With most leagues having two weeks left in their regular season (some may have three), there’s little time to waste now with roster spots. Are you still waiting for guys like McDonald, Wisniewski or Anderson to return from injury? Unless you’re certain you can cruise into playoffs regardless of what happens over the next couple weeks, you need to cut bait with players like this now. You need the roster spot more than you need that player because you might never get the chance to use them again. Not to mention, who’s to say they’ll perform when they do return? You could be sitting on a player who might need two or three games to get back into sync. Scour your waiver wires and get the players you need. There’s no time to waste now.
With all that being said, here’s a breakdown of this week’s action.
Two-Game Teams
Chicago, Edmonton, Philadelphia
The nice thing about being an Ilya Bryzgalov owner this week is that unless you have no other options, he should be on your bench. Not to mention Philadelphia’s two games this week are at Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh, the two top scoring teams in the NHL on a per game basis. Ditto for Devan Dubnyk and Corey Crawford (Ray Emery); with only two games this week, you need the starts so you can leave them on the bench. On the flipside, these three teams have a lot of firepower that will pretty much go to waste this week.
Three-Game Teams
Boston, Buffalo, Carolina, Columbus, Detroit, Minnesota, Montréal, Nashville, New Jersey, Ottawa, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, San Jose, St. Louis, Toronto
None of these teams play all three games at home, but Boston, San Jose and St. Louis play all their games on the road. The Sharks are one of the worst scoring teams on the road this year while the Blues and Bruins are both in the top-10 for road goals/game. Buffalo is just a mess with two wins in the month of March (eight games) and they haven’t scored more than three goals in any game in over a month. Carolina and Montréal both have soft schedules this week, so any skater from these two teams would be a good play. Columbus gets Nashville twice this week (one of the lowest scoring teams in the NHL) so look for them to continue their winnings ways. Detroit has Minnesota at home then back-to-back games on the road in Anaheim, two of the better teams in the West. Speaking of Minnesota, they get Vancouver and Detroit on the road before a home date with San Jose. This week could end badly for anyone between the pipes for the Wild. As I mentioned, Nashville and Columbus play each other twice this week. Neither team is high-scoring but it’s a guess as to which team will take the games. With Martin Brodeur still not playing, it’s a critical week for New Jersey, with two games against teams within four points of them – the Rangers and Hurricanes. Oh, they get Florida too, so you have to think the Devils forwards will get some points this week. The only reason that Ottawa is still in the playoff hunt is their goaltending. However, they get three teams this week that are all in the top-10 in scoring: the Islanders, the Bruins and the Lightning. If Lehner and Bishop were going to have a bad week, this is probably the one. Phoenix plays the Kings twice on back-to-back nights in Los Angeles with a visit to Vancouver, so I can easily see the ‘Yotes going something like 0-2-1 this week. Do you own Pittsburgh skaters that are actually healthy? Well they get Braden Holtby, Evgeni Nabokov and Ilya Bryzgalov this week. You might want to wipe the drool off your keyboard now. Finally, Toronto has a grab-bag week with a back-to-back home/road trip to start the week with the Lightning and Sabres but then host the Bruins on Saturday night. They have allowed 20 goals in their last five games, so look for your Maple Leafs skaters to take a hit in the plus/minus column.
Four-Game Teams
Anaheim, Calgary, Colorado, Dallas, Florida, Los Angeles, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Tampa Bay, Washington, Winnipeg
Anaheim gets four home games this week but also get San Jose, Chicago and Detroit twice. It could be a painful week for the Anaheim goalies. Calgary starts the week off with three games on the road, where they have just three wins all season. They are games against Dallas, Nashville and Columbus, but it’s not a good start. Colorado starts the week with Chicago, ends it with Vancouver and has two games against the Stars in between. This is a toss-up week for the Avalanche but start your skaters if you have them. Dallas has lost four straight but get three games against two teams that are the only two below them in the standings, so you have to think they will turn it around now that they are fully healthy. Los Angeles also gets four home games this week, including back-to-back games against the Coyotes to start the week. The Kings are 10-2-1 at home this year so you have to like anyone off that team for the week. The Islanders start and end the week against two low-scoring teams (Ottawa, Florida) but get two high-scoring teams in between in a back-to-back situation (Montréal, Pittsburgh). If the Rangers were going to start a playoff push, it should start this week with games against Carolina, New Jersey, Florida and Washington on the schedule. All those teams except one (guess who) are within four points of the Rangers, so it’s a big week for them and their playoff hopes. Tampa Bay starts off with Philadelphia before three road games in Toronto, Ottawa and Winnipeg with the last two in a back-to-back. With the goaltending situation a mess in Lightningland, I would avoid them altogether unless it can’t be helped. Winnipeg and Washington play each other twice this week in a back-to-back in Winnipeg. However, the Capitals get Pittsburgh and the Rangers to start and end the week (all on the road) while the Jets get the Bruins and Tampa (all at home). Those two games will be make-or-break for the goaltenders from these two teams.
Five-Game Team
And in a scheduling quirk, Vancouver gets five games this week (four of them in back-to-back scenarios). With so many games, everyone you have from the Canucks should be in your lineup.
Players I Like This Week
Forwards
Derek Stepan (C-NYR) – With the early news today that the super-line of Gaborik, Richards and Nash are skating together, this means the secondary pressure is on Stepan to score. With that first line getting the attention of the other teams’ shutdown players, I like the opportunity for Stepan to contribute. He’s typically the extra forward on the top unit with the three big players, so with the checking pressure off of him and optimal power-play time in conjunction with a soft opposing goalie schedule, I see a big week ahead for Stepan.
