NHL Grind Down: Wednesday, November 25th - Page Two

by John Britt (jmbwngfn) Last Updated 2015-11-25 14:33:19

Edmonton Oilers at Carolina Hurricanes – 07:00 PM EST

Edmonton Oilers					Carolina Hurricanes
			Ben Scrivens					Cam Ward
			Record					Record
			7-13-1					7-10-4
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.62	3.05	18.80%	78.80%	Team Stats	2.00	2.86	13.50%	76.10%

With 25 other teams in action tonight, it doesn’t make too much sense to dig too deep into a team like Edmonton when things are pretty cut and dry. The Oilers have two very capable scoring lines, but also own just a 3-8-0 record on the road this season and Carolina is allowing the fewest SOG/G in the league so far. Taylor Hall has already racked up 9 goals and 15 assists in 21 games and is an elite play. Leon Draisaitl was the 3rd overall pick from the 2014 draft and he’s certainly shown why; scoring seven goals and adding ten assists in just 11 games this season. He’s clearly loving life as Taylor Hall center and is still dirt cheap on several sites. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle have been a bit slow out of the gates this season, but they still carry enough of an upside to be worth consideration in this matchup. Another former first round draft pick, Oscar Klefbom is emerging as a viable option on the blue-line. The 22 year-old mans the point of the team’s top power-play unit and has already picked up four goals and seven assists in 21 games.

The Edmonton Oilers continue to be one of the worst defensive teams in the league this season, and gives the Carolina Hurricanes some somewhat rare fantasy appeal on tonight’s huge slate. However, they’ve dropped eight of their last ten games and are only averaging 2.00 goals per game this season, so don’t over expose yourself. Eric Staal remains their most dangerous forward option and he’ll be flanked by both Elias Lindholm and Victor Rask on the top forward line. Jeff Skinner and Kris Versteeg are slated to surround Riley Nash on he second line, and Carolina really needs them to start providing some consistent secondary scoring. While all six aforementioned players are in play against the Oilers, it’s Justin Faulk that looks like the strongest fantasy option from Carolina. Not only does the blue-liner lead the Hurricanes in scoring (16 points) but he’s also averaging over 25 minutes of ice-time per game and his eight power-play goals on the young season is tops in the NHL.

Elite Plays

EDM: Taylor Hall, Leon Draisaitl
CAR: Eric Staal, Justin Faulk

Secondary Plays

EDM: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle, Teddy Purcell, Oscar Klefbom
CAR: Kris Versteeg, Elias Lindholm, Victor Rask, Jeff Skinner, Noah Hanifin

Vancouver Canucks at Minnesota Wild – 07:00 PM EST

Vancouver Canucks					Minnesota Wild
			Ryan Miller					Devan Dubnyk
			Record					Record
			8-8-6					11-5-3
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.86	2.73	20.00%	79.40%	Team Stats	3.00	2.68	20.30%	75.50%

With just an 8-6-6 record on the season, the Canucks looks to be on the verge of a complete rebuild. They’ve lost eight of their last 10 games (13 of the last 18) and it just doesn’t look like the Sedin Twins can carry this team any longer. With that said, it’s the Sedin brothers than are once again easily leading the Canucks scoring race and remain very consistent offensive producers. Jannik Hansen joins the Sedins on the top forward line with Alexandre Burrows moving alongside them on the #1 power-play unit. With the Wild still missing Zach Parise disruptive defense and sporting an ugly 75.5% penalty kill, those are the four forwards on my cash game radar from Vancouver tonight. On Defense, Alex Edler has posted four goals and eight assists through the first 21 games and is locked into huge minutes each game. He’s the quarterback of the team’s top power-play unit and is a fine defenseman to target on sites where he’s still reasonably priced.

