Some more hot and not players to note from out of the Western Conference…

Maaasquito Buzzings…

Players in the last week with the highest production in each category who are less than 50% owned in Yahoo leagues.

Players who I suggested last week and their production during the week.

Alex Burrows    2 G, 3 A, +5, 9 PIMs. 0 PPP, 6 SOG
Ryan Kesler    3 G, 1 A, + 1, 2 PIMs, 1 PPP, 10 SOG  
J.P. Dumont    0 G, 1 A, -2, 0 PIMs, 0 PPP, 6 SOG
Sam Gagner    0 G, 2 A, -3, 2 PIMs, 1 PPP. 5 SOG
David Backes    2 G, 0 A, 0, 2 PIMs, 0 PPP, 19 SOG
Scottie Upshall    0 G, 0 A, 0, 2 PIMs, 0 PPP, 8 SOG
Cam Barker    0 G, 2 A, +1, 10 PIMs, 0 PPP. 5 SOG

Not as good as two weeks ago, but still not bad missing just three outta seven. Still operating better than Dobber’s famous 52%…

Who’s Hot

Matthew Lombardi – Lombardi really has flourished since joining his new team in Phoenix. He’s picked up nine points in 12 contests while averaging 20:51 in ice-time each game, which shows that coach Wayne Gretzky has plenty of confidence in the 27-year old. Lombardi’s also averaging 2.75 shots and 0.66 PIMs per contest, which should help across-the board on the score sheet. At 7% Yahoo-owned he should be a bargain for the final two weeks of this fantasy season.

Patrik Berglund, T.J. Oshie and David Perron – Berglund has been on a tear this last week along with the rest of the young budding Blues. Berglund picked up a huge seven points, in four games this past week, despite only averaging just 12:32 in overall ice-time. The Blues second line of Perron, Oshie and Berglund combined for a whopping 19 points this past week and with the Blues having a favorable schedule this week against Chicago, Detroit and Dallas, the trio should once again have another big week. Perron, Oshie and Berglund should be widely available in most leagues as they are only 13%, 5%, and 16% Yahoo-owned respectively.

Ales Kotalik – Last week was Sam Gagner, this week should be Kotalik. With eight points in 13 contests since joining the Oilers’ lineup at the trade deadline, Kotalik hasn’t exactly set the ice on fire in Edmonton. He’s not logging huge ice-time numbers as he’s only averaging 15:10 per contest, but recently being paired up with Sam Gagner and Ales Hemsky on the Oilers’ top-line should bring plenty of success for Kotalik. Another reason is that the Oilers are fighting hard for a playoff spot, and with Craig MacTavish fighting for his job, he’ll most likely go with the hot-hand moving forward. At 21% Yahoo-owned he should also be a decent pickup from here on out.    

James Wisniewski – Last week if you gambled on Barker it certainly would’ve paid off for you, let’s see if Wizzy could do the same this week. He tallied four assists, six PIMs, along with a plus five rating last week. He’s also averaging 2:15 on the power-play, which are pretty solid numbers for a d-man that’s only 7% owned in Yahoo leagues. The Ducks face Edmonton, Vancouver and San Jose this week, which might be too favorable for him, but hey desperate times call for desperate measures.
 
Jamie Lundmark – Lundmark is my out there pick for this week. I’m sure a lot of you guys are saying, “Jamie Lundmark, are you kidding me?” I betcha that you didn’t know that he has 11 points in 14 March games, while averaging 2 SOG, and a PIM per contest during that span. He’s currently lining up beside Todd Bertuzzi, and Daymond Langkow on the Flames’ second line, which should prove to be a worthy dark horse candidate in many playoff pools as well as the final two weeks of this fantasy season. The only drawback is that it seems to be an all-or-none approach with Lundmark. He either tallies a multi-point game or a goose egg, which could potentially drive you nuts, especially in the final of a head-to-head league. Lundmark is only 2% owned in Yahoo leagues, are you daring enough to take the leap?       

