NHL Grind Down: Wednesday, March 8th
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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Detroit Red Wings at Boston Bruins
| Detroit Red Wings | Boston Bruins | ||||||||
 | Jared Coreau |  | Tuukka Rask | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 25-28-11 | 34-26-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.39 | 2.97 | 12.80% | 81.20% | Team Stats | 2.73 | 2.61 | 20.20% | 85.70% |
Detroit lost another close one last night as they dropped a 3-2 decision in Toronto last night. Detroit has become the worst team in the Eastern Conference as they are just playing these games to finish out the schedule. Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Tatar had a new line mate in Gustav Nyquist last night which helped produce both Detroit goals. The second line saw Anthony Mantha drop down to play alongside of Frans Nielsen and Andreas Athanasiou. Zetterberg is the one-off here as his 53 points this season exemplifies that the 36 year old still has what it takes to lead his team in scoring. His 12 points over the last eight games is seven more than anyone else on the team during that span. After that, not much is going on in Detroit as Mantha is second on the Red Wings scoring chart with 33 points so far this season but with moving away from Zetterberg’s line, he may see a drop in scoring from here on out. Justin Abdelkader has been getting some run on the top power play unit and has grabbed five of his 17 points over the last eight games. Niklas Kronwall continues to get the extra minutes from the back line when the Red Wings have the extra attacker but Mike Green is much better offensively for our purposes here tonight. Green has tallied 27 points in 54 games while Kronwall’s eight points isn’t even out of double digits despite playing in 40 games so far this season.
Thanks to winning seven of their last 10 games the Boston Bruins have been able to open up a small lead for third place in the Atlantic Division with 74 points. The top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Backes looks to be one of the safer lines tonight as Marchand and Bergeron have found the score sheet 10 times each over the last eight games. Marchand leads the team with 30 goals and 38 assists while Backes has seen his numbers go up as well since joining the top line. Peter Cehlarik, David Krejci and David Pastrnak skate on the team’s second line which sees Pastrnak move up with Marchand and Bergeron to skate on the team’s top power play unit. Pastrnak makes for a decent one-off play here as he has grabbed 18 of his 55 points when the team has had the extra attacker. It also doesn’t hurt that his 55 points have come in the 59 games he has suited up for. Ryan Spooner remains on the top power play unit from the third line and also can be used as a cash game one-off here as well. Spooner has recorded five of his 34 points over the last eight games while chipping in 14 points with the man advantage. Torey Krug is the play from the back line as he soaks up almost all of the power play minutes from the blue line. His eight points over the last eight games has helped him become the third scorer on the team with 44 points. Look for Boston to improve on their 17-14 record in front of the home crowd tonight.
Elite Plays
DET: Henrik Zetterberg
BOS: Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak
Secondary Plays
DET: Anthony Mantha, Gustav Nyquist, Mike Green
BOS: Patrice Bergeron, Torey Krug, David Backes, Ryan Spooner, David Krejci
Pittsburgh Penguins at Winnipeg Jets
| Pittsburgh Penguins | Winnipeg Jets | ||||||||
 | Matt Murray |  | Connor Hellebuyck | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 40-16-8 | 30-31-6 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.45 | 2.78 | 22.30% | 80.20% | Team Stats | 2.96 | 3.10 | 17.60% | 77.70% |
Pittsburgh will try to keep pace with the Columbus Blue Jackets for second place in the Metropolitan Division as they trail them by just two points with 18 games left to go. Their record of 40-16-8 has yielded them 88 points so far this season which is surely good enough to qualify for the end of the season tournament. The Penguins are led by Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin as they have combined 136 points so far this season. They both anchor the top power play unit while centering different even strength lines. Crosby gets Conor Sheary and Chris Kunitz as his wingers while Phil Kessel has been moved up from the third line to join Carl Hagelin on Malkin’s line. Kessel gets the extra power play time as well along with Patric Honqvist who dropped down to take Kessel’s third line spot. Either of these lines should work tonight as the Jets have a penchant for giving up a lot of goals. They have given up 209 goals so far this season which is a big reason why they are in fifth place in the Central Division. Defenseman Kris Letang did not travel with the team on this road trip which means you can easily fire up Justin Schultz tonight. Schultz has taken to the top power play unit by registering 16 of his 44 points with the man advantage. Pittsburgh is 12-12-5 on the road but should be able to score a few goals here tonight.
