NHL Grind Down: Wednesday, November 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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Vancouver Canucks at Montréal Canadiens
| Vancouver Canucks | Montréal Canadiens | ||||||||
 | Ryan Miller |  | Carey Price | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 4-4-1 | 8-0-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 1.78 | 2.56 | 10.70% | 81.00% | Team Stats | 3.44 | 1.44 | 21.90% | 88.60% |
The Vancouver Canucks are holding on by a thread here in the early going of the NHL season. If you’ve noticed, the NHL schedule has been crazy for a lot of teams and much like last night where Arizona was in a decent spot to beat San Jose, Vancouver is in a great spot to lose tonight. We don’t have to worry about Montreal having the possibly mythical ‘first game back at home after a long road trip blues’ as this will be their third home game in a row. Regardless of what the odds are we must dive in and see what the Canucks have been doing lately, especially with only three games to choose from. Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin and and Jannik Hansen will skate as the top line tonight and normally that’s the line opposing team’s try to shut down. Loui Eriksson and Brandon Sutter will skate on the second line along with Markus Granlund. There’s been plenty of talk about how the Canucks aren’t letting the recently acquired Eriksson have enough time to get used to the Sedin brothers as he has been put on and pulled off the top line at least three times so far this season. They may have a point. The one off play here is Brandon Sutter as he fired 21 shots on net so far this season while playing on the teams you power play unit. Bo Horvat could be the punt play here as he leads the team with four goals and usually opposing teams could care less if he’s on the ice or not. Philip Larsen and Alexander Edler are the choices on defense as they get a good chunk of ice team when the team has the man advantage. Just because Vancouver has only lit the lamp seven times over the last five games but doesn’t mean they can’t score a goal or two tonight.
When one considers that Montreal has only given up 14 goals in the first nine games, there is no doubt that whoever is in net for the Canadiens tonight will be the chalk play for cash games. On Tuesday at practice the Canadiens were running different lines which featured Alexander Radulov on the top line with Brandon Gallagher and Alex Galchenyuk. You should see a lot of this line in your cash games along with team leader in points, defenseman Shea Weber who has collected four goals and four assists in the last six games. The line shuffling has found Max Pacioretty on a second line with David Desharnais and Andrew Shaw which makes this an interesting line for GPP play tonight. Pacioretty is considered by some a prolific scorer as he has collected seven points through the first nine games. By putting Shaw and Desharnais with him will guarantee them more ice time and with ice time comes opportunity. Defenseman Jeff Petry is done with his 1994 impression of Karl ‘Tuffy’ Rhodes (yes, I realize most of you will have to google that) and has predictably fallen back down to earth as his two points in the last six games would suggest. We do however need other options than the high priced blue liners tonight so I’d look to Andre Markov or perhaps Alexei Emelin who have found the scoresheet three times in the last ten days.
Elite Plays
VAN: None
MTL: Shea Weber
Secondary Plays
VAN: Henrik Sedin, Brandon Sutter, Daniel Sedin
MTL: Brendan Gallagher, Alex Galchenyuk, Alexander Radulov, Max Pacioretty
Detroit Red Wings at Philadelphia Flyers
| Detroit Red Wings | Philadelphia Flyers | ||||||||
 | Petr Mrazek |  | Steve Mason | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 6-4-0 | 4-5-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.70 | 2.40 | 19.50% | 81.60% | Team Stats | 3.50 | 3.80 | 27.50% | 75.80% |
The Red Wings will use the same lines against the Flyers tonight that they used against the Florida Panthers in Sunday’s 5-2 loss. Head coach Jeff Blashill should be commended for sticking with lines changes for more than 60 minutes as most coaches hit the panic way too early where that is concerned. Thomas Vanek will be out with a lower-body injury and that could be part of the reason the Wings are 0-2 in the last two games as he is tied with the team lead in goals and points while only appearing in seven of the ten games Detroit has played so far this season. The top line of Gustav Nyquist, Dylan Larkin and Frans Nielsen has been the most productive over the last two weeks as they have tallied seven goals in seven games and should be viewed in play tonight. The second line of Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Tatar and Justin Abdelkader are yet to get things going as Zetterberg leads this group with just four assists in ten games. Third liner Darren Helm could be used as a one-off here as he has exhibited a sense of consistency with four goals and three assists going into tonight’s game. Mike Green is the choice on defense as he sees the top minutes on the team’s power play unit. The problem we encounter here is that Green had five points in the first three games but since then has added just two assists to his point total over the last seven games. Brendan Smith is another option on the blue line and though while he isn’t what you may be looking for, he has been in on the last two goals the team has scored over the past two games. He is clearly a punt play here.
