The Fantasy Hockey Weekly Planner is the essential guide to setting your lineup for the upcoming week. Every week, we provide you with top matchups, the latest news and give you the scoop on injured players.
Projections are for Jan. 21-27 games and all stats are through Saturday.
Teams with four games: None because of shortened week (All-Star game).
Teams with three games: Minnesota, N.Y. Islanders, Nashville, St. Louis and Washington.
Teams with two games: Atlanta, Anaheim, Boston, Buffalo, Carolina, Colorado, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Edmonton, Florida, Los Angeles, Montreal, N.Y. Rangers, New Jersey, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, San Jose, Tampa Bay, Toronto and Vancouver.
Teams with one game: Calgary.
Teams with two home games: Colorado, Dallas, Florida, Los Angeles, N.Y. Rangers, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Jose, Tampa Bay and Vancouver.
Teams with two away games: Atlanta, Buffalo, Columbus, Detroit, Edmonton, N.Y. Islanders, Nashville, Ottawa, St. Louis and Washington.
Teams with three away games: Minnesota.
Teams with back-to-back games in the upcoming scoring period, which means that a backup goalie might start one of the two contests: Anaheim, Carolina, Detroit, Minnesota, N.Y. Islanders, Nashville, St. Louis, Toronto and Washington.
On tap: Week 17 brings us three nationally televised games in either the United States or Canada: Washington at Pittsburgh (U.S.) on Monday; Boston at Montreal (U.S.) on Tuesday; and Washington at Toronto (CAN) on Wednesday.
| F A N T A S Y S P I N S |
The official halfway mark of the 2007-08 NHL season is here. The All-Star game commences Jan. 27 in Atlanta and that means Fantasy Week 17 is a short one. The schedule ends Thursday with 13 games. Only five teams (Minnesota, N.Y. Islanders, Nashville, St. Louis and Washington) play three games and the first game starts 2 p.m. Monday as Carolina travels to play the Islanders. Make sure to set your lineups early. ... The toughest news to stomach this past week was hearing that Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby exited Friday's game against the Lightning with an ankle injury. His ankle is in such bad condition that Pittsburgh officials said it would be a few days before they know the extent of the injury. That's usually not a good indication. Fantasy owners will want to sit him for Week 17 and pray for the best. Evgeni Malkin becomes the De facto go-to-guy in Crosby's absence. ... The Avalanche should petition the NHL for a hardship because they just can't catch a break right now. First, they lose Joe Sakic to injury (hernia surgery). Then, Ryan Smyth suffers an ill-fate (broken ankle) that will keep him out until March. Now, All-Star Paul Stastny might miss up to a month of action as he recovers from an emergency appendectomy. Colorado's top line now consists of Andrew Brunette, Milan Hejduk and the rookie Jaroslav Hlinka. Joel Quenneville's coaching prowess will be tested in the next few weeks. ... Blackhawks forward Jason Williams, already sidelined since late November, is expected to miss at least six weeks while recovering from hernia surgery. Chicago is another team that has been hit by a rash of injuries, but they were hoping to have Williams back in the second half and so were Fantasy owners. Now, we might only see Williams in the final weeks of the season. ... The Panthers pulled a rabbit out of the hat Thursday when they unexpectedly recalled top prospect Shawn Matthias from the Ontario Hockey League (juniors). Matthias really impressed Panthers' brass with his play in the OHL as he totaled 21 goals and 37 assists in 32 games and by his stint with Team Canada in the World Junior Championships (gold medal). Florida's offense needed a lift and they called on the 19-year-old to provide the spark. They immediately centered him on the top line with Olli Jokinen and Nathan Horton, and he delivered in his second game as he scored two goals against the Capitals Saturday. Matthias can play nine games in the NHL before Florida decides to keep him or send him back to the OHL without losing a season on his contract. A few more games like Saturday and Matthias might be here to stay.
Three Stars of the Week
Scott Hartnell, LW, PHI: Two hat tricks in five games will definitely earn you some publicity. Hartnell is also on a six-game points streak to boot. He has nine goals and four assists in that span. Hartnell is one of the top scoring power forwards in the NHL.
Kimmo Timonen, D, PHI: The Flyers have been one of the highest scoring teams in the last few weeks and the offensive-minded Timonen has jumped into the action. He is on a three-game points streak that includes consecutive games in which he scored a goal and added two assists.
Patrick Lalime, G, CHI: No one has been better in net the last week than Lalime. He has started four consecutive games for Chicago and has won them all. He has allowed just five goals in that span while making 127 saves. Nikolai Khabibulin should be worried because Chicago will ride Lalime as long as he has the hot hand.
