NHL Grind Down: Wednesday, November 23rd
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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 New Jersey Devils
| Toronto Maple Leafs | New Jersey Devils | ||||||||
 | Jhonas Enroth |  | Cory Schneider | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 8-8-3 | 9-6-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.05 | 3.21 | 20.40% | 82.80% | Team Stats | 2.22 | 2.33 | 11.90% | 81.50% |
Toronto will need to work on their play away from home as their road record stands at 1-5-3 so far this season. It also doesn’t help matters as they played the Carolina Hurricanes last night on home ice. Their only road win came against Buffalo back on November third. Head coach Mike Babcock has reunited the line of Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Zach Hyman. But the line that has been doing well is the one that feature Mitchell Marner, James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak. This line has scored seven goals and assisted on 11 more over the teams last five games going into last night’s action. Morgan Rielly has had the hot hand on the point while Jake Gardiner has reclaimed his spot quarterbacking the Maple Leafs top power play unit. Leo Komorov and Nazem Kadri join Gardiner, Matthews and Nylander to form the team’s top power play unit.New Jersey has yet to lose at home so something has to give in this one.
After winning five straight games the Devils have dropped their last three games on the west coast and only have managed six goals in the last four games. Taylor Hall is out with an injury as well as Mike Cammalleri and now Kyle Palmieri. Cammalleri has been out for ‘personal reasons’ so what’s wrong with him is almost anyone’s guess. Travis Zajac centers the top line with Beau Bennett and P.A. Parenteau while Adam Henrique has Reid Boucher and Nick Lappin on the wings. The only thing New Jersey has going for them is the fact that Toronto is coming in fresh of a home game against Carolina last night. I guess your best bet here would be to take Zajac and P. A. Parenteau as they play on the top line and should be able to maneuver at least a little bit out there tonight. Damon Severson is the play from the point as normally gets the minutes on the top power play unit but Kyle Quincey leads the team in shots with 13 of them over the last five games. Quincey has also scored a goal and assisted on two other over that same time frame. With 11 other games on the slate, I’d look elsewhere for your cash game plays tonight.
Elite Plays
TOR: Mitchell Marner
NJ: None
Secondary Plays
TOR: Tyler Bozak, James van Riemsdyk, Leo Komarov, Jake Gardiner
NJ: Travis Zajac, Adam Henrique, Damon Severson
Calgary Flames at Columbus Blue Jackets
| Calgary Flames | Columbus Blue Jackets | ||||||||
 | Brian Elliott |  | Sergei Bobrovsky | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 8-12-1 | 10-4-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.29 | 3.24 | 8.40% | 72.70% | Team Stats | 3.29 | 2.35 | 31.10% | 83.30% |
The last time the Calgary Flames scored more than three goals was back on October 28nd against the Ottawa Senators which was 12 games ago. The Flames have been trying to hang in there but it’s awfully tough without Johnny Gaudreau in the lineup night in and night out. The top line of Sean Monahan, Troy Brouwer and Sam Bennett have registered a combined five points over the last five games and that makes a bit of sense as three of those game were played on the road. The second line of Mikael Backlund, Michael Frolik and Matthew Tkachuk actually make a nice GPP play tonight as they have seem to have found some chemistry over the last five games. Backlund has 18 shots while potting two goals while Tkachuk has registered three points and Frolik leads the team with defenseman Dougie Hamilton with four points over that same five game time period. There are a few bad teams playing tonight so taking that Backlund line may just be profitable tonight. If you want an alternative on the back line Mark Giordano has fired 50 shots on net so far this season but only has one goal and six assists to show for his efforts.
The Columbus Blue Jackets won five straight games before losing to the Colorado Avalanche in overtime on Monday night by a score or 3-2. Tonight they will look to get back on track and stay on top of things where the playoffs are concerned as they take on a Calgary team that has given up 69 goals so far this season. There a few ways to attack this tonight with the first one being the top line of Brandon Saad, Alexander Wennberg and Nick Foligno. Saad is the only one not on the top power play unit which is probably why Foligno leads the team with 18 points and Wennberg right behind him with 17. A full line stack is fine here or just go with the power play duo of Foligno and Wennberg. Cam Atkinson leads the team in shots and points over the last five games and makes a great one-off play here as he skates with Wennberg and Foligno on the top power play unit. Boone Jenner and Brandon Dubinsky are Atkinson’s line mates and make for a good GPP play here. Sam Gagner has found new life as the fourth piece of the puzzle on the power play as he has seven goals and five assists from the fourth line with six of those points coming while the Blue Jackets have the man advantage. Zachary Werenski is the defensive play here as he is right up there with the leaders of the team with five goals and ten assists so far this season. Seven of his points have come with the man advantage. I have a feeling Columbus will be highly owned in cash game play tonight.
