Five players worth picking up for Week 22.

Here are some teams to target and avoid for the next week or two, several players to target that may be available in your league as well as teams that play a light schedule in the upcoming week.

 

San Jose Sharks = Target

 

Games: 6 (3H/3A)

Favorable Matchups:

    – vs. Toronto

        > 5^th worst defensive team

        > 3^rd worst penalty kill

        > Most shots allowed per game

    – @ NY Islanders

        > Worst defensive team

        > 2^nd worst penalty kill

        > 26 goals allowed in past six games (4.33 GAA)

    – vs. Florida

        > 4^th worst defensive team

        > Worst penalty kill

        > 8^th most shots allowed per game

 

The Sharks have Logan Couture back and for some reason moved Brent Burns off of the top line and are experimenting with Matthew Nieto there instead.  I still think Burns ends up back with the Joes (Thornton and Pavelski).  With Couture back in the fold, this team is so deep up front.  Couture wasted little time getting back into the swing of things, netting two goals in his first game back.  Joe Pavelski is carrying over his swagger from the Olympics to the tune of three goals and five points in four games.  Then you still have Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau chipping in their usual points, plus Burns if he can land back in the top six.  Good time to ride your Sharks with their upcoming schedule including the Leafs, Isles and Panthers.

 

Buffalo Sabres = Consider

 

Games: 7 (3H/4A)

Favorable Matchups:

    – @ Florida

        > See above

    – vs. Nashville

        > 9^th worst defensive team

        > 5^th worst penalty kill

        > 33 goals allowed in past ten games (3.30 GAA)

    – @ NY Islanders

        > See above

 

Not much to get excited about in Buffalo these days as the team is in pretty rough shape.  A few positives: the trade deadline is over and the Ryan Miller circus is over, Steve Ott and Matt Moulson have been shipped out and now the remaining players (not much left) can focus on playing some low pressure hockey.  Nothing is expected of the Sabres this season as they are already a lottery pick team, so guys like Tyler Ennis, Cody Hodgson and Drew Stafford will have plenty of youthful exuberance around them to keep things loose.  Ennis is a second-half performer so I'd look for him to have a nice run for your upcoming fantasy playoffs.

 

New York Islanders = Beware

 

Games: 5 (3H/2A)

Unfavorable Matchups:

      – @ Vancouver

        > 10^th best defensive team

        > 5^th best penalty kill

        > Six goals allowed in past four games (1.50 GAA)

    – vs. San Jose

        > 6^th best defensive team

        > 7^th best penalty kill

        > 5^th fewest shots allowed per game

      – vs. Minnesota

        > 5^th best defensive team

        > 6^th fewest shots allowed per game

        > Six goals allowed in past five games (1.20 GAA)

 

Things are pretty bleak on the Island these days.  John Tavares is out for the season thanks to the Olympics.  Thomas Vanek is gone.  Charles Wang still owns the team and Garth Snow is trying to convince people that a conditional second round pick and a prospect is what they expected for Vanek.  Outside of Kyle Okposo, the Islanders are relying on some newcomers like Anders Lee and Brock Nelson to step up and produce.  The Isles are already the worst defensive club in the league, I wouldn't rely on their offense to do much either.

 

Philadelphia Flyers = Avoid

 

Games: 5 (3H/2A)

Unfavorable Matchups:

    – vs. New Jersey

        > 4^th best defensive team

        > Best penalty kill

        > Fewest shots allowed per game

    – vs. Pittsburgh

        > 9^th best defensive team

        > 2^nd best penalty kill

        > 7^th fewest shots allowed per game

    – @ Pittsburgh

        > See above

 

Thanks to the Capitals and Braden Holtby sucking tremendously and handing the starting job over to Jaroslav Halak without much of a fuss, the Flyers are a team that is offensively humming.  However, their upcoming schedule does not indicate that should continue, at least as often.  Sure they might put up a healthy number of goals on Toronto on Saturday, but then they don't play until Tuesday (which is against New Jersey), then they have three days off before a Saturday and Sunday home-and-home with Pittsburgh.  Finish that off with a tilt against the defending Cup champs and it's not like they are playing Holtby and the Caps every game.  So temper your expectations for your Flyers.

