Flow, the most popular hockey hair for the ladies. Many people can pull it off, as you will see after the jump, but others can't. Those who can pride themselves on the hair flowing out of the back of their helmet.

Rick DiPietro of the.......?

Jeremy Roenick

A few noteworthy situations to keep your eyes on as we head into the latter part of the fantasy hockey week:

Florida Panthers- The Panthers have been terrible all year, but Jose Theodore has been abysmal in net.  His numbers (4-6-2, 3.37 GAA, .893 SV%) have gotten worse, and he didn’t do himself or fantasy owners any favors in allowing four goals on 19 shots in Monday’s 6-4 win over the Penguins. Theodore was pulled after two periods in favor of Scott Clemmenson, who stopped all 15 shots he faced and earned the win. He hasn’t looked good either, but was solid in his last start, allowing just two goals. This is an interesting situation brewing here, as Jacob Markstrom might be called up to get significant playing time so the team can see what he’s all about. He has made two starts this year, losing both while allowing three goals in each, but the 23-year old could be the future.

Los Angeles Kings- Jonathan Bernier had only started one of the Kings’ first 10 games backing up Jonathan Quick, but has started three of their past seven. Bernier has racked up a 3-0 record allowing one goal in each game and owns a 3-1 record with a 1.80 goals against average and a .916 save percentage this season. Quick, who started off slow is rebounding nicely. He has allowed four goals over his past three games- all wins. Bernier is owned in just 12 percent of Yahoo leagues, but his numbers are very good. The Kings could possibly even trade him to a team that needs goaltending help, which would make him even more valuable to fantasy owners.

New Jersey Devils-The plan was to have Martin Brodeur start most of the games with backup Johan Hedberg starting one a week and one on each time the Devils had back-to-back games. But Brodeur tweaked his back Sunday during warm-ups and pulled himself out of the game minutes before it started. He was placed on injured reserve Tuesday and will miss at least the Devils’ next two games, Thursday at Winnipeg and Saturday at Buffalo. Hedberg, had been great in his first three starts (allowed two combined goals) but has allowed 14 in his past three starts. Mike Kinkaid has been called up from Albany to be Hedberg’s backup. If you have to set your lineup weekly, get Brodeur out of there. And there are also probably better options than Hedberg, who may only get one start this week.

Tampa Bay Lightning- Starter Anders Lindback allowed three goals on 10 shots Sunday against Pittsburgh before getting yanked in favor of Mathieu Garon allowed one goal on 11 shots. Garon was brilliant in his previous start allowing two goals on 34 shots in a 5-3 win over the Hurricanes and on Tuesday night, he lost 2-1 to the Sabres, making 19 saves. So for those keeping score at home, Garon has played eight of the past nine periods for the Lightning. Interesting to note that while Lindback is the starter and has seven wins, his goals against (3.27) and save percentage (.890) are much worse than Garon’s (2.75 and .917 respectively).

By Garrett Rees

Well ladies and gents, with Week 5 behind us and Week 6 right around the corner that only means one thing. Yep, head-to-head leagues are already at the HALF WAY point until the playoffs thanks to the shortened schedule. Hard to believe but thems the facts. Because of that, standard leagues have only about a week and a half before the default trade deadline so now’s the time to start thinking about ways to beef up your team for that big playoff run! (at least here’s hoping)

While you start conjuring up some trade offers, let’s take a look at what to expect from Week 6 (aka Week 17 on Yahoo).

WEEKLY BREAKDOWN

Here is the weekly breakdown for this upcoming week, February 25 – March 3:

• 4 GAMES:  ANA, BOS, BUF, CAR, CHI, DAL, EDM, FLA, MIN, MON, OTT
• 3 GAMES:  CBJ, CGY, COL, DET, LAK, NAS, NYI, NYR, PHI, PHX, PIT, SJS, STL, TBL, TOR, VAN, WAS, WPG
• 2 GAMES:  NJD

There are 11 teams playing four games during Week 6 while the Devils are the only team playing two. So basically a pretty normal week for this year’s condensed schedule. Here’s how the week breaks down per day:

• MON – 5 games
• TUES – 9 games
• WED – 4 games
• THU – 11 games
• FRI – 3 game
• SAT – 9 games
• SUN – 9 games

Some big ups and downs during Week 6 with a very busy schedule to end it.  The slowest day of the week, Friday, will see matchups of NAS@MIN, CBJ@CHI, and EDM@STL so target these teams if you are in need of some help via the waiver-wire on this slow day.  You should have zero problems finding active players to fill your roster on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, or Sunday.

