Is your bracket busted already? Yep, same here. No control over that situation but what we can do is help win a matchup this week in fantasy hockey. Whether you're up by a bunch, down a little, the team with somehow five players on IR, or you haven't checked your team since February, there's I think a lot to like upcoming here. Let's dive in!

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

Anders Lee, LW, New York Islanders (Available in 66% of ESPN leagues, 54% Fantrax, 42% Yahoo) – Earlier this season I had Anders Lee as an Anchor and I think there were two overarching reasons why. One being the possibility that he wasn't 100% healthy from the injury he sustained last season, and the other being that the Isles have gone through anywhere from one to four COVID outbreaks this season. Now though Lee might just be a player to use here in the short term.

Around two weeks ago the Isles shuffled up their lines putting Mathew Barzal on the third line and brought Brock Nelson up to the top line to center Lee and Anthony Beauvillier, and so far they have been a productive line with Lee getting plenty of exposure. Currently Lee is on a five-game point streak with nine points in that timeframe. 

This is strike while the iron is hot move to make, and I think for rosters that have an open roster spot Lee makes sense. The Isles send out their top line out against bottom six at home and with the Isles having three of their next five games at home that's good news for Lee. If you have an available roster spot this could be an advantageous addition to make.

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

Shayne Gostisbehere, D, Arizona Coyotes (Available in 53% of ESPN leagues, 79% Fantrax, 45% Yahoo) – In fantasy injuries are tough, but we take advantage of them finding the next man up. With Jakob Chychrun set to miss 2-4 weeks with an ankle injury Gostisbehere could be a great pivot moving forward.

With Chychrun out the Yotes are going to play Gostisbehere big minutes down the stretch with his average ice time in the last four games going up to 23:38 from his season average of 21:59. He’ll also get top power-play time which can only add to his fantasy value.

I get it, it's hard to have your mouse over a player from Arizona and pull the trigger, but there has been some good offense out of the desert lately. This is a club that has the most goals for in the month of March and for Gostisbehere that's meant seven points in the last six games. Do I think this offense keeps up? Most likely not, but for a spark down the stretch I think this could be a great option.

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

Dougie Hamilton, D, New Jersey Devils (Owned in 97% of ESPN leagues, 96% of Fantrax, 97% Yahoo) – So anyone with Dougie on their roster this won't be news, but for everyone else there's been a power outage out of the Devils defensemen as of late and this could affect matchups moving forward.

Hamilton missed some time this season with a broken jaw but looked good once he returned to the Devils lineup back in February, but so far this month has been a struggle. No points in his last five games isn't great news but what makes him an Odd-Man out is just how New Jersey is using him. Right now the Devils have Damon Severson seeing top power-play time with Hamilton skating on the second grouping. The Devils aren't necessarily a club that splits power-play time evenly and that could be an issue for Hamilton's offensive output with Severson seeing over ten minutes on the man advantage in the last three games with Hamilton at an even seven minutes.

Depending on how your roster is constructed, I wouldn't go ahead and bench Dougie when you're deciding between two defensemen, but I would keep an eye on his production moving towards playoffs. That's fantasy playoffs, sorry Devils fans.

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

Evgeni Malkin, C, Pittsburgh Penguins (Owned in 92% of ESPN leagues, 90% of Fantrax, 85% Yahoo) – Don't get me wrong, I'm higher on this Pens club than I feel like most people are and still like this Penguins second line, but Malkin's fantasy numbers have been a bit worrisome and for fantasy owners looking for production there may be some issues moving forward.   

No points in his last five games played isn't great along with the lowest five-on-five shooting percentage of his career at 7. Malkin does center the Pens top power-play unit, which is great for fantasy and DFS but this is a power play that since the beginning of March has the lowest goals for (2) in the entire NHL. Last game Pittsburgh moved Bryan Rust to the second line to play alongside Malkin and at the moment, we'll have to wait and see how the pair does together with a small sample of around 18 minutes.

Malkin is a tough player to roster, given his past with injuries and at times his line is nowhere near as strong as the first line, and I think going forward that's something to remember. Bottom line, if you have a full roster and are deciding between Malkin and another forward, I would strongly consider looking at the matchups for each player.

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

This period runs from March 18 to March 30

Carolina – The Canes have a busy schedule upcoming and that's good for fantasy and DFS purposes. They'll start a four-game homestand tomorrow and although Carolina has had a bit of a power outage recently, but this is still Carolina. Although they may not be scoring much this month with the second fewest goals scored they also have the second fewest goals against.

Winnipeg – Somehow the Jets are two points out of a playoff spot, I'm as surprised as you are. The Jets have six of their next seven on home ice and they'll need every point they can moving forward to stay in contention.

Washington – I thought in late February that the Caps were one bad week away from being in some hot water for the last playoff spot in the East. They've started to even out their ice time across all lines but as a higher owned fantasy team with a decent schedule I like them in the coming days.

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

Florida – A light week upcoming with a Canadian road trip doesn't grade out great for the Pans. I would still look at roster Florida in DFS but this could be a tough go upcoming for fantasy.

Vancouver – A back-to-back with Colorado and Minnesota on the road next week is taking me off the Canucks, but what's more worrisome is likely Vancouver will have to start Jaroslav Halak in one of those games. This season that's an .883 save percentage and 3.42 goals allowed average.

Seattle – The Kraken are the only team with two games on the schedule next week. A light schedule combined with a weaker team that's not as highly owned makes them a fade for now.