Welcome back everyone! This week is all about winning the weekend with a loaded slate on Saturday and actually a fairly good sized one on Sunday.

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

Sam Bennett, C/LW, Florida Panthers (Rostered in 39% of ESPN leagues, 55% Fantrax, 30% Yahoo) – Bennett is a player that I can almost guarantee you I will roster at some point during the season, and now could be better than ever to roster him if he's available in your league.  

I love two-way players in fantasy, and it also helps in Bennett's case that he centers maybe the second or third best line in the NHL with Carter Verhaeghe and Matthew Tkachuk. It's also a big-time bonus for us that he's eligible at two positions which just helps make a fantasy lineup flexible. I've had Bennett on my queue for a while now and have just been looking for the right opportunity to put in a waiver claim and I feel like this weekend might be the perfect spot.

I like the Immediate Fix here because I can probably get him in the lineup on a smaller Friday slate, but it's next week that is really beneficially as the Panthers will play four times, and not just that, they will play three of their games on "off" days, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It can be worrisome with Bennett's injury history as this is a player that is Band-Aid Boy certified as we like to call it, but when I can get him on my roster healthy it's a play I try to make happen.

For fantasy you can either add him before the Friday slate or somewhere over the weekend if your claims allow it, and for DFS if you're rostering FLA2, then going full stack is always an option with throwing Bennett on as the center. I will also say as a side note, that currently Aleksander Barkov is DTD but last night it appeared that Anton Lundell took most of the top line center duties. But hey, if Bennett gets thrust up to the top line, Eetu Luostarinen and Sam Reinhart aren't bad options either to have as wings.

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

Yegor Sharangovich, C/LW/RW, Calgary Flames (Rostered in 23% of ESPN leagues, 56% Fantrax, 40% Yahoo) – I run a six-person points pool, and in it I really wanted to grab Calgary because I thought that they could be the out of nowhere (so to speak) playoff club this season. There's still a chance that takes place, and if it does it might be the top six that helps get them there, and particularly for fantasy we're looking at Yegor Sharangovich.

Sharangovich has six points in his last four games and is playing on a Flames roster that has gone 7-3-0 in their last ten games, in what all of a sudden has become a really compelling Pacific Division. Well, for the most part. Sorry Anaheim and San Jose. I started to notice Sharangovich's play, not through fantasy, but DFS as last week I had thrown him and Elias Lindholm into a couple lineups and did have success, and that led to me considering him as a fantasy option.

Trends are your friends, and right now I can see this lineup going strong for another week or so, as next week the Calgary opponents are St. Louis, Columbus, and the Blackhawks, all of whom they'll face on home ice. If there's one worry here, it's power play time and Calgary looking to change their lines up that would make me hesitant in adding him in smaller leagues, but for larger ones I think he's a perfect add to make, especially if he's eligible at multiple positions.

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

Dallas Stars defensemen – Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time in DobberHockey history (probably), we have the first ever…we'll call it position grouping Odd Man Out? Odd Men Out maybe? Just hear me out.  

With Miro Heiskanen out of the lineup, I did what most of you probably looked to do, and that was add Thomas Harley to your lineup. If I'm remembering right, there was a gap between games in between the Heiskanen injury and the Stars next game, but I noticed the roster numbers on Harley slowly start to climb, and for good reason. I like most of you, figured he'd be the obvious replacement on the Stars top power play as last season down the stretch and even at times during playoffs, the Stars really started to give Harley ice time as a potential top defenseman for their roster.

I sort of thought that maybe the plan here was like the Stars had run in the past with John Klingberg and Heiskanen together? Either way, the Stars began play with Harley not on the powerplay for defensemen. Now to be fair here, they didn't have a single defenseman on their top unit, but then I noticed that Harley's roster numbers declined slightly, and Esa Lindell and Nils Lundkvist began to rise. I definitely think that either of these defensemen are decent adds for blocks and hits, and in Lundkvist in particular you get the time along the Stars second power-play unit as well as the typical defensive pairing with the Stars second line which has been an excellent filler so far this season.

The bottom line here is if you like one of these defensemen in fantasy or DFS, you play them. I'm never going to discourage anyone looking to add a player that sees time with the Stars top line, but where the caution comes into play here is that once Heiskanen returns, you could see ice time really decline for one or more of these players.  

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

Justin Faulk, D, St. Louis Blues (Rostered in 77% of ESPN leagues, 75%, Fantrax, 64% Yahoo) – I feel like every season I usually write up Faulk as an Anchor and seeing is I really couldn't find anything suitable this week, I think it's time we have our Justin Faulk chat. This is like those HR trainings that work makes you do each year, except in this case it's centered around not rostering Justin Faulk…or hey, any St. Louis defensemen for that matter.   

I think four seasons ago I rostered Justin Faulk and had some success, he hits a fair bit, and the Blues were a wagon in the second half of their Stanley Cup winning season so rostering Faulk wasn't all bad. But it's now 2024, and I don't really see what all he can bring to a lineup? Sure, the assist numbers can be there every now and again, but this season with the more than occasional injury and lack of getting on the score sheet I feel like there's other options out there for defensemen.

Maybe I'm being a little too critical here, there's been 50-point seasons for him in the past, or maybe it's just that he is always overpriced in DFS that has me sour, but for fantasy you can find the same production elsewhere. Congratulations, you have now completed your yearly Justin Faulk Anchor training course. Click submit to receive the approval email.

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

This period runs through January19 – January 31

Los Angeles – I know the Kings have been on a bit of a slide lately, but the analyzer loves them coming up so who am I to disagree? Los Angeles has had a very wonky schedule so far this season, but they'll have a nice three-game homestand upcoming with a game against San Jose in the middle, a perfect spot to get into the win column.    

Tampa Bay – Each week Tampa kept coming up as a best bet so let's roll with the Bolts. I've been encouraged by their play as of late, winners of three games in a row, they're a Love 'Em moving forward.

Seattle – The most impossible club to figure out in fantasy and DFS is a Love 'Em, and it has everything to do with their upcoming schedule. Seattle hits a stretch of at home against the Blackhawks, Blues, and Blue Jackets. For a club that is 8-2-0 in their last ten games, this is the perfect stretch for them to continue playing at a high level.

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

Colorado – So bad news for all out there rostering anyone on the Avalanche, they will only be in action twice next week which puts them as a Leave Em. Good news though is this is a good stretch for them to potentially rest up and get healthy.

Toronto – The Leafs aren't a Leave Em because of their recent struggles, they just find themselves in the same boat as Colorado. With just two games on the Toronto schedule next week, they're a Leave 'Em for now.

San Jose – Going to level with you guys here, I couldn't find a third team that really stuck out as a Leave 'Em so I'm just going to punt and say it's the Sharks. Like San Jose, what are we even doing at this point?

*For continued fantasy news and notes, follow me on Twitter @ndySanz.