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:

• EDM, NJD, PIT

HOME COOKING

These teams are playing all of their games at home this week so they should be rested and practicing:

• NYI, NYR, PHI, SJS

As expected, a lot of travel again this week as only four teams won’t be riding a charter bus or plane in some fashion during Week 6.  Note that EDM will be playing four games all on the road so expect to see both Nikolai Khabibulin and Devan Dubnyk to get some work in. Or if you need other goalie depth options…


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/alternate goaltenders could see some action:
ANA, BOS, CAR, CHI, DAL, DET, EDM, FLA, MIN, MON, OTT, STL, TOR, VAN, WAS
Half the league will play games on consecutive days so make sure to plan accordingly with your goalies. Extra honorable mentions go to ANA and CHI as they are coming into the week on the tail ends of B2Bs.

GOING STREAKING

Teams that have the best win streaks currently in the NHL as of Sunday Afternoon:

• CH – 14-0-3 so far this season
• ANA – 9-1-0 past 10 games
• OTT – 4 wins
• LAK – 3 wins

Chicago has been absolutely unreal so far this season, breaking the NHL record for most games to start a season without losing in regulation with 17 consecutive games. To begin the season, it seemed like their goalie situation would be the weakest part of their game, however Corey Crawford has been spectacular and even now that he’s out with an injury Ray Emery has stepped right into his place and can’t seem to be beat either.

Not too far behind them are the Anaheim Ducks, and 30 year old rookie Viktor Fasth is the big story here as he is still undefeated (8-0-0, .933 SV%, 1.78 GAA, 1 SO) and helped them earn a 5 game win streak.  I don’t know how he’s still not owned in that last 25% of Yahoo leagues by now.  

The Senators are a good story here, as they still keep winning despite losing Norris winner Erik Karlsson for the season and early Vezina candidate Craig Anderson to an ankle sprain.  Hopefully Anderson will be back soon, perhaps even this week.

The defending Stanley Cup champions are finally starting to find their groove and that’s been with the help of ex-Flyers Jeff Carter (4g-2a-6pts, +4 last 6 games) and Mike Richards (3g-2a-5pts, 3 PPG last 5 games) who are both starting to find the back of the net. Jonathan Quick has won 4 of his last 5 starts.

SPIRALING

Teams that have the longest current streaks in the NHL without collecting a point as of Sunday afternoon:

• SJS – 1-6-3 last 10 games
• BUF – 4 losses 
• CAR – 3 losses

After their hot start, the Sharks have been anything but hot lately as they have found the win column only once in their past 10 games. Besides the big guys of Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Joe Pavelski, and Logan Couture, none of the other Sharks can seem to find the twine. Despite only having 1 win in the month of February so far, goalie Antti Niemi (.931 SV$, 1.96 GAA, 1 SO this season) still has been earning solid numbers allowing 2 or less goals in 5 of his 8 February starts, even earning a SO in a 0-1 shootout loss.  
The poor play of the Sabres so far this season saw one of the longest tenured coaches in the league, Lindy Ruff, lose his job and that hasn’t seemed to have helped yet. As of Saturday, Ryan Miller has allowed the most goals of any goalie in the league so far this season. Then again he’s had the 2nd most starts so far but still, not what you want to hear from a top goalie pick.

The once hot Hurricanes have struggled to find wins lately. Jordan Staal was a whopping -4 +/- rating in the Hurricanes butt kicking handed to them by the Lightning on Saturday. Not good at all. They desperately need Cam Ward (5-5-1, .896 SV%, 3.27 GAA) to consistently get it going as he has now allowed 4 goals in 3 of his last 5 starts after two brilliant 40+ save wins.  

STRONG SCHEDULES

Now let’s take a look at a couple of the most favorable matchups of the week:

Anaheim Ducks – Opponents: @LOS, NAS, MIN+@PHX – The Ducks are still flying together this season thus far and playing against teams that they have yet to lose to should help them keep their winning ways going.  First up are the Kings on Monday, who they scored 7 goals against the last time they faced them.  Then they face the Predators on Wednesday, which the Ducks have won both of their games so far this season. Then they have a back-to-back matchup against the Wild on Friday, who they beat 3-1 in their only meeting, and the Coyotes on Saturday who they have yet to face.  Having games on each of the three slowest nights of the week is also a bonus so make sure to get your Ducks out there as you’ll be able to save those roster spots for the rest of your squad on the big days.  If you’re in need of help on D, check out Francois Beauchemin who has 1g-5a-6pts and a stellar +11 over his past 8 games.

Chicago Blackhawks – Opponents: EDM, @STL+CBJ, @DET – The hottest team the NHL has ever seen to start a season also has, what do ya know, a solid looking Week 6. They face their four opponents on Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday so, like the Ducks, it’s a bonus you are able to get your Hawks out there on two slow nights when not much will be going on. With the most goals in the Western Conference, you’ve got to get your Hawks out there. Deep leaguers should check out Johnny Oduya, who now has assists in three straight games.

