Allan Fabrykant Welcome to another Friday edition of the WinDaily NHL Between the Benches Article! Unfortunately, this will be the last article of the 2022-23 NHL Regular season. It has been a pleasure writing about this whirlwind of a season, and I’m amped up for the playoffs! We do have one final small slate this season, and it’s a small two-gamer. Tonight’s 4/14 NHL slate begins at 7:30 pm ET. Don’t forget to lock your lines and check the discord for any updates! Let’s get right into it!
4/14 NHL Stack Report
1. Colorado Avalanche 1 (Rodrigues-MacKinnon-Rantanen)
— There aren’t a lot of surprises in this slate. This game is as straightforward as it gets. Colorado finished second in the Central Division this season. They ended the season with an 8-1-1 record over their last ten games, and despite the late push, Nashville won’t qualify for the playoffs, regardless of how tonight’s game goes. I am sure they are dejected, given how close it got, but the story of this game will most likely be the tune-up game before the playoffs for the Avalanche rather than the condolence party for the Preds. With that being said, Colorado’s top line has been simply unstoppable as of late, and I expect them to carry that momentum through tonight’s game and into the playoffs. Between Rantanen and MacKinnon alone, they have 22 points over their last five games, and each has seen around 22 minutes of ice time per game over that stretch. Simply unreal, and their linemate Rodrigues also has three points over his last five. All three of Colorado’s top liners see power play time, with MacKinnon and Rantanen on the top line and Rodrigues on the second line. I think it is safe to say that given that this is the last game before the playoffs if there is nobody resting, I don’t expect Colorado to take their foot off the gas. Also, it looks like Cale Makar will be ready in time for the playoffs, but for today’s game, Devon Toews will see the lion’s share of on-ice opportunities.
Ideal Defensive Partner(s): Devon Toews
2. Buffalo Sabres 1 (Skinner-Middlestat-Tuch)
— Now, both teams in this game were eliminated from the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs but in very different fashion. Buffalo had a late wild card push and fell just three points shy of a playoff spot (one point if they win tonight… ouch) and finished the season on a 7-2-1 run. They finished the season tied for third in the league in goals per game this season. They struggled big defensively, and that proved to be their downfall. On the other side of the ice, we have the Columbus Blue Jackets, who failed across the board this season. They were tied for second worst in the league this season and finished off the year with a 2-6-2 record over their last ten games. The Jackets were a disaster on both ends of the ice finishing in the bottom three in the league in both goals per game and goals against per game. They have a lot of work to do this offseason, and it will include a high draft pick in next year’s NHL Entry Draft, but I don’t see a world where they pull off an impressive performance in tonight’s game. Buffalo’s top line has also been really on fire as of late, scoring five goals and 15 assists amongst the three of them over their last five games and considering they have a higher implied total than the Avalanche (4.0 implied goals vs 3.7 implied goals), I am confident that Buffalo will perform tonight and the top line will be the guys getting on the scoresheet.
Ideal Defensive Partner(s): Rasmus Dahlin
Honorable Mention(s): Buffalo Sabres 2 (Greenway-Thompson-Cozens)
4/14 NHL Goalie Tracker
Best (Goalies to Roster)
- Devon Levi
- Pavel Francouz
Honorable Mention(s): Kevin Lankinen
Worst (Goalies to Target)
1. Jon Gillies
Honorable Mention(s): N/A
4/14 NHL Wild Card Targets
Cody Glass
– There aren’t too many great things to say about the Nashville Predators right now. Josi, Duchene and Forsberg are all going to be out tonight, and their top line consists of Cody Glass, Phil Tomasino and Zach Sanford. I do not expect them to win tonight by any means, but Cody Glass could prove to be an interesting option (Deep GPP) for tonight’s small slate. He went from barely making the roster out of camp to starting on the top line at the end of the season. This has been a good season for Cody personally, even if it wasn’t for his team. He has also put together some impressive performances lately. He notched an assist on the OT winner for the Preds last night over the Minnesota Wild and has four points over his last five games. Glass has also seen an average of over 17 minutes of ice time per game over that stretch of games and has even racked up five blocked shots as well. He will be centering Nashville’s top power play tonight, and I expect him to get some really good chances tonight, even if the Preds ultimately lose out on the two points.
Honorable Mention(s): Evan Rodrigues, Dylan Cozens, Johnny Gaudreau
Core Four: (ALWAYS BE STACKIN’)
Center – Casey Middlestat
Winger – Mikko Rantanen
Defenseman – Devon Toews
Goalie – Devon Levi
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