All fantasy owners need help in the short term AND the long term. The Looking Ahead feature identifies one player to plug into lineups in the short term, a second to invest in for the long term, a third to bench for the coming week, and a fourth who will struggle to meet expectations for some time. All players discussed are selected based on their upcoming schedule. Stats in this article updated through March 7th

The Immediate Fix (Grab this guy and use him for the next several days)

Mike Reilly, D, Montreal Canadiens (Available in 100 percent of Yahoo! Leagues) – Since getting moved to the deadline from Minnesota where he was a 7^th defenseman, the ex-Golden Gopher – who put up 0.76PPG in college – has been revelation on the Habs’ back end. In those four games with Montreal, Reilly’s put up 4pts (all assists) and averaged 1SOG/game, while seeing 1^st unit power play time and 21+ minutes in three of the four games while paired with Jeff Petry. He’s a great depth addition that will gets lots of action on a dead Canadiens team.

The Building Block (Buy now, sit back and enjoy the production)

Kari Lehtonen, G, Dallas Stars (Available in 75 percent of Yahoo! Leagues) – Get the “Let It In” jokes out of your system now, because after seeing what the ex-Thrasher has accomplished this year, those jokes will disappear. Lehtonen this year has been excellent as a backup to Ben Bishop, posting a 0.919SV% and 2.30GAA in 18 starts (24 total appearances), picking up 11W and a shutout. With Ben Bishop ailing yet again – coach Ken Hitchcock said “Obviously when you have a knee injury you’re not talking days” – Lehtonen can steal some extra starts for a playoff team down the stretch and has the potential to steal the starting job with how often Bishop gets hurt or falters.

Just missing the mark: Evgenii Dadonov (56% owned), Rick Nash (55% owned)

The Odd Man Out (His short-term value is cause for concern)

Braden Holtby, G, Washington Capitals (Owned in 98 percent of Yahoo! Leagues) – There’s unfortunately not a lot Holtby owners can do about his recent skid beyond park him on the bench, but that’s precisely what needs to happen over the next little while until Holtby can string some games together. In his last ten games, Holtby’s been yanked three times and given up four or more five times (probably six if he didn’t get pulled) and has only three wins. Washington has been a low-key bad team defensively this year and in leagues that track save percentage (0.907) or GAA (3.03), his value is shot.

The Anchors (They’ll do nothing but disappoint even over the long haul)

Mikhail Sergachev, D, Tampa Bay Lightning (Owned in 55 percent of Yahoo! Leagues) – Although the rookie defenseman has had his coming-out party on a stacked Tampa Bay team, he seems to have hit the rookie wall – although he’s not out of college where the seasons are laughably short, he’s still a 19-year old playing 65 games against men after having never played more than 72 in junior including playoffs. In his last ten games, Sergachev has only topped 17 minutes once (which included OT vs. Florida), has only one assist, and in his last five he’s seen a combined 3 minutes of PPTOI. Hang on to him in keepers, but don’t expect much production if he’s in your active roster.

Love ‘Em (These squads are sure to pay dividends in the coming days)

Los Angeles – The Kings have an excellent schedule upcoming, with seven games coming between the 9^th and 21^st, only three of which are against playoff teams (New Jersey, Minnesota, Winnipeg). They have a very enticing stretch against Vancouver, Arizona, Detroit and New Jersey (all but at home), and have put up at least 30SOG/3G since Jeff Carter has returned.

Arizona – The Desert Dogs have been much improved since January, going 11-8-6 in that time, and have scored 29 goals in their past ten games. Their schedule is bookended with road games (at Colorado on the 10th, at Buffalo on the 21^st) and they have five home games against teams that have been very inconsistent on the defensive side: Vancouver, Los Angeles, Nashville, Minnesota, Calgary.

San Jose – Since Evander Kane joined the Sharks at the deadline (three games), the Sharks have scored 14 combined goals and put up 34+ shots in all three games. They have three solid scoring lines at the moment and have a stacked team against teams that give up a ton of shots against: Washington, Edmonton, Vancouver and New Jersey are the highlights, and they also play Detroit and Calgary. The three Western Canada games are on the road, but the rest come at home.

Leave ‘Em (These squads will leave fantasy owners sorely disappointed in the short term)

Buffalo – Beyond Ryan O’Reilly and Sam Reinhart, not a lot of fantasy relevance on the bottom-feeding Sabres, but ROR/Reinhart owners should sit them over the next few weeks as Buffalo plays five times but have a four-day break between games against Vegas and Toronto. In their favour is all five games are at home, but that just means O’Reilly and Reinhart will be tasked with shutting down opponents’ top lines instead of trying to score. They also play Chicago, Nashville and Arizona.

New Jersey – All five of the Devils’ games in this period are tough ones, as all five will come on the road with one back-to-back squeezed in there. Their opponents are all playoff teams (or on the bubble) so there’s no tough out, as they play at Nashville, Vegas, LA, Anaheim (back half of the B2B), and San Jose.

Detroit – There are teams with less games (NYI as an example), but there are few teams less fantasy-relevant than Detroit, and even fewer still with schedules as tough as what the Red Wings will face: five straight road games against Columbus, San Jose, Los Angeles, Anaheim (second half of a B2B) and Colorado, before facing Philadelphia at home.