Elite Plays
CGY: None
CBJ: Alexander Wennberg, Nick Foligno, Zachary Werenski
Secondary Plays
CGY: Mikael Backlund, Sean Monahan, Michael Frolik
CBJ: Cam Atkinson, Sam Gagner
Winnipeg Jets at Minnesota Wild
| Winnipeg Jets | Minnesota Wild | ||||||||
 | Connor Hellebuyck |  | Devan Dubnyk | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 9-10-2 | 9-7-2 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.71 | 2.95 | 14.70% | 81.30% | Team Stats | 2.56 | 1.94 | 14.80% | 87.00% |
The Winnipeg Jets continue to change up the lines as the look for something that can get this team out of its slump. They’ve lost their last three games, which have all subsequently been played on the road which is where they find themselves again tonight. Is it me or when you go on the road is the time to balance out two lines so the opposing team can’t cover both lines. The Jets stacked their first line again last game with Nikolaj Ehlers, Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele while Patrik Laine, the teams scoring leader, seemed to be hung out to dry as he skated with Andrew Copp and Adam Lowry. Nicolas Petan was demoted to the third line. Before all of this line shuffling started the Jets were scoring goals as they had 54 goals in their first 18 games. The problem has been on the defensive end as they have given up 62 goals in 21 games. Dustin Byfuglien is off to a bad start as he has just one goal to go along with nine assists so far this season. To make matter worse, he is on the ice for more than 28 minutes a game and has just one point on the power play. Tobias Enstrom has more power play points than Byfuglien and he plays on the second unit. Devan Dubnyk should get the start for Minnesota, so this could all be a moot point anyway.
Minnesota is a pretty frustrating team as they continue to not put their best players on the top two lines. I am not sure what they are trying to prove as they are barely a one-line team, let alone a three line team. Zach Parise lines up with Eric Staal and Mikael Granlund, while Mikko Koivu centers Charlie Coyle and Tyler Graovac. Nino Niederreiter skates on the third line with Jason Pominville and center Eric Haula. Granlund, Koivu and Niederreiter are the first to hit the ice when the Wild draw a penalty which makes absolutely no sense to me. Why use three guys from three different lines? Anyway with all this line changing Minnesota has managed nine goals over the last six games. Ryan Suter and Jared Spurgeon get the call on the power play from the back line. Give the nod to Suter here as he has 41 shots to go along with 13 points in the 18 games Minnesota has played so far. With the Wild being home I guess it’s safe to use the Staal line for GPP plays tonight as the team just doesn’t score enough yet for cash game play.
Elite Plays
WIN: None
MIN: None
Secondary Plays
WIN: Blake Wheeler, Nikolaj Ehlers, Patrik Laine, Mark Scheifele
MIN: Zach Parise, Eric Staal, Ryan Suter, Nino Niederreiter
Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Rangers
| Pittsburgh Penguins | New York Rangers | ||||||||
 | Marc-Andre Fleury |  | Henrik Lundqvist | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 11-5-3 | 14-5-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.79 | 2.84 | 23.40% | 81.40% | Team Stats | 4.05 | 2.30 | 21.70% | 85.50% |
Ah, there’s nothing like a good old home and home series between Metropolitan division rivals. Chris Kunitz has gone from being day-to-day to week-to-week as it is unclear if the injury he sustained is related to the injury he had earlier in the year. Jake Guentzel was promoted and put on a line with Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel. Not only did Guentzel score on his first shift, he scored the first two goals of the game and unfortunately for the Penguins, in went all downhill from there. Pittsburgh ended up losing 5-2. Sidney Crosby and Conor Sheary had their share of chances and should be in play tonight but the only problem facing them is Henrik Lundqvist. He should get the start tonight since Raanta started on Monday night. Carl Hagelin was on the top line with Crosby and Sheary so it all depends on what line the Rangers decide to try to shut down as to what line will have more room on the ice tonight. Kris Letang remains the play on the point as he has 11 points in just 13 games with six of those points coming with the man advantage. Look for another battle tonight as this one could be closer than Monday night’s game.
