The fantasy hockey season for some may have ended a few weeks back, and for others, last night’s Sens, Bruins game may have been the deciding factor in whether or not you took home the title in your league. The good news with fantasy hockey though, it’s not over just yet.
With the playoffs set to begin on Tuesday, league commissioners, managers, friends and co-workers are all talking about the second season in fantasy hockey, the playoff pool!
The day most of us have waited for is almost here!
Today, fantasy owners in their semifinal matchup have a pretty good indication if they’ve achieved what they set out to accomplish back in January, making the final in your league. By now, it’s obvious you have a good feel for what your team is all about, and most likely don’t need to tinker with your lineup for the coming week, unless, that is, you have Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson stashed away on your IR.
This is a critical week in fantasy hockey. Win your semifinal matchup this week and your reward will be the final appearance you dreamed of when the season started.
So far this week, owners of Bruins forwards Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron got good new on the injury front, as both players returned for their game Wednesday night against the Buffalo Sabres, after missing time with concussions. Maple Leafs forward Joffrey Lupul also made a return from a concussion against the Washington Capitals, and owners of the Stars’ Kari Lehtonen received good news that he will be back between the pipes when Dallas faces the Vancouver Canucks at home Thursday night.
The NHL regular season will come to end in just over two weeks, so in fantasy, that means your playoff matchup this coming week is the most important week of your season.
Making it past the quarterfinals this week, or perhaps you finished with a top two record giving you a bye this week, is a huge accomplishment, but the goal at the beginning of the season was to win your pool, so winning your semifinal matchup, and eventually the final, is why you play this game.
Here are ten players to watch this week that should give you an advantage over your opponent and hopefully propel you to the championship round.
Injuries are a part of the game, but in the fantasy world, they do nothing but bring your team down a level, especially when the player you may have lost is a top caliber player. Losing Spezza or Karlsson was a tough blow in the early going, unless you were able to trade those pieces in a keeper league in hopes of salvaging your season.
With many leagues already in the playoffs, the days of scurrying the wire for steals is pretty much over. The time has come to review the season to date, and pick the top ten fantasy busts in this shortened season.
When the day started yesterday, many around the hockey world felt that if a big name was to be traded, it would be either Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo or Miikka Kiprusoff out of Calgary. When the Columbus Blue Jackets announced they had acquired Marian Gaborik from the New York Rangers a little after 2 PM ET, most experts, fans and casual fans were simply shocked that the Jackets, only two points out of eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, were adding a player of his caliber.
When the Toronto Maple Leafs traded defenseman Francois Beauchemin to the Anaheim Ducks in February of 2011 in exchange for Joffrey Lupul, Jake Gardiner and a conditional fourth round pick, no one in the hockey world could have imagined how one trade could turn out so one-sided just two years later.
Lupul, who signed a five-year, $26.25 million extension with the Leafs back on January 20th, has returned to the Toronto lineup after missing a significant portion of the season due to a broken forearm, as a man on a mission. Owners who decided to keep Lupul on their roster, or better yet, picked him up off waivers when he was placed on IR, have been rewarded this week with an incredible total of five goals, four assists, plus four rating and 12 shots, making him the hottest player in the league this week. His new linemate, Nazem Kadri, who is having a break out season to say the least, has recorded three goals and two assists over the week, making the dynamic duo two players putting fantasy owners over the top in their respective matchups this week.
Jo Innes, Ryan Lambert, Daniel Wagner, Cam Charron, Ellen Etchingham, Jake Goldsbie, Darren Kritzer
