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. All players discussed are selected based on their upcoming schedule.

Note: With COVID news coming out of the blue, this article could be stale by Friday evening. It's important as always to pay attention to twitter and the site (especially the Ramblings) to keep abreast of all fantasy-relevant changes. The schedule portion of this article will continue as always, but be prepared to react quickly if games get postponed. All stats updated through Wednesday, April 7^th

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

Jason Robertson, W, Dallas Kings (Available in 67 percent of Yahoo! Leagues) – Currently in the Calder discussion for rookie of the year, Robertson being available in more than two-thirds of leagues on Yahoo is almost a crime against fantasy given the rookie has been playing 18+ minutes every game recently on Dallas' top line, and he's contributed 24 points in 32 games on a sustainable 11.1 shooting percentage. He's not yet playing on the top power play which hurts his value – the Stars have been running out three forwards with Miro Heiskanen and John Klingberg instead of shuffling Heiskanen to the second unit – but playing primary 5v5 minutes with Joe Pavelski and Roope Hintz means more points should be coming.

Robertson's value is much higher in keeper leagues given his youth and that the return of Tyler Seguin is imminent, but with the Stars' phenomenal schedule this month, there's no better time than now to add Robertson to the mix.

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

Kirby Dach, C, Chicago Blackhawks (Available in 77 percent of Yahoo! Leagues) – Although the Blackhawks’ upcoming schedule is pretty ugly (see below), adding Kirby Dach for the stretch run of this season is a move that could pay off in a big way given his performance to date and ice-time ceiling, even if the numbers don't look great at first glance.

With 1G-2A through his first six games since starting his season in March, the 20-year old Dach has already moved up to the cushiest spot in the Blackhawks' lineup: centering Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat. That led to Dach immediately scoring his first of the year, and should be a sign of scoring to come, especially as he also plays the Jonathan Toews role on the top power play. Dach has topped 19 minutes in four of the first six, has added nine combined hits+blocks and ten shots on goal, and although he loses more than he takes, he also contributes faceoff wins; he's a great asset in keeper leagues, deep leagues, and shallow leagues with lots of peripheral cats.

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

Justin Faulk, D, St. Louis Blues (Rostered in 62 percent of Yahoo! Leagues) – On a team with Torey Krug, Colton Parayko and Vince Dunn, it's tough to find the right ice time and role for someone like Justin Faulk, and that's true again this season. After being a huge disappointment last season – 16 points in 69 games, a career-low 20:34 per game – Faulk has definitely taken strides this year, but on an offensively-starved Blues team and an undefined role, Faulk will continue to disappoint.

Playing on the second power play unit – when he even gets time on the power play – Faulk has picked up only three points with the man advantage this season, three of the 13 total points he's got on the season; he hasn't had a point at any strength since Mar 13^th, and in the entire month of March had just four assists. There's still hope for those rostering Faulk though, once the Blues get past this next bad stretch of games, as he's still averaging just under 25 minutes per game and he contributes in every peripheral category except points.

The Anchors (They'll do nothing but disappoint even over the long haul)

Jonathan Marchessault, W, Vegas Golden Knights (Rostered in 84 percent of Yahoo! Leagues) – Marchessault was a monster for the Golden Knights in the first expansion season, scoring just under a point-per-game (75 in 77 games), but his role has changed over time from top-line scoring winger who was put in strong scoring positions and played on the top power play, to now being a second-liner who sees the toughest matchups and weaker power play time. Marchessault’s scoring pace per 60 minutes is still very solid – 2.5pts/60, the exact same as last season and actually higher than two seasons ago – but the Golden Knights have such better options at wing in Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty that someone has to suffer and that someone is Marchessault.

On the season, the diminutive winger is still scoring at a decent clip as mentioned by his per 60 rate, with 10G-17A in 38 games, but Marchessault is averaging just 17:12 per game and one-sixth of that ice time has been on the penalty kill. While he’s topped that number recently – two games above 20 minutes – that’s in large part due to playing with 10 forwards in a game, and he also played a paltry 14:22 just two games ago. There are better forwards available in better positions to succeed down the stretch – Dach is a good option! – and even with the Golden Knights having a tremendous schedule this month (see below) Marchessault can be moved to the bench or even moved at the deadline.

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

This period runs from April 9^th to April 21^st

Dallas – The Stars are loaded up this month with seven games in the next two weeks, AND are moving Tyler Seguin, Ben Bishop and Alexander Radulov to the taxi squad which means those players’ returns are imminent. The Stars have struggled to score recently (outside of Jason Robertson, making a Calder push), but with two games each against the Red Wings, Blue Jackets and Panthers – as well as a game against the Predators – they should be able to snap out of it. The only issue for fantasy production coming out of Dallas is bad injury luck, but hopefully that turns.

Vegas – Vegas gets the loaded schedule this period, playing eight games which as everyone remembers is one more than the CBA allows in a normal year. While that means some tired bodies and two back-to-backs, expect lots of production out of the Golden Knights as Vegas will play the California teams twice each – the Sharks at home, the Ducks and Kings on the road – as well as two games against the Coyotes. On volume alone, reap the rewards of Vegas this month.

Minnesota – Although getting consistent fantasy production out of anyone on the Wild not named Kirill Kaprizov is a tough ask, Minnesota players are in a great spot over the next two weeks: three games against the struggling Blues, three games against the Coyotes, and two games against the Sharks (always a great spot). For those who can’t count, that means Minnesota plays eight times this period; for those who weren’t lucky or smart enough to draft Kaprizov, production should still come from the Kevin Fialas, et. al. of the world.

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

Vancouver – The Vancouver Canucks’ schedule is currently unknown, so those players must all be avoided. There’s no timeline for when or even if Vancouver will take the ice again and there’s only so much runaway at the end of the season to make up games, so at this point any players on Vancouver can’t be counted on and outside of the elites (Pettersson, Hughes, maybe Boeser), are droppable in seasonal leagues. Even though the league will most likely reschedule around the Canucks if needed, counting on any North division teams is a scary proposition right now so just assume most Canadian teams are also listed here as Leave ‘Ems.

Chicago – The Blackhawks have been struggling for a long time at this point, winning only five games in March (out of 14) and scored more than three goals in only TWO of those games (four goals in both); the team has since pulled that off once in three April games, so maybe there’s a light at the end of the tunnel but their upcoming schedule won’t do them many favours: only six games this period – while other teams will play eight – with five of those games coming on the road. Chicago will play in Columbus (twice), Detroit (twice) and Nashville, with their sole home game coming against the Preds.

St. Louis – Chicago’s West division rivals don’t have a much better schedule over the next two weeks, as the Blues’ push to the playoffs will have them facing Minnesota three times this period – a back-to-back home series before flying to Minnesota – as well as games against Colorado twice (one home, one road) and a game against Arizona. All three of those teams have been strong defensively recently, Minnesota’s drubbing of the Avs aside, and the Blues have struggled to score about as much as Chicago has: in the past 20 games they’ve scored four or more goals only four times.