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 March 10-16 games and all stats are through Saturday.
Teams with four games: Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Calgary, Chicago, Detroit, Edmonton, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Vancouver
Teams with three games: Anaheim, Carolina, Colorado, Florida, Los Angeles, Montreal, Nashville, N.Y. Islanders, N.Y. Rangers, New Jersey, Ottawa, Phoenix, San Jose, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Washington
Teams with two games: Columbus, Dallas, Minnesota, Pittsburgh
Teams with three home games: Detroit, Florida, Phoenix, Washington
Teams with three away games: Calgary, Edmonton, N.Y. Islanders, N.Y. Rangers, New Jersey, Philadelphia
Teams with four away games: St. Louis, Vancouver
Teams with back-to-back games in the upcoming scoring period, which means that a backup goalie might start one of the two contests: Anaheim, Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Calgary, Chicago, Detroit, Edmonton, N.Y. Islanders, N.Y. Rangers, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Toronto, Vancouver
On tap: Week 24 brings us seven nationally televised games in either the United States or Canada: N.Y. Rangers at Buffalo (U.S.) on Monday; New Jersey at Montreal (U.S.) on Tuesday; Toronto at Philadelphia (CAN) on Wednesday; Vancouver at Dallas (CAN) on Saturday; Buffalo at Toronto (CAN) on Saturday; Edmonton at Phoenix (CAN) on Saturday; Philadelphia at Pittsburgh (U.S.) on Sunday.
| F A N T A S Y S P I N S |
Everybody knows that having Alex Ovechkin in your Fantasy team lineup means major points production on a regular basis, but is he the MVP not only in the NHL but for Fantasy leagues? It could be debated, but one that at this moment heading down the stretch, the answer is, yes! Alexander the Great really is the complete package that hasn't been seen in the NHL for quite some time. This guy has it all -- from being a superb goal scorer to setting up goals, he's got major speed, can handle the puck like a wizard, he plays with passion and emotion, he can hit hard and is a team leader with a great personality. Ovechkin has six goals and five assists in the last five games, and is on course to become the first player to reach 60 goals since Mario Lemieux scored 69 and Jaromir Jagr 62 in 1995-96. The Capitals are involved in the chase for a playoff spot thanks to Ovechkin, who accounts for 27 percent of the team's scoring. Right now, Ovechkin has 54 goals and 39 assists, and with 14 games remaining in the regular season, both of those numbers can be rounded up to 60 and 50, respectively. ... Peter Forsberg did not look like a player who did not play since last spring in his first game back with the Avalanche on March 4. Forsberg was given a standing ovation and fans at the Pepsi Center were excited every time he touched the puck. As expected, the 34-year-old Forsberg played on a line with Joe Sakic and Milan Hejduk and saw 19:57 of ice time, perhaps a little more than he might've thought. Forsberg also picked up his first points, setting up two goals in Saturday's 3-1 win over the Dallas Stars. He's starting to turn it on, so keep using him. ... Forsberg and Teemu Selanne went head-to-head on March 6 when Colorado beat Anaheim 1-0. Forsberg and Selanne were teammates for the 2003-04 season with the Avalanche. They have played against each other 30 times in the regular season, with Forsberg's teams winning 21 games. ... Tough luck for the Ducks in that game Thursday night at Colorado and also for Fantasy owners of right wing Corey Perry, who suffered a laceration of his right quad tendon and underwent successful surgery the same night to repair the tendon. Perry was not in serious danger, but will be out of action for aproximately six weeks. That means shelve him for the regular season. ... Peter Mueller of the Coyotes became the first rookie this season to score 20 goals. He reached the