Fantasy Hockey Schedule Week 24: Finishing out the Season

When it comes to the final weeks of the NHL schedule, there are several things to take into consideration when deciding who to dress. 

First, look at the standings.  During the past week or so, teams like Vancouver, Detroit and even Philadelphia, which are locks for playoff spots, saw their level of play drop because they have less to play for. On the other hand, there are several teams fighting for playoff spots so their level of play has increased.  This is important to know when deciding who to dress because you should be dressing the player with something to play for.

Secondly, look at players battling for individual awards like the Art Ross or Rocket Richard.  Even though a team like Vancouver is a lock for the playoffs, their top players are right in the heat of the battle for the Art Ross, Rocket Richard and Jennings.  Keep this in mind when picking your weekly players, especially as we get closer to the end of the season.

Finally, look at the bottom of the standings.  These are the teams that could make or break your finish.  Teams like Edmonton, Ottawa or the NY Islanders have nothing to play for and therefore have no pressure on them.  The players are just out there playing hockey and having fun.  Look at the Islanders. They have won four of the last five games and in all of those wins they have scored four-or-more goals.

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 24:

Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

NEWARK, NJ - MARCH 08: Ilya Kovalchuk #17 of the New Jersey Devils skates against the Ottawa Senators at the Prudential Center on March 8, 2011 in Newark, New Jersey. The Sens defeated the Devils 2-1. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

FOUR GAMES: Columbus, Minnesota, Montreal, Nashville, New Jersey, Phoenix, San Jose and Toronto

THREE GAMES: Anaheim, Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Calgary, Carolina, Chicago, Colorado, Dallas, Detroit, Florida, Los Angeles, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Ottawa, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Vancouver and Washington

TWO GAMES: Edmonton and Pittsburgh

Home and Away Games in Week 24

Dave Sandford/Getty Images

CALGARY,CANADA - FEBRUARY 22: Zdeno Chara #33 of the Boston Bruins battles for the puck against Rene Bourque #17 of the Calgary Flames during their NHL game at Scotiabank Saddledome, February 22,2011 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.(Photo By Dave Sandford/Ge

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 play all their games at home or on the road (home/road records up to March 12, 2011):

HOME: Buffalo (14-15-3), Columbus (16-14-3), Dallas (19-9-6), Edmonton (12-19-4), Florida (13-14-7), Nashville (16-7-7), Ottawa (11-18-5) and Vancouver (23-7-5)

AWAY: Boston (22-9-4), Colorado (12-16-4), NY Rangers (20-14-1), Philadelphia (21-9-3), Phoenix (18-12-5), St. Louis (11-17-5), Tampa Bay (16-13-3) and Washington (18-12-3)

Games to Finish out Week 24

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

CHICAGO, IL - MARCH 04: Jonathan Toews #19 of the Chicago Blackhawks controls the puck under pressure from Jussi Jokinen #36 of the Carolina Hurricanes at the United Center on March 4, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. The Blackhawks defeated the Hurricanes 5-2.

If you participate in any type of head-to-head hockey pool, then 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:

Anaheim, Buffalo, Calgary, Chicago, Columbus, Minnesota, Montreal, NY Rangers, Nashville, New Jersey, Phoenix and Pittsburgh

Back-to-Back Games in Week 24

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 08: Ryan Miller #30 of the Buffalo Sabres makes a save on Dustin Jeffrey #15 of the Pittsburgh Penguins at Consol Energy Center on March 8, 2011 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/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 for the week.

Here are the teams that play in back-to-back games this week:

Anaheim, Buffalo, Carolina, Chicago, Colorado, Columbus, Detroit, Minnesota, Montreal, NY Islanders, Nashville, New Jersey, Phoenix, San Jose, St. Louis, Toronto and Washington

Top Five and Bottom Five Teams over Last 10 Games

Joel Auerbach/Getty Images

SUNRISE, FL - MARCH 6: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals is congratulated after assisting on a first period goal against the Florida Panthers on March 6, 2011 at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/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 12, 2011:

TOP FIVE: Washington (9-1-0), San Jose (8-1-1), Chicago (8-1-1), New Jersey (8-2-0) and Vancouver (7-3-0)

BOTTOM FIVE: Colorado (1-7-2), Florida (2-6-2), Atlanta (3-5-2), Nashville (3-5-2) and Columbus (3-4-3)

Streaking Skaters

Victor Decolongon/Getty Images

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 03: Anze Kopitar #11 of the Los Angeles Kings shoots the puck on net against Rostislav Klesla #16 of the Phoenix Coyotes in the second period during the NHL game at Staples Center on March 3, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Pho

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

Here are the top five scorers up to March 12, 2011 for the past seven and 14 days:

SKATER PAST SEVEN:

Andy McDonald—ST LOUIS (GP-four G-four A-three)

Daniel Sedin—VANCOUVER (GP-four G-three A-four)

Justin Williams—LOS ANGELES (GP-four G-two A-five)

Henrik Sedin—VANCOUVER (GP-four G-one A-six)

Anze Kopitar—LOS ANGELES (GP-four G-four A-two)

SKATER PAST FOURTEEN:

Jonathan Toews—CHICAGO (GP-seven G-eight A-four)

Anze Kopitar—LOS ANGELES (GP-seven G-five A-six)

Alex Ovechkin—WASHINGTON (GP-seven G-four A-seven)

Milan Lucic—BOSTON (GP-eight G-three A-seven)

Andrej Sekera—BUFFALO (GP-seven G-two A-eight)

Hot and Cold Goaltenders

Abelimages/Getty Images

TORONTO, CANADA - JANUARY 22: Tyler Bozak #42 of the Toronto Maple Leafs gets stopped by Braden Holtby #70 of the Washington Capitals during game action at the Air Canada Centre January 22, 2011 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Abelimages/Getty Imag

Here are the top five goaltenders and bottom five goaltenders up to March 12, 2011 for the past 14 days:

HOT GOALTENDERS PAST FOURTEEN:

Brayden Holtby—WASHINGTON (GS-two W-three GAA-0.36)

Miikka Kiprusoff—CALGARY (GS-six W-five SO-two GAA-2.09)

Martin Brodeur—NEW JERSEY (GS-six W-five GAA-1.45)

Carey Price—MONTREAL (GS-five W-four SO-one GAA-1.40)

Henrik Lundqvist—NY RANGERS (GS-seven W-five SO-one GAA-2.37)

COLD GOALTENDERS PAST FOURTEEN:

Steve Mason—COLUMBUS (GS-five W-zero GAA-3.58)

Brian Elliott—COLORADO (GS-four W-zero GAA-4.23)

James Reimer—TORONTO (GS-seven W-two GAA-3.27)

Tomas Vokoun—FLORIDA (GS-five W-one GAA-2.93)

Nicklas Backstrom—MINNESOTA (GS-four W-one GAA-3.92)