Schedule Analysis: Slow Days in Boston

Schedule Analysis: Slow Days in Boston

This article is part of our Schedule Analysis series.

The Flop (Three of a Kind)
Teams playing three games this week

Hold 'Em
Columbus is 4-6 over their last 10 games and play six of their next nine at home.

Edmonton is in the middle of a stretch when they play nine of 11 games on the road. Now that the news of Connor McDavid's loss has had time to sink in, perhaps this road trip helps gel the remaining parts.

Florida starts off with a pair of gimmes (Flames, Sabres) at home and then travel to interstate rival Tampa Bay. Dave Bolland (hand) did not play on Saturday. As for the timeless man, see THE RIVER.

Los Angeles continues their five-game home stand with three at the Staples Center before heading out for five straight tilts on the road. Jeff Carter has a modest streak going and Tyler Toffoli has a bit to do with it.

Pittsburgh has a tough matchup Wednesday, then back-to-back tilts should get Jeff Zatkoff another start. In light of Pascal Dupuis' regression, Eric Fehr has joined Sidney Crosby, but will it last?

While they're not exactly running full steam (2-5-3 over last 10), Tampa Bay hosts three teams under .500 this week. That's news Ben Bishop needs to hear. While Jonathan Drouin returned to the ice on Saturday, Ondrej Palat had to be helped off it.

Vancouver continues a seven-game road trip, playing 10 of their remaining 12 games this month on the road. Ryan Miller (3-0-1) has a

The Flop (Three of a Kind)
Teams playing three games this week

Hold 'Em
Columbus is 4-6 over their last 10 games and play six of their next nine at home.

Edmonton is in the middle of a stretch when they play nine of 11 games on the road. Now that the news of Connor McDavid's loss has had time to sink in, perhaps this road trip helps gel the remaining parts.

Florida starts off with a pair of gimmes (Flames, Sabres) at home and then travel to interstate rival Tampa Bay. Dave Bolland (hand) did not play on Saturday. As for the timeless man, see THE RIVER.

Los Angeles continues their five-game home stand with three at the Staples Center before heading out for five straight tilts on the road. Jeff Carter has a modest streak going and Tyler Toffoli has a bit to do with it.

Pittsburgh has a tough matchup Wednesday, then back-to-back tilts should get Jeff Zatkoff another start. In light of Pascal Dupuis' regression, Eric Fehr has joined Sidney Crosby, but will it last?

While they're not exactly running full steam (2-5-3 over last 10), Tampa Bay hosts three teams under .500 this week. That's news Ben Bishop needs to hear. While Jonathan Drouin returned to the ice on Saturday, Ondrej Palat had to be helped off it.

Vancouver continues a seven-game road trip, playing 10 of their remaining 12 games this month on the road. Ryan Miller (3-0-1) has a goals-against-average of less than two on the road. That said, his career GAA against this week's opponents has not been anything near less than two goals, especially Toronto (see last year). These are some weak teams on the Canucks schedule; is Miller up to the task?

Washington is 4-1 on the road, which makes up two of their three tilts this week, then they host the Flames. It should be a good week for the Caps, especially with Alex Ovechkin streaking.

Fold'Em
Carolina visits NYC then heads home for the Wild and Flyers. Noah Hanifin was a healthy scratch in Saturday's win over Ottawa.

Winners of three straight, Detroit hosts the Caps and Sharks before visiting the Bruins. Pavel Datsyuk (ankle) could be back by the end of the week, but don't bet on it. Mike Green (upper body) is expected to play this Sunday, hopefully he can stay healthy for his grudge match against the Caps, but I'm sure Washington would bet on him not being available.

Zach Parise's (knee) injury made room for Christoph Bertschy's debut. Minnesota has two on the road where they have not been nearly as strong (2-2-2) as they have been at home (6-1).

On paper, a much stronger New Jersey (7-2-1 over last 10) has arguably the toughest schedule.

