The Fantasy Hockey Weekly Planner is the essential guide to setting your lineup for the upcoming week. Every Friday, we provide you with top matchups, the latest news and give you the scoop on injured players.

Projections are for Feb. 5-11 games.

Teams with four games (5): Atlanta, Calgary, Chicago, Detroit, N.Y. Rangers

Teams with three games (24): Anaheim, Boston, Buffalo, Carolina, Colorado, Columbus, Dallas, Edmonton, Florida, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Montreal, Nashville, New Jersey, N.Y. Islanders, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington

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Team with two games (1): San Jose

On tap: Week 19 brings us eight nationally televised games in either the United States or Canada: Detroit at N.Y. Rangers on Monday; Minnesota at Dallas on Tuesday in the United States; Ottawa at Buffalo on Wednesday in Canada; Pittsburgh at Toronto and Atlanta at Vancouver on Saturday on Hockey Night in Canada; Colorado at Dallas, Tampa Bay at New Jersey and Chicago at Columbus on Sunday in regional coverage in the United States. Other prime matchups to watch: Sidney Crosby and the Penguins host the Predators in what should be an entertaining game and the Ducks and Sharks begin a huge home-and-home on Tuesday; the Thrashers put their high-flying offense on display against Peter Budaj and the Avalanche on Thursday; Jarome Iginla should be back to 100 percent when the Flames look to burn the Sabres in Buffalo on Saturday.

F A N T A S Y   S P I N S

The Columbus Blue Jackets finally saw veteran Bryan Berard return and make his regular season debut after being sidelined by a back ailment. This comes at a big time of the season for Fantasy owners in need of a defenseman. CBS SportsLine's owners are starting to take notice, too, as his ownership has skyrocketed to 38 percent, nearly doubling from a week ago. He is especially useful in pools which do not penalize plus/minus rating. On a side note, he might be auditioning for other teams in the next three weeks, as he might garner a lot of interest at the NHL trading deadline. … Sticking in Columbus, the goaltending situation is a mess right now. Fredrik Norrena's lower body injury has been diagnosed as a groin issue and he is still too sore to return until at least Feb. 6 against the Coyotes. It is too risky to roll the dice on him for Fantasy Week 19, especially considering the fact that Pascal Leclaire is starting to face pucks and might be back on that date as well, although it is a long shot at this point. … Washington acquired Milan Jurcina from Boston earlier this week and that prompted the team to place Brian Pothier on injured reserve to clear up a spot. However, the player to likely suffer from his arrival once Pothier is healthy will be Lawrence Nycholat, who has struggled mightily lately. … The Rangers are having some difficulty along the blueline, as Marek Malik has been placed on injured reserve and Michal Rozsival is questionable for the weekend due to a knee strain. Fedor Tyutin and Aaron Ward might see more time as a result, especially on the power play. If you need short-term help, look at these two members of the Blueshirts. … The arrival of Craig Conroy paid instant dividends for the Calgary Flames, as he bagged two goals in his debut against his former teammates, the Los Angeles Kings. Apparently, that was enough for coach Jim Playfair to see, as he promoted the veteran to the top scoring line to skate with Jarome Iginla and Alex Tanguay. That's bad news for owners of Daymond Langkow, who will slide down to the second line with Kristian Huselius and David Moss. It isn't the end of the world for Langkow, as Huselius has been absolutely red hot. But it is somewhat unfair since Langkow has battled and played well all season and Conroy has really had just one good game this season. Langkow still remains a must-start in all formats, however.

F I V E   T E A M S   W I T H   F A V O R A B L E   M A T C H U P S
The following five teams have the best matchups for the upcoming week. That doesn't necessarily mean they will post the best Fantasy stats, but if you're looking for a one-week start or are trying to make a difficult decision between two players to use, lean toward players from these teams:
Team 2/5 2/6 2/7 2/8 2/9 2/10 2/11
Columbus Blue Jackets (CLB) -- PHO -- CGY -- -- CHI
The Blue Jackets will have three favorable games at home and they finally have D Bryan Berard back in the lineup to make up for injuries at the goaltender position.
New York Islanders (NYI) -- -- PHI @NJ -- @BOS --
The Islanders get two of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference on the upcoming schedule, so the offense might be in for a big week despite having Martin Brodeur and the Devils sandwiched in the middle.
Nashville Predators (NSH) -- @PIT -- TOR -- LA --
The Predators will have their hands full with the Penguins on the road, but their two home games should net positive and fruitful results.
Philadelphia Flyers (PHI) -- -- @NYI PIT -- STL --
The Fly Guys have been atrocious this season, but even their offense might rise up and post decent numbers against this trio of opponents.
Washington Capitals (WAS) -- BOS -- LA -- NYR --
The Capitals have plenty of offense and are starting to get healthy. The B's and Kings should not provide much resistance.
F I V E   T E A M S   W I T H   P O O R   M A T C H U P S
The following five teams have the worst matchups for the upcoming week. That doesn't necessarily mean you should reserve every player from these teams, but try to avoid less-heralded performers from these squads if you have an alternative on your roster:
Team 2/5 2/6 2/7 2/8 2/9 2/10 2/11
Anaheim Ducks (ANA) -- @SJ SJ -- -- @DAL --
The Ducks are getting well and it is just in time for a brutal stretch of schedule which includes three huge games within the Pacific Division.
Los Angeles Kings (LA) -- @TB -- @WAS -- @NSH --
Los Angeles has struggled overall and they will likely be limping through the rest of their longest road trip of the season. Only Michael Cammalleri and Alexander Frolov are worth keeping active.
Ottawa Senators (OTT) -- -- @BUF MON -- @MON --
A game against the first-place Sabres and a home-and-home against the Canadiens and All-Star Cristobal Huet doesn't bode well for the second-tier offensive players on the Senators. However, the members of the former 'CASH' line remain must-starts.
San Jose Sharks (SJ) -- ANA @ANA -- -- -- --
The Sharks will have trouble with Jean-Sebastien Giguere and we never recommend teams with just two games in a period, especially when they are the only one. That being said, their big guns remain solid plays in average leagues.
Toronto Maple Leafs (TOR) -- @STL -- @NSH -- PIT --
The Leafs have a pair of road games, which has been kind to them of late. However, they face three teams who are playing well right now and the goals might be hard to come by.

Mailbag

Barry Chartwell, Surrey, BC, Canada: I picked up Frantisek Kaberle because I thought he was coming back right after the All-Star break. What's his progress and is there any sense hanging onto Brian Leetch any longer? Thanks.

D.E.D.: Barry, Kaberle is going to be back in the lineup any day for the Hurricanes, but keep him reserved until he can officially return. He has the potential to rack up 20-25 points down the stretch if he does not stumble out of the chute. As far as Leetch, the chatter has quieted on his return to the NHL, as the salary demands are too high and a lot of teams are up against the cap. If he lowers his demands, he might still find a home, but that is starting to look a lot more dim.

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