Sometimes a day really makes a difference and people will notice that this year more than most. Here is a classic from early last year that illustrates the point very clearly.
————————————————————
Something we always joke about on Fantasy Hockey 101 is how one day in a fantasy week can make a difference. However, the playoffs are usually a different animal. There are a variety of reasons why one team advances and the other does not. Take, for example, this week's podcast league. The semifinals really did come down to the weekend but both days of the weekend were pivotal. That is the difference between the playoffs and regular season. More games are played on Sunday than during other parts of the season. So just because you won big on Saturday, you still have to hold on tight for Sunday.
Here is something you need to see for every fantasy fan out there. This is stats from my Saturday in the podcast league.
| Mar 27 Skating | RESEARCH | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SLOT | PLAYER, TEAM POS | GP | G | A | +/- | PIM | PPG | ATOI | SOG | |||||||||||
| C |
Mike Ribeiro, Dal C |
1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19:04 | 0 | |||||||||||
| C | Nik Antropov, Atl C, RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17:05 | 6 | |||||||||||
| C | Chris Drury, NYR C | 1 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 19:36 | 1 | |||||||||||
| LW |
Mike Cammalleri, Mon LW |
1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21:33 | 0 | |||||||||||
| LW | Ryan Smyth, LA LW | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 19:14 | 3 | |||||||||||
| LW |
Kristian Huselius, Cls LW |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21:43 | 3 | |||||||||||
| RW | Martin St. Louis, TB RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 22:41 | 3 | |||||||||||
| RW |
Jason Pominville, Buf RW |
1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19:44 | 4 | |||||||||||
| RW |
Bill Guerin, Pit RW |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18:40 | 0 | |||||||||||
| D | Andrei Markov, Mon D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 23:27 | 0 | |||||||||||
| D |
Tomas Kaberle, Tor D |
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 22:16 | 2 | |||||||||||
| D | Andy Greene, NJ D | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20:24 | 0 | |||||||||||
| D | Anton Stralman, Cls D | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 20:03 | 2 | |||||||||||
| D | Niklas Kronwall, Det D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23:33 | 3 | |||||||||||
| UTIL |
Lee Stempniak, Pho RW |
1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12:15 | 3 | |||||||||||
| Totals | 15 | 4 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 20:05 | 30 | ||||||||||||
So that my friends is a 16 point night for 15 players which does not sound like much but to average over a point a player is rare in fantasy leagues like this. Keep in mind, this is a sixteen team fantasy league. For me, this gave me what seemed like a dominant 8-1-2 lead going into Sunday. Add in the solid goaltending from this night and no wonder I kind of felt easy going into Sunday or so I thought. How did I follow up this great Saturday you may ask? Would you like to see Sunday? I thought you might.
| SKATERS | Mar 28 Skating | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SLOT | PLAYER, TEAM POS | GP | G | A | +/- | PIM | PPG | ATOI | SOG | ||||||||
| C |
Mike Ribeiro, Dal C |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| C | Nik Antropov, Atl C, RW | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| C | Andy McDonald, StL C, LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17:21 | 0 | ||||||||
| LW |
Mike Cammalleri, Mon LW |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| LW | Dustin Penner, Edm LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16:53 | 0 | ||||||||
| LW |
Kristian Huselius, Cls LW |
1 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 17:13 | 3 | ||||||||
| RW | Martin St. Louis, TB RW | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| RW |
Jason Pominville, Buf RW |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| RW |
Bill Guerin, Pit RW |
1 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 13:43 | 3 | ||||||||
| D | Andrei Markov, Mon D | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| D |
Tomas Kaberle, Tor D |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23:56 | 2 | ||||||||
| D | Andy Greene, NJ D | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23:26 | 1 | ||||||||
| D | Anton Stralman, Cls D | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18:24 | 1 | ||||||||
| D | Niklas Kronwall, Det D | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| UTIL |
Lee Stempniak, Pho RW |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| Totals | 7 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 18:42 | 10 | |||||||||
Please note the general brutality. Meanwhile my opponent, because of this nearly had enough points to catch up in both goals and assists because literally my team took Sunday off. The players that were "clicking" Saturday must have been wiped out for Sunday. It really is a case of sometimes just building a big enough lead to sweat everything out come Sunday. There are so many decisions that go into making up your lineup on the weekend but sometimes it is really just best to let it ride.
It was a decision I was glad to make this weekend as I held on for a 7-3-1 victory to get to the Finals. There is something to be said about balance and consistency and I am glad my team has it for it literally needed every single point to win. The score was truly not as close as the actual matchup ladies and gentlemen. I literally was pushed into the final games of the night Sunday after having a Saturday that should have made it all a moot point anyway. It didn't.
In the playoffs, it is how you follow up your big days that determines your fate. You can have one or two of these in a week but if you have one or two really dead days, your team may just end up dead that week. Balance and consistency is how you win in the playoffs overall but those day to day totals can drive you batty.
Now this week and next week are two week finals in Yahoo leagues and for some this week is your Final in ESPN and Fantrax leagues. Point leagues are still two weeks away from finishing. This is the time of year to truly have a level head and hope your team can make that final push. On behalf of everyone from The Program, I hope your big days are better than your duds and that you push forward to victory or that higher position in your league that you are striving for. Good luck everyone.
Up later will be a recap of the semis in the podcast league with a preview of the Grand Finale. Thanks again.
Sincerely,
Chris Wassel
Director Of The Program
————————————————————
