This week’s Cage Match pits Mikkel Boedker vs. Craig Smith.

Yet again this week's Cage Match features a battle between players with identical point projections in the DobberHockey 2014 Fantasy Hockey Guide. But if you want to find out what their exact point projection is you'll need to buy the Guide, which remains far and away the best fantasy hockey resource you can find and a great asset even if you've already drafted your teams for this season.

It's a likely once in a lifetime Denmark vs. USA battle this week, as our combatants are Mikkel Boedker and Craig Smith. Both eclipsed the 50 point mark for the first time in their careers last season, leaving fantasy GMs to wonder if that was a sign of even better things to come, versus them hitting their peak or, even worse, being a one year fluke. As always, Cage Match is here to point you in the right direction.

Career Path and Contract Status/Cap Implications

Although Boedker, 24, was born later than Smith, he was drafted a year earlier (8th overall in 2008) and played 78 games in 2008-09. But 2009-10 and 2010-11 were setback campaigns for Boedker, as he toiled in the AHL for twice as many games (100) as he had NHL appearances (50). But he was in the NHL to stay by 2011-12, and has stepped up his game to the tune of 77 points in his last 130 games (48 point full season pace) in his last two campaigns.

Despite only having been drafted (98th overall) a year later than Boedker, Smith has played nearly 150 fewer games, thanks in part to college hockey. Smith had an eye opening rookie campaign in 2011-12, with 36 points in 72 NHL contests. But he followed that with a dreadful locked-shortened 2012-13, which saw him post only 12 points in 44 games, before rebounding with 52 points last season while also cracking the 20 goal mark, which is something Boedker has yet to do.

Both players enter 2014-15 on the final year of deals that will leave them RFAs, with Smith's having a slightly better Cap Hit and AAV of $2M compared to Boedker's $2.55M.

Ice Time

There's only three years of data for Smith; but considering that Boedker played in just 34 NHL games during 2010-11 we should be able to get a good comparison.

Both players made the most of their Ice Time in 2013-14, with Smith tying for 71st in forward scoring despite receiving only the 149th most Ice Time among all forwards, while Boedker was no slouch either, finishing tied for 74th while receiving the 111th most Ice Time.