NHL Grind Down: Wednesday, November 25th

by John Britt (jmbwngfn) Last Updated 2015-11-27 16:04:48

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.

Note: As always, if you want to try a new DFS site, be sure to click through a RotoGrinders link and use our DraftKings promo code and FanDuel promo code to receive the best perks in the industry.

Nashville Predators at Buffalo Sabres – 07:00 PM EST

Nashville Predators					Buffalo Sabres
			Pekka Rinne					Robin Lehner
			Record					Record
			11-6-3					8-11-2
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.55	2.50	18.30%	79.70%	Team Stats	2.05	2.67	20.60%	73.60%

Nashville will look to snap their three-game losing streak as they take on the Buffalo Sabres tonight at the First Niagara Center. After losing 3-0 in New York on Monday night, they’ve now been shutout in three straight games. Their recent offensive struggles are definitely concerning and this is a much more competitive Buffalo team, but with the Sabres owning the league’s worst penalty kill, there’s still some fantasy appeal to this Predators squad tonight. James Neal leads the team with 15 points on the season and is a major threat on the wing of the top power-play unit. Mike Fisher, Filip Forsberg and Mike Ribeiro also see a healthy dose of playing time with the man advantage and are fine targets as well. Shea Weber has already blasted in five power-play goals on the season and he joins his linemate Roman Josi as top tier options on the blue-line. Alternatively both Seth Jones and Ryan Ellis come with a relatively cheap price-tags and also see plenty of run on the point of the #2 power-play unit.

The Buffalo Sabres are much more competitive this season, but they’ve dropped five straight games and averaged just 2.05 goals per game on the young season. The Predators have a reputation as a very tough defensive hockey club and there’s just no need to be sniffing around Buffalo tonight in cash games on such a large slate. Ryan O’Reilly, Jack Eichel and Evander Kane are intriguing GPP options, however.

Elite Plays

NSH: James Neal, Filip Forsberg, Shea Weber, Roman Josi
BUF: None

Secondary Plays

NSH: Mike Fisher, Mike Ribeiro, Colin Wilson, Seth Jones, Ryan Ellis
BUF: Ryan O’Reilly, Jack Eichel, Evander Kane, Rasmus Ristolainen

Montreal Canadiens at New York Rangers – 07:00 PM EST

Montreal Canadiens					New York Rangers
			Carey Price					Henrik Lundqvist
			Record					Record
								16-3-2
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	3.55	2.23	24.40%	86.80%	Team Stats	3.10	1.76	19.60%	86.10%

In what could very well be a preview of the Eastern Conference finals, the Canadiens head to Madison Square Garden to battle the Metropolitan Division leading New York Rangers. The Canadians enter tonight’s game on the heels of a home-and-home series sweep of the New York Islanders, but Sunday’s victory was costly as Brendan Gallagher was lost for 6-8 weeks with a broken hand. WIth Gallagher out commission, it looks like Devante Smith-Pelly will get the first crack as the right wing on the team’s top line alongside Max Pacioretty and Tomas Plekanec. Smith-Pelly is dirt cheap across the industry and this news makes him one of the better “punt” options on the board regardless of the tough matchup. While Plekanec, Pacioretty, P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov are all somewhat matchup proof, the Rangers own a 10-1-1 record at Madison Square Garden and have allowed an NHL low 1.76 GA/G this season. It’s never wise to count this Montreal team out, but this just doesn’t look like the spot to pay their lofty asking prices.

The Rangers shutout Nashville 3-0 on Monday night and have now won 11 of their last 12 games. They’ll be faced with one of their toughest tests of the young season tonight against the Canadiens and will be looking to avenge a 3-0 loss to Montreal in their only previous meeting this season. It took awhile, but Rick Nash looks to finally have come alive offensively. The sniper has picked up four goals over the last two games and has a lot of work ahead of him if he wants to match his 42 goal total from last season. Mats Zuccarello leads the team with 21 points on the season and joins Rich Nash and Derick Brassard on the top line. Derek Stepan and Keith Yandle join that trio on the team’s top power-play unit and Ryan McDonagh deserves a look just from his sheer workload alone. However, this is a very tough Canadiens team and beating Carey Price is never easy; With this game having the potential look/feel of a playoff game, looking towards the other 24 teams in action tonight may just be the way to go.

Elite Plays

MON: Max Pacioretty, Tomas Plekanec, P.K. Subban
NYR: Rick Nash, Mats Zuccarello, Keith Yandle

Secondary Plays

MON: Devante Smith-Pelly, Alex Galchenyuk, Andrei Markov
NYR: Derek Stepan, Derick Brassard, Ryan McDonagh

Winnipeg Jets at Washington Capitals – 07:00 PM EST

Winnipeg Jets					Washington Capitals
			Ondrej Pavelec					Braden Holtby
			Record					Record
			10-10-2					14-5-1
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.64	3.09	14.30%	79.10%	Team Stats	3.05	2.20	21.00%	85.20%

Just as the Jets looked to be pulling out of their nose dive, they fell 4-1 to the lowly Colorado Avalanche in their last game and now they’ll head to our nation’s Capital having lost seven of their last nine games. They opened the season with a red-hot secondary scoring line, but they’ve since gone quiet and subsequently been dismantled, leaving the bulk of the scoring load to fall on the very dangerous top line of Andrew Ladd, Bryan Little and Blake Wheeler. Meanwhile, Dustin Byfuglien provides an offensive spark from the blue-line and can fill-up the stat-sheet, but with Washington allowing just 2.20 GA/G this season and Braden Holtby owning a 1.88 GAA average, Winnipeg looks better suited for GPP use in this one.

