Congrats to those who concluded their season on the successful end – it seems like just last September when we were talking about ADP value and ways to construct a dominating roster.  For those of you still in the middle of their league championships I thought I would jot down some notes on a strategy, I found particularly successful this year and look at what is coming up for the rest of the week / especially this coming Sunday when many a championship can be decided.

First I’d like to shout out to Bo Horvat for his four shots on goal Sunday night, he may have failed me in the FW department that night but the four shots on goal provided the necessary 3 SOG support to clinch a league championship.  I suppose it grants me the right to add in that beating a fellow rival and getting to write to the masses about thwarting a back to back run from the other manager was particularly satisfying. Buckle up for next year – I’ll have my own back to back to accomplish.
 

Alright moving on to strategy.  Obviously, I have been preaching for weeks on making sure you have your games played schedule stacked so that you can squeeze out every last shot, block, and hit.  In leagues with limited moves, it’s important to consider the value of an option. In short, the value of having the option to make a roster move is sometimes more valuable than the move itself – in fact, you’ll see applications of this theory throughout life in business and in the markets – why not apply it to fantasy?  By not making a move you leave doubt in the mind of a league manager on what path you will be attacking in a category league. You also provide a position later in the week to counter the inevitable bounces that occur in a weekly format where regression is not likely to be on your side. You could be the biggest goal scoring team in the league, but you’re only one night away from your opponent getting a Vinnie Hinostroza hat trick to derail you playoff hopes.  Sometimes there is such thing as a first mover advantage, but it can’t be underestimated the value of not allowing your opponent to plot against the moves you’ve already made.

Ok – next to a public service announcement with regards to the Arizona Coyotes.  At some point this season Mike Clifford preached about the difficulty of getting lineup information for the Yotes.  I should have heeded to that information a little more because this last Sunday in the need for FW and SOG I picked up Sunday darlings Nick Cousins and Jakob Chyrchrun.  I haven’t watched much hockey in the desert this year so I’m only gathering this via twitter, but apparently, Chyrchrun has been an unmitigated disaster and a defensive liability. Of course, even though I knew he had been scratched a couple of games ago I thought his upside on SOG was worth a shot. 

Long story short – be careful when looking at Arizona this week for their Friday and Sunday scheduling; you might find yourself with two healthy scratches and no lineup information available until 15 minutes before puck drop.

Below are my top streams for this week across the league, accounting for days of the week and opponent.

Andreas Athanasiou – Detroit plays Friday and Sunday this week, including one game against the lowly Devils. Pencil this is for a chance a lot of SOG from AA and a decent shot at picking up a couple of points. This is an easy pickup for those looking to stuff their games played.

Jake Allen –  The frustrating goalie is going to see either NYR on Friday or the Devils on Sunday.  With Tank and Co. back in the swing of their winning ways this is a favourable matchup window that you can comfortably stream.

Luke Kunin– For those looking for one last push this weekend, Kunin and his second line deployment and second PP unit coverage will have nice value with a Friday and Sunday schedule – with a Sunday tilt against Arizona.  Kunin has 10 shots on goal over his last four games but only one point his those four games. He’s capturing 18+ minutes a night so he certainly could provide the last little kick that your lineup needs.

Oskar Lindblom – The Flyers play the Rangers on Sunday.  Go pick this guy up who is playing with Couturier and Voracek.  Thank you me later.

Alright everyone good luck! And enjoy the Stanley Cup Playoffs.