NHL Grind Down: Wednesday, November 30th
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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Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Islanders
| Pittsburgh Penguins | New York Islanders | ||||||||
 | Marc-Andre Fleury |  | Thomas Greiss | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 13-6-3 | 7-10-4 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.91 | 2.91 | 20.00% | 77.20% | Team Stats | 2.38 | 2.95 | 12.90% | 80.00% |
The Pittsburgh Penguins will get a bit of good news tonight as Patric Hornqvist looks to return and take his rightful place on the top line with Sidney Crosby and Conor Sheary. What this will effectively do is take Sheary off of the top power play unit that hasn’t scored a goal with the man advantage in the last four games. It will also make it easier for us to pair up a few players and now we can have confidence in selecting Crosby with Hornqvist and Evgeni Malkin with Phil Kessel as they form 80% of the team’s top power play unit. Of the 15 power play goals the Penguins have scored Hornqvist has four of them and has assisted on three others while his 62 shots is tied with Malkin for the team lead despite missing six games. Kris Letang is the defensive choice here as he quarterbacks the top power play unit who has recorded 12 points in the 17 games he has played in. Chris Kunitz will remain out of the lineup tonight which means that rookie Jake Guentzel will stick with Malkin and Kessel on the second line. This line makes for a decent GPP play tonight as Guentzel has fit right in with the team leaders in scoring by grabbing three goals and one assist in his first four games. On a small slate like tonight you will likely see a lot of Penguins be highly owned in your cash games tonight.
Thanks largely to the Islanders 1-6-1 record on the road, the Islanders are now the worst team in the league with just 18 points through 21 games. John Tavares must feel like he has been abandoned as both Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen are playing for different teams. Okposo and Nielsen were responsible for 116 points last season on a team that had a plus 16 goal differential. This season they are already behind the eight ball with a minus 13 goal differential and are very much in danger of not making the playoffs unless things turn around and fast. Much like last year Tavares is leading the team in scoring with six goals and 11 assists through the first four games while Josh Bailey has been his line mate for most of the season and has collected just 12 points so far this season. That’s a far cry from Okposo’s 64 points he tallied in 79 games last year which is the exact reason why the Islanders are in this mess in the first place. There have been rumors of firing the coach but to be brutally honest, the New York brass hasn’t given him much to work with over the past few seasons. Brock Nelson centers the second line and has had a bunch of different wingers so far this season. Nikolay Kulemin and Shane Prince seem to be the flavor of the week but sticking with Nelson and his 13 points would seem to be the best bet as one-off GPP play tonight. Nick Leddy would appear to be the choice on the back line as he gets the top minutes on the team’s power play unit. He also has three of his ten points over the last four games to go along with 10 shots on goal. Anders Lee has been placed on the top power play unit yet again and has scored three of his four goals over the last four games. Again, on a small slate you may be looking for any kind of salary relief you can get.
Elite Plays
PIT: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin
NYI: John Tavares
Secondary Plays
PIT: Phil Kessel, Patric Hornqvist, Kris Letang, Jake Guentzel
NYI: Brock Nelson, Nick Leddy
Toronto Maple Leafs at Calgary Flames
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Calgary Flames | ||||||||
 | Jhonas Enroth |  | Chad Johnson | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 10-8-4 | 10-13-2 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 3.18 | 3.14 | 19.70% | 84.50% | Team Stats | 2.24 | 3.04 | 10.40% | 76.80% |
The Maple Leafs kicked off their three-game western canadian road trip with an impressive 4-2 win last night against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers. The second stop brings them to face the Calgary Flames and in all actuality, the only thing that can stop them from getting a win here tonight would be if they ran into a hot goaltender. The top line of James van Riemsdyk, Mitchell Marner and Tyler Bozak will be the line the Flames will try to shut down with the emphasis on the word ‘try’. Calgary has given up 77 goals so far this season while going 2-4 in their last six home games. Auston Matthews makes for a decent one-off play here as he centers Zach Hyman and Connor Brown while Nazem Kadri centers Leo Komarov and Nikita Soshnikov. I like the Kadri line as a GPP play as he is one of three players that lead the team with ten goals. Matthews and van Riemsdyk are the other two. Take your pick on the blue line as Jake Gardiner, Nikita Zaitsev and Morgan Rielly as they all see a good chunk of the power play minutes with Rielly leading the other two in scoring by a count of 11-9. As a side note it was awfully nice of both the Oilers last night and the Flames tonight to start the games one hour earlier than usual, which can only benefit an east coast team like Toronto even though they had to travel west. The Leafs didn’t have any problem scoring last night and that should continue right on through until about 11:15pm EST tonight.