mark by scoring the first goal in the 2-1 win at Dallas on March 5, which also snapped a 12-game goal drought. Mueller is the first rookie to score 20 goals in one season for the Jets/Coyotes franchise since 1992-93, when the team was still located in Winnipeg. That season, the Jets had a record-tying four rookies with 20-or-more goals: Teemu Selanne (76, an NHL rookie record), Evgeny Davydov (28), Keith Tkachuk (28) and Alexei Zhamnov (25). Pretty impressive! ... Now, goalie Craig Anderson does not have a whole lot of Fantasy value, but he did set an NHL record worth mentioning. Anderson posted successive 1-0 road shutouts by making 53 saves against the Islanders on March 2 and followed that with a 40-save effort at Boston on March 4. With the 93 saves, Anderson set a league record for two games without allowing a goal. Dominik Hasek held the previous best performance with 75 stops over consecutive shutouts in December 1997. Anderson, in fact, has allowed just three goals in his last four starts, all wins, with three of the wins coming in the last three games. The Panthers might want to ride his hot hand as they continue to battle for a playoff position down the stretch. He could also be worth a look in Fantasy leagues. ... Is rookie goalie Erik Ersberg the future in the Kings net and a possible long-term keeper in Fantasy? Could be after the tremendous performance he had against the Ottawa Senators on March 6. Ersberg, starting his third straight game after Jason LaBarbera had sports hernia surgery and was ruled out for the rest of the season, made 40 saves to win his first NHL game in a 2-0 shutout on Thursday. The 40 saves were the most by a Los Angeles goalie in a shutout, breaking the old mark of 38 set by Gary Edwards in a 2-0 win at Boston in 1972. Look for the Kings to use Ersberg for pretty much the rest of the season and get him even more acquainted with the NHL rigors. ... The move to a playoff contender has given Jan Hlavac a boost. The trade from Tampa Bay to Nashville was one of the least mentioned in the media, but Hlavac is fitting nicely on the Predators second line with David Legwand and Martin Erat. Hlavac has four points in four games and a plus-3 rating. Sure, it might be a bit too early to judge it as a great move, but the early results are promising. Monitor his production in the games to come.
Three Stars of the Week
Alexander Ovechkin, LW, Washington: It was hard not to give No. 8 the star of the week for offensive players even though he's had it before. Not after he netted six goals and had four assists in four games, and might as well throw in four penalty minutes to count for Fantasy points. Ovechkin had a hat trick and two assists in the huge 10-2 win over the Boston Bruins on March 3. He also scored two goals against the Sabres to finish the period with a plus-8 rating in the plus/minus category and is now at 54 goals and 39 assists for the season.
Bryan McCabe, D, Toronto: A fine week for the 32-year-old defenseman who made a good contribution with a goal and three assists in the 8-2 pounding over Boston on March 6 (it wasn't a good week for the Bruins). McCabe also picked up two more assists against the Capitals. He took eight shots on goal, was a plus-3 rating and throw in four penalty minutes for some 26 Fantasy points.
Craig Anderson, G, Florida: With the period Anderson had in net this past week his Fantasy stock is bound to go up. Particularly if the Panthers are wise enough to use his hot hand at the moment as they continue chasing a playoff spot. He played in three games, won them all, including back-to-back 1-0 shutouts against the Islanders and Bruins and gave up just two goals to finish with a 0.64 goals-against average. Anderson is not going to take the starting job away from Tomas Vokoun any time soon, not yet. But if he continues playing like this, that may just happen down the line. Make it just about the perfect week for the young goalie.