Ottawa (5-1-1 on the road) travels to the Music City before hosting five straight, including the Rangers and Canucks this week. Cody Ceci (lower body) missed Saturday's loss. Mark Stone returned to the lineup and extended his point streak in that loss to Carolina.

Whether it was Brian Elliott's injury or Jake Allen's stingy effort or a combination of both, St. Louis has chosen a clear No. 1 goaltender, but that doesn't make their schedule any easier. I'm not saying they will be useless, but don't expect a three-game sweep of the week. You've got to love what Colton Parayko and Alexander Steen are doing thus far.

Winnipeg fell shame to Philly, what are they going to do with this week's schedule? Jacob Trouba has seemingly settled into the team's second pairing with Tyler Myers.

The Turn (Four Aces)
Teams playing four games this week

Hold 'Em
Arizona plays six of their next seven on the road, where they are marginally better (4-2-1) than at home (2-4-1), including four this week. Will the struggles of youngsters Anthony Duclair, Tobias Rieder and Max Domi continue? Very likely throughout the season, but there will be highs. Nicklas Grossmann left Saturday's loss and didn't return, while Anders Lindback had to replace Mike Smith. This could lead to a temporary change on their depth charts. Need a goalie? Lindback might be worth a shot.

It doesn't seem to matter where the Rangers play lately but home games against the 'Canes and Maple Leafs look like good opportunities for fantasy points, as long as you're not a Rick Nash (back) owner. Now that he's logged his first road win since 2014, look for Antti Raanta to get the nod in Ottawa on Friday. Has AV been reading our weekly rants? Not likely, but he did fulfill our request a few weeks back. J.T. Miller and Chris Kreider lined up together and helped Derek Stepan break out from his drought. More notably, AV has loved what the three have done together, so this line should stick.

Fold 'Em
Calgary plays seven of their final nine in November on the road. Mikael Backlund emerged from his slumber this week. Karri Ramo took home the convincing win Saturday over Pittsburgh.

In addition to playing five of their next seven on the road, Toronto's schedule this week is ugly. At least Morgan Rielly is skating well and producing. Daniel Winnik left Saturday's loss with a lower-body injury.

The River
Trying something new here, one high-profile player's split stats under the microscope

It's not exactly a stretch of the imagination, but Jaromir Jagr enjoys a better than point-per-game pace against this week's three opponents. The biggest question mark is how the veteran shows up on Tuesday and Thursday against the Flames and Sabres, respectively, two of the NHL's worst in goals allowed. Most interestingly for DFS players, nine of Jagr's 10 points this season have come in six games on Thursday and Saturday.

Want to Read More?
Subscribe to RotoWire to see the full article.

We reserve some of our best content for our paid subscribers. Plus, if you choose to subscribe you can discuss this article with the author and the rest of the RotoWire community.

Get Instant Access To This Article Get Access To This Article
RotoWire Community
Join Our Subscriber-Only NHL Chat
Chat with our writers and other RotoWire NHL fans for all the pre-game info and in-game banter.
Join The Discussion
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brian Rutherford
A freelance writer of all things but mostly sports, music and politics, Brian Rutherford was raised on Long Island, NY and currently resides in a suburb of Dallas, Texas. His favorite teams are the New York Rangers, Texas Rangers, New York Giants and New York Knicks. "So the difference I think, boils down to this: you can either impose yourself on reality and then write about it, or you can impose yourself on reality by writing it." -Hunter S. Thompson "The Proud Highway"
NHL Waiver Wire: Pickups of the Week
NHL Waiver Wire: Pickups of the Week
NHL Best Bets Today: Expert Picks for Friday, November 22
NHL Best Bets Today: Expert Picks for Friday, November 22
NHL DFS Picks: FanDuel Plays and Strategy for Friday, November 22
NHL DFS Picks: FanDuel Plays and Strategy for Friday, November 22
NHL DFS Picks: DraftKings Plays and Strategy for Friday, November 22
NHL DFS Picks: DraftKings Plays and Strategy for Friday, November 22