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 March 12-18 games.
Teams with four games (11): Atlanta, Buffalo, Calgary, Dallas,
Los Angeles, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, San Jose,
Washington
Teams with three games (18): Anaheim, Carolina, Chicago,
Colorado, Columbus, Detroit, Edmonton, Florida, Minnesota, Montreal,
Nashville, New Jersey, N.Y. Islanders, N.Y. Rangers, St. Louis, Tampa
Bay, Toronto, Vancouver
Team with two games (1): Boston
On tap: Week 24 brings us nine nationally televised games in either the United States or Canada: Washington at Atlanta on Monday in the United States; Buffalo at Pittsburgh and Chicago at San Jose on Tuesday in the United States; Tampa Bay at Toronto on Tuesday in Canada; Calgary at Colorado on Wednesday in Canada; New Jersey at Carolina on Thursday in Canada; Toronto at Montreal and Detroit at Vancouver on Saturday on Hockey Night in Canada; Los Angeles at Anaheim on Sunday in Canada. Other prime matchups to watch: The Islanders and Canadiens square off in a huge battle with major playoff implications on Tuesday; the Predators and Red Wings play a home-and-home on Tuesday and Wednesday; the Stars look to avoid falling prey to the Predators on Saturday in the Music City; the Senators and Ray Emery look to hold off a charge from Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the Penguins on Sunday.
| F A N T A S Y S P I N S | |
| Well, it is that time of the year. Peter Forsberg is once again on the shelf due to an upper body injury when his team needs him most. He was sidelined for Tuesday’s shootout loss at Detroit. The Predators traded for the brittle forward to make them instant Stanley Cup contenders, especially in games such as this. However, his propensity for injury has to have general manager David Poile wondering if it was worth it. For Fantasy owners, it is a different sweater, but the same Forsberg. Reserve him in all leagues until he can officially play and prove his health in consecutive games. … Forsberg is not the only Predator who is giving Fantasy owners fits. Steve Sullivan has been sidelined due to back spasms and Marek Zidlicky is out with an upper body injury. The Predators are giving the Sabres a run for their money in the key players injured category. However, both the Preds and Sabres continue to get it done with the replacements. … Dominik Hasek is struggling to shake off a thigh injury which has cost him some playing time for the Red Wings. Chris Osgood is holding down the fort in his absence and remains a solid play in the short-term. The Red Wings have a huge home-and-home next week against those Predators, so neither of the goaltenders are worth using for what might shape up as a long week. … The Toronto Maple Leafs might get All-Star Tomas Kaberle back sooner rather than later. He is scheduled to have an MRI and is hopeful of receiving clearance to return to practice with his teammates. In an injury situation which has gone from a week to 10 days to out indefinitely, it appears the timetable might be back to the best-case scenario once again. … Kaberle's teammate Kyle Wellwood is nearing a return from sports hernia surgery. However, don't expect him to re-join Mats Sundin on the top scoring line, which is where he was before the injury. Look for Wellwood to have to climb his way back up the depth chart, especially due to the presence of a healthy Darcy Tucker and recently-acquired Yanic Perreault. … Are you looking for a sleeper down the stretch? Who isn't, right? Geoff Platt has really seized the opportunity of regular NHL time, as he is playing with Rick Nash and David Vyborny and flourishing under the tutelage of coach Ken Hitchcock. He is worth a look as a No. 5 or 6 Fantasy forward even in smaller leagues at this point. |
| 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 | 3/12 | 3/13 | 3/14 | 3/15 | 3/16 | 3/17 | 3/18 |
| Anaheim Ducks (ANA) | -- | -- | CLB | -- | CHI | -- | LA |
| The Ducks have a ridiculously easy schedule in the upcoming week, so start all of their offensive stars. Jean-Sebastien Giguere is also in line for a big week. | |||||||
| Dallas Stars (DAL) | -- | PHI | -- | CGY | -- | @NSH | PHO |
| Games against Miikka Kiprusoff and the Flames and Tomas Vokoun and the Predators will not be easy. However, the games against the lowly Flyers and Coyotes at home will more than make up for it. | |||||||
| Edmonton Oilers (EDM) | @LA | -- | -- | MIN | -- | STL | -- |
| The Oilers continue to struggle on offense, but even they should be able to produce goals at a feverish pace with this schedule. Well, can't they? | |||||||
| Los Angeles Kings (LA) | EDM | -- | -- | CHI | -- | CLB | @ANA |
| The Kings are hardly a contender at this point of the season and nearly every game they play they are the underdog. However, they face four games in the upcoming period against at least three teams they will hold their own against. | |||||||
| San Jose Sharks (SJ) | -- | CHI | -- | @PHO | CLB | -- | @COL |
| The super line of Jonathan Cheechoo-Bill Guerin-Joe Thornton for the Sharks should enjoy tremendous success against a few of the Western Conference's worst teams. | |||||||
| 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 | 3/12 | 3/13 | 3/14 | 3/15 | 3/16 | 3/17 | 3/18 |
| Carolina Hurricanes (CAR) | -- | FLA | -- | NJ | -- | @NJ | -- |
| The Hurricanes should produce decent numbers against the division rival Panthers, but we never like to see Martin Brodeur and the Devils on the schedule for a home-and-home. They can mean absolutely no points for anyone. | |||||||
| Detroit Red Wings (DET) | -- | @NSH | NSH | -- | -- | @VAN | -- |
| The Red Wings have a crucial home-and-home with the Predators, which might not net a whole lot of offensive results, especially with Henrik Zetterberg still sidelined. | |||||||
| Nashville Predators (NSH) | -- | DET | @DET | -- | -- | DAL | -- |
| The Predators might struggle to post goals with two on deck against the Red Wings before meeting Marty Turco and the Stars. | |||||||
| New Jersey Devils (NJ) | -- | -- | PIT | @CAR | -- | CAR | -- |
| The Devils will meet the Penguins yet again before facing the desperate Hurricanes. It might be a low week of offensive production, but it might still be a decent stretch for Brodeur. | |||||||
| Washington Capitals (WAS) | @ATL | -- | -- | @BOS | TOR | -- | TB |
| The Capitals are pretty terrible in most weeks, but they might find the sledding especially tough against four desperate teams trying to keep their postseason hopes afloat. | |||||||
Mailbag
Todd Lachance, Buffalo, N.Y.: This isn't really Fantasy related, but who do you think the Sabres should keep between Daniel Briere and Chris Drury?
D.E.D.: Well, the general consensus is that the Sabres will not be able to afford them both, as they will each be unrestricted free agents at season's end. It is possible that general manager Darcy Regier and the Sabres might not be able to keep either, as there is no guarantee they'll be able to coax one or both to sign if someone else offers a wheelbarrow full of cash. However, to answer your question, I think that Daniel Briere is the player that I would keep. I believe the Sabres will retain Drury, however, and Briere will end up with the Montreal Canadiens. That's just my opinion.
You can e-mail your Fantasy Hockey questions to DMFantasyPucks@cbs.com. Be sure to put Attn: Fantasy Hockey in the subject field. Please include your full name, hometown and state. Be aware, due to the large volume of submissions received, we cannot guarantee personal responses to all questions.