Fantasy Hockey Schedule Week 26: Two Weeks to Go

After this week, the playoff picture should be a little clearer, with most of the teams that are fighting for playoff spots playing four games. 

Be sure to dress your players battling for playoff spots, as these teams are in playoff mode and will give you the best chance at winning this week.

Also, stay on top of injuries. Playoff-bound teams will rest star players who have the slightest of an injury. 

With so much on the line in these final weeks, don’t lose out on points during a scoring period because you dressed an injured player. 

Here is some great information for helping you to decide who to dress for the upcoming fantasy hockey week.

Aaron Brouwer is the co-creator of www.fantasyhockeycoach.com.  FHC is a free fantasy hockey service that developed a ranking system combining post-lockout statistics, current factors and our own hockey knowledge.  Brouwer writes about fantasy hockey on Bleacher Report. You can contact Coach Brouwer at [e-mail].

Games to Be Played in Week 26

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NASHVILLE, TN - MARCH 24: Bobby Ryan #9 and Ryan Getzlaf #15 of the Anaheim Ducks congratulate teammate Corey Perry #10 after scoring a goal against the Nashville Predators on March 24, 2011 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Fr

Four Games: Anaheim, Buffalo, Carolina, Chicago, Colorado, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Minnesota, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Tampa Bay

Three Games: Atlanta, Boston, Calgary, Edmonton, Florida, Los Angeles, Montreal, Nashville, New Jersey, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Vancouver and Washington

Two Games: Phoenix and San Jose

Home and Away Games in Week 26

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UNIONDALE, NY - MARCH 11: Tim Thomas #30 of the Boston Bruins tends net against the New York Islanders at the Nassau Coliseum on March 11, 2011 in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

When it comes to dressing your players for the upcoming week—especially your goalies—it is important to know which team is on a long road trip and which team is enjoying an extended period at home.

Listed below are the teams that play at least three home/away games this week, or that play all their games at home or on the road (home/road records up to March 25, 2011):

Home: Boston (18-12-5), Columbus (16-16-4), Detroit (19-12-5), New Jersey (18-15-3), Phoenix (19-12-6), San Jose (21-11-5) and Washington (22-8-7)

Away: Atlanta (15-16-5), Buffalo (20-12-5), Chicago (17-11-8), Dallas (18-14-2) and NY Rangers (22-14-1)

Games to Close out Your Scoring Period

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NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 13: Marian Gaborik #10 of the New York Rangers controls the puck from Brett Sterling #12 of the Pittsburgh Penguins at Madison Square Garden on February 13, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

If you participate in any type of head-to-head hockey pool, you are likely dressing a lineup for each scoring period, which usually ends on Sunday.

As the week comes to an end, and you find yourself in a close battle for those wins, you want as many players as possible playing for you.

Here are the teams that play on Sunday (record for Sunday games up to Week 25):

Anaheim (9-6), Buffalo (3-3), Calgary (5-3), Carolina (2-3), Chicago (9-3), Colorado (1-2), Columbus (1-5), Dallas (3-3), Detroit (5-2), Minnesota (3-6), NY Rangers (6-5), Philadelphia (5-3), St. Louis (3-3) and Tampa Bay (4-3)

Back-to-Back Games in Week 26

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BUFFALO, NY - MARCH 15: Cam Ward #30 of Carolina Hurricanes makes a save against the Buffalo Sabres at HSBC Arena on March 15, 2011 in Buffalo, New York. Carolina won 1-0. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

When you are deciding which goalie to dress, you need to look at the NHL schedule to see if your goalie's team will play in a back-to-back game that week.

Most coaches will not dress the same goalie in back-to-back games, so that is something to consider when you are thinking about which goalie to dress.

Here are the teams that play in back-to-back games this week (record of second game of back-to-back up to Week 25):

Anaheim (5-7), Buffalo (7-11), Carolina (6-11), Chicago (10-6), Colorado (3-10), Columbus (9-7), Dallas (4-6), Detroit (8-5), Minnesota (5-12), Montreal (6-8), New Jersey (6-10), NY Islanders (6-12), NY Rangers (11-5), Philadelphia (8-5), St. Louis (10-5) and Tampa Bay (6-8)

Top Five and Bottom Five Teams over Last 10 Games

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NEWARK, NJ - MARCH 18: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals skates against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on March 18, 2011 in Newark, New Jersey. The Capitals shut out the Devils 3-0. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Knowing which team is on a hot streak or cold streak will help in making your lineup decisions.