The Zach Parise injury was devastating for the Wild, but he looks to be nearing a return and Minnesota has really come together to play fairly well in his absence. The Wild snapped a three game losing streak with a 4-0 win over Nashville on Saturday and should be very well rested heading into tonight’s game. However, this does not look to be one of the most fantasy friendly games on the board, so I’ll be limiting my exposure. Ryan Suter leads the Wild with 19 points in 19 games and yet is still reasonably priced on several sites making him my favorite option here. Up-front, it’s the top two forward lines that deserve your attention. Mikko Koivu has picked up points in six straight games and has only been held off the scoresheet in three games this season. He’ll center the underrated Jason Zucker and Nino Niederreiter at even strength while also allowing centering the team’s top power-play unit.

Elite Plays

VAN: Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin
MIN: Mikko Koivu, Jason Zucker, Ryan Suter

Secondary Plays

VAN: Jannik Hansen, Alex Burrows, Radim Vrbata, Alexander Edler
MIN: Jason Pominville, Mikael Granlund, Nino Niederreiter, Jared Spurgeon

Columbus Blue Jackets at New Jersey Devils – 07:00 PM EST

Columbus Blue Jackets					New Jersey Devils
			Sergei Bobrovsky					Cory Schneider
			Record					Record
			8-14-0					11-8-1
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.50	3.23	19.50%	80.80%	Team Stats	2.40	2.45	22.50%	83.80%

The Blue Jackets have been playing much better lately, but they’re still fighting to get out of the hole their 0-8-0 start to the season dug them into. They’ll once again be without Brandon Dubinsky tonight, but John Tortorella still has two very capable offensive lines at his disposal. While facing a Devils team that is the slowest paced team in the NHL (89.0 CP60) is not ideal, Columbus did defeat New Jersey 3-1 in their only previous meeting this season. It’s a three way tie for the team lead in points, with Scott Hartnell, Ryan Johansen and Boone Jenner all dead-locked with 16. Brandon Saad has 15 points of his own and joins both Boone Jenner and Ryan Johansen on the top line, leaving Scott Hartnell to play alongside Cam Atkinson and the struggling Nick Foligno. They’re not my favorite targets of the evening, but all six forwards are in play against the Devils. David Savard, Ryan Murray and Jack Johnson soak up nearly all of the available minutes on the point of the power-play and can be deployed as low risk options on the blue-line.

After an 0-4-0 start to the season, the Devils have gone 11-4-1 in the 16 games since. However, they’re averaging just 2.45 goals per game and there just aren’t too many intriguing fantasy options on their roster. Mike Cammalleri leads the charge with 21 points over the first 20 games and headlines the top line alongside playmakers Lee Stempniak and Adam Henrique. With the Blue Jackets owning an ugly 3.23 GA/G this season, all three players can be targeted with confidence. Kyle Palmieri was brought in during the offseason to help provide some secondary scoring, and he looks to be finding his groove with six goals and eight assists over the last 12 games. The 21 year-old Damon Severson has inherited the role as the point man on the team’s top power-play which makes him fine value play across the industry.

Elite Plays

CBJ: Scott Hartnell, Ryan Johansen
NJD: Mike Cammalleri, Adam Henrique

Secondary Play

CBJ: Boone Jenner, Nick Foligno, Brandon Saad, Ryan Murray, David Savard, Jack Johnson
NJD: Lee Stempniak, Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac, Damon Severson

Los Angeles Kings at Tampa Bay Lightning – 07:30 PM EST

Los Angeles Kings					Tampa Bay Lightning
			Jonathan Quick					Ben Bishop
			Record					Record
			13-8-0					10-9-3
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	2.52	2.19	19.40%	84.30%	Team Stats	2.41	2.18	19.10%	81.30%

The Kings finish off their grueling five game road trip with a very tough game against the Lightning in Tampa. The Kings snapped a two game skid with a 3-1 victory in Miami on Monday night but picking up two points as the visitors to Amalie Arena is rarely easy. However, Los Angeles is the top puck possession team in the NHL this season and can match Tampa Bay’s two main offensive lines with a pair of very capable scoring lines of their own. While the Anze Kopitar line will likely be used as often as possible to try and slow down Steven Stamkos, it’s been the Milan Lucic, Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli line producing the most offense. Jeff Carter leads the team with 20 points and is my top option, while the talented young Toffoli is still underpriced on several sites and trails just behind with 11 goals and 8 assists. Defensively, both Drew Doughty and Jake Muzzin log huge minutes and see plenty of run with the man advantage, making them both fine options against the Lightning’s mediocre penalty kill.

