Playoff time! Every head-to-head league should now be in playoff mode so if you’re reading this then hopefully that means you made it and congratulations! The lucky ones of you might have a bye week this week and in that case, then an even bigger congratulation and enjoy your break to the semi-finals. The rest of us are starting the most important week of the season so far so it’s crucial that we do everything we can to keep our season going strong. I’m here to do everything I can to make sure that happens. Even if you didn’t make the playoffs you can still always try to win the Consolation bracket so you’re season isn’t over quite yet. And don’t forget, if you are in a Roto or points league, you only have about 3 more weeks left in the season so max out those position limits before then, preferably with some hot players.
Sorry so late this week, but better late than never. With that said, let’s get right into it because there’s plenty of work to be done before Monday.
DISCLAIMER: All stats are up to Sunday afternoon, 3/18.
WEEKLY BREAKDOWN
Here is the weekly breakdown for this upcoming week, March 19 – March 25:
4 GAMES: BOS, BUF, EDM, FLA, MIN, NAS, NJD, NYR, PHX, PIT, SJS, TOR, VAN, WAS
3 GAMES: ANA, CAR, CBJ, CGY, CHI, COL, DAL, DET, LAK, MON, NYI, OTT, PHI, STL, TBL, WPG
As you can see, it’s going to be a busy week seeing as there are no teams playing only two games in Week 23 and a whopping 14 teams playing four games. Needless to say, it’s going to be a busy week.
MON – 6 games
TUES – 9 games
WED – 5 games
THU – 8 games
FRI – 6 games
SAT – 11 games
SUN – 7 games
Luckily for fantasy owners, the week will be quite spread out, meaning you can get as many of your players out there each day as possible without having to make too many sit/start choices either. Should be optimal conditions for owners during this crucial week so make the most of it.
If you are in need of some pickups to try to maximize your team’s production, look for the widely available Jamie McGinn (7g-3a-10pts, +4, 7 PIMs, 3 PPP last 8 games), Chad Larose (5g-1a-6pts, +7, 8 PIMs, 31 SOG last 7 games), Curtis Glencross (7g-4a-11pts, 30 PIMs last 11 games), or Peter Mueller (1g-6a-7pts, 3 PPP last 8 games). All but Glencross are owned in less than 14% of Yahoo leagues with Glencross available in 63% of Yahoo leagues. Don’t hesitate to snag them up if you need any injury replacements (Andy McDonald anyone?) or to simply replace another slumping player. There are plenty more good pickups to talk about throughout the week, so make sure to stay tuned each day for the Fantasy Hockey One and Pick Six.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
These teams are playing all of their games on the road so be aware that fatigue may play a factor in their play:
CGY, EDM, NYI, STL, VAN, WPG
HOME COOKING
These teams are playing all of their games at home this week so they should be rested and practicing:
CBJ, DAL, LAK, PHI, TBL
B2B: BACKUPS TO SEE ACTION?
All of these teams are scheduled to play in back-to-back games this upcoming week, so there are good chances that these teams’ respective backup goaltenders could see some action:
BOS, BUF, CAR, CHI, EDM, FLA, MIN, MON, NAS, NJD, NYI, NYR, OTT, PHX, PIT, SJS, STL, TOR x2, VAN, WAS, WPG
No guarantees, but if you are in need of some goalie starts, make sure to monitor these teams to try to determine if/when their backups are playing so you can snag them off of the waiver-wire if available. A ton of options here.
GOING STREAKING
Teams that have the best win streaks currently in the NHL as of Sunday afternoon:
PIT – 11-0-1 last 12 games
PHI – 8-1-1 last 10 games.
FLA – 4 wins
LAK – 4 wins
Pittsburgh just can’t seem to lose (well… of course except to the Flyers Sunday afternoon in OT, but you know what I mean) and with Sidney Crosby back on the ice it’s going to be hard to stop them down the stretch. The Rangers better watch out because their place atop the East is in jeopardy. And speaking of the Flyers, they have been flying (see what I did there?) recently as well. Ilya Bryzgalov’s absolutely incredible “humongous big” run (8-0-1, .960 SV%, 1.19 GAA, 4 SO past 9 starts) has propelled them to points in 9 of their past 10 games and only 2 points behind the Pens and 3 points behind the stagnant Rangers. Yet another reason for the Rangers to watch out. Meanwhile, the Panthers are solidifying their lead in the Southeast division with a nice four game winning streak and look to be somewhat untouchable in that #3 slot in the East (or even 2nd if the Bruins can’t figure things out).
