Line Matching: October 13th
Today’s line matches will be a condensed one – wasn’t originally slated to run, but based on all the positive feedback, here are tonight’s expected match-ups in table form. There are lots of top lines facing top lines tonight, which will make the slate a little harder than a larger slate.
New Jersey Devils vs. Washington Capitals
| Washington | New Jersey | Advantage |
| WSH1 (Kuznetsov-Ovechkin-Vrana) | NJ1 (Hall-Zacha-Palmieri) | NJ1: NJ gets a small edge thanks to WSH1’s horrible possession numbers, but Palmieri in a very small sample has been atrocious (37.84 CF% with Hall, 16 SCA in 13 minutes). Could see fireworks when these two go head-to-head |
| WSH2 (Burakovsky-Backstrom-Oshie) | NJ2 (Johansson-Hischier-Bratt) | WSH2: Backstrom by virtue of the larger sample size should win this battle, but Hischier is still proving his worth in his rookie season (50 CF%, above 50 SCF%). |
| WSH3 (Connolly-Eller-Wilson) | NJ3 (Wood-Henrique-Hayes) | WSH3: Although he performed well against the Leafs, Miles Wood is still a poor possession player, no matter the linemates. |
| WSH4 (Chiasson-Beagle-SmithPelly) | NJ4 (Gibbons-Coleman-Noesen) | N/A |
| Conclusion: This game should see a high pace when the top-6 of both teams are on the ice, but neither NJ1 nor WSH2 have a clear advantage; targeting the natural high shooting percentage players (Ovechkin, Oshie, Hall) and special teams players would be the play. |
Columbus Blue Jackets vs. New York Rangers
| NY Rangers | Columbus | Advantage |
| NYR1 (Kreider-Zibanejad-Buchnevich) | CBJ1 (Panarin-Wennberg-Atkinson) | NYR1: The first line for NY is killing the competition in scoring chances (60%) while CBJ1 have given up 20 in 30 minutes of 5v5. Wennberg is still strong defensively (54 CF% with Atkinson), but they allow too many shots from the slot area when on the ice. |
| NYR2 (Nash-Hayes-Zuccarello) | CBJ2 (Milano-Foligno-Bjorkstrand) | CBJ2: Foligno on the season has some ugly numbers, but paired with Milano and Bjorkstrand has won the SOG and scoring chance battle. This is closer than it should be, as CBJ2 numbers don’t jump off the page – but Kevin Hayes and Zuccarello as a duo have gotten badly outplayed. |
| NYR3 (Vesey-Desharnais-Miller) | CBJ3 (Calvert-Dubinsky-Anderson) | N/A |
| NYR4 (Grabner-Carey-Cracknell) | CBJ4 (Dubois-Sedlak-Hannikainen) | N/A |
| Conclusion: The first line of NY jumps out yet again as being an elite option – they also play together on the power play, which is a bonus. Facing Bobrovsky should keep that line’s ownership low. CBJ2 offers some savings, although Sonny Milano has been very hot to start the season and will garner some ownership in a possession battle he should win. |
Colorado Avalanche vs. Anaheim Ducks
| Anaheim | Colorado | Advantage |
| ANA1 (Eaves-Getzlaf-Perry) | COL1 (Andrighetto-MacKinnon-Rantanen) | Even: This is one of the closer match-ups of the night, as both ANH1 and COL1 have struggled in the number of scoring chances and shots against, and both sit below 50 CF%. It’s not clear what having ANH1 fully healthy will change, but this is a high-event match-up tonight. |
| ANA2 (Cogliano-Rakell-Silfverberg) | COL2 (Yakupov-Duchene-Kerfoot) | COL2: Another tight line match, both lines are performing very strongly as a unit. Duchene/Yakupov are at 60% in both CF% and scoring chances, but the Rakell line is also a positive driver of the puck. In this case, going to the greater scoring chance numbers gives the Avs line the edge. |
| ANA3 (Wagner-Vermette-Shaw) | COL3 (Landeskog-Compher-Jost) | N/A |
| ANA4 (Rasmussen-Grant-Boll) | COL4 (Comeau-Soderberg-Wilson) | N/A |
| Conclusion: The only attractive line-match in this game would be Colorado’s second line of Duchene-Yakupov-Kerfoot. Both goalies should be in play tonight and see lots of low-danger shots. |
Calgary Flames vs. Ottawa Senators
| Ottawa | Calgary | Advantage |
| OTT1 (Smith-Turris-Dzingel) | CGY1 (Gaudreau-Monahan-Lazar) | OTT1: The Gaudreau line has struggled with scoring chances this year – 46% for Johnny Hockey and Monahan. Conversely, the Turris line has driven possession (62 CF% with Dzingel) and 62.5% scoring chances. |
| OTT2 (Ryan-Brassard-Stone) | CGY2 (Tkachuk-Backlund-Frolik) | OTT2: The Ryan line has dominated shots for (above 70%) and scoring chances at 5v5, hitting almost 50% of scoring chances as high danger. CGY2 is normally dominant from puck possession, but struggle with scoring chances against. |
| OTT3 (Pyatt-Pageau-Hoffman) | CGY3 (Versteeg-Bennett-Jagr) | OTT3: The third line doesn’t offer much in the way of high-powered offense, but consider using Hoffman as a single bullet against a Bennett/Versteeg pair that’s allowed 19 scoring chances in 29 minutes and only getting 35% of shots for. |
| OTT4 (Thompson-Burrows) | CGY4 (Ferland-Stajan-Brouwer) | N/A |
| Conclusion: A large part of this game will come down to what Calgary coach Glen Gulutzan considers the top line of Ottawa. The assumption should be that Brassard-Ryan-Stone get that distinction, which will push Ottawa’s first line towards more scoring opportunities against a porous CGY1. Consider avoiding Mike Smith tonight as he’ll be a chalky play, and OTT2 has been strong enough to beat out the second line of the Flames. |
Vegas Golden Knights vs. Detroit Red Wings
| Detroit | Vegas | Advantage |
| DET1 (Tatar-Zetterberg-Nyquist) | VGK1 (Perron-Eakin-Neal) | VGK1: This line has performed admirably through three games so far, with Eakin posting a greater than 60% CF% with both Perron and Neal. After the first line though, Vegas gets caved in possession-wise with lines 2-4, so DET1 and DET2 will remain in play. |
| DET2 (Mantha-Larkin-Abdelkader) | VGK2 (Smith-Lindberg-Marchessault) | |
| DET3 (Frk-Nielsen-Helm) | VGK3 (Leipsic-Karlsson-Haula) | |
| DET4 (Glendening-Sheahan-Booth) | VGK4 (Nosek-Bellemare-Carrier) | |
| Conclusion: There’s no real line-matching that Vegas used in their first game against Arizona, using their first line against almost all opposition lines equally. The assumption for this game will be that all lines will see each other at some point, so this should come down to overall players. |