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Fantasy Hockey Challenge Picks-NHL Week 4

Zachary Thompson — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 14:22:47 +0000

Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford joins my fantasy hockey team and should stay locked in as my goalie for the foreseeable future as long as he and the ‘Hawks keep rolling. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

It’s time to start getting your roster set for another week of fantasy hockey action in Hockey Challenge or whatever fantasy NHL game you choose to play. It’s a solid week coming up with almost all the teams with three games on the schedule. The exceptions are notable–the Edmonton Oilers only play twice while the Calgary Flames, Dallas Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, and St. Louis Blues all play four games. Try to get four-gamers on your team but as prices rise make sure the players you really want you get locked in at low prices since reclaiming them may be tricky as their price climbs.

Last week our FantasyCPR group was led by ebo8 who took week two honors with 42 points and sits atop our group right now. If you’d like to join us, click here for instructions on joining our free group.

My entry slipped a bit with Jaroslav Halak ending up in the IR (although he may return this weekend) and a lack of production from my Lightning pickups. I’ve still got a bunch of games coming up, though, so I can still end the week strong. Here’s how I’m setting up things for next week’s schedule.

February 7, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (29) during the playing of the national anthem before playing the Washington Capitals during the first period at the CONSOL Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Goalies

Corey Crawford-Chicago Blackhawks: Crawford and the Blackhawks are among the best teams in the league. Since the values of goalies are starting to climb, it’s time to lock in the goalies you want to have long-term and I think the ‘Hawks will be amont the league’s best and get me plenty of win points. Crawford has a solid 1.82 GAA and has an impressive 6-0-2 record.

Marc-Andre Fleury-Pittsburgh Penguins: Fleury and the Pens are starting to get on a roll although he hasn’t had a shutout. Fleury is another netminder I plan on holding for a while. Barring injury or loss of playing time, Crawford and Fleury will be my goslies for the coming weeks.

Defensemen

Zdeno Chara-Boston Bruins: Chara has been held without a point in his last four games but continues to anchor a strong Bruins defense and is involved in the power play for Boston as well. Unfortunately, the B’s power play has been power-less as of late and Chara hasn’t been able to capitalize on his large amount of ice time. I expect that to chance soon and I have him way under his price so I’ll hold him for his three games this week-at home against the Rangers and then at Buffalo and Winnipeg.

Keith Yandle-Phoenix Coyotes: Yandle had a shutout against Dallas and an assist against Minnesota before being shutout in challenge against the Blackhawks. This week he’s at Colorado and Nashville before finishing the week at home against Columbus

Jan 27, 2013; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Montreal Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov (79) gives away pucks as he is named first star of the game against New Jersey Devils at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

Andrei Markov-Montreal Canadiens: Markov has assists in his last two games against Boston and Buffalo and continues to see major ice-time for the Habs. This week the Canadiens fly south to Florida to take on the Lightning and the Panthers before returning home to end the week against the Flyers.

Kevin Shattenkirk-St. Louis Blues: My only change on the defensive line is to pick up Shattenkirk who ranks fourth among defensemen averaging 1.2 points per game. His value is sure to increase and he’s a popular option since he has four games this week. The Blues start at home against LA before hitting the road to take on the Red Wings, Flames, and Canucks.

Forwards

Steven Stamkos-Tampa Bay Lightning: Stamkos has slowed a bit after a red-hot start with just a point in his last two games. Don’t worry, he’ll be back to pouring in points this weekend and the coming week so don’t drop the Lightning’s goal-scorer unless you plan on over-paying for him later. This week Tampa plays at home against the Canadiens and the Caps while traveling to Florida to finish the week.

Evgeni Malkin-Pittsburgh Penguins: Malkin is averaging 1.4 points per game and ranks sixth overall among forward. Malkin bounced back from being shutout by the Isles to put three points on the board last night against Washington so look for another solid week as he and the Pens face Ottawa at home and travel to Winnipeg and Buffalo.

Zach Parise-Minnesota Wild: Parise started on fire but has been held to just one point in his last five games. He’ll try to get things going again this week as the Wild play four taking on the Flames and Canucks on the road and then the Avalanche and Red Wings at home. He’s still averaging a point a game, but if he doesn’t up his production it may be time to move on from him next week.

Feb 1, 2013; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Stars left wing Jamie Benn (14) prepares to face Phoenix Coyotes goalie Mike Smith (not pictured) in the overtime shootout at the American Airlines Center. Benn goes on to score and the Stars defeat the Coyotes in the overtime shootout 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Jamie Benn-Dallas Stars: Benn is a steal at his current salary and will be skyrocketing up the board if he keeps up his recent play. In the last two games, he’s scored five points in his last two games and is back up to a point-per-game average after sitting out the start of the season due to his contract situation. The Stars play four games this week starting with three on the road at Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver before finishing at home against Calgary for the second time of the week.

Martin St. Louis-Tampa Bay Lightning: St. Louis had two assists against the Devils giving him 13 on the season along with three goals. He’s a top-5 forward so far this season and is averaging 1.6 points per game so far. The Lightning have a decent schedule this week and St. Louis’ value should continue to climb so he’s worth holding on to.

Clade Giroux-Philadelphia Flyers: Giroux and the Flyers play four games this week all on the road against the Maple Leafs, Jets, Devils, and Canadiens. Giroux didn’t start out lighting things up as the Flyers offense was stagnant out of the gate but has three points in his last three games and is the captain and leader of the Philadelphia offense. I think he’ll have a solid week this week and the extra game only increases his ownability.

