NHL Grind Down: Wednesday, March 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 Washington Capitals – 07:00 PM EST
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Washington Capitals | ||||||||
 | Jonathan Bernier |  | Braden Holtby | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 21-30-10 | 45-12-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.33 | 2.90 | 14.40% | 80.30% | Team Stats | 3.26 | 2.31 | 23.70% | 84.00% |
The Maple Leafs came up short once again when they hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday and have now posted an ugly 5-15-3 record over their last 18 games. They’re still dealing with several key injuries up front to the likes of James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak and Joffrey Lupul, and potentially P.A. Parenteau once again and recently traded away Dion Phaneuf, Roman Polak and Daniel Winnik. With a matchup against the NHL’s best Washington Capitals at the Verizon Center where they own a 25-5-2 record this season awaiting the tonight, this looks like an easy team to fade this evening in cash games. With that said, the duo of Leo Komarov and Nazem Kadri join forces on both the top forward line and #1 power-play unit making them the top GPP targets. On defense, Morgan Rielly is getting a chance to show why he was the 5th overall pick in the 2012 draft and has responded with a goal and two assists in the last four games.
The Capitals bounced back from a loss in Chicago over the weekend to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 last night in the opener of a three game home stand. They’ll welcome the struggling and depleted Toronto Maple Leafs to the Verizon Center tonight and subsequently be very highly targeted in both cash games and GPPs. Washington has defeated the Maple Leafs in both prior meetings and Toronto has allowed 3.69 goals per game since the All-Star break, so don’t be shy here. Alex Ovechkin leads the NHL with 40 goals and 315 SOG, making him the premier play of the evening. He’ll slated to be joined by T.J. Oshie and Nicklas Backstrom on the top line, but you’ll want to double-check the status of Oshie as he was banged up in last night’s game. Evgeny Kuznetsov lit the lamp for the second straight game last night and leads the team with 65 points in 62 games and his +30 is the best in the NHL. On defense, Matt Niskanen has inherited a major role with John Carlson sidelined and responded with a goal against his former team last night. He’s seeing plenty of run on the point of the #1 power-play and is offensively gifted, making him one of the best dollar-for-dollar plays on the blue-line.
Toronto Maple Leafs
CF%: 51.4, CP60: 113.8, 5×5 Differential: -21
Elite Options: None
Secondary Options: Leo Komarov, Nazem Kadri, Morgan Rielly
Washington Capitals
CF%: 50.4, CP60: 109.9, 5×5 Differential: 36
Elite Options: Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Matt Niskanen
Secondary Options: Justin Williams, Marcus Johansson, Dmitry Orlov
Chicago Blackhawks at Detroit Red Wings – 08:00 PM EST
| Chicago Blackhawks | Detroit Red Wings | ||||||||
 | Corey Crawford |  | Petr Mrazek | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 39-20-5 | 32-20-11 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.80 | 2.39 | 22.60% | 79.40% | Team Stats | 2.52 | 2.51 | 17.30% | 82.20% |
Fresh off of a statement win against the NHL leading Washington Capitals, a newly reinforced version of the Chicago Blackhawks will invade the Joe Louis Arena tonight to battle their former Central Division rivals for the first time this season. Offensively, the Blackhawks are obviously lead by Patrick Kane and his linemates Artemi Panarin and Artem Anisimov. Kane is running away with the NHL scoring title and has only been held off the scoresheet in ten of his 64 games this season. He scored his 36th goal of the season against Washington over the weekend and has groomed Panarin into a legit Calder Trophy candidate. While Marian Hossa may still be on the shelf for a little while longer, the Blackhawks made a big move in bringing back Andrew Ladd and he’s slated to join Jonathan Toews and Andrew Shaw on the top line that suddenly looks much more dangerous. The duo of Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook remain solid options on a nightly basis on the blue-line. Both players have posted 38 points on the season and see plenty of run on the point of the #1 power-play unit.