To be a Calgary Flames ticket holder these days is no doubt frustrating as they have the worst home record in the league. This team is backwards in many ways and this is one of them as their 3-7 record in front of the home crowd pales in comparison to their 7-6-2 record on the road. Sean Monahan was demoted to the third line last game which saw Mark Jankowski jump up and center Kris Versteeg and Troy Brouwer. The top line of Mikael Backlund, Matthew Tkachuk and Michael Frolik should only be considered in GPP plays here as they should get to match up with the Maple Leafs weakest line. The problem is that Toronto has some pretty solid lines now that William Nylander is centering their fourth line. Frolik is the only forward who has more points than the injured Johnny Gaudreau and that should speak volumes considering the Flames star forward has missed eight of the 25 games played so far. Defensman Dougie Hamilton and Mark Giordano should at least receive a look here on a three game slate as they get the minutes on the team’s top power play unit. Hamilton is the favorite here however as his 12 points has him ranked second on the team behind Frolik’s 14 points. The Flames do not score much as you can see so considering any of them for cash games may prove to be fatal tonight.
Elite Plays
TOR: Auston Matthews, James van Riemsdyk
CGY: None
Secondary Plays
TOR: Tyler Bozak, Mitchell Marner, Nazem Kadri, Morgan Rielly
CGY: Dougie Hamilton, Michael Frolik, Matthew Tkachuk, Mark Giordano
San Jose Sharks at Los Angeles Kings
| San Jose Sharks | Los Angeles Kings | ||||||||
 | Aaron Dell |  | Peter Budaj | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 13-9-1 | 12-9-1 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.35 | 2.13 | 18.30% | 85.50% | Team Stats | 2.55 | 2.41 | 12.10% | 82.40% |
The Sharks come into this one fresh off a 2-1 overtime win at home against the Arizona Coyotes. Brent Burns continued his assault on opposing goalies by grabbing his 95th shot on net so far this season while tallying his team leading ninth goal in the process. The top line of Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau join Burns and second line center Logan Couture to form a potent power play unit that has scored four goals over the last five games. The Kings on the other hand have been doing well killing penalties as they have just let in one goal in the last 19 times they found themselves on the short end of the stick. The one-off play here is Couture who has collected all four of his points over the last five games with the man advantage. It is unfortunate that the Sharks only have four decent forwards as he is saddled with Joonas Donskoi and Joel Ward. Neither of these players has been any good this season as they have a combined total of 12 points in 23 games. Chris Tierney would make for an interesting one-off GPP play here as he has tallied two goals and two assists over the last five games. That’s not bad when you consider he only has eight points on the season. Look for the Sharks scoring to come from the usual spot, which is the top power play unit.
The Kings received some good news last game when the saw Marian Gaborik suit up and play 16 shifts in their 2-1 overtime win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night. The Kings remain on home ice tonight as they face a San Jose team that is just 5-6-1 on the road so far this season. Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson should be the line to target here tonight as Carter leads the team in goals and assists while grabbing four goals and two assists over the last four games. Toffoli has assisted on three goals over that same time frame while Pearson has a goal and assist. Anze Kopitar centers Dwight King and Trevor Lewis but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Gaborik jump up there sooner or later. King has responded of late as three of his eight poinst have come over the last four games. Drew Doughty gets the top power play minutes and has collected five points over the last four games while Alec Martinez and Jake Muzzin have registered four points in the last four Kings wins. Look for the Kings to play tough tonight as they always do on home ice, which means this could be a low scoring affair.
Elite Plays
SJ: Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski
LAK: Jeff Carter
Secondary Plays
SJ: Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton
LAK: Tyler Toffoli, Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, Alec Martinez