Andrew Santillo, author of Looking Ahead, analyzes the upcoming schedule every week and delivers the five best and worst teams for every seven-day period to help with starting lineup decisions. Andrew also gives insight into some of the top and bottom teams for the week as well as some savvy free agent pickups that are not owned in the majority of leagues.
Starting today, December 5, the St. Louis Blues play five games in seven nights including two sets of back to back games. The first three games are at home starting with the Flames and Coyotes in back-to-back games. They get one day's rest before the Predators visit and then they play back-to-back games on the road in Anaheim and Los Angeles. Playing five games in a one week time doesn't happen very often - only twelve times during the regular season although it happens to the Blues twice.
December starts on Monday and in spite of the two day Christmas break the NHL only has one less game then there was in November and by the time the month is done we will be 45% of the way through the season. Atlanta, L.A., Phoenix and St. Louis play almost every other day with 15 games in the month. The Blackhawks and Rangers at the bottom of the list are only four games behind with 11.
Back-to-back games are a part of every NHL team's schedule. Back-to-back games can be an indication of when a back-up goalie is played which could help you grab valuable goalie points. Most teams have between 11 and 18 back to back games over the course of the whole season. Colorado gets away with only eight times back-to-back and the Blue Jackets have 20 such situations - that is almost half their games.
We will pass the 20% mark of the season on Saturday November 15. The good news is there is still 80% of season left to play. The Oilers still have 37 homes games left while only 29 on the road. The Kings have the opposite problem with 37 road games and only 30 home games left.
As Brodeur's injury shakes the fantasy world, it is interesting to look at the New Jersey Devils schedule for that time period. If you assume he would be back to play on March 1 the Devils will have 50 games to play without counting the games he missed up until November 7. It is an even split with 25 home games and 25 road games. During that stretch they have 11 back-to-back games.
Remember the "Looking Ahead" article at the beginning of the season describing the Rangers' accelerated schedule? Well it couldn't have worked out any better to create a 'sell high' environment and many Rangers are on people's hot list right now. Keep that in mind the next week or two as the Rangers have played four to six more games than most other NHL teams.
Starting October 24 the Red Wings play five games in seven nights including two sets of back to back games. Four of those games are on the road but there are some vulnerable opponents in there. If your league has the week set up Friday to Thursday get all those Red Wing in there. Playing five games in a one week time doesn't happen very often - only twelve times during the regular season although it happens to Detroit twice.
Hockey is in full swing which means injuries are coming fast and furious as well. Finding injury replacements is a key component to a successful fantasy year. It can be depressing using Todd White to replace Alfredsson but every point you can get out of an injury replacements might make a difference in the end. Although nothing can make waiver wire players into fantasy studs you might be able to squeeze a few more points out of your those borderline second or third liners if you consider the team's schedule.
As a hockey fan you have to love those days when most NHL teams are in action. However, there is a downside too. For some fantasy owners these days can mean painful decisions. Which two centers to play and which one to bench? The next day you have your answer but it is too late. There is no predicting the future but here is a spreadsheet tool that minimizes the amount of times you have to make these tough decisions.
Fantasy managers know that deciding who to play day-by-day and week-by-week can be a tough decision. Doing it well can make the difference between winning and losing. This will help give you an edge. The charts below show you the best five and worst five schedules for upcoming seven-day periods. Some of you used them last year but for the benefit of new readers here is a refresher.
