Welcome back in, everyone! We're right on the cusp of fantasy playoffs, we've made it! I'd imagine for most leagues out there, next week is round one, or for some leagues there could be two weeks away for two-week playoff rounds. Either format your league plays in, every add/drop from here on out is pivotal.

Picture a line graph…you start at the origin and move up the y-axis, the x being the fantasy season. You can make an add in October and if it doesn't work out, hey oh well. You live to fight another week as the season presses on. As the season goes along and that line moves up and up, each add carries a little bit more weight to it. Now, we're at the point where decisions need to be made, they need to be made quickly, and of course above all, they need to be the right ones.

Before we dive in as well, I'd be remised as the chief schedule person here to not mention Thursday's slate. A 14-game slate going up against March Madness? NHL. Buddy. Pal. I probably went ad nauseam about this same thing last season, and the season before that, so let's talk some players and winning matchups before a loaded Friday slate…with one game.

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

Pavel Dorofeyev, RW, Vegas Golden Knights (Rostered in 40% of ESPN leagues, 62% Fantrax, 40% Yahoo) – I love Pavel Dorofeyev as an Immediate Fix upcoming, and if he turns into a Building Block for you club throughout playoffs then that's alright in my book as well. He's been stellar this season, and a player that I imagine people will really be drawn to if Vegas makes a deep playoff run.  

Dorofeyev is skating on the Golden Knights second line, but also along the top power play unit and that's been excellent for his value this season. With a hat trick on Thursday, Dorofeyev is up to 30 goals on the season. That means that Dorofeyev has more goals than Brady Tkachuk, Auston Matthews, and Jack Hughes. I know Matthews missed some time this season and Hughes is currently injured, but the point remains that this is an impressive player that also has the second most shots on goal for this Vegas club behind only Jack Eichel.

The Knights' schedule is great upcoming as well, with two games this weekend that will feature a Red Wings club on Saturday that has a tough time killing penalties and a Tampa Bay squad on Sunday that may start their backup Jonas Johansson in net. Both games are also on home ice as well where Vegas matches lines better than most clubs out there. I'd say in fantasy that left wing is a little bit heavier in talent than right, but if you need a forward for a late week push, then Dorofeyev makes a lot of sense.

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

Jake Neighbours, LW/RW, St. Louis Blues (Rostered in 17% of ESPN leagues, 60% Fantrax, 23% Yahoo) – Jake Neighbours has been exceptional since the NHL came back from the Four Nations break, and is playing a club that has quietly been one of the best offensively in that time frame as well.

Neighbours came into Thursday's matchup against Vancouver riding a five-game point streak, all while playing only around 15 minutes a night. The ice-time might be a little concerning but he’s playing for a club that's tied for the most power play goals this past month along with an extremely favorable schedule upcoming with two games against Nashville and one against the Blackhawks. Neighbours rotates in between the St. Louis first and second lines, but the dual position eligibility in most leagues is what sets him apart to have real value, as it makes setting a lineup much easier to navigate. If he's not scoring, he also contributes for fantasy with blocked shots and hits, as he is already approaching 150 hits on the season. I like Neighbours as a player to help provide offensive support to any lineup going forward into fantasy playoffs.   

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

Carter Verhaeghe, LW, Florida Panthers (Rostered in 91% of ESPN leagues, 95% Fantrax, 89% Yahoo) – This one might come as a surprise to some of you, but odds are if you're rostering Carter Verhaeghe then you understand why he may very soon be an Odd Man Out.       

If you go and look at all of Verhaeghe's underlying matchup for this season, and last season, one thing stands out and that is a significant drop in shooting percentage. He's coming off of two 70-point seasons, while this year it looks like 55 may be doable, it's been a drop to where those rostering him in fantasy are used to seeing him. He has value, don't get me wrong, at the end of the day he's still Carter Verhaeghe playing along a good Florida first or second line.

I wonder if there's going to come a point where he moves to the third line and maybe Mackie Samoskevich moves up and that cuts down on some of Verhaeghe's ice time along with exposure to the top six. I'm not saying that this is going to happen, but clubs try things close to playoffs sometimes and I don't think it's crazy to think with Brad Marchand coming aboard, that they don't shift lines around. Just keep an eye on the Panthers lines in the coming days to make any roster decisions that you need to make prior to lineup lock.

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

Jacob Markstrom, G, New Jersey Devils (Rostered in 79% of ESPN leagues, 95%, Fantrax, 89% Yahoo) – This Devils club is in a very different spot than the one earlier in the season, and that's not so much on the goaltending as it is to their injuries. Still, it's not great for a goaltender carrying higher roster numbers as we move into playoff time.  

The Devils are giving up plenty of shots, which is great for DFS, but for fantasy that can be a killer when those shots ultimately lead to goals. In my league we don't get penalized too heavily for a goal allowed, but I know there's leagues out there that do, or they have a category stat of save percentage where a bad start can sink you entirely. I'm very leery of Markstrom for those very reasons and worry about his fantasy numbers upcoming. If you have the luxury to start a goaltender ahead of him, that might be a wise play, otherwise rolling the dice on a good start may end up being very costly.  

Love ‘Em (These squads are sure to pay dividends in the coming days)
This period runs through March 21 – March 30

Minnesota – The Wild grade out excellent with plenty of games upcoming for this Minnesota club. Any time that happens, they automatically get moved as a Love 'Em.

Toronto – The Leafs have an unbelievable schedule coming up with games against the Flyers, Sharks, and Ducks. They had issues with some of these west coast clubs not too long ago, but the slates upcoming heavily favor the Leafs.

Vegas – At Chicago, at Nashville next Friday and Saturday. I don't think I need to elaborate too much more here, they're a Love 'Em.  

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

Boston – Only two games next week for the B's but they're not awful matchups going up against Anaheim and Detroit…we'll call this a soft Leave 'Em.

Florida – I have a Panther on my fantasy roster with our playoffs beginning next week, which is difficult because Florida does not play until Friday. That's a difficult stretch to survive on a club with plenty of fantasy players peppered around the lineup.  

Washington – I put Washington here just because of their next three games up against Florida, Winnipeg, and Minnesota. Those are three very good defensive clubs, which is going to be a good test for where this Capitals team is as we approach playoffs.

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