So, after a successful run from mid-October to mid-March, your head-to-head fantasy team boasts a record good enough to secure a spot in the playoffs. Congratulations. Now's the time to really slam the fantasy pedal to the metal, using every advantage available. The following loose blueprint is meant to help in that regard to claim your fantasy championship title.
The schedule
A useful technique throughout the season, hacking the schedule to maximum benefit is even more crucial during the do-or-die knockout playoff stage. This is a Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday league; the ability to roll out as complete a lineup as possible when the slate is lighter, while not sacrificing player quality on busier nights, offers the greatest advantage. The more warm bodies in play every day, the better.
In approaching ESPN's default playoff bracket -- which comprises one two-week round to start, then a second 18-day championship round to conclude -- taking a compartmentalized week-by-week look is easiest to manage. Strength of schedule obviously comes into play, along with transactional limits, and how easily you're able to massage your roster. While more foresight is required in set-and-forget weekly lineups, managers with daily flexibility need to find the right balance between acquiring useful available players without dropping too many valuable starters..
Such shuffling also generally applies to your supporting cast. No one is suggesting you swap out an elite operator for a lower-tier performer, just because the team has a more favorable schedule. Not until the fantasy postseason is much nearer to a close. Managers who hack the docket most effectively are essentially swapping in/out secondary players of near similar value.
Week 1, Mar. 17 - 23
And we're off!
More favorable schedules: Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings, Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins. Toronto faces the Calgary Flames on Monday and Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday, when few other teams are in action, before visiting the New York Rangers on Thursday, and Nashville Predators on Saturday. Is Matthew Knies there for the grabbing? If so, go for it. If not, Calle Jarnkrok could be worth considering if he's still skating on a second scoring line with John Tavares.
For the Bruins, Mason Lohrei serves as a sleeper option on a blue line, as fellow defenders Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm are currently out of the competitive picture.
Less favorable schedule: San Jose Sharks, Detroit Red Wings. San Jose and Detroit play only twice this week, against the Carolina Hurricanes and Bruins, and Washington Capitals and Vegas Golden Knights, respectively. No thanks.
Teams that only play Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday: Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Utah Hockey Club, Vancouver Canucks, Capitals
Week 2, Mar. 24 - 30
Serving as the second and concluding week of Round 1 in standard leagues, some tough roster decisions could be in play. If that means dropping a fantasy performer who has provided value all season long, remember, there's no Round 2 if you don't win here.
More favorable schedule: Canucks, Utah, New Jersey Devils, Dallas Stars. Vancouver is slated to face the Devils, Islanders, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Winnipeg Jets on staggered dates Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, when most other teams are off. Look to forwards Jake DeBrusk, Kiefer Sherwood and Conor Garland to make some productive noise for a team that still fancies itself with a shot at the playoffs. And if you've held on to underperforming forward Elias Pettersson to this stage, no point in dropping him ahead of this week.
Less favorable schedule: Bruins, Florida Panthers. Off until Friday, Florida only battles Utah and Montreal this week; two desperate teams who could still be in the playoff hunt by this point. If you need to release a Carter Verhaeghe or Sam Bennett for more active skaters to survive the round, so be it.
Teams that only play Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday: Flames, Predators, Philadelphia Flyers, Seattle Kraken, St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning
Week 3, Mar. 31 - Apr. 6
And then there were two! In ESPN head-to-head (or H2H) competition, now you're into the final showdown, against the only other fantasy team good enough to also remain standing.
More favorable schedule: Minnesota Wild, Avalanche, Panthers, Capitals. Also taking strength of competition into consideration, the most attractively staggered schedule of the week belongs to Minnesota, which faces the Devils, Rangers, Islanders, and Dallas Stars every second day from Monday through Sunday. Remember, the Wild don't need to go 4-0 for their players to rip off plenty of points or valuable stats when others are idle. Any still-engaged manager with Kirill Kaprizov tucked on IR could benefit handsomely if the star is back in action for this stretch.
Plus, it's worth noting Minnesota competes when the fewest number of other teams are also in action through the entire 32-day fantasy playoff period.
Washington visits Boston on Tuesday before battling Carolina on Wednesday, the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday and the Islanders Sunday. Forwards Aliaksei Protas, Connor McMichael, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and backup goalie Charlie Lindgren could prove useful, if still available.
Less favorable schedule: Devils, Rangers, Flyers. Only two games each for Jersey, New York, and Philadelphia this week.
Teams that only play Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday: Anaheim Ducks, Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, Blues, Lightning, Utah, Jets.
Week 4, Apr. 7 - Apr. 17
This is it. No point in leaving anything on the fantasy table at this stage. Depending on your league's transactional elasticity, the goal is to optimize your lineup every day, particularly in the final few. Which could mean losing performers who have put forth some wonderful numbers all season long. Draft them again next year. There is no such thing as appreciation-driven loyalty in this final mad scramble.
More favorable schedules: Lightning, Sharks, Oilers, Flames, Leafs, Ducks.
There's little point in trying to read the tea leaves ahead of this unpredictable stretch of 11-day chaos. Comfortably contending teams will rest some players. Those well out of it will do the same. Clubs still fighting for a ticket to the postseason can be counted on to ice their very best lineups. Fantasy managers have to make the right adjustments when confronted with whatever is going down at the time.
