Welcome to week 19 of the Fantasy Planner, getting you ready for next week's fantasy hockey action. (2/8 through 2/14).
Week 19 Matchups
Teams with 4 games: Anaheim, Colorado, Edmonton, Nashville, NY Isles, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Jose, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Vancouver
Teams with 2 games: Toronto
It's the final week before the long awaited Olympic break, so there are plenty of games crammed into the next seven days. Toronto is the only team with just two games to play. Vancouver isn't the only team wrapping up the remainder of their games on the road, as Nashville, Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, San Jose and Washington all will play out the schedule away from home. The Thrashers especially drew the short straw with road games against Colorado and Chicago, and now, without Kovalchuk.
Meanwhile, the Blackhawks ought to finish things up with some points, as they feature home games with Dallas and Atlanta and wrap up with Columbus on the road.
Who's Hot
The Canes are on Fire!
Look out Edmonton and Toronto, the Hurricanes have been putting points on the board. Perhaps these guys know the firesale will be starting soon and they want to put on a pretty face for market. Here's some players of note that have heated up recently:
- Eric Staal (F) - 9 goals and 12 points in his last 8 games
- Joni Pitkanen (D) - 12 points in 12 games
- Jussi Jokinen (F) - (see Waiver Watch below)
- Matt Cullen (F) - 6 points in 6 games
Who's Cold
Penguins Gone Cold
The big boys are still scoring, but the 2nd tier of Penguin offense has dried up lately:
- Bill Guerin (F) - 5 games, no points
- Jordan Staal (F) - just broke a 6 game drought with a goal in Buffalo
- Brooks Orpik (D) - Not that you were counting on him to score, but he's gone 6 games without a point and has just 2 PIMS in 2010.
Waiver Watch
Here are a few names who may be available in your league and are worth a look:
Jussi Jokinen (F - CAR)
Jokinen has 16 points in his last 13 games and is still available in most leagues (but it won't last long). If you remember, Jokinen got hot down the stretch last season and was a major goal scoring factor in the playoffs. He's now averaging over 20 minutes a game and saw 9+ minutes on the power play in their last game against Calgary.
Kurtis Foster (D - TAM)
You may have already missed the boat on Foster, but check your league to see if he's open. If you remember, Foster had just emerged as a fantasy factor a couple seasons back when he snapped his leg on an icing touch up. After a long-hard road, it seems he's back to form and is once again a factor. He's been putting up good numbers for the past 2 months and figures to be strong down the stretch. He's up to 10 points in his past 12 games and runs the show on the Bolts power play.
J.S. Giguere (G - TOR)
Fantasy owners have been dropping Giggy consistently over the past couple months; however, with a trade to Toronto, everything changes. Not that Toronto is any better defensively than Anaheim, but the key is Giguere goes from a backup for the Ducks to The Man for the Leafs. He'll get as many starts as he can handle. And when Giguere is motivated, he has proven to be a strong option in net. Grab him quick.
David Booth (F - FLA)
Booth started the season on fire before he met up with Mike Richards elbow and sat out a couple months. He's been back for two games now in limited action, and is set to move back up to the first line with Stephen Weiss at any moment. Don't be surprised to see him start to punch in the goals next week.