Pavel Datsyuk won the game in overtime, but the Red Wings picked up a big victory in Dallas on Monday in large part to a breakout performance by rookie Andreas Athanasiou. Athanasiou scored a pair of goals, one of which in highlight reel fashion and has now earned a spot alongside Dylan Larkin and Brad Richards on what is likely one of the fastest lines in the NHL. While that’s a nice new weapon to have, Coach Blashill will still rely on his top line of Henrik Zetterberg, Justin Abdelkader and Pavel Datsyuk to carry the load offensively. While they’ll be shadowed all over the ice by the Jonathan Toews line, Chicago’s only glaring weakness of their 22nd ranked penalty kill makes them the top options. Alternatively, Dylan Larkin and Tomas Tatar loom as dangerous scoring threats on the second power-play. On defense, the Wings are very please to have Niklas Kronwall back in action. He’s seen his asking price drop across the industry but still shares the duties on the point of the Detroit power-play with Mike Green.
Chicago Blackhawks
CF%: 50.9, CP60: 110, 5×5 Differential: -1
Elite Options: Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith
Secondary Options: Artem Anisimov, Andrew Ladd, Brent Seabrook
Detroit Red Wings
CF%: 51.4, CP60: 100.4, 5×5 Differential: 5
Elite Options: Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg
Secondary Options: Justin Abdelkader, Dylan Larkin, Gustav Nyquist, Mike Green, Niklas Kronwall
Montreal Canadiens at Anaheim Ducks – 10:00 PM EST
| Montreal Canadiens | Anaheim Ducks | ||||||||
 |  | John Gibson | |||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 34-19-8 | |||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.67 | 2.75 | 17.90% | 84.00% | Team Stats | 2.48 | 2.31 | 22.30% | 86.60% |
The hockey gods just seem to keep on kicking this Montreal Canadiens team while they’re down. After a 19-4-3 start, they’ve gone just 11-24-2 since and were just hammered by the San Jose Sharks in the opener of a four game west-coast road trip. With Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann both shipped off at the trade deadline, at the very least Michel Therrien has done us all a favor be reunited Max Pacioretty, Tomas Plekanec and Brendan Gallagher on both the top forward line and #1 power-play unit. It’s been a forgettable season for Captain Max Pacioretty, but he’s finally showing some signs of life with three goals and three assists in the last six games. Conversely, Brendan Gallagher has found the back of the net in three of the last four games while Plekanec has added three assists in the last four games as well. P.K. Subban actually leads the Canadiens with 47 points in 63 games and might be the safest cash game option. He shares the duties on the point of the top power-play unit with his defensive partner Andrei Markov, but both players should be downgraded slightly thanks to Anaheim’s terrific 86.6% penalty kill.
“The hottest team in the NHL will look to keep things going tonight as they welcome the Montreal Canadiens to the Pond. Anaheim has rattled off eight straight wins and have posted a ridiculous 15-1-1 record over their last 17 games. After defeating their division rival Los Angeles Kings in a huge game on Sunday, a win tonight would pull them even with the Kings atop the Pacific Division for essentially the first time this season. Ryan Getzlaf picked up another assist on Sunday and has now extended his point streak to eleven games. He’s racked up six goals and 17 assists (and a +14) in his last 16 games and headlines the top forward line and #1 power-play unit alongside David Perron. Perron has thrived with his new team, tallying seven goals, nine assists and a +14 in 18 games wearing a Ducks jersey. Corey Perry joins those two on the top power-play unit and was electric on Sunday, scoring three goals and adding an assist against the Kings. Rickard Rakell joins Perry on the second line and has elevated his game lately by posting six goals and five assists in 14 games during February. On defense, both
Cam Fowler and Sami Vatanen see a healthy dose of playing time on the point of the very dangerous #1 power-play unit. Both are rock solid cash game options in this matchup with Vatanen likely owning the higher upside as evidenced by his three goals and six assists over the last eight games. “
Montreal Canadiens
CF%: 52.6, CP60: 109.4, 5×5 Differential: 0
Elite Options: None
Secondary Options: P.K. Subban, Max Pacioretty, Tomas Plekanec, Brendan Gallagher, Andrei Markov
Anaheim Ducks
CF%: 53.3, CP60: 108.1, 5×5 Differential: -8
Elite Options: Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, David Perron, Sami Vatanen
Secondary Options: Rickard Rakell, Ryan Kesler, Cam Fowler