HBSL:
This is the final week of the regular season in the HockeyBuzz SuperLeague! Hopefully everyone has had fun that participated and will be sure to participate next season. The playoffs are just around the corner and some people’s fate will be determined this week whether or not they squeak into the playoffs or not. Others will be hoping to finish first in their conference, and of course those who don’t make the playoffs…better luck next year! Regardless as to what category you fall under, make sure you put together the best picks you can to ensure a healthy competition for everyone in the final week of action. You just may upset one of the top ranked players in your Division and diminish their chances of a playoff run. Not making the playoffs is always a bummer, but if you can play the ‘spoiler’ and ruin someone’s chances it does make you feel better, in a deviant kind of way.
Week Ahead:
With approximately thirty games left in the season remaining things are very tight in both Conferences. There are many seasons when one or two teams seem to run off with a dominant season and solidify first overall in their Division. This year, I don’t see that happening…things are very tight with only a couple games that separate the top teams in each Division and Conference on top of that.
In the East it seems that some of the teams who were struggling at the start of the season have picked up their game. Teams like Carolina, Philadelphia, Boston and New Jersey have all had good success as of late. Only Boston out of these four teams has had a solid enough season to be in a playoff spot at this point. Carolina seems to have dug their way out of the trenches since the return of Jordan Staal…whom by the way is playing first line center with his brother Eric on the wing…someone who may be available as a free agent if you are looking to replace a player.
The West has quite the logjam of teams fighting for that eight spot as Minnesota, Los Angeles and Dallas are all nipping at the heels of Calgary and Winnipeg. Minnesota has actually been playing very solid hockey as of late winning five games in a row and are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. Seems they have been thriving since picking up Dubnyk in goal and have gotten some confidence back…another good pickup if he is available. Los Angeles is going to have a problem if they can’t start winning some games on the road…they have been horrible. If I recall they have seventeen games left on the road this season and hold an ugly record of 6-12-6 on the road…not exactly what you would expect from the defending Stanley Cup Champions.
Here is a list of which teams have how many games going forward this week:
(2) Games: Boston – Buffalo – Carolina – Colorado - Detroit
(3) Games: Anaheim – Calgary – Columbus – Dallas – Los Angeles – Montreal – Nashville – New Jersey – New York Islanders – New York Rangers – Ottawa – Philadelphia – Pittsburgh – St. Louis – Tampa Bay – Toronto – Washington - Winnipeg
(4) Games: Arizona – Chicago – Edmonton – Florida – Minnesota – San Jose – Vancouver
Kind of odd I find it that Detroit who only played two games last week has two this week…furthermore it looks like Howard is ready and will play on Saturday night. He is ready to rock tomorrow but they don’t play again until Saturday, so no rush to get him in there and Mrazek will get the nod.
Starting Goalies:
(EDM) Scrivens VS (NJ) Schneider (LA) Quick VS (CBJ) McElhinney (VAN) Miller VS (MIN) Dubnyk (ARI) Smith VS (CHI) Raanta (CLG) Hiller VS (SJ) Niemi
If you need a spot start in goal I would look at picking up Raanta; Chicago will likely thump Arizona in tonight’s game and he should secure you the win.
Remember: less than a month until most fantasy pools freeze trading, so be sure to get your roster in as best shape you can over the next few weeks so you are primed and ready.