WEAK SCHEDULES

...And the least favorable matchups of the week:

New York Rangers – Opponents: WPG, TBL, BUF – As you may have seen in the media (I know, I know, the Rangers are NEVER in the media) the Rangers haven’t been doing so hot lately. They’ve scored a solid 5 goals over their past 4 games and Marian Gaborik was benched for a time on Saturday. I know their Week 6 opponents don’t look incredibly difficult but each of them will be looking to stick it to the Rangers while they can. Hopefully they can find their scoring ways but I’ll play my Rangers with caution the next three games because each game unfortunately falls on the three busiest nights of the week.  Considering that you’re probably going to have most of your roster playing, I’d make sure you don’t have better options out there first and I’d look elsewhere when searching the waiver-wire for those injury replacements we’ve all been needing a lot so far this season.

New York Islanders – Opponents: BOS, TOR, OTT – The Islanders are facing the same schedule fate as their neighbors during Week 6 as they are also seeing all three of their games on the busy nights of Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. Facing Boston is never fun and Ottawa seems to be the little team that could this season. Then again, they did score 7 goals in their win against the Leafs in their one meeting this season, but that was before Ben Scrivens showed up and started to surprise us all. You could maybe do worse but I’d look elsewhere on the waiver-wire when looking for pickups.  Oh, and kudos to them for finally starting the process of putting Rick DiPietro, and let’s face it, Islanders fans, out of their misery by waiving him and sending him down to the AHL. You’ve got to assume he’s going to be one of the amnesty buyouts they’re allowed at the end of the season.

Detroit Red Wings – Opponents: @LAK+@SJS, CHI – I think its official, these aren’t the same Red Wings we’ve been used to the past few decades. Someone seems to be missing Nick Lidstrom, eh?. Getting back Jimmy Howard helps as he got a shutout his first game back to end a Wings four game skid. The Kings on Wednesday will be looking for revenge now that they’ve suddenly figured out how to win again while the Blackhawks, whom they face on Sunday, are never not difficult to play against. They have yet to face the Sharks this season, which they play on Thursday, but you know they’ve got to be tired of losing and will put up a tough fight while Niemi, as mentioned above, has been tough to score on all season. Since Wednesday is a slow day you’ll want to get them out there regardless, but might want to look elsewhere on Thursday and Sunday if you can afford to.

Good luck out there, everyone.  Hit me up on Twitter @G_Rees with any questions or comments.

This week, The Net Effect takes a look at some situations that have developed over the past week. Some good, some bad, and one that’s just plain ugly.

Calgary Flames- I feel like I dissect this team every week. Well, here it goes again.
After Mikka Kiprusoff went down with an injury, Leland Irving started four games in a row for the Flames, going 2-0-1 before being sent down to the minors. Then recently acquired Joey MacDonald started two games, allowing six goals, which prompted them to try Danny Taylor, who made his NHL debut on Monday. It didn’t go so well, as he allowed four goals, although Taylor faced 37 shots in a 4-0 loss to the Coyotes. For those keeping score at home, the Flames have used three starting goalies in the past four games and four in the past eight games.

Dallas Stars- Kari Lehtonen has been one of the best goalies this season, and one of the most underrated for a few seasons now. But after suffering a groin injury last week, backup Richard Bachman got the start Sunday. He allowed four goals on 26 shots in a 4-3 loss to the Flames, to put his record at 1-3 (to go along with a 3.95 GAA and a .857 SV%). Here’s to hoping Lehtonen gets back soon.

Maple Leafs- Ben Scrivens has posted two straight shutouts for the Leafs, stopping all 71 shots in those games. He might not be available in your league, but if he is, snatch him up. The Leafs are playing well right now, and James Reimer is hurt. Reimer has good numbers, though (6-3, 2.31 GAA, .929 SV%) Even when healthy, the Leafs could roll with Scrivens who has the hot hand right now.

St. Louis Blues- With Jaroslav Halak still nursing a groin injury, and Brian Elliot struggling, Rookie Jake Allen has all of a sudden made the past four starts for the Blues. He had won his first three, before a 2-1 loss to the Sharks on Tuesday in which he made 23 saves. Allen isn’t playing mind-boggling hockey, but he is winning. His goals-against and save percentage aren’t good, though. And there’s a chance Halak may start on Wednesday, so Allen may not be a hot pickup.

Hopefully next week it gets a little less ugly. Good luck fantasy hockey owners!

By Garrett Rees

Mid-Week Lite Version this for Week 5.  Bigger Version will come next week. Erik Karlsson owners, I feel your pain. Sad to see him go out like that and hope that he’s able to be the player he was before the injury.

