Welcome back in, everyone! We got injury news, start/sit news, schedule news, all kinds of news. Thankfully you've come to the right spot if you're looking to hide from any geopolitical news. Only hockey here, always and forever.

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

Karel Vejmelka, G, Utah Hockey Club (Rostered in 16% of ESPN leagues, 54% Fantrax, 243% Yahoo) – Karel Vejmelka a.k.a. "Veji Tales", as he's known in my fantasy group chat, has taken the bulk load of Utah starts recently and I don't see that slowing down anytime soon. The goalie carousel is difficult to predict at times…or well, all the time, so a goaltender we can depend on for starts is extremely valuable.  

Vejmelka has quietly put together a nice little run coming from the Four Nations break, outside of a game against the Hawks but that was still a good DFS night, and we take those. His most recent start was a 19 save on 21 shot performance against the Ducks, who I know Anaheim has been a punching bag in the past, but this season hasn't been the cake walk that they've been in past seasons. His roster numbers are low enough to where he may be available in your league, and where he has real value is as a starter in net. With Connor Ingram in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program, it's more than likely that this is going to be Vejmelka's net for the foreseeable future.

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

Luke Hughes, D, New Jersey Devils (Rostered in 41% of ESPN leagues, 84% Fantrax, 54% Yahoo) – The Building Block and Immediate Fix might be interchangeable this week, but I'm going to put Luke Hughes in as our Building Block just because there's a good number of leagues that only start one goaltender on a given night.  

With Dougie Hamilton shelved for the rest of the season (amongst others on this Devils team), it'll be up to Hughes to quarterback the Devils top power play, and that's going to come with increased ice time. Over the past seven days alone, Hughes has seen average TOI go up by just over two minutes a game and I don't see those numbers dropping so long as the Devils are going to lean on him to provide heavy minutes on the blue line. This isn't so much a plug and play solely based on an injury, as Hughes has been good since coming back from the Four Nations break with a goal and nine points. I like him as an add to make when you can make it and for DFS I've already rostered him at a cheaper price point.

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

Every now and again for the Odd Man Out I change it up a bit, and if I'm not mistaken, I did something similar to this around this time last season. The Odd Man Out is…you!        

Let me set the scene: It's Tuesday right before lock, I've come down with something and am resting, I go to check my lineup at around 6:15 central and Ivan Barbashev is listed as out, and we have no clue as to why. Now, 9/10 times I will check my lineup at lock but even without doing so, this time it wouldn't have mattered as Vegas beat writers don't usually travel with the club and that was evident as the person who sent out the notification of Barbashev missing the game came from the Pittsburgh press row. So now I'm carrying a zero and can't swap to who I could have replaced him with in Juraj Slafkovsky who had a so-so night…9.5 fantasy points in our league…

I hate this, I really do. More often in fantasy we lose out on points for one reason or another right before lock so before you become the odd-man out and chances are losing the week because some phantom absence, or unknown player status. I wanted to provide you all with what clubs are good, bad, and in the middle, as far as getting information on line rushes at optional/morning skates, warmups, and roster news. Keep in mind as well that some of these are team and coach dependent like say Nashville for example. The Predators hold their cards close on who's in net because however else would an opposing club prepare for four goals coming on 24 shots? I've been following all this for years and feel like I have a good pulse on everything, if you play DFS the importance only doubles. Obviously, we provide excellent injury news and goaltending updates here at Dobber, but by club here's how I'd categorize most, if not all the clubs in hockey for news.

The goods: New Jersey, both New Yorks, Pittsburgh, Dallas, Chicago, Colorado, Columbus, Carolina, and every Canadian team (best is Montreal), outside of Edmonton…been burned too many times in the past if the starter is Mike Smith or Mikko Koskinen.

Your guess is as good as mine: Detroit, Philadelphia, Nashville, and Tampa Bay.

Information is solid at home, radio silence on the road: Anaheim, Utah, and Vegas.

I know I'm missing a couple like Los Angeles and Seattle, but that's only because I truly don't know what bucket that they would fall into. I don't want any of my readers becoming an Odd-Man out by missing an injury or a lock. It's a long season, it's for sure bound to happen, but if we can avoid it and replace a zero with points let's make it happen. 

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

Shea Theodore, D, Vegas Golden Knights (Rostered in 78% of ESPN leagues, 97%, Fantrax, 85% Yahoo) – I don't like putting someone that's injured as an Anchor, but this is a unique situation with Shea Theodore that warrants an Anchor for this week.

Theodore sustained a hand injury while playing in Four Nations which is a letdown down for Vegas fans and those who roster him in fantasy alike. The issue here is that there's no timetable for his return and the Knights have yet to put him on IR, meaning that he just carries the "Out" designation. That's all fine and good, as you can still stash him on IR, but on some fantasy platforms that may not be the case in-between games. I can say on ESPN there have been times that even a player that is ruled out in advance but carries an "Out", can sometimes go "DTD" prior to the club's next game. If you're running into this issue, I can't see Theo coming back until maybe the week of March 24^th, so you'll have to weigh the options on if you want to keep a player on IR or that's coming on and off that long. Again, this may not be the case for most fantasy platforms, but it is still something I have run into in the past.

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

This period runs through March14^th – March 23^rd

Vegas – Next week Vegas is at home which we love, and the opponents favor the Golden Knights, with the Bruins and Wings to open the slate next week. Yes, I will be stacking Vegas in DFS both of those days, book it.  

Florida – The Panthers have a light weekend schedule to help rise in the standings with games coming against Montreal and the Islanders.

Dallas – The "new look" Stars will play in more than two games next week (three), all on home ice. They're going to be a popular play for sure and a Love 'Em for now.    

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

Detroit – Only two games next week for this Wings club puts them as a Leave 'Em, sorry Detroit.  

San Jose – With only two games on the schedule next week, we're going to all have to find another club to pick on in DFS. We're going to be without San Jose games closing out the night for the time being…come to think of it, that may be a Love 'Em?  

Buffalo – This poor club, man. Here's their road schedule next week. Boston, Utah, Minnesota, and Winnipeg. Only two of those places (MIN/WPG), are even remotely close to each other. Lots of travel is tilting them as a stay away for now.