Which teams have the best schedule for Week Nine.

There are no guarantees in fantasy hockey, but a pair of tried and true strategies will always pay off in the long haul:

• Bet on the best combination of talent and opportunity to achieve the desired level of production you are looking for from your roster. Talent means nothing without opportunity, and vice-versa.
• Focus on the process by which you make roster decisions, as opposed to the results they yield. Long-term success is not attainable without the knowledge of why you were successful in the short term.

With that in mind, let's take a look ahead at some teams and players to target or avoid in the coming week or so:

Love 'Em (These squads are the best bet to produce for fantasy owners)

Detroit – Nothing portends fantasy success quite like playing five of seven games at home between Friday, Nov. 28 and Sunday, Dec. 5.Oh, and then the squad travels to North Carolina to take on an overmatched and underwhelming Hurricanes squad a day later. No team in the entire league has a more enviable schedule over the next week or 10 days than the Red Wings. This bodes quite well for the squad's workhorse netminder Jimmy Howard, who's save percentage currently stands at an impressive .920 through 18 starts.

Tampa Bay – This is a really, really good team… that plays Buffalo twice in three days between Dec. 2 and Dec. 4. What more needs to be said? Well, the Lightning also play five games between Nov. 28 and Dec. 6. Lean on any and all fantasy-relevant Tampa Bay players in the short term.

Leave 'Em (These squads will leave fantasy owners sorely disappointed for the immediate future)

Winnipeg – The Jets travel to Boston to take on an extremely solid Bruins squad on Friday, Nov. 28. Their next game is not until Wednesday, Dec. 3, and they only play three games between Nov. 28 and Dec. 6. It's not unreasonable to suggest fantasy owners should bench all of their Jets, especially in 10-team or 12-team weekly leagues. There is no matchup-proof players like Sidney Crosby or Claude Giroux on this team. Andrew Ladd (of all people) leads the Jets in scoring with 16 points in 24 games. Look elsewhere for fantasy production.