By Garrett Rees
Last week until the Playoffs in standard Head-to-Head leagues! Hope you’re all in good position down the stretch and good luck to those that need a solid week to land a playoff spot. A little late to the fight (sorry about that) but I’ll try to help you through the rest of the week to maximize the output of your roster.
WEEKLY BREAKDOWN
Here is the weekly breakdown for the rest of this upcoming week, starting Tuesday March 3/26 – 3/31:
- 4 GAMES: BUF, CBJ, PHI
- 3 GAMES: ANA, BOS, CAR, CGY, CHI, COL, EDM, FLA, LAK, MIN, MON, NYI, NYR, PHX, PIT, SJS, TOR, VAN, WAS, WPG
- 2 GAMES: DAL, DET, NAS, NJD, OTT, STL, TBL
BUF, CBJ, and PHI are the lucky teams for the rest of Week 10 with four games apiece the next six days. Managers are going to want to fully utilize their players on those teams while you might want to look elsewhere on the waiver-wire for the two-gamers depending on the days they are playing, which I’ll discuss… now:
- TUES – 9 games
- WED – 4 games
- THU – 10 games
- FRI – 4 games
- SAT – 11 games
- SUN – 5 games
More big ups and downs coming at you during Week 10. Watch out for the slow days of Wed. and Fri. where you’ll see matchups of ANA@SJS, COL@CGY, MON@BOS, PHX@MIN and then ANA@CHI, CBJ@CGY, MIN@DAL, and NJD@TBL respectively. Notice that both ANA and CGY are both playing on each of those days so look for your Ducks and Flames when targeting the waiver-wire if you are wanting to maximize your roster’s output and minimizing the number of players you will have to keep on your bench during the busy days.
B2B: BACKUPS TO SEE ACTION?
All of these teams are scheduled to play in back-to-back games this upcoming week, so there are good chances that these teams’ respective backup/alternate goaltenders could see some action:
BOS, BUF, CBJ, CGY, COL, LAK, MIN, MON, NJD, PHI, PHX, SJS, WAS
WHO’S HOT
- PIT – 12 wins
- MIN – 6 wins
- VAN – 4 wins
- BUF – 3 wins
- WAS – 3 wins
- NAS – 3 wins
WHO’S NOT
- TBL – 3 losses
- PHX – 3 losses
- COL – 2 losses (3-7-0 last 10)
- FLA – 2 losses (2-7-1 last 10)
STRONG SCHEDULES
Now let’s take a look at a couple of the most favorable matchups of the week:
Pittsburgh Pengiuns – Opponents: MON, WPG, NYI – The Pens have been insanely hot lately and picking up Brenden Morrrow and Douglas Murray in separate deals recently should only bolster them further. They play MON on Tuesday, WPG on Thursday, and NYI on Saturday which should provide a chance at earning their fantasy owners some points. The little owned Brenden Morrow is planned to be slotted on a line with former teammate James Neal and Evgeni Malkin (when he returns from injury sometime soon) so the opportunity to earn some points down the stretch is definitely there.
Anaheim Ducks – Opponents: @SJS, @CHI, @CBJ – The Ducks have a very fantasy friendly schedule for the rest of Week 10 as all of their games fall on the slow days of the week. They face SJS on Wednesday, CHI on Friday, and CBJ on Sunday to make sure to get your Ducks out there to maximize your weekly output.
Minnesota Wild – Opponents: PHX, @DAL, LAK – The Wild have finally found their groove this season and just in time for fantasy owners. Playing on two slower nights is just an added bonus. The will face PHX on Wednesday, head back to DAL on Friday (whom they beat 7-4 on Monday night), and then face LAK at home on Saturday. Make sure to get your Wild out there.
WEAK SCHEDULES
…And the least favorable matchups of the week:
Edmonton Oilers – Opponents: @STL, CBJ, VAN – 3 games on the 3 busiest nights against 3 tough opponents won’t do anything to help the Oilers recent record nor fantasy owners. First up is STL on Tuesday followed by a surprisingly hot CBJ (7-1-2 last 10 games) on Thursday and finishing up against a division leading and hot VAN on Saturday. Look for help elsewhere from the waiver-wire, and possibly your roster, during the rest of Week 10.
Nashville Predators (Opponents: PHX, @COL), Ottawa Senators (NYR, TOR), St Louis Blues (EDM, LAK) – All of these teams play only two more games during Week 10 and they all happen to fall on the busiest nights of the week; Tuesday and Thursday for STL, Thursday and Saturday for NAS and OTT. Not saying you shouldn’t start your Preds, Sens, and Blues -you most likely should – but look elsewhere on the waiver-wire when searching for additional help to boost your last week before the regular season ends.
Good luck out there, everyone. Follow me on Twitter @G_Rees