The Lightning jumped all over the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday and are looking to keep things rolling tonight against the Kings as they move further into one of the toughest stretches of their schedule that they’ll face all season. They’ve been dealing with numerous injuries up front, but the key to getting them back into Stanley Cup contention is once again getting both Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov rolling on the second line. Steven Stamkos is off to a fine start as the center of the top line and is always in play despite the tough matchup opposite Kopitar, but I feel like the outcome of this game will be determined by the play of Johnson, Kucherov and Vladislav Namestnikov. Kucherov showed signs of life on Saturday, scoring a goal and adding two assists. Victor Hedman looks like a future Norris Trophy contender on the blue-line and leads Tampa Bay defenders with 12 points. Alternatively, Anton Stralman is slated to run the point of the #1 power-play unit and comes at a much more reasonable asking price. This should be a tightly contested hockey game, and with Los Angeles allowing just 2.19 GA/G this season, don’t get carried away here.

Elite Plays

LAK: Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli, Drew Doughty
TBL: Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman

Secondary Plays

LAK: Anze Kopitar, Marian Gaborik, Jake Muzzin
TBL: Ryan Callahan, Tyler Johnson, Alex Killorn, Anton Stralman

Boston Bruins at Detroit Red Wings – 07:30 PM EST

Boston Bruins					Detroit Red Wings
			Tuukka Rask					Jimmy Howard
			Record					Record
			11-8-1					11-8-2
Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%	Stats	GF/GP	GA/GP	PP%	PK%
Team Stats	3.25	2.95	32.30%	74.70%	Team Stats	2.33	2.48	17.90%	84.30%

The Bruins head to the Joe Louis Arena on the heels of a three-game winning streak and they’re hoping to repeat their 3-1 victory over the Red Wings just last week. With David Krejci thriving on the teams second line with Matt Beleskey and Loui Eriksson, Claude Julien has the luxury of running with two very capable scoring lines. Krejci leads the team with 8 goals and 14 assists in 20 games this season, with Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand (and Jimmy Hayes) putting up solid numbers on the top forward line. Torey Krug will return to his hometown and has emerged as the top fantasy option from the Boston blue-line. He’s already picked up 12 points on the season and has taken the reigns as the point-man on the team’s #1 power-play unit. Zdeno Chara may be on the downswing of his prestigious career, but he’s still managed to score three goals and add eight assists in 18 games and Detroit will struggle to deal with his size down low on Boston’s #2 power-play unit.

The Bruins have been a thorn in the Red Wing’s side since their move to the Eastern Conference, but Detroit has won two straight games and finally looks to be getting healthy, so they’ll be looking to pick up a statement win tonight in the opener of a six game home-stand. Pavel Datsyuk return has really helped stabilize things on both ends of the ice for the Red Wings. While he’ll join Brad Richards and Teemu Pulkkinen on a strong and offensively capable secondary scoring line, it’s the Henrik Zetterberg, Justin Abdelkader and Dylan Larkin line that has been responsible for the bulk of the scoring. While opposing Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand is not ideal, there’s no guarantee the Bergeron line may actually be deployed to battle Mr. Datsyuk and Coach Blashill can at least utilize the last line change to get his top line into more favorable line matchups. The real value to the Red Wings comes on the power-play as this team owned the league’s second best power-play last season and Boston enters tonight’s game with a horrendous 74.7% penalty kill. With that in mind, both Niklas Kronwall and Mike Green become very solid players to target on the blue-line.

Elite Plays

BOS: Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Torey Krug
DET: Henrik Zetterberg, Dylan Larkin, Pavel Datsyuk, Mike Green

Secondary Plays

BOS: Brad Marchand, Loui Eriksson, Matt Beleskey, Jimmy Hayes, Zdeno Chara
DET: Justin Abdelkader, Gustav Nyquist, Niklas Kronwall

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