Fantasy Hockey
Sean Allen, Special to ESPN.com 6y

Fantasy hockey forecaster: March 26-April 1

Fantasy NHL, NHL, Fantasy

For fantasy managers who aren't hunting for the championship, now is a time of year when you can get a look at some of the future assets who will populate your lineups going forward. Teams that are struggling with injuries or outside the playoff picture often start to give some ice time to their prospects. We've already seen a few in recent days, and more are surely on the way before the season is over.

Dylan Strome stands out as the most obvious name of the group, given that he was fairly high on the fantasy radar to start the season. It wasn't the start he or the Arizona Coyotes were hoping for, though, as Strome played minimal minutes and was sent down to the AHL after a couple games. He's bounced back up a couple of times, but managed just one goal in 11 total games through December in the NHL.

But in the AHL, Strome was an offensive powerhouse, as he's been at every other level in his development. For the Tucson Roadrunners, Strome has a total of 50 points in 47 games this season. Now back up with the Coyotes, Strome has two points in two games this past week and is even getting a little power-play time.

We'll have to wait and see whether he continues to make a statement to close the season, but the opportunity and the talent are there, which is really all we need in the mix to put a player on the fantasy radar. Who else has that combination in the final weeks of the season?

Ty Rattie, RW, Edmonton Oilers (rostered in 2.8 percent of ESPN leagues)

I know, I know. I've been harping about Rattie for the better part of a month now. But my faith in his talent and opportunity combination has been paying off and could very well continue to do so. Ever since the Oilers decided to throw Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor McDavid on a line together, the results have been very positive from a production standpoint. The trio has been on the ice for eight goals for and only two against at even strength over the past four games. For his part, Rattie has chipped in three goals and two assists in that span (plus-7).

Ryan Donato, C, Boston Bruins (10.2 percent)

Oh, no doubt that the talent is there. But I remain a little sketchy on Donato's continued opportunity with so many balls in the air for the Bruins while they juggle injuries. Sure, Donato got prime ice time and responded with two goals and two assists in his first two NHL games this week, but Patrice Bergeron, Rick Nash, David Backes and Jake DeBrusk are all due prime ice time upon their respective returns from injury. If the Bruins continue to resemble the walking wounded, then Donato is a lock for production. If the team gets healthy, Donato could even find himself in the press box.

Evgeny Svechnikov, LW, Detroit Red Wings (0.5 percent)

This talented winger has a brother nabbing all the headlines as a top prospect for June's draft, but he's no slouch himself. A first-half slump this season in the AHL aside, Svechnikov has shown plenty of talent as a power forward who could eventually become a top-six contributor to the Red Wings. After posting 51 points in 74 games as a rookie in the AHL in 2016-17, Svechnikov only had five points in 26 games at Christmas this season. However, in 25 games since then and before his call up to the Wings, he turned in a more impressive 17 points. His minutes have been muted in the NHL, averaging just 7:53 in eight games. But with the Red Wings season slated to end in two weeks, coach Jeff Blashill will surely want to get a better look at him. He scored his first NHL goal on Tuesday and has six shots in his past two games after notching just four in his first six. If the opportunity is given to him, expect Svechnikov to respond.

Valentin Zykov, LW, Carolina Hurricanes (0.4 percent)

While maybe not as purely talented as the prospects already mentioned here, Zykov is awash in opportunity at the moment. With Victor Rask out for the remainder of the season, a roster spot is all but assured to Zykov. Better still, that roster spot on Thursday was on a line with Hurricanes offensive catalysts Teuvo Teravainen and Sebastian Aho. Zykov responded with a pair of goals. After scoring 16 goals as an AHL rookie last season, Zykov doubled that to 32 this season and will be looking to prove that he can be another young threat on offense for the Hurricanes next season.

Filip Chytil, C, New York Rangers (0.4 percent)

Fellow young prospect Lias Andersson will get a little more attention, as he'll be up with the Rangers before Chytil, but it's Chytil who has the potential to make a stronger impact for fantasy managers. Both are likely to get called up to play out the season with the golf course-bound Rangers, but Chytil has already burned two of the nine games he's able to play without losing a year on his contract. Andersson could get the call earlier and play on Saturday, while Chytil can't arrive until Monday at the earliest. We'll have to wait and see what kind of role the Rangers have in store for him, but any kind of top-six role puts him on the radar.


Fantasy Forecaster: Mar. 26-Apr. 1

The pedal stays to the floor for the NHL season, with every team playing a minimum of three games next week and 17 of them playing four times. That's a busy week of action and offers no shortage of games for any player on your roster. As was the case last week, you are using the Forecaster to break ties for lineup decisions, rather than seek out advantageous schedules.

That said, a reminder here that the Florida Panthers will have the two-week Forecaster advantage heading into this set of games, as they play five times in the final week of the season and four times this week. If you want to get ahead of the curve, load up on your Panthers now. This could include Denis Malgin, who reclaimed his top-six role on a line with Jonathan Huberdeau and Vincent Trocheck. However, I still feel like Frank Vatrano is the better pickup, despite his reduced role on the depth chart in recent games. Even playing a third-line role for the Panthers, Vatrano picked up a pair of points against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.