For example, you definitely want to dress a goalie from teams that are on hot streaks. Here are the top five and bottom five teams up to March 25, 2011:

Top Five: Washington (9-1-0), Phoenix (8-1-1), Vancouver (8-2-0), Nashville (7-2-1) and NY Rangers (7-2-1)

Bottom Five: Colorado (2-7-1), Edmonton (2-6-2), Minnesota (2-6-2), Tampa Bay (2-4-4) and Columbus (2-4-4)

Top Centers from Last 14 Days

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SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 23: Rene Bourque #17 of the Calgary Flames and Joe Pavelski #8 of the San Jose Sharks go for the puck at the HP Pavilion on March 23, 2011 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Most elite stars are consistent scorers, but there are several players who are very streaky. So keep an eye on their stats so that you can dress them while they are on that hot streak.

Here are the top five scorers for each skater position (positions based according to CBSsports.com), up to March 25, 2011, for the past seven and 14 days:

Centers Past 14:

Joe Pavelski—San Jose (GP: seven, G: four, A: 10)

Ryan Getzlaf—Anaheim (GP: six, G: one, A: nine)

Matt Duchene—Colorado (GP: six, G: five, A: four)

Jason Spezza—Ottawa (GP: six, G: three, A: six)

Torrey Mitchell—San Jose (GP: seven, G: four, A: three)

Top Right Wingers from Last 14 Days

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ANAHEIM, CA - MARCH 06: Corey Perry #10 of the Anaheim Ducks looks to pass as he is pinned to the boards by Christian Ehrhoff #5 of the Vancouver Canucks during the first period at the Honda Center on March 6, 2011 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Harr

Right Wingers Past 14:

Corey Perry—Anaheim (GP: six, G: eight A: two)

Mike Knuble—Washington (GP: five, G: five A: three)

Matt D’Agostini—St. Louis (GP: six, G: four A: four)

Shane Doan—Phoenix (GP: seven, G: two A:six)

Radim Vrbata—Phoenix (GP: seven, G: two A: six)

Top Left Wingers from Last 14 Days

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SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 23: Patrick Marleau #12 of the San Jose Sharks celebrates in front of Jay Bouwmeester #4 of the Calgary Flames after he scored a goal at the HP Pavilion on March 23, 2011 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Left Wingers Past 14:

Patrick Marleau—San Jose (GP: seven, G: six, A: six)

Daniel Sedin—Vancouver (GP: five, G: five, A: four)

Chris Kunitz—Pittsburgh (GP: six, G: four, A: five)

Sergei Kostitsyn—Nashville (GP: seven, G: three, A: four)

Jamie Benn—Dallas (GP: five, G: two, A: five)

Top Defensemen from Last 14 Days

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UNIONDALE, NY - MARCH 08: Dion Phaneuf #3 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates against the New York Islanders at the Nassau Coliseum on March 8, 2011 in Uniondale, New York. The Islanders defeated the Leafs 4-3 in overtime. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Im

Defensemen Past 14:

Dion Phaneuf—Toronto (GP: seven, G: three, A: four)

Zdeno Chara—Boston (GP: five, G: one, A: six)

Dan Boyle—San Jose (GP: seven, G: zero, A: seven)

P.K. Subban—Montreal (GP: seven, G: four, A: two)

Erik Karlsson—Ottawa (GP: six, G: two, A: four)

Hot Goaltenders from Last 14 Days

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GLENDALE, AZ - MARCH 20: Goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov #30 of the Phoenix Coyotes during the NHL game against the Chicago Blackhawks at Jobing.com Arena on March 20, 2011 in Glendale, Arizona. The Blackhawks defeated the Coyotes 2-1. (Photo by Christian Pet

Here are the top five goaltenders and bottom five goaltenders (up to March 25, 2011) for the past 14 days:

Hot Goaltenders Past 14:

Ilya Bryzgalov—Phoenix (GP: six, W: five, SO: one, GAA: 1.51)

Henrik Lundqvist—NY Rangers (GP: six, W: five, SO: one, GAA: 1.79)

James Reimer—Toronto (GP: six, W: five, SO: one, GAA: 2.41)

Pekka Rinne—Nashville (GS: six, W: five, GAA: 2.32)

Cam Ward—Carolina (GP: five, W: three, SO: one, GAA: 2.00)

Cold Goaltenders from Last 14 Days

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NASHVILLE, TN - MARCH 12: Joel Waqrd #29 of the Nashville Predators celebrates a goal against Peter Budaj #31 of the Colorado Avalanche on March 12, 2011 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images

Cold Goaltenders Past 14:

Peter Budaj—Colorado (GP: three, L: three, GAA: 4.43)

Tomas Vokoun—Florida (GP: three, L: three, GAA: 2.71)

Devan Dubnyk—Edmonton (GP: two, L: two, GAA: 4.08)

Niklas Backstrom—Minnesota (GP: five, L: three, GAA: 3.70)

Miikka Kiprusoff—Calgary (GP: six, L: three, GAA: 3.90)