Fantasy Hockey Challenge Picks-NHL Week 3

Zachary Thompson — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 13:45:49 +0000

It’s a good week to load your team with Tampa Bay Lightning in ESPN’s Fantasy Hockey Challenge. In this photo, center Steven Stamkos (91) is congratulated by right wing Martin St. Louis (26) and center Vincent Lecavalier (4) after he scored a goal against the Florida Panthers during the first period at Tampa Times Forum. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

As we head into the weekend, it’s time to get your lineups locked in for the third week of the fantasy hockey challenge. Most teams have three or four games this week with only the Colorado Avalanche as an outlier with only two. If you need to hold onto three-gamers this week for value, don’t hesitate to do so, but it’s probably best to move on from your Avs.

Last week, my entry climbed up to the top 20% of all entries with a solid week 2 so far. Axis of Anarchy still leads our group after a monster week 1 performance. If you’re looking for a group to join, check out our FantasyCPR group (click here for info).

Here’s my picks for week 2 with only minimal changes to last week’s lineup (click here for week 2 lineup post):

Jan 29, 2013; Ottawa, ON, CAN; Ottawa Senators goalie Craig Anderson (41) makes a save on a shot from Washington Capitals left wing Jason Chimera (25) in the third period against the Washington Capitals at Scotiabank Place. The Senators defeated the Capitals 3-2 Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports

Goalies

Craig Anderson-Ottawa Senators: The Sens are off to a hot start and Anderson has been excellent moving up to the #2 spot in hockey challenge behind only Antti Niemi coming into Friday’s action. Anderson doesn’t have back-to-back games and faces the Sabres, Hurricanes, and Jets all at home this week.

Jaroslav Halak-St. Louis Blues: The Blues have a similar favorable schedule with a three-home game schedule against the Predators, Red Wings, and Ducks. The Blues goalie is in the top five in challenge points coming into the weekend. He will probably take one of each back-t0-back set off for the foreseeable future, but should get all three starts with off days sprinkled throughout this week.

Defensemen

Zdeno Chara-Boston Bruins: Chara continues to pile up time on the ice and is part of a successful power play unit. He scored in three games in a row early this week with a three-point game in Carolina on Monday. The Bruins have three games this week, but Chara’s value is likely to rise so I’ll hold on to him.

Jan. 20, 2013; Glendale, AZ, USA; Phoenix Coyotes center Steve Sullivan (26) celebrates with right wing Shane Doan (19), center Antoine Vermette (50), defenseman Keith Yandle (3) and defenseman Derek Morris (53) after scoring his third goal of the night in the third period against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Jobing.com Arena. The Coyotes beat the Blue Jackets 5-1. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Keith Yandle-Phoenix Coyotes: Yandle only has three games too, but is owrth holding onto averaging just under a point a game so far this season.

Andrei Markov-Montreal Canadiens: Markov is the third-ranked defenseman in hockey challenge with points in each of his last five games. Markov’s averaging 1.3 points per game as the Habs host their rival Bruins and Maple Leafs while traveling to Buffalo to take on the Sabres this week.

Victor Hedman-Tampa Bay Lightning: Hedman plays four games this week for the Lightning and has put points on the board in his last three games. He’s been a big boost to the Lightning defense and will get four games this week as the Lightning travel to take on the Flyers, Devils, Bruins, and Rangers.

Forwards

Steven Stamkos-Tampa Bay Lightning: Another Lightning skater to make sure is on your roster is Stamkos who already has 11 points this year and is averaging just under 2 points per game. With four games, Stamkos is going to be heavily owned, but he’s scoring too prolifically to overlook on your roster this week. Just lock him in at the lowest price you can.

Jan. 31, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins left wing James Neal (18) congratulates Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin (71) after scoring a goal against the New York Rangers during the first period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

Evgeni Malkin-Pittsburgh Penguins: Malkin has four games too and is averaging over a point a game. He’s scored three points in his last three games despite the Penguins overall struggles so expect a nice week as he plays four.

Zach Parise-Minnesota Wild: A mainstay of my team, Parise is averaging 1.3 points per game despite not being able to net one in his las two games. Next week the Wild only play three, but I’ll stick with Parise against the Coyotes, Canucks, and Predators.

Pavel Datsyuk-Detroit Red Wings: Datsyuk and Detroit take on the Flames, Oilers, and Kings at home this week and also go on the road to take on the Blues. Datsyuk is averaging 1.3 points per game and continues to be among the better play-makers on the Wings front line.

Martin St. Louis-Tampa Bay Lightning: If you’re going to go “all-in” on a team this week, the Lightning are the way to go. The Lightning lead the league in scoring and are in the top five in Power Play percentage. St. Louis’s creativity has benefited him so far with 12 points coming into Friday’s play averaging 2.0 points per game. Make sure this Quebec-native finds a home on your team this week.

Jan 20, 2013; Vancouver, British Columbia, CANADA; Edmonton Oilers right wing Jordan Eberle (14) has a scoring chance against Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo (1) during the second period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports

Jordan Eberle-Edmonton Oilers: In his first seven games, Eberle has seven points. He and the Oilers play four this week–at home for Vancouver and Dallas and then finishing the week on the road for Detroit and Columbus.