NHL PLAYOFF 2011: Fantasy Schedule Week 1

The regular season is over, the matchups are set and so it's time to get the second season started. 

The Chicago Blackhawks just squeaked into the playoffs and get a chance to defend their Stanley Cup title.  This is the most exciting time to be a hockey fan as every game means something now. 

Sit back and enjoy the ride.

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].

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

No. 1 Seed Washington Capitals vs. No. 8 Seed New York Rangers

Joel Auerbach/Getty Images

SUNRISE, FL - APRIL 9: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals shoots the puck prior to the NHL game against the Florida Panthers on April 9, 2011 at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)

Games: Wednesday, Friday and Sunday

Season Series: New York won 3-1-0 and outscored Washington 16-6

Season Home Records: Washington (25-8-8) – New York (20-17-4)

Season Away Records: Washington (23-15-3) – New York (24-16-1)

Season Powerplay Rank: Washington (16th) – New York (18th)

Season Penalty Kill Rank: Washington (second) – New York (10th)

Key Injuries: Jason Arnott (day-to-day), Dennis Wideman (indefinitely), Mike Green (could play Game 1), Tom Poti (indefinitely), Ryan Callahan (indefinitely), Alexander Frolov (will miss playoffs)

No. 2 Seed Philadelphia Flyers vs. No. 7 Seed Buffalo Sabres

Rick Stewart/Getty Images

BUFFALO, NY - APRIL 08: Jhonas Enroth #1 of the Buffalo Sabres makes a save on Daniel Briere #48 of the Philadelphia Flyers at HSBC Arena on April 8, 2011 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

Games: Thursday and Saturday

Season Series: Tied 2-2 and Philadelphia outscored Buffalo 17-14

Season Home Records: Philadelphia (22-12-7) – Buffalo (21-16-4)

Season Away Records: Philadelphia (25-11-5) – Buffalo (22-13-6)

Season Powerplay Rank: Philadelphia (19th) – Buffalo (ninth)

Season Penalty Kill Rank: Philadelphia (15th) – Buffalo (13th)

Key Injuries: Chris Pronger (day-to-day), Nick Boynton (day-to-day), Jochen Hecht (indefinitely), Jordan Leopold (indefinitely), Derek Roy (indefinitely), Tim Connolly (questionable)

No. 3 Seed Boston Bruins vs. No. 6 Seed Montreal Canadiens

Elsa/Getty Images

BOSTON, MA - MARCH 29: Zdeno Chara #33 of the Boston Bruins takes the puck in the third period against the Chicago Blackhawks on March 29, 2011 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Bruins defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 3-0. (Photo by E

Games: Thursday and Saturday

Season Series: Montreal won 4-2-0 and Boston outscored Montreal 22-20

Season Home Records: Boston (22-13-6) – Montreal (20-19-2)

Season Away Records: Boston (24-12-5) – Montreal (20-19-2)

Season Powerplay Rank: Boston (20th) – Montreal (seventh)

Season Penalty Kill Rank: Boston (16th) – Montreal (seventh)

Key Injuries: Marc Savard (will miss playoffs), Josh Gorges (will miss playoffs), Andrei Markov (will miss playoffs), Max Pacioretty (indefinitely)

No. 4 Seed Pittsburgh Penguins vs. No. 5 Seed Tampa Bay Lightning

Paul Bereswill/Getty Images

NEWARK, NJ - MARCH 02: Steven Stamkos #91 of the Tampa Bay Lightning skates during an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on March 2, 2011 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)

Games: Wednesday and Friday

Season Series: Tied 2-2 and Pittsburgh outscored Tampa Bay 17-9

Season Home Records: Pittsburgh (25-14-2) – Tampa Bay (25-11-5)

Season Away Records: Pittsburgh (24-11-6) – Tampa Bay (21-14-6)

Season Powerplay Rank: Pittsburgh (25th) – Tampa Bay (sixth)

Season Penalty Kill Rank: Pittsburgh (first) – Tampa Bay (eighth)

Key Injuries: Sidney Crosby (indefinitely), Evgeni Malkin (will miss playoffs), Victor Hedman (day-to-day)

No. 1 Seed Vancouver Canucks vs. No. 8 Seed Chicago Blackhawks

Frederick Breedon/Getty Images

NASHVILLE, TN - MARCH 29: Christian Ehrhoff #5 of the Vancouver Canucks carries the puck behind teammate Roberto Luongo and away from Martin Erat #10 the Nashville Predators on March 29, 2011 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by F