The Panthers' Michael Matheson could also be a sneaky pickup on the blue line for the final two weeks. He's only picked up two points in his past seven games, but check out the peripheral stats: 24 shots, plus-6 and 19 penalty minutes.

And, if you play in a shallower league, there's a chance Nick Bjugstad is still available. He's been on fire of late playing on the top line with Aleksander Barkov and Evgenii Dadonov, but is already spoken for in more than half of leagues.

For those new to the forecaster chart, here are some explanations: "O" (offense) and "D" (defense) matchup ratings are based upon a scale from 1 (poor matchup) to 10 (excellent matchup) and are calculated using a formula that evaluates the team's season-to-date statistics, their performance in home/road games depending on where the game is to be played, as well as their opponents' numbers in those categories. The "Ratings" column lists the cumulative rating from 1-10 of that week's offensive ("O") and defensive ("D") matchups.

In the notes -- team, goalie and player -- below, the focus every week will be mainly on players who are available for potential use. Being rostered in less than 50 percent of ESPN leagues is a good generalized cutoff, and I'll include players below 10 percent whenever possible to cater to deeper formats.


Team notes

New York Islanders

Though they have been unfortunately relegated to playing out the string at this point, don't tell that to an Islanders offense that has turned in 10 goals in its last two games against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins. Don't even think about looking at the goaltending here, which continues to be wildly inconsistent even with Christopher Gibson now in the mix, but load up on the Islanders' offense.

That starts with Ryan Pulock, who is on another mini streak that should solidify his position as the Isles' power-play quarterback going into next season. He has eight points in his last five games and unloaded his blistering shot nine times on Thursday. Considering his role and ice time should both expand next season, his 29 points so far this campaign are a very positive sign for the future. But that also includes the future of next week, as the Islanders offense gets to feast on the Senators, Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs and New Jersey Devils.

Outside of the other usual suspects from the Islanders, you can consider Anthony Beauvillier in deeper leagues. After a few games down the depth chart, he's back on the second line with Mathew Barzal and Jordan Eberle, and he picked up three points on Thursday. The Isles might as well give him the ice time next week.

Vegas Golden Knights

The Knights don't have the highest offensive rating on the Forecaster for next week, but it's on the positive side for games against the Colorado Avalanche, Coyotes, St. Louis Blues and San Jose Sharks. The biggest factor to watch for in lineup decisions is health. The Knights will have two significant potential fantasy free-agent starters available if the health of Marc-Andre Fleury and Reilly Smith doesn't improve for next week. Tomas Tatar, available in 80 percent of ESPN leagues, is playing Smith's usual role on a line with Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson. He has goals in consecutive games. Malcolm Subban, also available in just shy of 80 percent of leagues, will hold down the fort in the crease if Fleury isn't back. That said, Fleury's undisclosed injury doesn't seem too serious, and he could be back in net over the weekend. But check the news on Smith ahead of next week, and slip Tatar into your lineup if it still sounds troubling.


Goalie notes

Once again, this is a repetitive recommendation for goaltenders: Seek help from Antti Raanta, Semyon Varlamov, Roberto Luongo, Philipp Grubauer and maybe even Keith Kinkaid. ... Raanta has a tough schedule, but he's been reliable despite poor matchups in 2018. ... Varlamov has an ideal week, with four games and no back-to-back sets (until the Sunday-Monday combo, but that's next week's problem). ... Luongo should get three of four games for the Panthers as they push for the playoffs. ... Grubauer bounced back from a poor outing with a shutout, and Braden Holtby is nursing an injury. Grubauer should get at least half the starts, if not more. ... Kinkaid is the clear choice for the Devils over Cory Schneider at this stage, but the meat of next week's four-game schedule sandwich is ugly; the Devils play the Penguins and Islanders in between games against the Hurricanes and Montreal Canadiens.

Brian Elliott is also a top option to consider for your roster. The Philadelphia Flyers will turn to him full time when he's healthy, which is projected to be sometime this week based on is original timetable.

I will go one deeper and suggest that David Rittich could be a desperation play in goalie-starved leagues. While the Calgary Flames' playoff chances are fading fast, Mike Smith does not look like himself since returning from injury, and despite his previous body of work this season, the Flames need better goaltending. This could be a similar situation to the Capitals and Devils, where the coach has no choice but to turn to the backup with regularity despite the pedigree of the starter.


Player notes

The loss of a red-hot Patrik Laine is painful to the Winnipeg Jets, NHL's scoring race and fantasy managers. While Jack Roslovic should draw into the lineup as a replacement, this hurts the fantasy value of Nikolaj Ehlers and Paul Stastny down the stretch run. ... Evgeny Kuznetsov remains sidelined without a clear timetable, although it sounds like he'll be sooner rather than later for a return. In the meantime, Lars Eller is getting top power-play minutes and is an option while Kuznetsov is out. ... Joe Thornton is skating, which could indicate a return within the week. It's no guarantee, but if you have the bench room, the line of Thornton, Joe Pavelski and Evander Kane is going to be awesome. ... Tobias Reider has been getting shifts ahead of Tyler Toffoli on the Los Angeles Kings' depth chart. Playing with Jeff Carter and Tanner Pearson, Reider picked up a pair of goals on Thursday.

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