| F I V E T E A M S W I T H F A V O R A B L E M A T C H U P S | |||||||
| The following five teams have the best matchups for the upcoming week. That doesn't necessarily mean they will post the best Fantasy stats, but if you're looking for a one-week start or are trying to make a difficult decision between two players to use, lean toward players from these teams: | |||||||
| Team | 1/21 | 1/22 | 1/23 | 1/24 | 1/25 | 1/26 | 1/27 |
| N.Y. Islanders | CAR | @CAR | -- | @BOS | -- | -- | -- |
| The Islanders open the week with back-to-back games against the Hurricanes. They have scored seven goals against Carolina in their first two games, and since they play on consecutive days, don't be surprised if the Islanders face backup Michael Leighton in one of the matchups. | |||||||
| Washington Capitals | @PIT | -- | @TOR | TOR | -- | -- | -- |
| Washington is coming off a successful homestand in which they went 3-1 and scored a total of 18 goals in four games (4.5 average for those counting at home). They head into the All-Star break with two games against the Maple Leafs, who are allowing 3.21 GAA. Washington has a top 10 offense (2.89 GFA) and are also one of the 10 best offensive scoring teams on the road (2.70 GFA). | |||||||
| Dallas Stars | -- | CLB | -- | BUF | -- | -- | -- |
| A pair of home contests heading into the All-Star break is just what Dallas needs. They are 14-7-2 and have scored 72 goals in 23 home games (3.13 GFA). They have not played Buffalo this season, but have played Columbus three times. The first two times were on the road and they scored a whopping one goal. However, they just knocked off Columbus 3-1 at the American Airlines Center Saturday and were right on their home-scoring average. | |||||||
| Los Angeles Kings | -- | DET | -- | ANA | -- | -- | -- |
| At first glimpse, it doesn't appear as though the Kings have a favorable schedule, but hear us out. Los Angeles is still one of the best offensive teams at home (3.26 GFA). Detroit opens a West Coast road trip with L.A. Tuesday, but have a key matchup with Anaheim Wednesday. It's likely that Dominik Hasek will be saved for the Ducks, so Chris Osgood might be in net Tuesday. He has allowed nine goals in his last two contests. The Kings then take on Anaheim Thursday after the Ducks likely get done with a rigorous match against Detroit Wednesday. Which means Jonas Hiller might start in net for the Ducks or else a tired Jean-Sebastien Giguere will get the call less than 24 hours after facing a barrage of Detroit shots. | |||||||
| Minnesota Wild | @VAN | @CGY | -- | @COL | -- | -- | -- |
| Opening the week against Roberto Luongo and Miikka Kiprusoff is not ideal, but the Wild have had success against both Vancouver and Calgary this season. Minnesota has scored 11 goals in three games against Vancouver and have scored 11 times against Calgary in four games. They end the week against Colorado -- another team they have scored double-digit goals against in just four games. | |||||||
| F I V E T E A M S W I T H P O O R M A T C H U P S | |||||||
| The following five teams have the worst matchups for the upcoming week. That doesn't necessarily mean you should reserve every player from these teams, but try to avoid less-heralded performers from these squads if you have a better alternative: | |||||||
| Team | 1/21 | 1/22 | 1/23 | 1/24 | 1/25 | 1/26 | 1/27 |
| Atlanta Thrashers | -- | @NYR | -- | @NYR | -- | -- | -- |
| Atlanta has had a lot of success against the Rangers this season. They are 2-0-0 and have scored nine goals. However, both games came on the Thrashers' home ice. Now they head to the Big Apple to play a pair against the Rangers, who sport a 2.28 GAA at Madison Square Garden. | |||||||
| Philadelphia Flyers | -- | NJ | -- | PIT | -- | -- | -- |
| The Flyers bubble might be ready to burst. Philadelphia has been one of the hottest teams in the NHL in their last 10 games (8-1-1). They have also scored 29 goals in their last six contests. However, on the horizon are showdowns with New Jersey and Pittsburgh. Philadelphia has scored just nine goals in five games against New Jersey this season. They have dumped in 16 goals against Pittsburgh in three games, but those goals came at the expense of Marc-Andre Fleury and Dany Sabourin. Ty Conklin is now in net and has been nothing short of spectacular since taking over in late December (10-1-1, two shutouts, 1.83 GAA). | |||||||
| San Jose Sharks | -- | CHI | -- | STL | -- | -- | -- |
| The Shark Tank has devoured San Jose this season. They limp into Fantasy Week 17 with a 9-11-4 record and rank 27th in goals for average at home (2.38). They have been outscored 63-57 in 24 home contests. | |||||||
| Edmonton Oilers | -- | @TB | -- | @FLA | -- | -- | -- |
| Edmonton wraps up a five-game road trip heading with a Florida swing. They are so far 1-2-0 and have allowed 14 goals in three games. The Oilers might be a little gased and road weary heading down to the Sunshine State. | |||||||
| Calgary Flames | -- | MIN | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| The Flames are great road warriors and have lit the lamp 70 times in 23 games on opposing teams' home ice. However, they are the only team to play just one time in the upcoming scoring period. If there is a week to bench any of the high-end Calgary Fantasy players --i.e. Jarome Iginla, Miikka Kiprusoff, Daymond Langkow, Kristian Huselius -- this would be the time. | |||||||
F A N T A S Y I N T E R M I S S I O N
Is it time to trade Alexander Semin or should I hold onto him for the rest of the season and hope his injury problems are behind him? -- Jake Campbell, Roanoke, Va.
MH: Semin had a slow start to the season because of a nagging ankle injury. He played in just nine games through the first two months, but he started to near 100 percent in early December. By mid-December, we saw the old Semin. He had scored four goals and added three assists in the final seven December games before a tailbone injury sidelined him for a few contests to open January. He is now over his latest injury woes and has scored a goal in four straight games (five total in that span). Semin is not immune to minor bumps and bruises, but it does appear as though his ankle problems are behind him. If you stuck it out this long, then I would hold onto Semin because (don't mean to sound cliche) the best is yet to come.
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