WEEKLY BREAKDOWN
Here is the weekly breakdown for this upcoming week, Feb 18 – Feb 24:

• 4 GAMES:  CAR, CBJ, CGY, COL, DET, FLA, LAK, MON, NAS, NJD, NYI, OTT, PHI, TBL, TOR, VAN, WPG
• 3 GAMES:  BUF, CHI, EDM, NYR, PHX, PIT, SJS, STL
• 2 GAMES:  ANA, BOS, DAL, MIN, WAS

A bit of an odd week as there are season-high five teams that are going to be getting some rest during Week 5 as they all are only playing two games.  To make up for that, there are a whopping 17 teams that will be playing four games for the week.  Hopefully you’re teams aren’t filled with Ducks, Bruins, Stars, Wild, or Caps.  Other than those teams, there will be plenty to choose from in an oddly busy week.  Here’s the weekly breakdown per days:

• MON – 7 games
• TUES – 8 games
• WED – 3 games
• THU – 10 games
• FRI – 3 game
• SAT – 12 games
• SUN – 8 games

Definitely some highs and lows during Week 5 as Wednesday and Friday only have three games on the schedule while Thursday and Saturday are seeing double digit games each. Sunday is also an unusually busy end of the week with eight games, COL@ANA, BOS@FLA, CAR@NYI, CBJ@CHI, PHX@CGY, VAN@DET, WPG@NJD, and TBL@PIT. The three-game days have the following games being played, Wednesday: LOS@CGY, STL@COL, PHI@PIT and Friday: SJS@CHI, FLA@PIT, VAN@NAS so for those in Head-to-Head leagues make sure to keep this in mind when scouring the waiver-wire.

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:
BOS, CBJ, MIN, SJS, VAN, WPG
The Bruins and Wild don’t have it that bad since they are only playing two games, however the Blue Jackets, Canucks, and Jets are all playing all four of their games on the road so beware that there may be some fatigue involved and backup goalies seeing action to spell the regular starters.

HOME COOKING
These teams are playing all of their games at home this week so they should be rested and practicing:

ANA, CHI, DAL, EDM, PIT, WAS

Again notice that the Ducks, Stars, and Caps are playing only two games while no teams playing four games made the Home Cooking list although the Red Wings deserve an Honorable Mention as they are traveling only once between their four games and they have a day off for it.  


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:

CAR, CBJ, CGY, COL, DET, FLA, LAK, MON, NASx2, NJD, NYI, OTT, PHI, PHX, SJS, STL, TBL, TOR, VAN, WPG

2/3rds of the league is seeing a back-to-back played during Week 4 while the Predators have two and the Flames almost have two as they are playing back-to-back games to begin the week.

STRONG SCHEDULES
Now let’s take a look at a couple of the most favorable matchups of the week:

New Jersey Devils – Opponents: OTT, @WAS, @WAS+WPG – The Devils continue to be amongst the East’s, if not the league’s, best the opportunity to score goals will be there during Week 5. Other than the stingy Senators, two games against the Caps and a game against the Jets should be pleasing to fantasy owners as these teams are 3rd worst and 6th worst in the league respectively when it comes to goals allowed per game.  Do what you should be doing this season and get your Devils out there.

Philadelphia Flyers – Opponents: @NYI, @PIT+FLA, WPG – The Flyers have the opportunity to rack up some goals this week (well, except for maybe the high-flying Penguins on Wed). They play the Islanders today (Mon) and then Florida and Winnipeg on Thursday and Saturday. How about that line of Jakub Voracek – Claude Giroux – Matt Read? Check them out.  
…And there are plenty more options this week with so many teams playing on four games.

WEAK SCHEDULES

...And the least favorable matchups of the week:

Washington Capitals – Opponents: NJDx2 – The Caps have only two games on the schedule for Week 5 and both of them are going to be up against the East leading New Jersey Devils on the two busiest nights of the week, Thursday and Saturday.  Although the Capitals have been a much better team than at the start of the shortened season, the Devils are always a tough opponent and opportunity for goals will be scarce as they are allowing the 2nd fewest goals per game in the Eastern Conference at 2.25 GA/G.  Since they are only playing on the busiest nights, you could probably find better players than the Caps to put out there during Week 5.

Minnesota Wild – Opponents: @EDM, @CGY – Another team playing only two games with both of them on Thursday and Saturday.  They’ve only played 1 game against either of these teams so far this season, and that was a low scoring affair as they beat the Flames 2-1. As is the case with the Caps, I’d look else if looking at the waiver-wire for pickups/injury replacements.

Dallas Stars – Opponents: VAN, SJS - Same thing for the Stars, as they are yet another team that is playing only two games on the busiest nights of the week. Same story as the other two. Managers are probably just hoping that Kari Lehtonen and the Dallas Stars can benefit from a slow week so that Kari can get back in between the pipes and get back to form.

Good luck out there, everyone.  Post any comments or questions below hit me up on Twitter @G_Rees.