Just like that, we’re one more week away from the conclusion of another fantasy hockey season.
Thanks and good luck to those of you who are moving forward with your playoffs, every step and decision you make from here on out will be more elaborate.
While most of you are running out of head-to-head leagues, there is still plenty of race track left in the roto-league format. With 19 days left in the regular-season, schedule manipulation becomes even more important.
1. In all, 51 games are coming up in the NHL this week.
Monday: 1 game
Tuesday: 14 games
Wednesday: 4 games
Thursday: 12 games
Friday: 2 games
Saturday: 14 games
Sunday: 6 games
2. In the case of the waiver cable, there are 11 four-game teams to target: BUF, DET, MIN, MTL, NSH, NYI, PHI, SJS, STL, TOR, WPG.
3. Out of these 11 slates, I like these three the most:
Montreal Canadian: Mon (WPG), Mercury (BCBJ), Venus (NYI), Saturn (WSH)
Appearance of waiver: Cole Cofield, Brendon Gallagher, Kerry Price
SN Fantasy: Cole Cofield 1, Nick Suzuki 1
New York Islanders: Tuesday (PIT), Thursday (ITPIT), Fri (@MTL), Sun (@TOR)
Appearance of waiver: Brock Nelson, Anders Lee, Kyle Palmiri
SN Fantasy: NYI Golis 3, Matthew Barzal 2
Winnipeg Jets: Mon (@MTL), Mercury (SEA), Fri (@FLA), Saturn (@TBL)
Appearance of waiver: Paul Stastny, Evgeny Svetnikov, Josh Morrissey
SN Fantasy: Pierre-Luke Dubois 2, Nicolas Ehlers 2
4. Lastly, refrain from adding any Vancouver Canucks. They only play twice, which is unfortunate, as they have been scoring goals from left to right lately.
5. The Kerry Price watch is officially on in Montreal, especially now that Jake Allen is back on the shelf. Pick him up immediately.
6. Before his expected NHL debut for Buffalo on Tuesday night in Toronto, add Wayne Power. After leaving Michigan from Frozen Four, the first overall pick of 2021 signed his entry-level deal with Sabers on Friday. Immediately, I hope Power will play a significant role, including the top four minutes and Power Play Time. He is a horse breeder.
7. Along these lines, go out and catch Power’s college teammate Kent Johnson, who signed his ELC with Columbus. The fifth overall pick of 2021 could be on track for his NHL debut on Wednesday night against Montreal. I hope Johnson plays a great role right now, which means potential exposure to the Patrick line outside of Hopper.
8. If you see this explosive blast from Tampa to Ottawa from Matthew Joseph, hands up? That’s right, you’re not alone. But full credit to the 25-year-old, he has made the most of his new opportunities. In 9 games with Sense so far, Joseph has scored four goals and 11 points. Take her, especially now that she’s with Brady Takachuk and Josh Norris.
9. Put Devil’s goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood on your watch list. It looks like the much-maligned 25-year-old, who is currently on a five-game road trip with the team, could return this season. He has not played since January 19 due to Hill’s problems. Blackwood could whisper something through the trade this summer, so it’s inevitable that the Devils will take him out for a few games to end the season.
10. An easy and convenient in-house replacement option for Jack Hughes, who has been doing it for years, is the red-hot Nico Hisar. The Devils captain has four goals and 16 points in his last 12 outings. With a ratio of over 82 games, this is a 69-point clip.
Excellent
11. Externally, Joel Ericsson One, Chandler Stephenson and Trevor Zagras can also help fill the huge void for you.
12. Undoubtedly, Ryan Johansen should be seen as his own file for the rest of the season. The 29-year-old Prides Center, who has five goals and two assists in his last four games, has scored 22 goals and 56 points in 68 games this season. Talk about values.
13. Ryan Strom is another guy who deserves more play right now. The association with Artemis Panarin and Red-hot Andrew Cope should be sufficient reason for the sinking. Do it.
14. In Boston, the top-six has been thrown into Blender again and David Pasternak has been sidelined (unpublished). The obvious addition is Jake Dibrusk, who is skating in the first line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Merchand.
15 Elsewhere, Robert Thomas, Tage Thompson, Alex Touch and Andrew Cope are four more right-worthy alternatives worthy of roasting.
16. Believe it or not, at the moment Weaver Wire has a lot of interesting D options that provide some pretty great section coverage. Chris Wideman, Noah Hanifin, Mark Giordano, Gustav Forsling and Nick Lady are the five names to take the fly.
17. Another man who is in the absolute hitter right now is St. Louis Justin Fox. The 30-year-old has five goals and nine points in his last five appearances. Faulk and the aforementioned Lady really acted aggressively in the absence of Torey Krug.
18. Dump Logan Couture. In the last seven games, the Sharks captain has only two points – two goals – now is not the time to wait.
19. Feel free to drop Mark Stone. Oddly enough, the Golden Knights – due to cap restrictions – could not activate their captain outside the injured reserve. It’s unfortunate, but the rules rule.
20 Austin Mathews is good at hockey. What a statement, right? Leafs Sniper has scored 51 goals in his last 50 games. I know it’s early on, but Matthews has surpassed Nathan McKinnon and is third in my ‘It’s Too Top-250 Fantasy Rankings’ for next season, behind Connor McDavid and Leon Drysitel. We are witnessing greatness. That’s it.