As the playoffs begin for some leagues this week, we're forgoing this column's traditional format in favor of the win-now approach. Where many of our recommendations had mid- or long-term success in mind in the past, it cannot be an overriding consideration this time of year. Win now; get through the week. With that in mind, here are some recommendations:
Victor Rask, C, CAR (16 games remaining): He's certainly not in the forefront of many people's minds, nor on the tips of tongues, but he happens to be one of the hottest players in the past week. In the last three games, he has six points, a plus-5, and two power play points. While his regular-strength linemates Andrej Nestrasil and Chris Terry are equally unknown, they've been very effective together. The biggest boost for Rask has been the fact he's on the big first unit power play alongside Eric Staal; as we've said in the past, the biggest indicator of future success is abundance of opportunity. Rask has it, and is making the most of it. Also, a big consideration of our recommendation is the fact that Carolina has 16 games remaining, tied with the Rangers for the most. More games will mean more potential opportunity. Throw in the fact that the Hurricanes have been decent of late (5-4-1) and Rask's ownership levels are a non-existent 2 percent, and you have some solid reasoning to add him to any mid- to deep-depth roster.
Cam Talbot, G, NYR (16 games remaining): When Henrik Lundqvist went down to injury at the beginning of February, Rangers fans held their collective breath. But those of us in the know knew the Rangers would be just fine in the hands of their more-than-capable backup. In the last month and a half, Talbot has posted a 12-2-3 record with a 2.29 GAA/.922 SV% with two shutouts. That performance has matched the stellar numbers King Henrik himself has posted this year. While the ownership numbers of Cam Talbot is still fairly high, it's not nearly as high as it should be; he's only taken in 55 percent of pools, meaning that 45 percent of you can go out and nab him on the wire. His time as a starter in New York is coming to an end as the King will be back in net shortly to prepare for the playoffs, but he probably won't be back immediately. Sneak in a few games on the cheap by grabbing Talbot from people who are jettisoning him too early.
Justin Faulk, D, CAR (16 games remaining): While his ownership numbers are fairly high -- about 75 percent owned -- his potential is too big to pass along without at least mentioning. He's having another strong year, and many people pass over him because Carolina is a pretty bad team. Down the stretch here, he's going to get more games than many other good defensemen, and when you consider where he is among the league best on the blue line in scoring (9th) while playing two to three games less than many of his betters, you can see the writing on the wall. His plus-minus is pretty bad, and really, it's his only downside; with 13 goals and 31 assists for 44 points, 26 PIM, and a minus-15 in 66 games, he's a very good defenseman in most league formats. If, by some miracle, he's still free in your league, get him now.
Justin Williams, RW, LA (15 games remaining): He's almost in that perfect sweet spot for the playoffs: a relatively low ownership rate, a lot of games remaining, recently productive and on a bubble team that's trying to lock down a playoff spot. At 33 percent, most shallow- and mid-depth pools will have him available in the free-agent pool, which is a great starting point. While only New York and Carolina have more games remaining, there's still a lot of tread left on the tires this year, which means he's going to have more chances to produce. In his last two games, he has five points, a plus-4 and two power play points, fantastic indicators that owning him will actually benefit you in key categories. LA currently sits in the second wild-card spot in the West with Winnipeg only a point behind them; they're also only a point back of Vancouver for third in the Pacific, which means they'll be trying even harder than the already-clinched teams, or the already-eliminated. If this doesn't convince you, perhaps the fact he's the reigning Conn Smythe winner will push you over the edge. How can you not want the playoff MVP on your team for your playoffs?
Andrew Hammond, G, OTT (15 games remaining): The beauty of this game is that it sometimes doesn't make any sense. Hammond, also known as "the Hamburgler," has no business being in the NHL. His AHL numbers in Binghamton were truly minor league -- a 3.51 GAA and an .898 SV% were poor, even for the AHL. His prospects were scant for making the NHL at any point other than perhaps a few games riding the pine as someone's emergency backup. Enter key injuries to starter Craig Anderson and understudy Robin Lehner, coupled with a timely lack of desire by the organization to acquire someone on an interim basis, and Hammond was given an opportunity. Though unlikely, he has been absolutely incredible, and has been one of the key reasons Ottawa is even in the conversation for a playoff spot. In 11 games this year, he has a 9-0-1 record with two shutouts and a 1.44 GAA/.954 SV%. Frankly, if Ottawa can make the playoffs this year, I would give the kid a Vezina nomination for the sheer lunacy of it all. Fantasy-wise, he's owned in about half the leagues, and with Ottawa having a high number of games remaining, and chasing a playoff spot, he's ideal, given the Sens continue to stay hot, and the management doesn't do something stupid like pulling the Hamburgler. Ride this hot hand to its end.
Kris Russell, D, CGY (14 games remaining): We talked about him last week, but we're compelled to do so again this week. With ownership levels in the low-30s, he's one of the few first-line defensemen still available in most leagues on a good team. Sure, he's a fill in, but he's doing a bang-up job in Mark Giordano's stead: in the last five games he has eight points, and is a plus-4 with two PIM and five power play points. He's plugged himself in that top pairing, and is getting all the prime ice time he can handle, in addition to added responsibility on the power play. He's also got a good schedule for the next two weeks, with three games in the first week, followed by four in the second. With Calgary only three points above Winnipeg in the standings, they'll be playing hard right through to the last whistle to ensure they make the playoffs. These are all good things to Fantasy owner ears; grab him if you still can.
Matt Puempel, LW, OTT (15 games remaining): We're going to include him because right now, but we don't know what to make of him just yet. With nine games under his belt at the NHL level, he has two goals -- decent, we suppose -- but more to the point, he has a plus-5 rating in his last four games, to go along with six PIM -- this coming against the Islanders, Montreal, Boston and Calgary -- four of the better teams in the league. We think there's something here that's just under the surface, and with the abundance of games that Ottawa has to play, we think Puempel may emerge as something valuable. Remember, nobody saw Matt Hoffman coming; we don't want to miss a similar talent. He had a solid AHL tenure, recording 81 points in 176 games, and playing on the fourth line with David Legwand and Alex Chiasson gives him a ton of opportunity to show that we're not wrong about him. Only consider him in deep pools, and only if prior options are unavailable.
Key schedules in the coming week
To keep you in the know until the end of the season, here are the best and worst teams in terms of scheduling. Forewarned is forearmed; when adding players from the wire, always try to maximize the number of games to optimize the result.
Teams with beneficial schedules this week
1. Boston: Four games -- Buffalo, Ottawa, Florida, Tampa Bay
2. Montreal: Four games -- Tampa Bay, Florida, Carolina, San Jose
3. St. Louis: Four games -- Calgary, Winnipeg, Minnesota, Detroit
4. Vancouver: Four games -- Philadelphia, Columbus, LA, Arizona
Teams with detrimental schedules this week
1. Dallas: Two games -- Pittsburgh, Chicago
2. Colorado: Two games -- Arizona, Anaheim
3. Nashville: Two games -- Minnesota, Buffalo
4. NY Islanders: Two games -- Chicago, New Jersey
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