The Fantasy Hockey Weekly Planner is the essential guide to setting your lineup for the upcoming week. Every week, we provide you with top matchups, the latest news and give you the scoop on injured players.
Projections are for Jan. 7-13 games and all stats are through Saturday.
Teams with four games: Chicago, Colorado, Dallas, Florida, Minnesota, Nashville, N.Y. Islanders, Philadelphia, Phoenix, St. Louis and Vancouver
Teams with three games: Anaheim, Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Calgary, Carolina, Columbus, Detroit, Edmonton, L.A. Kings, Montreal, New Jersey, N.Y. Rangers, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, San Jose, Tampa Bay and Toronto.
Teams with two games: Washington
Teams with three home games: Anaheim, Atlanta, Edmonton, Florida, L.A. Kings and N.Y. Rangers
Teams with three away games: Dallas, Minnesota, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Toronto
Teams with four away games: Colorado, N.Y. Islanders and Phoenix
Teams with back-to-back games in the upcoming scoring period, which means that a backup goalie might start one of the two contests: Chicago, Colorado (twice) Columbus, Dallas, Florida, Nashville (twice), N.Y. Islanders, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Jose, St. Louis, Toronto and Vancouver.
On tap: Week 15 brings us six nationally televised games in either the United States or Canada: Colorado at Detroit (U.S.) on Tuesday; Chicago at Montreal (CAN) on Tuesday; Colorado at Washington (CAN) on Wednesday; Montreal at Boston (CAN) on Thursday; N.Y. Islanders at Calgary (U.S.) on Friday; and Toronto at San Jose (CAN) on Saturday.
| F A N T A S Y S P I N S |
The Avalanche are in a bit of disarray after learning that forward Ryan Smyth will be out eight weeks with a fractured ankle. That leaves them without two of their top forwards, including Joe Sakic, who is also out until March after hernia surgery. Colorado will now look to Wojtek Wolski to skate on the top line with Paul Stastny and Milan Hejduk. ... The Blackhawks received some good and bad news as well this week. The bad news is that rookie forward Jonathan Toews injured his left knee. The good news is that Toews won't need surgery and should be back in 3-4 weeks. Also, with the expected return of Martin Havlat from a groin injury, the Blackhawks won't be in too much trouble without the NHL's top rookie scorer. ... A minor trade took place Jan. 2 as Anaheim traded defenseman Shane Hnidy to the Bruins for struggling forward Brandon Bochenski and a 2008 draft pick. Hnidy started in his Boston debut, but logged just 12:36 of ice time against the Capitals. He might be one of the Bruins' top four defenseman, but his Fantasy value is still low. ... The demotion of Hurricanes G John Grahame to Albany (AHL) clears the way for Cam Ward to be the full-time goalie in Carolina, if he can hold off Michael Leighton. It's a surprising move by the Hurricanes since Ward has struggled since October. He opened with a 2.54 GAA, but it has increased with each month (2.82, 2.96 and 4.69 to open January). ... The Lightning got a real surprise on Jan. 1 when injured defenseman Dan Boyle (wrist) practiced for the first time since his surgery in early November. The Lightning have not announced a date for his return, but it is believed he might return shortly after the All-Star game (Jan. 27). Boyle posted a career-high 63 points last season and the Lightning are dying to activate him.
Three Stars of the Week
Radim Vrbata, RW, PHO: Vrbata just edges out the Kings' Ladislav Nagy for the top honors among forwards. Vrbata was held without a point in four straight games before scoring Dec. 29 against the Red Wings. He then scored in four straight games and had five total goals. He also had three assists in that span.
Marc-Andre Bergeron, D, NYI: Head coach Ted Nolan sent the fifth-year defenseman plenty of messages about his poor play by making him a healthy scratch on more than one occasion this season. He finally got the message. Bergeron returned to the lineup Dec. 29 after not playing since Dec. 15. He followed suit by scoring three times and adding an assist in three games.