 

 

Possible Pickups

Here's a list of some players, owned in less than 30% of Yahoo leagues, to target for the upcoming Monday to Sunday schedule.

 

Vancouver: Shawn Matthias (1%) – Was on fire prior to being traded in the Roberto Luongo deal.  Five points in his last two games.  Not sure where he will line up in Vancouver, but he's playing better than virtually the entire Canucks team has been lately.

 

Pittsburgh: Lee Stempniak (7%) – This a mostly foxy by proxy pick.  Pascal Dupuis is out.  The Evgeni Malkin, James Neal and Jussi Jokinen line is pretty set.  Brian Gibbons is not cutting.  I'm willing to bet that Stempniak gets a shot with Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz.  Can't ask for better odds to provide production than with that scenario.

 

San Jose: Tommy Wingels (16%) – Was on a three-game point streak prior to the Olympics.  He's now skating with Couture and Marleau.  Just a matter of time.

 

Buffalo: Drew Stafford (5%) – One of the few known commodities left in Buffalo.  He was also on a nice run prior to the Olympics.  We'll see how all the trade deadline movement affects his linemates, but you gotta think he gets prime minutes at evens and on the powerplay.

 

Carolina: Elias Lindholm (1%) – A goal and an assist last game playing with Eric Staal and Jeff Skinner.  He also saw a large percentage of powerplay time.  If both those things continue, he's a sneaky pick.

 

 

Light Day Targets

Want to know what teams to target based on their schedule landing on light days for the upcoming Monday to Sunday schedule?

 

Week: Monday, March 10^th through Sunday, March 16^th

 

Monday: 16 teams

Tuesday: 18 teams

Wednesday: 8 teams

Thursday: 14 teams

Friday: 16 teams

Saturday: 18 teams

Sunday: 18 teams

 

The schedule appears to be much more condensed this week with six of the seven days having double digits worth of teams in action.  Monday, Friday and Sunday are abnormally busy (16, 16 and 18 games, respectively).

 

So what teams have a good schedule for the light days?

 

	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun
Winnipeg Jets	X		X		X		X
Vancouver Canucks	X 📢 advertisement:		X		X		X
Colorado Avalanche	X		X		X		X
Calgary Flames	X		X		X	X
Anaheim Ducks	X		X		X	X

 