Winnipeg is the only team in the league to have the dubious honor of scoring over 200 goals while giving up over 200 goals. At least their fans never get cheated into a boring game with all of that scoring going on. Their 66 points is five points away from the last playoff spot in the Western Conference so with a little winning and a little luck, anything can happen. Speaking of little, Bryan Little centers the second line of Blake Wheeler and Nikolaj Ehlers while Mark Scheifele centers Patrik Laine and Mathieu Perreault on the team’s top line. This line is responsible for 15 goals and 25 assists over the last nine games. Yeah, I’d say they are hot! Scheifele leads the team with 67 points while Laine’s 32 goals is tops on the team. On any other team Wheeler and Ehlers six goals and nine assists over the last nine games would seem cash game worthy and very well may be tonight against a Pittsburgh team that has lost four of their last five road games. Defenseman Dustin Byfuglien seems to be the safe play here as he not only has recorded nine points in the last nine games, he leads the Winnipeg defensemen in scoring as well. He has registered 44 points so far this season while Jacob Trouba has found the score sheet 26 times this season. The Jets should score some goals tonight but the trouble is always how many they let in.
Elite Plays
PIT: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin
WIN: Mark Scheifele, Patrik Laine
Secondary Plays
PIT: Phil Kessel, Justin Schultz, Patric Hornqvist, Conor Sheary
WIN: Blake Wheeler, Bryan Little, Nikolaj Ehlers, Dustin Byfuglien
Ottawa Senators at Dallas Stars
| Ottawa Senators | Dallas Stars | ||||||||
 | Craig Anderson |  | Kari Lehtonen | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 36-22-6 | 27-29-10 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.59 | 2.62 | 17.10% | 81.70% | Team Stats | 2.80 | 3.15 | 18.10% | 74.00% |
Ottawa continues to play good hockey while sitting in second place in the Atlantic Division. Their 78 points had them just four points behind the Montreal Canadiens for first place in the division before last night’s action. Mike Hoffman has been shipped back to the third line but still sees most of the extra ice time with the man advantage. It is for this reason that he makes a decent one-off here as he has tallied 20 goals to go along with 24 assists in the 57 games he has appeared on so far this season. The top line of Derick Brassard and Mark Stone has seen Alexandre Burrows join them three games ago since he was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks. The change of scenery has done him some good as he has recorded four points in those three games while Stone has grabbed eight points in the last nine games. Stone is tied with Kyle Turris for the team lead in goals with 22 of them so far this season. Turris centers Ryan Dzingel and Zack Smith while Bobby Ryan continues to be out with an injury. Turris seems to be a one-off here as there’s no doubt that Dallas will try to stop the top line with their best defensive line which should leave some room out there on the ice for him to generate a few scoring chances tonight. Erik Karlsson is the play on the back line as he has registered 13 points in the last 11 games while leading the team with 58 points this season. Ottawa has been tough this season and can certainly steal one here in Dallas tonight.
The Stars may make it easy for us tonight as they had Tyler Seguin skating on the top line with Jamie Benn and Jason Spezza in their 4-2 win in Washington on Monday night. There really is no good reason to break this line up especially since the team is pretty much out of a playoff spot with just 64 points so far this season. Sixth place in the Central Division isn’t where the Stars wanted to be at this time of the year but injuries have basically decimated the team for most of the season. Benn leads the team with 24 goals while Seguin’s 44 assists and 66 points are tops on the team. Radek Faksa centers the second line along with Patrick Sharp and Curtis McKenzie with Sharp being the one-off here as he has registered five of his 18 points over the last nine games. Sharp moves up with the top line when the Stars have the extra attacker so his price should definitely help you out here tonight. Defenseman Esa Lindell has been getting the top power play minutes of late but has only managed two points in the last nine games. John Klingberg remains the safer choice here as he leads the team’s defensemen with 40 points so far this season. Dallas looks to improve on their 18-11-6 home record tonight.
Elite Plays
OTT: Erik Karlsson
DAL: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn
Secondary Plays
OTT: Mark Stone, Mike Hoffman, Kyle Turris, Derick Brassard
DAL: Jason Spezza, John Klingberg, Patrick Sharp