We’ve reached the final week of the season with every team having 2-3 games left. Hopefully you’re all still in contention in your leagues so these games matter to you. In this post, I’m going to take a look at each day to see how you can plan accordingly to maximize starts and stream the best players possible. Let’s get to it!
Monday: There’s only one game tonight with the Flyers taking on the Blackhawks. This has all the makings of a horrible game that has a ton of goals, which is all we need for fantasy. For those of you in shallower leagues, Travis Konecny and Dylan Strome are the best options for streaming. For deep leagues, there are actually a bunch of appealing options. Taylor Raddysh is getting PP1 time which is great against the Flyers. Bobby Brink is running the point on Philly’s first unit and playing on the second line. They have a kids line playing well with Owen Tippett, Noah Cates and Morgan Frost. Both of these teams also play on Wednesday when there are only five games, so if you’re limited in the amount of moves you can make in a week, I would overload on players in this game since Tuesday, Thursday and Friday are big slates. Welcome both Brink and Cates to the Razzball Database!
Tuesday: There are thirteen games on Tuesday so there’s little need to stream. If you need a guy for deep leagues, Nick Bjugstad would be a great option assuming Zuccarello isn’t back against Arizona. I can’t imagine they rush to get Zucc back in the lineup, and Arizona is in complete shambles at the moment. The game to watch is definitely Vegas at Dallas, as Vegas’ season is on the line, especially after choking away the game Sunday night.
Wednesday: We have five games to choose from, four of which should have playoff implications. The Rangers could be battling for the division if they beat Carolina on Tuesday, but either way, Alexandar Georgiev is going to be starting this game. He’ll be the best streaming option in net for the week, and it’s great that we know ahead of time that he’ll be starting. Winnipeg and Philly should be high scoring. If Vegas beats Dallas on Tuesday, then they’ll be all in on their game against Chicago. Evgenii Dadonov is my top streaming pick from Vegas, although Chandler Stephenson is right there depending on your team needs. Dallas clinches the playoffs if they win in regulation on Tuesday. I suspect they’re going to be trying either way in an attempt to avoid Colorado. The problem is that they don’t have many streaming options. I guess Denis Gurianov would be my first choice? It’s ugly outside of their first line. The Kings can clinch a playoff berth with a win over the Kraken. Thankfully, they have plenty of options. Viktor Arvidsson is my first choice with his linemates, Phillip Danault and Trevor Moore next.
Thursday: With nine games on the schedule, this is possibly the last day of streaming depending on your league settings (more on that later). Kailer Yamamoto is on the first line and the Oilers are pushing for home ice in the first round, so I expect them to have a dominant performance against the Sharks. Mason Marchment played on the first line on Sunday and scored a goal. He’s in a great spot. For those of you who need to make moves a day ahead of time, the Kings and Hurricanes finish their season on Thursday making them the only two teams that don’t play on Friday. Keep that in mind when you’re planning ahead.
Friday: With 15 games, you’ll have no need to stream. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see a lot of players get rested, or at the least, have their minutes limited, so make sure you keep up to date on your players being in the lineup. I’ll be sure to write later in the week about players we know who are sitting out.
Sunday: Well, a makeup game messed up the end of the season. Seattle and Winnipeg are playing a game that means nothing outside of lottery odds. It depends on your league if this game is being included or not. On ESPN, the default is for this game to not be included with the fantasy season ending on Friday. On Yahoo, the default is to include the game. In a vacuum, Matty Beniers and Paul Stastny are my top streaming candidates. However, you’ll know what categories you’ll be looking for on Sunday, so stream accordingly. If you need hits and blocks, Adam Larsson is your guy, etc.
Three Point Challenge: We’ll do it for Tuesday’s Games. You can’t pick McDavid, Huberdeau, Draisaitl, Gaudreau, Matthews, Kaprizov, Marner, Tkachuk, Stamkos, Panarin, or Miller. I’ll take Kucherov against the Blue Jackets.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Wednesday reviewing my bold predictions from before the season, along with JKJ’s bold predictions. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Best of luck to everybody to close the season! Thanks for reading, take care!
Is Fiala breaking out into a superstar or is this just another strong finish that he usually has?
I think he’s a superstar at this point. He’s at 84 points despite playing on PP1 for only half the season, playing with a center who hasn’t stuck in the NHL until this season. It’s not like he’s mooching off other players, he’s carrying his line. He’s being rewarded with more ice time lately, but Fiala is still at 17:33 average on the season. If he gets moved, that number probably pushes 20 elsewhere which makes it more sustainable.