Sorry there are so many centers, I just went with my gut feelings for this week. Here are some honorable mentions if you are absolutely desperate.

Steve Sullivan
Owen Nolan
Kristian Huselius

Who’s Not

Henrik Zetterberg – With only one point this past week to go along with only two tough defensive matchups against red-hot teams (St. Louis, and Minny), Zetterberg might actually be deemed droppable for this week. The Red Wings have already locked up a playoff spot, so they might be considering giving some rest to their veterans for the final two weeks of the regular season to get them ready for the playoffs. I dunno if I would be gutsy enough to drop Zetterberg, but hey you might!  

Patrick Kane – Similar to Campbell from last week, I don’t know if you can consider a guy who has nine points in the past month a “cold” player, but the fact that he’s gone point-less this past week makes me a bit jittery about keeping him on a desperate roster. He does have 11 SOG, but a minus 3 and 0 PIMs really probably won’t help you in the stretch run of this season. I’d probably go with a hotter hand in Kotalik or Sullivan over Kane. On the flip-side, the Blackhawks play four times this week, but it’s against fairly tough defensive matchups in St. Louis, Nashville and Columbus. Decisions, decisions…

Anze Kopitar – The Kings made their run this season, but are unfortunately going to fall just short. They had a great developing season, which shows that they’re on the fast track towards becoming a Stanley Cup contending team in just a few years time. Now might just be the time to cut a few minutes from Kopitar’s plate and share it amongst the younger kids like Oscar Moller, Teddy Purcell, Wayne Simmonds and Brian Boyle. There’s a whole plethora of red-hot centers that should be available to pick up at the moment, why not roll the dice on one of them over Kopitar for the final two weeks of the season. On the flip-side, playing Dallas and then the Coyotes twice might also turn out to be a huge week for Kops.     

Peter Mueller – I mentioned Mueller a few weeks back, and I’m not going to change my stance on him. He’s pretty much as useful as a solar-powered flashlight at the moment. He has four points in his last 18 games to add towards a minus eight rating, while averaging 1.5 SOG per game. The new acquisitions of Nigel Dawes, Petr Prucha, Scottie Upshall and Lombardi really have taken vital time away from the development of Mueller, Mikkel Boedker, Martin Hanzal and Viktor Tikhonov. I wrote in the forums about this topic on Saturday night and have generated some good discussion on the boards, join in if you have differing thoughts. I still want my karma for it!!! http://www.dobberhockey.com/component/option,com_fireboard/Itemid,66/func,view/id,268709/catid,3/  Either way if you own him drop him already.

Patrick Marleau – Marleau is dealing with an undisclosed injury and is being sidelined for the recent Western Canada trip and could possibly be gone for the rest of the regular season to get healthy for the playoffs. If you own him it’d be a smart to drop him immediately and pick up one of the players mentioned above.   

Ryan Smyth – Smyth has struggled immensely with only three points in the past 10 games while having a dismal minus seven rating during that span. The Avs don’t have much to play for this season, which probably won’t provide much motivation for Smyth to produce at an accelerated pace for the remainder of this fantasy season. I’d probably take a player playing on a playoff bubble team over Smyth for the final two weeks of the season.

P.M. Bouchard – Bouchard is also finding it tough these past two weeks while tallying only three points along with a minus three rating in the last eight games. What’s also a downer is the fact that he only has 17 shots during that span. With Marian Gaborik back in the Wild lineup, look for Bouchard’s ice-time to drop for the final two weeks of the season.        

Other honorable mentions from both leagues

Brian Campbell
Alex Frolov
Patrick Sharp

With head-to-head playoff hockey pools being as tight as they are, a single point here, a PIM there, and a SOG possibly could make or break your fantasy season. That’s why it is essential to take advantage of the players that you have at your disposal, and cut loose any of the dead weight that is dragging your fantasy squad down. After all this is your last opportunity to claim the crown even though you might not have had a great regular season. It’s not about emotions, but purely based on stats from here on in. Good luck! See ya next week, if you are still alive in your league.