either Kesler or the top line tonight.
Elite Plays
EDM: Connor McDavid
ANA: Ryan Kesler, Ryan Getzlaf
Secondary Plays
EDM: Leon Draisaitl, Patrick Maroon, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle, Andrej Sekera
ANA: Rickard Rakell, Corey Perry, Cam Fowler