Viz – thanks for all your help this year. Your analysis, rankings and in-season write ups are so valuable!
The finals in my league is two weeks long and I’m leading after week 1 but it’s super close. I’ve attached a picture of the matchup after the first week. I’m ahead in goals, points, shots, Sv% and SO and slightly behind in hits, plus/minus, GAA and goalie wins. So this lineup ask for the upcoming week will be about strategy to win the overall matchup based on the current score and remaining games. He has more guys with 3 games so will have slightly more volume depending on my lineup moves below.
I have Makar locked in so need 3 D from the following:
DeAngelo 2 games @NYR NJ
Dobson 3 games @Was, Was, TB
Dahlin 2 games @Bos, Chi
Trouba 3 games Car, Mon, Was
Montour 3 games @Bos, @Ott, @Mon
For Goaltending which 2 would you like play? There are some back to backs and teams maybe resting guys so not sure which 2 to go with.
Igor 3 games Car, Mon, Was
Mike Smith @Pit, SJ, Van
Oettinger VGK, Ari, Anh
Wish me luck! Thanks!
LG
Also I own the tie-breaker so if it ends 5-5 I’ll win.
First off, best of luck LG, looks like it’s going to be super close.
Let’s start with goalie. Here’s what we know. Igor will play against Carolina and won’t play against Montreal. Carolina doesn’t play the last day of the season, so the Rangers will know before that game if it matters for the division or not. Even if the Rangers won that game against Carolina, it probably won’t matter as Carolina would just have to beat NJ in regulation. Then I’d suspect Igor only plays that one game. I would guess Smith gets 2 games as they battle for home ice against the Kings (presumably), while Oettinger probably gets 2 games, but it could also be one depending on the result of tomorrow’s game. It sounds crazy, but I think I’d sit Igor?
Defensemen is tough because we don’t know who is going to get a night off. Given that you need hits, I think Trouba would be one of my guys. I also think I’d want Dobson’s three games locked in to solidify PPP and he’s a great bet for assists.
The third spot I’m torn on. I’m really not sure what Florida does. Also, if Carolina beats the Rangers, they might pull the plug on their last game so TDA might play one game. I don’t think I’d risk him, I’m between Dahlin and Montour. Honestly, you can do either here. If you want better potential volume, go Montour. Dahlin could have a massive game against Chicago to end the season which is what’s tempting me. Montour is probably safer just for plus-minus reasons, but Dahlin’s offense has been great lately so trust your gut here and go with what you think is best.
Great insights here. I’m probably sitting Igor which sounds crazy but I’m with you. Goalie wins and volume could help me.
I love Dahlin and he has been on fire but that is a back to back games to end the season and I’m just behind in +/- so Montour probably helps in volume and +/-. Dahlin for points but Montour probably helps more in hits too. Protect the categories I’m leading or go for the ones I’m behind in? Very tough call.
Thanks again Viz
Yeah, I don’t envy that decision. I have to think that Montour would be a guy who doesn’t sit, and if anything, he could play more because they rest Weegar, so I think I’m with you, go with Montour because the upside is higher with the third game.
Thanks Viz. Out of curiosity if you had to only play 1 of Smith or Oettinger who would you start?
Based on rotowire’s projected NHL starters it has Igor for Car and was, Smith for Pit and SJ and Oett for Ari and Anh although things could change. Sorry for all the messages but need to lock in the lineup today. I’m leaning rolling with Igor because he is so good and really hasn’t played a ton this year (injured and Covid earlier in the year).
Thanks,
LG
I would be surprised if Igor plays the Washington game if it doesn’t mean anything, or at least doesn’t play the full game, maybe he gets a period. There’s just no incentive for him to play.
I don’t really get the logic in those projected starts for Oettinger. They’re not going to play him against Vegas, but they’re going to have him play Arizona and then trust him to play Game 82 with their season potentially on the line? Doesn’t make any sense. I would expect him to play Vegas and then Anaheim. If I had to pick one, I think I’d go Smith with how well he’s been playing
Who would you rather roll with tonight?
Kuz vs NYI (assuming no Ovie)
Beniers vs VAN
Thanks!
Hmm, that’s tougher than I thought since Demko is missing the game tonight. I think I still go Kuznetsov though