Hello everyone! I wasn't sure if I was going to do another round of waiver-wire pickups for the back half of this final two-week fantasy period, but I figure if there are still some of you like myself who are still out there fighting for their playoff lives! I should stress that any moves you make in these final days are going to be extremely situational. If you are in a head-to-head categories league, you are no doubt hunting specific stats. Also if you aren't keeping players for future seasons, don't be afraid to cut them loose if the situation makes sense this week. With all that being said, let's take one last look at a few guys that might be able to move the needle for you in the last few days of the season!

Dylan Strome

There are a handful of teams that have four games to play between now and the end of next week, and while the Blackhawks play only three games, two of them are on off-nights where there is far less action. There are a couple other teams that follow this trend also, and those are the players I am looking to target this upcoming week. In this case, Strome is a decent option from Chicago.

Strome is only 25% rostered on Yahoo, and you would think with such low ownership that he would be terrible, but his numbers are fairly respectable for a waiver wire guy. In 66 games, Strome has 21 goals and 26 assists for 47 points in total. In a full 82-game schedule, he is just shy of a 60-point pace. These numbers mirror his career-best season from back in 2018-19 when he was still playing in Arizona. 

He only has four points in his last ten contests, but he gets good deployment and I don't mind Chicago's matchups heading into the final week. They host Philadelphia and Vegas Monday and Wednesday respectively, and then finish up the season on the road in Buffalo. While Vegas is fighting for their playoff lives, the other two matchups won't see a ton of elite defense being played, so I expect Strome to get a few points this week. Strome sees a decent amount of time on the power play too, so he may even net you some points on the man advantage. Outside of that, don't expect much in terms of peripherals, but if you are in a faceoff league, he is pretty capable on draws so that's a nice added bonus.

Matty Beniers

I am kicking myself for not throwing this guy on my list last week. I had him on my list of potential guys to write about, but I opted not to, and of course he has been rock solid since debuting a week and a half ago. The Kraken have had moderate success lately, including a big upset win over the creme de la creme of the league, the Colorado Avalanche! Beniers has only been up for six games, but within that six-game span the Kraken enjoyed a three-game winning streak, and part of that was thanks to his strong play.

The Kraken are really giving him all the opportunities to get his feet wet at the end of the season here. He's averaging just under 17 minutes a game, and he is also getting reps on the first power-play unit. The Kraken have four games remaining, and like the Blackhawks, they also have games on off-nights. They will finish up their current road trip on Tuesday in Vancouver before returning home for two against the Kings on Wednesday, and the Sharks on Friday. The Friday game versus the Sharks should have been their last game this season, but they will have to travel to Winnipeg on Sunday to play a make-up game that got snowed out a couple of weeks ago. The game Sunday in Winnipeg will officially be the end of the NHL season and all fantasy hockey seasons!

Of their four games, three come against non-playoff clubs, and Wednesday and Sunday are both off-nights in the schedule, so you'll have no problem sneaking Beniers into your lineup for at least a couple of these games. In both Yahoo and ESPN leagues, Beniers is only 11% rostered, while Fantrax has him listed at 48% owned. Hopefully the rookie can stay hot and continue to make a good first impression with his club.

Bobby Brink

Going off the board for my last pick of the year. First off, this guy's got a great name. The play on word potential for Brink is limitless, so I love that. But in all seriousness, this rookie is a lot like Beniers. He is a late-season call-up who is just here to get his feet wet in the NHL since the Flyers are clearly not competing this season. The 20-year-old American winger has notched four assists in six contests thus far, and he's actually looked pretty decent all things considered.

The Flyers have him playing on the second line with James van Riemsdyk and Joel Farabee, and they have been getting him some looks on the man advantage as well. You could also rely on some extra value in the hits department if you need some help there. In his six games, Brink has 14 hits already, which is pretty solid. Like the other two players I have mentioned, the Flyers have a couple games on off-nights, and play four more times in total. 

Brink is available in essentially all leagues and formats, so I don't think you will have a hard time snatching him up if you want to take a chance on him. Hopefully Brink can finish the season strong and stick with the club next season so eventually the Flyers back up the Brinks truck on his next contract! See what I did there?

Well folks, that is officially it for all things fantasy related this season. I think next week I will do a bit of a season wrap-up or review type writeup. After that I might cover some of the playoffs just for pure hockey enjoyment purposes, but as far as fantasy hockey content is concerned, I think that should just about do it until we get to the preseason next year. Hopefully you all had successful seasons. It was yet another wacky season scheduling-wise with the Olympics that never happened, and some more COVID-related shenanigans, but at least we got a full 82-game schedule again! Until next week, have a good one!