By Garrett Rees
Playoff time! For those of you in head-to-head leagues, the playoffs are starting (for most of you) during Week 11 so I hope you’re prepared! Don’t be afraid to do whatever it takes to earn that win, including using the maximum amount of weekly pickups allowed. No time to waste, let’s get right into it. Here’s how the week stacks up…
WEEKLY BREAKDOWN
Here is the weekly breakdown for the rest of this upcoming week, April 1 – 7:
- 5 GAMES: NAS
- 4 GAMES: ANA, CAR, CGY, CHI, COL, DAL, DET, EDM, LAK, MIN, MON, NJD, NYI, NYR, SJS, STL, TBL, WAS, WPG
- 3 GAMES: BOS, BUF, CBJ, FLA, OTT, PHI, PHX, PIT, VAN
- 2 GAMES: TOR
Good time to be an owner of Predators players as their five games this week could definitely be a boost for the first week of the playoffs. The Leafs on the other hand are the exact opposite, so I hope you weren’t depending too much on them. Otherwise, it’s going to be a busy week so let’s check out how it breaks down per day:
- MON – 9 games
- TUES – 7 games
- WED – 5 games
- THU – 10 games
- FRI – 6 games
- SAT – 10 games
- SUN – 8 games
It’s going to be a great week for head-to-head playoffs as the week is pretty even and busy throughout. Wednesday is the slowest day of the week with 5 games consisting of matchups of DAL@ANA, EDM@CGY, MIN@SJS, MON@PHI, and PIT@NYR. Having at least 10 teams to choose from on any given night should make for a fun week with plenty of opportunities across the board.
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:
CAR, CBJ, CGY, CHI, COLx2, DET, EDM, FLA, LAK, MIN, MON, NASx2, NJD, NYI, NYR, PHI, PIT, STL, TBL, WAS, WPG
WHO’S HOT
- PIT – 15 wins
- SJS – 4 wins
- EDM – 3 wins
- TOR – 3 wins
WHO’S NOT
- STL – 3 losses
- COL – 2-8-0 last 10 games
- PHX – 2-5-3 last 10 games
- NYR – 3-6-1 last 10 games
STRONG SCHEDULES
Now let’s take a look at a couple of the most favorable matchups of the week:
Anaheim Ducks (Opponents: @DAL, DAL, DAL, LAK) and Dallas Stars (ANA, @ANA, @ANA, @SJS) – It’s going to be an interesting week for these two teams. Not only are they both playing their four games every other day on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday but they both just happen to also be playing each other in the first three of those. The Stars have won one of their two meetings in regulation while the Ducks won the other in the shootout. Only 6 goals total were scored in those two games, but I’d expect to see more in the games that follow with a good chance to see some solid PIM totals.
San Jose Sharks – Opponents: VAN, MIN, CGY, DAL – The Sharks are playing on the same days as the Ducks and Stars while also having the benefit of playing all four of their games at home, a perfect combination for fantasy owners. Look for the red-hot Antti Niemi to start all four games during Week 11. Get your Sharks out there.
Pittsburgh Penguins – Opponents: BUF+@NYR, NYR – It appears that Pittsburgh is the new Chicago in the 2nd half of the season as they appear unstoppable right now while also being the winners of the Jarome Iginla sweepstakes. Some bad news for owners of Sidney Crosby though as he had to have surgery on his broken jaw that was the result of a puck to the face and is currently out “indefinitely.” However, they have a healthy Evgeni Malkin back to take his place for now. I’d remain doing what you should be doing and get your Penguins out there on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday.
WEAK SCHEDULES
…And the least favorable matchups of the week:
Florida Panthers – Opponents: @TBL, WAS+OTT – It’s not looking to be a very fun week for the Panthers. They have yet to win a single game in a total of 8 tries against their Week 11 opponents, whom they face on Tuesday, Saturday, and Sunday, while allowing a total of 39 goals and scoring only 16. When scouring the waiver-wire for some playoff help, I’d stay away from Panthers’ players.
Toronto Maple Leafs – Opponents: PHI, @NJD – Of course the only team playing two games during Week 11 is going to be on here. It doesn’t help that each game falls on the ever busy Thursday and Saturday either. However, things won’t be all bad with their matchups, as they have actually yet to lose to the Flyers or Devils so far this season and are currently on a three-game winning streak as well. On this important week, do what you’ve got to do with your Toronto players (for instance starting the hot Nazem Kadri) but I’d definitely look elsewhere for help via the waiver-wire.
Good luck out there, everyone. Follow me on Twitter @G_Rees
