Bob Fisher gets us ready for the final week of the 2013 NHL regular season.

Editors note – thanks a lot to Bob for doing a heck of a job with the Looking Ahead column in 2013.

* This article was written before NHL games took place on Thursday, April 18, 2013.

Conference Bias

40 more Eastern Conference games.  39 more Western Conference games.  Seven of the top ten defensive teams (GA/G) are from the West.  The West is traditionally a less offensive conference.  Perhaps that explains the bias toward Eastern teams in the "Best Bets" section and more Western teams in the "Steer Clear" section.

Best Bets: 30-17 East

Steer Clear: 27-18 West

Fantasy Playoffs Week #3 (April 22 – April 28)

If you're still undefeated in your H2H league playoffs then you're in the Finals.  Congrats!  Let's bring home the Championship.  Here's the upcoming Monday to Sunday schedule:

Teams with four games: BOS, CHI, DET, EDM, OTW, PHX

Teams with two games: BUF, CLB

All the rest have three games

Teams to Target:

Detroit (Mon, Wed, Thu, Sat)

Home: 3 (Phoenix, Los Angeles, Nashville)

Away: 1 (Dallas)

Detroit will be playing for their playoff lives so hopefully all these games are meaningful and no one will be taking a night off.

Boston (Tue, Thu, Sat, Sun)

Home: 2 (Tampa Bay, Ottawa)

Away: 2 (Philadelphia, Washington)

Philly and Tampa Bay are two of the worst defensive teams in the league.  Boston and Ottawa is the only game on Sunday, so anyone owning Bruins or Sens went from a three game week to a four game week (at the expense of their previous weeks).

Phoenix (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat)

Home: 2 (San Jose, Colorado)

Away: 2 (Detroit, Anaheim)

Phoenix is another team desperately trying to claw into the playoffs.  Look for them to lay it all on the line, especially Shane Doan.

Chicago (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat)

Home: 1 (Calgary)

Away: 3 (Vancouver, Edmonton, St. Louis)

Calgary and Edmonton are good-looking games for the Chicago snipers.  Vancouver and St. Louis will be a bit tougher, but Chicago has been the class of the NHL all season long.  Be wary of players being sat down the stretch to rest for the NHL playoffs (one reason why my keeper league normally ends the fantasy playoffs a week early).

Ottawa (Mon, Thu, Sat, Sun)

Home: 2 (Pittsburgh, Philadelphia)

Away: 2 (Washington, Boston)

Not the greatest opponents for fantasy-relevant stats, but four games is four games.

Edmonton (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat)

Home: 3 (Anaheim, Chicago, Vancouver)

Away: 1 (Minnesota)

The top three Western Conference teams at home and the sixth-seeded Wild on the road.  Let's just hope the kids in Edmonton open it up to give their fans (and fantasy owners) one last glimpse of the future this season.

Teams to Avoid:

Columbus (Thu, Sat)

Home: 1 (Nashville)

Away: 1 (Dallas)

Not sure there is anyone on the Columbus roster worth holding onto (maybe Gaborik) for only two starts in such a crucial fantasy week.

Buffalo (Mon, Fri)

Home: 2 (Winnipeg, NY Islanders)

Away: 0

Buffalo is 22^nd in the NHL in goals for and goals against average.  They traded away their captain.  Their top scorer has three points in his past six games, along with a -6.  I know they are still in the playoff hunt, but I just don't have faith in this team any longer.

Possible Pickups:

Here's a list of some players, owned in less than 30% of Yahoo leagues, to target during the upcoming Monday through Sunday week.

Detroit: Justin Abdelkader (3%) – Detroit is struggling to score goals but Abdelkader has been glued to Pavel Datsyuk's side at even strength through all of the team's struggles.  Just gotta hope Datsyuk's starts banking goals in off of Abdelkader again.

Boston: Gregory Campbell (3%) – Five points in his last five games.  Even with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand back last game, he still played with Jaromir Jagr and David Krejci.  And he still saw some powerplay time.  He's probably the only Bruin playing in the top six that is available in your league right now.

Phoenix: Martin Hanzal (8%) – Only four points in the month of April, but he is averaging about two and quarter shots per game.  If the Yotes are making the playoffs, it's going to be because of the Shane Doan-Hanzal-Radim Vrbata line.

Chicago

Viktor Stalberg (21%) – Four points in his last five games while averaging over two and half shots per game.  At even strength, he's seeing third line minutes but on the powerplay his linemates vastly improve.

Ottawa: Mika Zibanejad (6%) – Zibanejad had a very impressive eight-game run at the end of March and early April where he netted nine points (all assists) in eight games, with only one of those games being scoreless.  The kid can play.

Dobber’s 2013 Interactive Playoff Draft list is now available for purchase. 

Details:

For the eighth year in a row, Dobber has your covered – all the player injury notes, their anticipated rate of production – all sortable by team, by name or by points. Use Dobber’s own draft list, or create your own with his formulas. It’s simple – select the team coming out of each bracket and work your way to the Final. Once done, sort it however you like, print it and you’re all set. Take a look at several scenarios, run it as often as you like!

Ultimate Fantasy Pack Special – Until May 15, if you add this product to your shopping cart, along with the Keeper League Fantasy Pack, use coupon code: ULTIMATE and receive $3.00 off!