Washington picked up a shutout victory against the Oilers on Monday and will hit the ice tonight with an impressive 14-5-1 record through their first 20 games. Tonight they’ll host a struggling Winnipeg team that has allowed 3.34 GA/G on the road this season so there’s plenty to like here. The Winnipeg Jets are the most penalized team in the NHL which solidifies Alex Ovechkin as one of the premier plays of the evening. Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie join Ovie on both the top forward line and power-play unit making both players strong play as well. While Evgeny Kuznetsov may no longer center Mr. Ovechkin, he does still lead this team with 21 points and maintains some fantasy value as the center of the team’s second power-play unit. With the Jets penalty problems in mind, John Carlson emerges as an elite option on the blue-line. Carlson is not only the point-man on the #1 power-play unit, but also locked into 24+ minutes of playing time per game and has already picked up 13 points in 20 games.

Elite Plays

WPG: Blake Wheeler, Dustin Byfuglien
WSH: Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson

Secondary Plays

WPG: Andrew Ladd, Bryan Little, Mark Scheifele, Mathieu Perreault
WSH: T.J. Oshie, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Justin Williams, Matt Niskanen

St. Louis Blues at Pittsburgh Penguins – 07:00 PM EST

St. Louis Blues					Pittsburgh Penguins
								Marc-Andre Fleury
			Record					Record
			14-6-2					12-8-0
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.64	2.41	17.10%	85.50%	Team Stats	2.20	2.30	15.10%	84.50%

The Blues have struggled to gather much momentum during the month of November, and they’ll have their hands full once again tonight when they visit the Consol Energy Center to battle the Pittsburgh Penguins. After exploding for 37 goals and 36 assists last season, Vladimir Tarasenko is once again the undoubted leader of this Blues offensive attack. The 23 year-old has already racked up 13 goals and 9 assists on the young season and his combination of strength and speed will be a matchup nightmare for Mike Johnston all evening. Paul Stastny returned to action after missing returned to action on Monday after missing over a month of action and was promptly placed between Tarasenko and Alex Steen on the blues top forward line, which is obviously tremendous news for his fantasy outlook. With Ken Hitchcock likely using the Backes/Brouwer duo to try and contain the some of Pittsburgh’s offensive firepower, my search for St. Louis forwards ends at that top line. On defense, it’s a three-headed that needs your attention from a fantasy perspective. While Kevin Shattenkirk is likely still the top option, both Alex Pietrangelo and Colton Parayko also see a healthy dose of playing time with the man advantage and are off to very solid starts offensively.

The St. Louis Blues are certainly not an easy foe, but this Penguins team just has too much firepower to ignore. Sidney Crosby has been eerily quiet to start the season, but it really is only a matter of time before he erupts in a big way. He’ll once again be joined by Patric Hornqvist and Pascal Dupuis on the top line and that trio will be ready to pounce if St. Louis gets caught paying too much attention to Evgeni Malkin. Speaking of Malkin, the Russian sniper leads the Penguins with 17 points in 20 games and represents one-third of one of the most dangerous forward lines in the league as he’s set to skate with Phil Kessel and David Perron. The Blues have been terrific on the penalty kill thus far this season, but Kris Letang should not be ignored as the point-man on the teams top power-play unit.

Elite Plays

STL: Vladimir Tarasenko, Alex Steen, Kevin Shattenkirk
PIT: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel, Kris Letang

Secondary Plays

STL: Paul Stastny, David Backes, Alex Pietrangelo, Colton Parayko
PIT: Patric Hornqvist, David Perron, Pascal Dupuis

Philadelphia Flyers at New York Islanders – 07:00 PM EST

Philadelphia Flyers					New York Islanders
			Steve Mason					Jaroslav Halak
			Record					Record
			7-9-5					10-8-3
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	1.76	2.81	15.60%	79.20%	Team Stats	2.81	2.48	16.40%	81.80%

The Flyers managed to pick up an overtime win against the Hurricanes on Monday, but they’ve dropped 11 of their last 14 games and have a tough matchup on tap tonight in Brooklyn against the Islanders. The Flyers have scored just 1.76 goals per game on the season and Dave Hakstol finally decided to separate the once extremely dangerous duo of Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek. While Voracek responded with a pair of assists on Monday, he’s still scored just one goal this season and we’ve yet to see a substantial dip in his asking price. With Mark Streit injury further adding to the chaos, Claude Giroux is the only player I’m considering from Philadelphia in cash games.

The Islanders lost both halves of a home-and-home series over the weekend and enter tonight’s game with an underwhelming 10-8-3 record on the season. The Islanders took three of the four meetings against the Flyers last season and should get back on the winning track tonight. John Tavares and Kyle Okposo team up on the Islanders top scoring line and lead the team in scoring with 19 and 18 points respectively. Their joined on both the top forward line and power-play unit by Brock Nelson and all three look like terrific options against the defensively inept Flyers. Frans Nielsen joins that top power-play and is one of the more underrated players in the league. he helps provide a very capable secondary scoring line with Anders Lee and Josh Bailey. Nick Leddy, Johnny Boychuk and Travis Hamonic grab the lions share of the playing time on the point of the Islanders power-play and all three are solid (yet somewhat low ceiling) options.

Elite Plays

PHI: Claude Giroux
NYI: John Tavares, Kyle Okposo, Frans Nielsen

Secondary Plays

PHI: Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn, Shayne Gostisbehere
NYI: Brock Nelson, Anders Lee, Josh Bailey, Nick Leddy, Johnny Boychuk, Travis Hamonic

Jump to Page 1 2 3