Fantasy Hockey Week 9 Schedule Preview

Goals Against - a low ranking means they let in lots of goals (Calgary is letting in 3.64 goals against per game, they are ranked #1).

Goals for - the lower the ranking the more the team scores (Montreal is scoring the most goals for per game at 3.61 and is the number 1 ranking).

So you want to face a team with a low GA and a high GF. This is based off this seasons goals for and against, it will be updated as the season progresses to be a larger aggregate of this year.

Number of games this week:
4 games: Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, New Jersey Devils, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks
3 games: Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning and Winnipeg Jets. 
2 games: Calgary Flames and Washington Capitals

Favorable Offensive Matchups:
Boston Bruins - All three of their games this week are on the road but two of them (Edmonton and Calgary) are amongst the worst 5 teams in the league on defense and Vancouver is in the lower half. A good chance for younger guys who have been excelling like Jimmy Hayes, Ryan Spooner, Colin Miller and Frank Vatrano.
Dallas Stars - have the same three opponents in different order. Add in their top level offense and this could be a big production week for the likes of Jason Spezza, Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn and John Klingberg. 
Chicago Blackhawks - Two of their three matches are at home, the favorable two will be Ottawa and Winnipeg who are both allowing at least 2.91 goals per game. Minnesota is in the lower half as well.

Unfavorable Offensive Matchups:
Colorado Avalanche - Four matchups this week and all of them are on the road. The first three (NYI, New Jersey and NYR) are all allowing fewer than 2.48 goals per game). Minnesota will be an easier matchup.
Carolina Hurricanes - Four matchups for them as well. The first three are very difficult - NYR, New Jersey and Montreal are among the top 7 in terms of defense. Arizona will be easier but it's on the tail end of a back to back. 
Anaheim Ducks - Things will not be easy for an already struggling offense here. Vancouver is in the lower half of the league in goals allowed but the next three (Tampa Bay, San Jose and Pittsburgh) are all not only allowing few goals but half goalies who are playing very well now (Ben Bishop, Matt Jones and Marc-Andre Fleury).

Favorable Defensive Matchups:
Arizona Coyotes - Four games and all of them are on the low half of goals scored. The downside is that all four games are on the road. The final three games (Detroit, Buffalo and Carolina) are all in the bottom 5 in goals scored. 
New Jersey Devils - Four games but the middle two (Carolina and Philadelphia) on a back to back are amongst the worst three in the league in goals scored. 
San Jose Sharks - 3 games, two are at home against Pittsburgh (who remains in the bottom 6 in goals scored somehow), Anaheim (1.96 goals on average) and Tampa Bay (2.39 goals scored on average). This will be a favorable week for Martin Jones.

Unfavorable Defensive Matchups:
Calgary Flames - While this is a great week for their offense, it's not great for the Defense. With just two games, Dallas and Boston are in the top 4 in the league in goals scored. Many of their players who have abysmal plus minuses might see that trend continue. 
Washington Capitals - First of all they only have 2 games but secondly they are against Montreal and Winnipeg who are first and 14^th in goals scored. Not a favorable week for Braden Holtby.
Chicago Blackhawks - Minnesota and Ottawa are both scoring at least 2.95 goals per game. Winnipeg is a bit lower but can still find a good scoring touch when they are hot.