Teddy Purcell (RW-TBL) – With Vincent Lecavalier out for the foreseeable future, the lines in Tampa Bay have been shuffled around. This landed Teddy Purcell on the top line with St. Louis and Stamkos as well as on the top power-play unit. This paid immediate dividends with Purcell getting a goal in his most recent game. His current point/game pace is the highest of his career and should continue as long as he stays on that line. With Philadelphia, Toronto and Winnipeg on the docket this week (all three teams in the bottom half of the league in goals against) I like Tampa’s chances of getting a lot of goals this week.
Defencemen
Zach Bogosian (WPG) – Usually when it rains, it pours. Twice last year Bogosian managed to register five points in a five game span. In his last two games, he has a goal and an assist. He is getting half the power-play time until Tobias Enstrom returns, which may not be this week as he is still practicing in a non-contact jersey. He is getting loads of ice-time – over 26 minutes in two of his last three games. He was more productive playing at home last year and it’s continuing this year, so with four home games this week I like his spot.
Alex Goligoski (DAL) – With three points in his last five games, Goligoski’s current pace would put him as a 40+ point defenceman in a normal season. This is despite the fact that he has yet to find the back of the net this year even though he is a career 7.3% shooter. It’s just a matter of time before he gets his first goal and with Calgary and two games against Colorado this week (they are both in the bottom eight in the NHL in penalty kill percentage), I like his odds of doing it this week. He’s getting the ice-time (20+ minutes in three of his last four) and he has the opportunity, I like him a lot this week.
Goalies
Pekka Rinne (NSH) – It seems weird like I have to recommend him seeing as he leads the NHL in shutouts with five. But on the flipside of that, he’s allowed 4+ goals in five of his last 11 games. The Predators get Columbus twice this week, who despite being on a 10 game point streak, are the lowest scoring team in the NHL. You have to think Rinne gets a couple wins there, if not good ratio numbers. I wouldn’t be panicking on him just yet.
Evgeni Nabokov (NYI) – I know the Islanders have trouble keeping the puck out of their net and they have Pittsburgh on the schedule this week. However, with four games this week and the Pittsburgh game coming on the second of a back-to-back, I think Nabokov will probably sit that game out. That leaves Ottawa, Montréal and Florida as his starts this week. With Ottawa struggling to score and the Panthers just sucking, I think it’s a good spot for him this week.
Players I Don’t Like This Week
Forwards
Two-Game Players – I know it’s tempting to start your studs all the time no matter what. That being said, two games just are not enough for me to start any player in the NHL not named Crosby or Stamkos. With Philadelphia and Chicago playing both games on the road and Edmonton getting San Jose and St. Louis, they aren’t great spots for these players. Unless you’re really shorthanded, there’s no player from any of these three teams I can confidently start.
David Backes (C-STL) – He is a player who has underperformed this season in the fantasy world and is even worse on the road compared to playing at home. St. Louis has three road games this week and they are all in Western Canada. This can be a tough road trip for players to go through and all three teams (Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver) are playing better hockey lately (combined 7-4-1 in their last 12). Backes has just one goal and is a +1 so far in March and I don’t expect his turnaround to start this week.
Defence
Erik Johnson (COL) – Since returning from injury, Johnson has been good with three points and a (-1) rating in his five games. However, there is a tough schedule ahead this week for Colorado including the Blackhawks, Canucks and two games against Dallas. I really hesitate to use guys that can’t give me at least an even plus/minus rating and Johnson is a (-20) over his last 2+ seasons. He will get the power-play time so I understand if you decide to start him but be ready to take a hit in the plus/minus column.
Ryan McDonagh (NYR) – This is the flipside of what happens when you stack one line. We can expect Michael Del Zotto to be the lone defenceman on the first unit with Gaborik, Richards, Nash and Stepan, so that means very little power-play time for the rest of the D-corps, including McDonagh. Now, he is getting loads of ice-time and does have three points in his last four games, so he’s not a terrible play. But I think it’s safe to assume he’ll take a goose-egg in the power-play points column and I hate to start any guy who I know likely won’t be able to contribute in a category.
Goalies
Niklas Backstrom (MIN) – I like Backstrom as a goalie and find him on my teams pretty much year after year. However, he’s allowed seven goals against in his last two games (both wins, though). I don’t see it getting too much better this week with road games in Vancouver and Detroit before finishing off with a home game against San Jose. The Wings and Canucks are both averaging three goals for/game this year and Backstrom typically gets lit up by the Canucks – career .905 SV% against Vancity.
Antti Niemi (SJS) – He was once the only reason that San Jose was still in the playoff race. Now, he might cost them a playoff position. Niemi has allowed 3+ goals in five straight games after allowing 3+ goals just five times in his first 18 games. The Sharks have been a terrible road team this year – 4-8-2 this season and are scoring less than two goals/game away from the Shark Tank. With three road games this week including visits to Anaheim and Edmonton, it’s not looking good for Niemi owners this week.
So that’s how I see it this week. Remember, you can’t be married to players now and if you need to make an outlandish trade to address a need, now is the time to do it. With only two (maybe three) weeks left in the fantasy hockey regular season, you need to get to the playoffs by any means necessary. If you have to trade Corey Perry for Mike Smith because you had Craig Anderson and Viktor Fasth, then you make that trade. Having Corey Perry won’t help you if you aren’t in the playoffs. Good luck to everyone this week!