Ty Conklin, G, PIT: The savior of Pittsburgh's season has not been Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin or Sergei Gonchar, but the crafty veteran Conklin. Called up in mid-December to backup Dany Sabourin when Marc-Andre Fleury went down with an ankle injury, Conklin is now the top goalie in Pittsburgh and has won his last seven starts. He even has two shutouts in that span.
| 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 | 1/7 | 1/8 | 1/9 | 1/10 | 1/11 | 1/12 | 1/13 |
| Los Angeles Kings | -- | NSH | -- | TOR | -- | DAL | -- |
| The Kings are actually a top 10 offensive team at home. They have the second most goals playing on their home ice (80 -- only trailing Ottawa's 81) and rank sixth in GFA at home (3.33). Talk about knowing the lay of the land. | |||||||
| New York Rangers | -- | TB | -- | PHI | -- | MON | -- |
| The Rangers are one of the best defensive teams in the NHL when playing at Madison Square Garden. They sport a 2.10 GAA, and with no back-to-back games expect Henrik Lundqvist to be in net for all three contests. They have scored just 48 goals in 21 home games, but lead in goal differential (0.19) and most of their players should post a nice plus/minus rating. | |||||||
| Florida Panthers | -- | PIT | -- | @ATL | -- | TB | COL |
| The Panthers are one of the worst offensive teams in the league (2.40 GFA), but if there is a week for them to break out, it is this one. They face four of the worst defensive teams in the NHL. Atlanta and Tampa Bay rank 29th and 30th, respectively, in goals against average. | |||||||
| Chicago Blackhawks | -- | @MON | DAL | -- | MIN | -- | @NSH |
| Chicago ranks eighth in GFA (2.90) and has lit the lamp 116 times this season. They have lost Jonathan Toews (knee) for a month, but Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp are keeping the offense afloat. Also, Martin Havlat (groin) and Jason Williams (groin) might return in the next week. | |||||||
| Calgary Flames | -- | PHO | -- | -- | NYI | -- | @EDM |
| Calgary has seven wins in their last 10 games and have lost just once. The Coyotes and Islanders both have to play four away games in the upcoming scoring period and having to face Edmonton, whom have allowed 129 goals in 43 games, on Sunday will be a nice way to cap the week for Calgary. | |||||||
| 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 a better alternative: | |||||||
| Team | 1/7 | 1/8 | 1/9 | 1/10 | 1/11 | 1/12 | 1/13 |
| Phoenix Coyotes | -- | @CGY | -- | @EDM | @VAN | -- | @MIN |
| Not only does Phoenix have to go on the road for four games, they are facing three of the hottest goalies in the NHL -- Miikka Kipprusoff (Calgary), Roberto Luongo (Vancouver) and Niklas Backstrom (Minnesota). They are a combined 12-3 in a total of 15 starts between the three. | |||||||
| Buffalo Sabres | -- | @NJ | -- | @OTT | -- | NJ | -- |
| The Sabres have been one of the coldest teams in the NHL by losing their last five games and the sledding is not getting any easier in the upcoming scoring period. They hit the road to face the Atlantic Division leading Devils on Tuesday and then face the Northeast Division leading Senators on Thursday. They finally come home on Saturday, but only to face the Devils again. New Jersey sports a 2.34 GAA and Ottawa is seven games above .500 at home (13-6-2). | |||||||
| Nashville Predators | @ANA | @LA | -- | -- | -- | @CLB | CHI |
| Usually players on teams with four games make for a solid Fantasy play, but Nashville is in a tough situation. They open the week with a West Coast swing and play three games on the road, where they are 8-11-1. They also play back-to-back games twice and could be a little winded when they play the Kings and Blackhawks -- usually favorable matchups when teams are well rested. | |||||||
| St. Louis Blues | -- | CLB | -- | DAL | @CLB | -- | VAN |
| The Blues play well at home, but have a tough upcoming schedule. They will likely face Pascal Leclaire (Columbus) twice and he has been solid in net as of late. He has won three of his last five contests and hasn't allowed more than two goals in any of those games. Whether it is Marty Turco or Mike Smith in net for Dallas, they sport a 2.60 GAA. And we mentioned Roberto Luongo earlier, but has has been hot since returning to the lineup Dec. 18 after missing some games with a rib injury. He is 6-3-0 in his last nine starts with two shutouts. | |||||||
| Colorado Avalanche | -- | @DET | @WAS | -- | -- | @CAR | @FLA |
| One of the worst road teams in the NHL has to travel all week in the upcoming scoring period, and to top it off, they have to play consecutive games twice. Colorado is 6-10-3 away from home and rank 28th in goals for average on the road (2.21). | |||||||
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