| 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 | 3/10 | 3/11 | 3/12 | 3/13 | 3/14 | 3/15 | 3/16 |
| Washington Capitals | -- | -- | CGY | -- | ATL | -- | BOS |
| The Capitals might have their toughest test of the week against the Flames in the first meeting between the teams this season. Washington has three wins against teams from the Northwest Division. While their record against the Thrashers is subpar, this might be the best time to take on slumping Atlanta, which has lost eight straight, and they whipped up on the Bruins badly, 10-2 on March 3. With Alexander Ovechkin rolling right now, perhaps there is more to come. | |||||||
| Calgary Flames | STL | -- | @WAS | @ATL | -- | -- | @CHI |
| With a 3-0 record against Southeast Division teams, it seems the Flames miht want to relocate. They've already beaten Carolina, Florida and Tampa Bay successively on the road, so, are Washington and Atlanta next? Percentages seem to indicate yes, not to mention that Calgary is also very solid away from home ice with 18 wins. | |||||||
| Florida Panthers | -- | -- | NYI | -- | NYR | -- | ATL |
| The Panthers haven't quit on their playoff hopes. They are six points out of the last spot, and if there are three key home games on the calendar at this time of the season, these may be the ones to clarify their picture. Florida may ride the hot hand of goalie Craig Anderson, who has won three in a row, including two consecutive 1-0 shutouts, one of them against the Islanders, whom they've defeated three times this season. | |||||||
| Philadelphia Flyers | -- | @TOR | TOR | -- | -- | @BOS | @WAS |
| Why consider Flyers players for Fantasy lineups this week? This is a team that has taken the Maple Leafs down twice already this season with Andrew Raycroft in net, and with three away games, Philly tends to do much better on the road than at home. Philadelphia is 19-13-2 on the road compared to just 15-13-6 at home. It's not going to be an easy task as all three adversaries are jockeying for playoff positions or to make the playoffs. | |||||||
| Detroit Red Wings | -- | CHI | -- | DAL | -- | NSH | @CLB |
| Despite some struggles in the last 10 games (3-6-1), Detroit still owns the best record in the league, both at home (22-8-2) and on the road (22-10-4). Look for the Red Wings to step it up against the three division opponents which they've had some trouble with this season. Detroit dropped the Stars in a home-and-home set of games in early January. | |||||||
| 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 | 3/10 | 3/11 | 3/12 | 3/13 | 3/14 | 3/15 | 3/16 |
| St. Louis Blues | @CGY | @EDM | -- | -- | @SJ | @ANA | -- |
| Playing four games on the road is never the most encouraging outlook, especially for a team like the Blues as their slim playoff hopes continue to dissipate. St. Louis does not play all that well in other arenas -- with 10 wins, the Blues are tied with Tampa Bay for the fewest road wins. Playing two sets of back-to-back road games might make it even tougher. San Jose goalies Evgeni Nabokov and Brian Boucher won a combined three times against the Blues, and Miikka Kiprusoff of the Flames beat them two times already. | |||||||
| Vancouver Canucks | @LA | -- | @ANA | @PHO | -- | @DAL | -- |
| Another team with four games on the road, all against Pacific Division teams. Vancouver is 5-9-1 in contests against teams from the Pacific. That's already negative news right there. Surprisingly, the Canucks have lost three times -- giving up 12 goals to the Kings -- and Marty Turco of the Stars has posted two wins against them. The only positive in matchups could be the three wins against the Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks, with Roberto Luongo in net for two of those wins. | |||||||
| Atlanta Thrashers | -- | COL | -- | CGY | @WAS | -- | @FLA |
| The Thrashers have been struggling big time lately, having lost eight consecutive games and pretty much fading out of the playoff picture. Northwest Division teams Edmonton and Vancouver have already visited Philips Arena and left with wins. Colorado and Calgary have been playing some strong hockey of late and the same can be said for Washington and Florida. | |||||||
| Columbus Blue Jackets | -- | -- | -- | -- | CHI | -- | DET |
| For Fantasy purposes, having players on your roster from a team playing just two games is never a helpful situation, even if the games are at home. Add the fact that matchups are against division rivals who are playing much better at the moment and the Fantasy advice is to look for other options to fill your lineup positions. | |||||||
| Minnesota Wild | -- | -- | -- | NJ | -- | LA | -- |
| A tough game against what likely will be Martin Brodeur in net for New Jersey. Brodeur is one of the hottest goalies in the league. Against Los Angeles, the Wild struggled to an overtime win on March 2 against rookie goalie Erik Ersberg, who just won his first career game in style with a shutout on March 6. | |||||||
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