Games: Wednesday, Friday and Sunday

Season Series: Vancouver won 2-1-1 and Chicago outscored Vancouver 12-9

Season Home Records: Vancouver (27-9-5) – Chicago (24-17-0)

Season Away Records: Vancouver (27-10-4) – Chicago (20-12-9)

Season Powerplay Rank: Vancouver (first) – Chicago (fourth)

Season Penalty Kill Rank: Vancouver (third) – Chicago (25th)

Key Injuries: Manny Malhotra (will miss playoffs), Andrew Alberts (day-to-day), Troy Brouwer (day-to-day), David Bolland (indefinitely)

No. 2 Seed San Jose Sharks vs. No. 7 Seed Los Angeles Kings

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

GLENDALE, AZ - MARCH 26: Patrick Marleau #12 of the San Jose Sharks warms up before the NHL game against the Phoenix Coyotes at Jobing.com Arena on March 26, 2011 in Glendale, Arizona. The Sharks defeated the Coyotes 4-1. (Photo by Christian Petersen/G

Games: Thursday and Saturday

Season Series: San Jose won 3-1-2 and outscored Los Angeles 18-15

Season Home Records: San Jose (25-11-5) – Los Angeles (25-13-3)

Season Away Records: San Jose (23-14-4) – Los Angeles (21-17-3)

Season Powerplay Rank: San Jose (second) – Los Angeles (21st)

Season Penalty Kill Rank: San Jose (24th) – Los Angeles (fourth)

Key Injuries: Anze Kopitar (indefinitely), Justin Williams (questionable), Ryane Clowe (day-to-day)

No. 3 Seed Detroit Red Wings vs. No. 6 Seed Phoenix Coyotes

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

CHICAGO, IL - APRIL 10: Tomas Holmstrom #96 of the Detroit Red Wings celebrates a 2nd period goal with teammate Pavel Datsyuk #13 against the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center on April 10, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty I

Games: Wednesday and Saturday

Season Series: Tied 2-2 and Phoenix outscored Detroit 12-11

Season Home Records: Detroit (21-14-6) – Phoenix (21-13-7)

Season Away Records: Detroit (26-11-4) – Phoenix (22-13-6)

Season Powerplay Rank: Detroit (fifth) – Phoenix (23rd)

Season Penalty Kill Rank: Detroit (17th) – Phoenix (26th)

Key Injuries: Niklas Kronwall (day-to-day), Henrik Zetterberg (questionable)

No. 4 Seed Anaheim Ducks vs. No. 5 Seed Nashville Predators

Frederick Breedon/Getty Images

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

Games: Wednesday, Friday and Sunday

Season Series: Nashville won 3-1-0 and outscored Anaheim 17-11

Season Home Records: Anaheim (26-13-2) – Nashville (24-9-8)

Season Away Records: Anaheim (21-17-3) – Nashville (20-18-3)

Season Powerplay Rank: Anaheim (third) – Nashville (26th)

Season Penalty Kill Rank: Anaheim (19th) – Nashville (fifth)

Key Injuries: Ray Emery (day-to-day), Jonas Hiller (questionable), Martin Erat (day-to-day), Steve Sullivan (on IR)

Games to Close Out Week 1

Rich Lam/Getty Images

VANCOUVER, CANADA - FEBRUARY 4: Ryan Kesler #17 of the Vancouver Canucks watches the shot of teammate Mikael Samuelsson slide past goalie Marty Turco #30 of the Chicago Blackhawks during the second period in NHL action on February 04, 2011 at Rogers Arena

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 during regular season):

Anaheim (9-7), Chicago (9-5), Nashville (5-4), New York (7-5), Vancouver (6-3) and Washington (10-1)

Top 5 and Bottom 5 Teams Over Last 10 Games

Rick Stewart/Getty Images

BUFFALO, NY - MARCH 25: Ryan Miller #30 of the Buffalo Sabres makes a save on Stephen Weiss #9 of the Florida Panthers at HSBC Arena on March 25, 2011 in Buffalo, New York. Buffalo won 4-2. (Photo by Rick Stewart/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 a hot streak. Here is the top five and bottom five playoff bound teams up to the end of the regular season:

TOP FIVE: Buffalo (8-1-1), Pittsburgh (8-2-0), Washington (7-2-1), Nashville (7-2-1) and San Jose (7-2-1)

BOTTOM FIVE: Philadelphia (3-4-3), Detroit (4-4-2), Montreal (5-4-1), Chicago (5-4-1) and Phoenix (5-3-2)

CENTERS PAST 14:

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 25: Vincent Lecavalier #4 of the Tampa Bay Lightning skates against the Toronto Maple Leafs at St. Pete Times Forum on January 25, 2011 in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning defeated the Leafs 2-0. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/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 a hot streak.