Friday, March 7 to Thursday, March 13

Best Bets

Buffalo (4.20) – 4 Games: @FLA, CHI, NSH, @CAR

Minnesota (4.10) – 4 Games: @DAL, STL, EDM, NYR

St. Louis (4.06) – 4 Games: @COL, @MIN, DAL, EDM

Carolina (4.01) – 4 Games: NYR, @NJ, NYR, BUF

Florida (4.00) – 4 Games: BUF, BOS, PHX, @TB

Steer Clear

Montreal (1.75) – 2 Games: @SJ, BOS

Philadelphia (1.94) – 2 Games: @TOR, NJ

Chicago (1.95) – 2 Games: @BUF, @COL

NY Islanders (1.95) – 2 Games: @CGY, @VAN

Ottawa (2.05) – 2 Games: @WPG, NSH

Saturday, March 8 to Friday, March 14

Best Bets

Vancouver (4.41) – 4 Games: CGY, NYI, @WPG, @WSH

San Jose (4.24) – 4 Games: MTL, TOR, @CBJ, @NYI

Winnipeg (4.21) – 4 Games: OTW, @COL, VAN, NYR

Minnesota (4.10) – 4 Games: @DAL, STL, EDM, NYR

Nashville (4.09) – 4 Games: CBJ, @OTW, @BUF, @CHI

Steer Clear

Montreal (1.75) – 2 Games: @SJ, BOS

NY Islanders (1.85) – 2 Games: @VAN, SJ

Philadelphia (1.94) – 2 Games: @TOR, NJ

Ottawa (2.05) – 2 Games: @WPG, NSH

Pittsburgh (2.20) – 2 Games: @WSH, WSH

Sunday, March 9 to Saturday, March 15

Best Bets

Buffalo (4.24) – 4 Games: CHI, NSH, @CAR, @NYI

Los Angeles (4.24) – 4 Games: @EDM, @CGY, TOR, ANH

Minnesota (4.20) – 4 Games: STL, EDM, NYR, CBJ

St. Louis (4.11) – 4 Games: @MIN, DAL, EDM, @NSH

Boston (4.10) – 4 Games: @FLA, @MTL, PHX, CAR

Steer Clear

Philadelphia (1.89) – 2 Games: NJ, PIT

Ottawa (2.01) – 2 Games: NSH, @MTL

Montreal (2.10) – 2 Games: BOS, OTW

Toronto (2.47) – 3 Games: @ANH, @SJ, @LA

Washington (2.90) – 3 Games: PIT, @PIT, VAN

Monday, March 10 to Sunday, March 16

Best Bets

Vancouver (4.35) – 4 Games: NYI, @WPG, @WSH, @FLA

Pittsburgh (4.30) – 4 Games: @WSH, WSH, @PHI, PHI

San Jose (4.20) – 4 Games: TOR, @CBJ, @NYI, @NYR

Buffalo (4.19) – 4 Games: NSH, @CAR, @NYI, MTL

Carolina (4.17) – 4 Games: NYR, BUF, @BOS, EDM

Steer Clear

Philadelphia (2.79) – 3 Games: NJ, PIT, @PIT

NY Islanders (2.95) – 3 Games: @VAN, SJ, BUF

Boston (3.00) – 3 Games: @MTL, PHX, CAR

New Jersey (3.04) – 3 Games: @PHI, @FLA, @TB

Ottawa (3.06) – 3 Games: NSH, @MTL, COL

Tuesday, March 11 to Monday, March 17

Best Bets

St. Louis (4.31) – 4 Games: DAL, EDM, @NSH, WPG

San Jose (4.20) – 4 Games: TOR, @CBJ, @NYI, @NYR

Buffalo (4.19) – 4 Games: NSH, @CAR, @NYI, MTL

Carolina (4.17) – 4 Games: NYR, BUF, @BOS, EDM

Minnesota (4.12) – 4 Games: EDM, NYR, CBJ, @BOS

Steer Clear

Ottawa (1.95) – 2 Games: @MTL, COL

NY Islanders (2.05) – 2 Games: SJ, BUF

Toronto (2.66) – 3 Games: @SJ, @LA, @WSH

Anaheim (2.76) – 3 Games: @CGY, @COL, @LA

Philadelphia (2.79) – 3 Games: NJ, PIT, @PIT

Wednesday, March 12 to Tuesday, March 18

Best Bets

Boston (4.76) – 5 Games: @MTL, PHX, CAR, MIN, @NJ

San Jose (4.25) – 4 Games: @CBJ, @NYI, @NYR, FLA

Montreal (4.15) – 4 Games: BOS, OTW, @BUF, COL

Buffalo (4.13) – 4 Games: @CAR, @NYI, MTL, @CGY

Chicago (4.10) – 4 Games: @COL, NSH, DET, @PHI

Steer Clear

Phoenix (2.72) – 3 Games: @BOS, CGY, @LA

Toronto (2.76) – 3 Games: @LA, @WSH, @DET

Columbus (2.85) – 3 Games: SJ, @MIN, CAR

Nashville (2.94) – 3 Games: @CHI, STL, @EDM

New Jersey (2.94) – 3 Games: @FLA, @TB, BOS

Thursday, March 13 to Wednesday, March 19

Best Bets

San Jose (4.25) – 4 Games: @CBJ, @NYI, @NYR, FLA

St. Louis (4.21) – 4 Games: EDM, @NSH, WPG, @CHI

Vancouver (4.19) – 4 Games: @WSH, @FLA, @TB, NSH

Tampa Bay (4.14) – 4 Games: FLA, NJ, VAN, @TOR

Buffalo (4.13) – 4 Games: @CAR, @NYI, MTL, @CGY

Steer Clear

Phoenix (2.72) – 3 Games: @BOS, CGY, @LA

Columbus (2.85) – 3 Games: SJ, @MIN, CAR

Anaheim (2.87) – 3 Games: @COL, @LA, WSH

New Jersey (2.94) – 3 Games: @FLA, @TB, BOS

Philadelphia (2.95) – 3 Games: PIT, @PIT, CHI