Teams that only play Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday that first full week: Blackhawks, Stars, Panthers, Predators, Utah, Canucks, Golden Knights
Your opponent/categories
Give their roster a good going over, especially in H2H category leagues. Are you in a realistic position to get steamrolled in one or two categories? No point in chasing hits or what-have-you while needlessly sacrificing another stat. Pick your battles and play to your strengths. Determine which categories are most winnable -- checking your progress every day of every particular round -- and make the most appropriate corresponding moves. PIM not going to happen? Leave it. In H2H category competition, a 7-5 victory is just as good as a landslide.
Goaltenders
As the fantasy season wanes to a close, more than ever, goalies carry too much weight in providing too great of a positive/negative swing, to disregard. Carrying four quality netminders offers the greatest flexibility in deciding who to run out every night, while always taking strength of competition into consideration. The following few might be available to sub onto your roster, including fantasy tandems comprising two netminders who play more often when the other does not.
Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues(45.0% available in ESPN.com leagues): One of the game's best fantasy netminders since erupting victoriously for Canada at the 4 Nations Faceoff - 5-1, 2.12 GAA - Binnington is doing his bit in trying to secure the Blues a playoff spot. St. Louis faces the Canucks, Blackhawks, Canadiens, Avalanche, and the Predators three times to wrap the final two weeks of March. Not the most intimidating of schedules.
Karel Vejmelka, Utah Hockey Club(83.0% available): A riskier, and therefore more obtainable, fantasy option between the pipes, Utah's No. 1 ranks comfortably within the top 10 this past month in total points. Like Binnington, Vejmelka is also the club's go-to as they battle to punch their ticket to the postseason. Aside from three tilts with Florida teams - one with the Panthers and a pair with the Lightning -- March's remaining slate appears friendly enough.
See also:
Sam Montembeault, Montreal Canadiens (68.4% available)
Anthony Stolarz, Toronto Maple Leafs/Lukas Dostal, Anaheim Ducks (39.9% available/63% available): Data mined by ESPN fantasy analyst Sean Allen indicates the Ducks and Leafs compete on 25 so-called unique days during the 32 that make up the fantasy playoff stretch in ESPN standard leagues. Which means the one team is largely active when the other is not, offering greater lineup flexibility. Stumbling a bit more of late, the Ducks should break out of that funk soon in enjoying the chance to loosely play spoiler down the stretch. While the occasional outing will be ugly for Dostal, other better showings should amply counter those negative numbers.
Pyotr Kochetkov, Carolina Hurricanes/Dustin Wolf, Calgary Flames(58.0% available/33.1% available): If Wolf is already a fixture on your roster, or somehow luckily available, consider acquiring the 'Canes netminder as well. Similar to the Leafs and Ducks, the Hurricanes and Flames play on 26 labeled unique days until the fantasy postseason is a wrap. Or just add Kochetkov regardless. He's been outstanding for Carolina between the pipes these past two-plus weeks.
Backups with streaming appeal:
Casey DeSmith, Dallas Stars
Vitek Vanecek, Florida Panthers
Eric Comrie, Winnipeg Jets
Blueline power play performers
Jared Spurgeon lights the lamp for Wild
Defensemen who anchor the top power play unit prove extra precious in H2H leagues that reward goals, assists, special teams points, and blocked-shots. Here's a select few, perhaps unaccounted for, who could discernibly bolster your squad through the final stretch. Sure, the idea of plucking Panther Seth Jones off the wire, now that Aaron Ekblad is sidelined until the first round, strikes as mighty appealing. However, it's doubtful that Jones is just sitting there for the grabbing.
Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings (49.6% available): Skating on the Kings' No. 1 unit, Doughty also blocks more shots than any other L.A. defender. Never even mind the near 26 minutes of ice-time every night. Yet the veteran blueliner remains available in half of leagues.
Luke Hughes, New Jersey Devils(59.6% available): Even before the Devils lost Dougie Hamilton to injury, the youngest Hughes brother had been collecting points with mission-like regularity. Nine in his past eight contests, to be precise, including three with the extra skater. That top-unit role now appears to be his for the remainder of 2024-25.
Jared Spurgeon, Minnesota Wild(76.0% available): So he isn't competing on the top unit, that gig belongs to Brock Faber, but Spurgeon is still contributing with the extra skater, while handsomely contributing to other categories. To the tune of 2.2 fantasy points per game this past month.
See also:
Cam Fowler, St. Louis Blues (61.6% available)
Injuries
In redraft leagues, it's time to behave ruthlessly. There's zero point in wasting an IR spot on a player who isn't likely to return before the real-life playoffs. Looking at you Matthew Tkachuk, Dougie Hamilton, Miro Heiskanen and others. Instead, fill that reserve position with an eligible skater who is expected to make a return for several games before we're all done.
Like Toronto defender Chris Tanev, who provides significant value in leagues that reward blocked-shots, and is expected back in the foreseeable future. Forward Sean Monahan is another appealing figure in deeper leagues, projected to return for the Blue Jackets before April. The veteran center put up terrific numbers before sustaining a wrist injury, and could again, even if Adam Fantilli holds onto the No. 1 center gig as anticipated.
Others, such as New York's Adam Fox and Minnesota forward Kirill Kaprizov, continue to merit IR designation, if available. The boost such treasured players would provide in the final week or two is enough to stick it out a bit longer. Keep a view of their respective recovery timelines evolve, and manage your roster accordingly.
Lastly, other popular fantasy performers, particularly on non-contending teams, will inevitably be shut down as the 2024-25 regular season winds to a close. Monitor who then benefits from promotion into a more prominent position -- within the top-six, on a No. 1 power play etc. -- when such decisions are made. Again, one such sleeper pick in the fantasy season's final days could spell the difference between finishing as champion or sour runner-up.