Here are the top five playoff-bound scorers for each skater position (positions based according to CBSsports.com) up to April 11, 2011 for the past fourteen days:

Vincent Lecavalier-Tampa Bay (GP-seven G-five A-three)

Danny Briere-Philadelphia (GP-five G-two A-five)

Kyle Wellwood-San Jose (GP-six G-one A-six)

Tim Connolly-Buffalo (GP-seven G-two A-five)

Ryan Getzlaf-Anaheim (GP-six G-one A-six)

RIGHT-WINGERS PAST 14:

Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

ANAHEIM, CA - APRIL 8: Corey Perry #10 of the Anaheim Ducks skates with the puck against the Los Angeles Kings at Honda Center on April 8, 2011 in Anaheim, California. The Ducks won 2-1 to clinch a berth in the playoffs. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Ima

Corey Perry-Anaheim (GP-six G-six A-six)

Martin St. Louis-Tampa Bay (GP-seven G-four A-six)

Drew Stafford-Buffalo (GP-seven G-three A-four)

Patric Hornqvist-Nashville (GP-six G-two A-five)

Jason Pominville-Buffalo (GP-seven G-three A-four)

LEFT-WINGERS PAST 14:

Rick Stewart/Getty Images

BUFFALO, NY - APRIL 08: Thomas Vanek #26 of the Buffalo Sabres gets the puck behind Sergei Bobrovsky #35 of the Philadelphia Flyers for the game winning goal in overtime at HSBC Arena on April 8, 2011 in Buffalo, New York. Buffalo won 4-3 in overtime. (Ph

Thomas Vanek-Buffalo (GP-six G-six A-three)

Patrick Marleau-San Jose (GP-six G-four A-five)

Alex Ovechkin-Washington (GP-six G-three A-five)

Simon Gagne-Tampa Bay (GP-seven G-one A-seven)

Daniel Sedin-Vancouver (GP-six G-one A-seven)

DEFENSEMEN PAST 14:

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

GLENDALE, AZ - MARCH 26: Dan Boyle #22 of the San Jose Sharks warms up before the NHL game against the Phoenix Coyotes at Jobing.com Arena on March 26, 2011 in Glendale, Arizona. The Sharks defeated the Coyotes 4-1. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Im

Dan Boyle-San Jose (GP-six G-three A-three)

Lubomir Visnovsky-Anaheim (GP-six G-three A-three)

Andrej Meszaros-Philadelphia (GP-seven G-two A-four)

Brent Seabrook-Chicago (GP-seven G-three A-three)

John Carlson-Washington (GP-six G-one A-four)

HOT GOALTENDERS PAST 14:

Jeff Gross/Getty Images

ANAHEIM, CA - APRIL 06: Antti Niemi #31 of the San Jose Sharks looks on prior to the start of the game against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on April 6, 2011 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

Here are the top five goaltenders and bottom five playoff-bound goaltenders up to April 11, 2011 for the past 14 days:

Antti Niemi-San Jose (GP-five W-four SO-one GAA-1.61)

Carey Price-Montreal (GP-five W-four SO-zero GAA-1.71)

Dwayne Roloson-Tampa Bay (GP-five W-four SO-one GAA-2.00)

Jhonas Enroth-Buffalo (GP-six W-four SO-one GAA-2.66)

Pekka Rinne-Nashville (GP-six W-three SO-zero GAA-2.33)

COLD GOALTENDERS PAST 14:

Jeff Gross/Getty Images

LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 02: Goaltender Jonathan Quick #32 of the Los Angeles Kings lunges for the puck as Matt Greene #2 defends in the third period against the Dallas Stars at Staples Center on April 2, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. The Kings defeate

Jonathan Quick-Los Angeles (GP-six L-four GAA-2.75)

Corey Crawford-Chicago (GP-seven L-three GAA-2.53)

Henrik Lundqvist-New York (GP-six L-three GAA-2.63)

Jimmy Howard-Detroit (GP-five L-two GAA-2.98)

Marc-Andre Fleury-Pittsburgh (GP-four L-two GAA-2.95)