The Flyers have been able to score a little more these days but it has been the defense and goaltending that has prohibited them from being any higher than sixth in the Metropolitan Division. Their 36 goals so far this season are tied with the Chicago Blackhawks for second in the league with the New York Rangers in the top slot with 40 tallies on the year. For the Flyers it is status quo as the top power play unit has connected for seven goals in the last seven games. They should have a few opportunities tonight considering that Detroit has taken four or more minor penalties in six of the last seven games. Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds lead the charge from the top line while Jakub Voracek joins them from the second line. Brayden Schenn also plays on the top line with Giroux and gets the ice time with the man advantage, but I would grab Voracek before I would take Schenn for the sole reason that the second liner has 43 shots so far this season and is a much better player. Travis Konecny and Sean Couturier skate with Voracek on the second line which makes them a nice GPP option on a small slate like tonight. Heck, you could probably even play them in cash as you will have to stray away from the crowd to win tonight. Shayne Gostisbehere is the play on the point as he soaks up a lot of minutes on the team’s top power play unit but maybe Mark Streit is the play here as he has found the scoresheet four times on the power play in the last five games.
Elite Plays
DET: None
PHL: Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek
Secondary Plays
DET: Gustav Nyquist, Frans Nielsen, Dylan Larkin, Tomas Tatar, Henrik Zetterberg, Mike Green
PHL: Wayne Simmonds, Mark Streit, Brayden Schenn
Pittsburgh Penguins at Anaheim Ducks
| Pittsburgh Penguins | Anaheim Ducks | ||||||||
 | Matt Murray |  | John Gibson | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 6-2-1 | 3-4-2 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.67 | 3.00 | 26.50% | 78.90% | Team Stats | 2.33 | 2.56 | 19.40% | 83.30% |
The Penguins headed out west after their 5-4 win in Philadelphia against the Flyers on Saturday night. I will say the same thing I said on Saturday, take Sidney Crosby and company as the line of Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel and Chris Kunitz should draw the most attention. This will leave Crosby and linemates Patric Hornqvist and Scott Wilson a bit more room on the ice to work with tonight. Malkin and Kessel have combined for 14 points over the last five games with eight of them coming with the man advantage. The Penguins power play has been red hot of late so pairing Malkin with Kessel or Crosby and Hornqvist is not a problem tonight. The problem occurs when we look at the back line as Kris Letang is poised to return but we cannot be certain until at least their morning skate, which will take place later than usual being on the west coast. Justin Schultz is the choice of Letang cannot go as he has filled in on the point in his absence. If Letang is a go for tonight it’s full steam ahead on tonight’s short slate. Look for the Penguins to score a couple tonight with Crosby leading the attack.
UPDATE
Kris Letang is good to go for tonight, making him a top defensive option for tonight.
Rickard Rakell gets back into the lineup and whammo! Instant offense! Rakell looks like he skated on the third line last night but was afforded top minutes when the team had the man advantage. One could say you’d be chasing points here as he had a goal and two assists in his first game last night as the Ducks beat the Kings last night in Los Angeles by a score of 4-0. Anaheim has scored five power play goals over the last three games which makes Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf almost automatic cash game plays tonight. Second liner Ryan Kesler makes a great one-off play here as he has found the scoresheet four times in the last five games when the team has the man advantage. You can get cheap exposure to Getzlaf and Perry by rostering him as he skates on the top power play unit with them. Sami Vatanen and Cam Fowler round out the quintet the sees the most ice time on the power play so taking either one of these blue liners is not a bad play. If you are feeling daring you could take Kesler with one of his line mates as either Jakob Silfverberg or Andrew Cogliano would fit the bill. This should be a good one so stay up late and watch it!
Elite Plays
PIT: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin
ANA: Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf
Secondary Plays
PIT: Patric Hornqvist, Phil Kessel
ANA: Ryan Kesler, Sami Vatanen, Cam Fowler