Why Ribeiro makes a great pick up and more on the Fantasy Hockey schedule for this week.

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. Without further ado…

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

Mike Ribeiro, C, Nashville (Available in 87 percent of Yahoo leagues) – Fun fact: This veteran center scored 62 points in his first season with the Predators just one season ago. Blake Wheeler scored 61 for Winnipeg. Phil Kessel scored 61 for Toronto. It would be asking a lot of the 35-year-old veteran forward to approach that level of production again this season, but Ribeiro’s role with Nashville suggests he is a capable, offensive-minded player who is able to be utilized by fantasy owners looking for a steady bench option to insert into lineups when the situation calls for it. Consider the following:

• He has logged more power-play ice time this year than any other Nashville forward.
• A whopping 77 percent of the faceoffs he’s taken this year have come in his squad’s offensive zone.
• He is skating on the same line as up-and-coming star Filip Forsberg and 20-goal-scorer Craig Smith.

Nashville plays a ton between now and the end of the month, so fantasy owners looking for a short-term play at the center position that can provide some assists and a goal here and there should look no further than the steady Ribeiro for help.

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

Alas, no one really fits the bill in this particular category right now, however…

Ryan Strome, C/RW, New York Islanders (Available in 85 percent of Yahoo leagues) is an intriguing bench stash for those owners to get in on the ground floor on a player who scored 50 points in his age-21 season. It’s just too bad he’s honing his prodigious skills in the AHL right now.

Marcus Johansson, C, Washington (Available in 86 percent of Yahoo leagues) is an annual breakout candidate coming off a campaign in which he scored 20 goals, and he is skating alongside Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Ovechkin on the Caps’ top power-play unit right now.

Ryan Ellis, D, Nashville (Available in 73 percent of Yahoo leagues) has steadily improved his numbers each year since breaking into the league in 2011-12. He is just 24 years of age and is seeing more ice time than he ever has before in his NHL career. Each of these players is a bit of a stretch to turn into a consistent, reliable fantasy option, but all of them are worth a long look due to their considerable talent and potential.   

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

James van Riemsdyk, LW, Toronto (Owned in 89 percent of Yahoo leagues) – Being a goal scorer on a bad/rebuilding team is an unenviable task. JVR is doing a fine job as a useful fantasy option who is employed by a Toronto organization looking past the present and (far?) into the future, but he is hardly a must-use guy at this point in time. His average ice time per game has dropped from 21:03 two seasons ago to 17:54 this year, he’s shooting less (his shots-on-goal per game sits below the 3.0 mark per game for the first time since 2011-12, his final campaign with Philadelphia) and his supporting cast is… uhh… not great. With the Leafs seeing a ton of nights off over the final few days of the month, van Riemsdyk is hardly a stellar lineup option for poolies looking for bankable production in the coming days.  

The Anchor (He’ll do nothing but disappoint (even over the long haul)

Brad Marchand, LW, Boston (Owned in 76 percent of Yahoo leagues) – What a puzzling player. Marchand has four 20-goal seasons on his resume, yet he has never exceeded 55 points in any of his five-plus seasons in the NHL. He is a proven goal scorer, yet five forwards (three of which are wingers, and one of whom is Brett Connolly) have seen more action on the man advantage than this 27-year-old winger. Simply stated, his role works against his fantasy value. There is no upside here, and the Bruins aren’t what they used to be in seasons past. While he’s playing more minutes than ever before, Marchand is not being used in a way that portends continued fantasy growth. Why not look for someone with a higher ceiling?

By taking some time to analyze the upcoming NHL schedule, poolies can gain a significant and measurable edge over their opponents. Now let’s identify some teams that will help or hurt fantasy owners in the coming days.

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

Nashville – Forget the fact that this team plays five of its last six games in November on the road. Those six games take place over nine days, starting on Nov. 20 and ending on Nov. 28. The matchups could be easier, but poolies can’t argue with the wealth of opportunities for fantasy production.

New York teams – The Rangers? They close out November with four of five tilts in the Big Apple. Meanwhile, the Islanders play four games in six days between Nov. 25 and Nov. 30. Not many teams have a more advantageous schedule in the coming days than both squads that call New York home.

Washington – Do the Caps even need the schedule gods to help them win games? Short answer: no. That being said, Washington will finish up the month of the November by playing five of its last six games at home (starting Nov. 19). As stated with Nashville, the matchups aren’t overwhelmingly easy. They are at home, though. Also, the volume is there.

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

Boston – With five games over the course of the final 12 days of November (and none in the last three days of the month), any and all fantasy-relevant Bruins are poised to frustrate poolies in the coming weeks.

Toronto – Presented without comment. Also, this team has FOUR consecutive days off during the last week of November. Look elsewhere.

Tampa Bay – How ‘bout that Triplets line, eh? Ahem… moving on. This team has some tough sledding to do in the month’s last few days (versus Anaheim and Los Angeles, at Washington and versus the New York Islanders). There’s a lot of talent on those opposing squads, so temper expectations for fantasy production from Steven Stamkos and Co.