If ice-time and SOG are any indicators of fantasy success, this week's column will be a good accompaniment in identifying a few trends moving forward. We'll examine several advancers and decliners out West to help you get through that mid-season lull. Remember we're now in the portion of the season where it's win and move on or lose and go home. So when it comes down to making a tough decision, think of the "here and now" implications rather than the "what could possibly happen" two-three weeks down the road.

Advancers

Alex Tanguay – LW – Calgary – 51% Yahoo! owned

At 51 percent Yahoo! owned, it's probably a bit late to snag Tanguay off the waiver wire, but it's certainly worth a gander to see if he's still available. Tanguay has posted 11 points along with nine SOG all while averaging 2:49 on the PP during the last two weeks. He had a very similar run last campaign when he posted 21 points in the final 18 contests, so it's certainly conceivable to expect him to repeat that once again, especially with the Flames smack in the middle of a battle to make the post-season.

Curtis Glencross – LW – Calgary – 31% Yahoo! owned

If Tanguay isn't available, then the backup plan should be Glencross. Over the past two weeks, he's posted a line of six goals, two assists, two PPP, a plus three rating, 15 PIMs along with 15 SOG. Another interesting stat to take note of is his offensive production at home. He's posted 23 points in 25 home games (0.92 points-per-game). With eight of the final 13 contests at the Saddledome, look for Glencross to have a spike in production down the stretch.

Jamie McGinn – LW – Colorado – 7% Yahoo! owned

McGinn was included in part of the trade package between the Avs and the Sharks on deadline day. Since the change of address, McGinn has slotted in alongside Paul Stastny and David Jones, while posting seven points along with 22 SOG in seven contests. The lack of PP TOI (52 seconds per contests), is a bit worrying, but he should have plenty of opportunity to put up some points this week, with three games in five nights starting on Wednesday night.

Andrei/Sergei Kostitsyn – RW/LW –Nashville – both 13% Yahoo! owned

I don't know what it is about the Kostitsyn brothers that make them tick, but whatever it is, it seems to be working. Andrei, the younger of the two brothers has recorded six points along with 13 SOG, while the elder brother has also posted six points and 11 SOG since they have been reunited at the trade deadline. While it's a bit early to anoint them as the best brotherly duo in the league, I'd very much rather own the Kostitsyns than the Sedins, at least for this week.

David Legwand – C –Nashville – 23% Yahoo! owned

Of course sandwiched between them on the PP is the cagy old veteran Legwand. A couple of interesting facts that a few poolies might have forgotten: 1) this is his 13^th NHL season and 2) he was once a second-overall pick way back in 1998 (behind none other than Vinny Lecavalier). Since the trade deadline, he's also posted five points along with 11 SOG. He seems rejuvenated playing alongside the brothers, which should be a positive sign of things to come down the stretch.

Trevor Daley – D – Dallas – 7% Yahoo! owned

Although Daley isn't prone to putting up huge fantasy numbers, what he has displayed during the last two weeks (four assists, 10 SOG, a plus five rating along with two PIMs), is certainly roster worthy. According to FrozenPool, of the 22 eligible skaters only seven of them have registered a negative plus/minus rating during the last two weeks. So if you're looking for a bit of help in the plus/minus department (always difficult to control) the defensively sound Stars might be a direction to lean towards.

Nick Schultz – D – Edmonton – 0% Yahoo! owned

Schultz is also someone who isn't going to light up the board offensively, but does have the potential to "steady the ship". Since joining the Oilers at the deadline, he's posted a line of three assists, a plus one rating, six PIMs along with six SOG all while averaging 17:37 per contest.

Michael Stone – D – Phoenix – 0% Yahoo! owned

Who? Yep that was the exact same question I had when I saw his name twice on the scoresheet after Saturday night's 3-0 whitewash of the Sharks by the Coyotes. Upon further research, I dug up that Stone was a third-round draft pick by Phoenix way back in the 2008 NHL Entry draft. His junior numbers were pretty impressive when he finished with 126 points along with 178 PIM in the final two years with the Hitmen. He's also spent two seasons seasoning in the AHL with the Rampage and the Pirates, where he's tallied 13 and 22 points respectively, so all in all his pedigree seems pretty legit. The Yotes pretty much have their top 5 blue-liners (Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Keith Yandle, Michal Rozsival, Adrian Aucoin and Rotislav Klesla), cemented, which leaves David Rundblad, Chris Summers and Stone to duke it out for the sixth and final spot. I don't know if Tippett has full confidence in Rundblad at the moment, which just might give the edge to Stone moving forward.

Here is a snippet on Stone from Dobber’s Fantasy Prospects Report of 2009 (so a little outdated, but still interesting):

Trending: Vinny Prospal, Derick Brassard, Erik Christensen, Mark Letestu, Peter Mueller, David Jones, David Moss, Dwight King, Roman Josi, Willie Mitchell and Slava Voynov.

Decliners

Note: Suggestions are based on one-year H2H leagues with playoffs occurring this week.

The biggest question that's being littered on the boards at the moment is, "What to do with __________?" or "When is ________ going to turn it around?" My simplest answer to those questions is to drop them and never look back. Now before you jump on my back about it, here's why. 1) It doesn't matter who's on your roster when you lose. If you lose, you're done anyways, so why have both Sedins on your roster to finish in fifth place? and 2) It's the easiest "BS" excuse to come up with if you lose with an underperforming player. "If so and so decided to play this week, I would have won…" my response, "I'm sorry you but made the decision of keeping the underperforming player, you made the bed, now you have to lie in it. So live with the consequences of the decisions that you made."

The following table is my opinion of what to do with the current under-performing players, and are based only on this week (March 12-18).

(YCCL) – Yahoo! can't cut list.

I don't have enough room to provide an explanation for each of the players above, so I'll have to lump them into general categories and just provide a brief general statement.

Unfavourable Schedule

Sedins and Burrows (two away games against two defensive teams [PHX and Clb])

Weber and Suter (three road games against three defensive teams @ SJ, LA and ANA)

Injured

Datsyuk, Toews and Lidstrom (DTD status, uncertain return date)

Unfavourable Schedule plus general sucky-ness

Heatley (one point in last seven contests)

Doughty (four points in last 17 contests, tough game Friday night @Ducks then have to take on Preds in back-to-back)

Visnovsky (one point in last 16 contests, faces Jimmy Howard, Jon Quick then Pekka Rinne how's that for a challenge…)

Keith and Seabrook (both with just one point in last seven contests, three games against some pretty stingy defensive teams [STL, DAL and WSH])

Stewart (five points in last 16 contests, three game road-trip and not a focal point of the Blues' offense)

White (two points in last 11, plus three game road-trip @ LA, ANA and SJ)

Favourable Schedule

Pavelski, Boyle, Clowe, Couture and Burns (four-game week, March is generally when they really turn it on…)

Ray Whitney (a last minute Sunday night contest against Edmonton's bottom-five ranked D could save your fantasy season)

Favourable Depth Chart

Ryan Whitney and Wisniewski (no one really challenging these number one guys on non-playoff teams, should get tons of opportunity)

Goligoski (non-traditional- Wednesday and Fri games would make a great complement with CAR D if you drop Goli after Fri, could net yourself a five-game week)

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