Mika Zibanejad looks to be out for quite a while with the broken leg he suffered on Sunday night against the Florida Panthers. The Rangers made the necessary adjustments and went out and beat the Penguins in front of their home fans pretty handily. The top line of Rick Nash, Derek Stepan and Chris Kreider should get the favorable match ups in this one but don’t count out the line of Michael Grabner, Brandon Pirri and J.T. Miller either. I actually like this line as it features on of the Rangers leading scorers in Miller who has 18 points in 20 games and Michael Grabner, who now leads the team with 12 goals. Defenseman Ryan McDonagh even got back on track as he assisted on two of the five goals the Rangers scored on Monday night. The other scoring line the Rangers have is the Kevin Hayes, Mats Zuccarello and Jimmy Vesey line. The New Yorkers have done so much scoring this season (81 goals in 20 games) it almost doesn’t matter who you put with who but for uniformity purposes, I’d at least roster the guys that skate together.
Elite Plays
PIT: Sidney Crosby
NYR: None
Secondary Plays
PIT: Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Phil Kessel
NYR: Derek Stepan, Chris Kreider, Ryan McDonagh, Michael Grabner, Mats Zuccarello
Detroit Red Wings at Buffalo Sabres
| Detroit Red Wings | Buffalo Sabres | ||||||||
 | Jimmy Howard |  | Robin Lehner | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 8-10-1 | 7-8-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.32 | 2.68 | 15.90% | 78.60% | Team Stats | 1.89 | 2.42 | 22.20% | 80.00% |
Detroit has been on such a downward spiral over the last ten games that it may be a monumental task to think that they can turn this mess around. Their only two wins over the last 11 games have come against Philadelphia and Vancouver and at last check both of those teams aren’t that great defensively. The only saving grace me be that Thomas Vanek has returned to the lineup and may provide the spark needed to jump start the season. He has four goals and four assists in the first seven games he played in before getting injured. He will skate on a line with Frans Nielsen and Dylan Larkin while Henrik Zetterberg will center Gustav Nyquist and Anthony Mantha on the team’s top line. Zetterberg and Nyquist have combined for seven points over the last five games and should see their fair share of opportunities tonight as they skate on the Red Wings top power play unit. They also lead the team in scoring as each has three goals and eight assists in 19 games. That’s about all you need to know when inquiring about how the Red Wings season is going. Mike Green and Ryan Sproul have been manning the points on a power play unit that has connected just three times so far this month but opportunity is opportunity. With 11 games on tonight’s slate it’s probably best to look elsewhere for your cash game plays.
After skating with the team a bit on Monday morning Ryan O’Reilly was quoted that a return on Wednesday night ‘is very doable’. The Sabres took care of business on home ice Monday night by beating the Calgary Flames as they jumped over tonight’s opponent into seventh place in the Atlantic division standings. If O’Reilly returns one has to believe he will take his spot back on the top line with Kyle Okposo and Evander Kane while Johan Larsson would drop to the third or fourth line. Okposo seems to be coming to life as he added two more points Monday night to his team leading total 12 points. Buffalo employed a fractured attack on the power play which means they used a player from each line as well as two defensemen to make up their top power play unit that scored two goals in the win against Calgary. Rasmus Ristolainen is the usual play on the point but Taylor Fedun has come out of nowhere to tally four assists in his first three games with two of them coming with the man advantage. Both Sam Reinhart who plays in the second line and Matt Moulson, who plays on the third lien, round out the top unit when Buffalo has the man advantage. It’s tough to play the Sabres in cash games but you could surely use most of the players mentioned above as one-offs in GPP play tonight.
Elite Plays
DET: None
BUF: None
Secondary Plays
DET: Henrik Zetterberg, Gustav Nyquist, Thomas Vanek, Frans Nielsen, Mike Green
BUF: Kyle Okposo, Evander Kane, Rasmus Ristolainen, Matt Moulson