SPIRALING
Teams that have the longest current streaks in the NHL without collecting a point as of Sunday afternoon:
CBJ – 4 losses
MIN – 3 losses
DAL – 2 losses
NYR – 2 losses
Seems to be the same old story lately with the Blue Jackets and the Wild as they are now 4-6-0 and 2-7-1 in their past 10 games respectively. Troubling stories for the Rangers and the Stars however. The Rangers are now only 4-5-1 over their past 10 games and are currently only 1 point ahead of the streaking Penguins. Brad Richards has been scoring lately but nobody else seems to be. As for the Stars, they have now lost two in a row after going 10-0-1 over their previous 11 and now sit only one point ahead of San Jose and LA, tied with Colorado, and two points ahead of Phoenix as all of these teams seem to keep winning. The West is as tight as ever and probably will be for the remainder of the season. It’s anyone’s season to lose so all teams will be trying their best, which should bode well for fantasy owners.
STRONG SCHEDULES
Now let’s take a look at a few of the most favorable matchups of the week:
Florida Panthers – Opponents: @PHI+@CAR, EDM, NYI – The Southeast division leading Panthers have a good looking schedule for fantasy purposes, except for their first matchup of the week against the streaking Flyers. They are only 0-2-1 against them while only scoring four goals, but their week gets much easier after that. They are 4-0-0 against the Canes with an 11-5 goals advantage and end the week against another team they have yet to be beaten by this year, the New York Islanders. They have won all three meetings against them with a 10-3 goals advantage. Good stuff for fantasy owners. Their other opponent during Week 23 is the 2nd worst overall team in the NHL this season so they should have the advantage there as well. They also are playing their favorable opponents on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday so that also bodes nicely. If the Panthers can get past the Flyers then they are set up to have a very nice week for their fantasy owners on some of the lighter days during the week.
Pittsburgh Penguins – Opponents: WPG, NAS, @OTT+NJD – It’s hard not to put the best team in hockey over the past 12 games on here, so here you go. They haven’t actually had the best of luck against two of these teams, going 1-2-0 against Ottawa and 2-3-0 against New Jersey so far this year, but they now have all three of Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Sidney Crosby healthy and scoring at will. Their linemates are bound to get points-a-plenty just by proxy from these superstars. Nashville is the only remaining Western Conference team that the Pens have yet to play, but they have won 12 of 17 against Western Conference opponents thus far so I’m liking their chances. Do like you should always do and make sure to get your Penguins out there.
Philadelphia Flyers – Opponents: FLA, WAS, MON – I’ve put the Penguins on here so might as well put the team with the next best recent record on here, too. Their records this season against their Week 23 opponents also fares much more nicely on paper than the Pens. As touched upon above, the Flyers are 3-0-0 against Florida with an 11-4 goals advantage. They are also 2-1-0 against the floundering Caps with an 8-6 goals advantage as well as 2-1-0 against the sinking Habs. You know what to do.
WEAK SCHEDULES
…And the least favorable matchups of the week:
New York Islanders – Opponents: @TOR, @TBL+@FLA – In a week where it’s rather hard to find a weak schedule because of the mostly fantasy friendly scheduling throughout the NHL, the Islanders and their 1-5-0 record over their past 6 games find themselves in that rough spot. All three of their games are on the road with a difficult Florida road trip on back-to-back nights to top it off. On Tuesday they face-off against the Leafs, whom they are 0-2-1 so far against this year with a terrible 6-12 goals differential. Then their back-to-back games come on Saturday and Sunday. They are actually 2-1-0 against the Lightning so far this year but the last time they faced them was in early December and the Lightning are a different team now. Last up are the Panthers, whom they are winless in their three meetings against while being outscored 3-10. Hopefully for fantasy owners your Islanders will show up for this important week but don’t be surprised if they don’t.
And that’s about it for the weak schedules thanks to Week 23’s weekly breakdown.
So, good luck out there everyone and feel free to shoot me any questions on twitter @G_Rees or post any questions or comments below.
