Fantasy Hockey Gauntlet - Week Seventeen: Cam Talbot, Mathieu Perreault, Mike Fisher

If you missed out on the early entries into my weekly series, you can find it all right here: Fake Teams Fantasy Hockey.

A quick recap of last week's recommendations: This was far better than last time. Devan Dubnyk was the NHL's first star of the week. The Wild only played two games last week, but Double D recorded back to back shutout wins. He has four shutouts since being traded to the Wild a month ago and is riding a five game winning streak. Moral of the story, it's probably too late to pick him up, but what a star he has been on your push towards the playoffs! John Klingberg and Jordan Staal were my other two headliners last week and they were both great as well. Klingberg posting four points including a couple powerplay points which are incredibly difficult to find in free agency. I picked him up in a couple leagues and am very happy I did so. Staal contributed a couple points, but his 14 shots really stood out. Shots equal success. And playing on the top line with his brother, I expect his success to continue. Carl Hagelin was also a really good pickup last week with a couple points, a few penalty minutes, and 17 shots. That said, he has been recently demoted to the third line and I don't expect him to continue to be a force for the remainder of the season. Great one week add if you picked him up. Sean Monahan was good as he contributed respectable numbers all across the board. Reilly Smith and Jacob Trouba were meh. They didn't hurt you, but they didn't really help either. Cedric Paquette and Jonathan Drouin cooled off their recent hot streak like I suggested they might. I'm not too surprised by their poor week. Patrick Maroon didn't contribute anything  by way of points, but his nine penalty minutes kept him relevant last week. He's off the top line, but still with Ryan Kesler on the second line. He shoots and takes penalty minutes, so I'd still hold onto him.

In the snake draft league - This was Made in Kariya - Winning six matchups in a row has vaulted my team from a borderline playoff team to tied for first place. I have a tough matchup this week against the team I'm currently tied with in first. It'll be important not to lose as I want to retain my playoff bye. In the auction draft league - Don't Toews me bro! - A fourth straight win gained four points on the team in first and leaves me behind by only one point. I have a tough week ahead of me against the team trailing me in third. Overall I went 4-1-1 last week and I'm now 57-28-10 in head to head matchups on the year. My matchup winning percentage is 0.653 for the year among all leagues versus my category (points) winning percentage of 0.581.

Week Seventeen (February 9-15) Preview:

4 Game Week: Arizona, Chicago, Edmonton, Florida, Minnesota, San Jose, Vancouver
2 Game Week: Boston, Buffalo, Carolina, Colorado, Detroit
All other teams at 3 games

Waiver Pickups:

Mike Fisher - C - NSH (32% owned): Fisher continues to be hot and underowned. He has four goals, three assists, three powerplay points, and 16 shots in the last seven games. Now he hasn't done anything in the last three games, but I like his chances to pick it up.

Contributes in everything but penalty minutes
Can hurt you in penalty minutes

John Klingberg - D - DAL (47%): I don't  usually recommend a player two weeks in a row. I don't like that, it feels like cheating. That said, Klingberg has been such a terrific asset the last couple weeks that he is forcing my hand. He's still under 50% ownership which is insane. He has ten points in the last two weeks people! He's the fourth best fantasy asset in all of hockey over that time! He's gone in all of my leagues (I picked him up in 3/6 leagues), make sure you add him if he's available in yours!

Contributes in goals, assists, powerplay points, shots
Can hurt you in nothing

Mathieu Perreault - C/LW - WPG (36%): Perreault was a recommendation a few weeks ago before he was injured. He didn't miss too much time and he's now back and producing as if he didn't miss any time. He's not a sexy addition, but he gets the job done.

Contributes in goals, assists, shots
Can hurt you in plus/minus, penalty minutes

Cam Atkinson - RW - CLS (10%): Atkinson is a player that was intriguing in the preseason and I recommended against drafting for the year. For the year to date, I've been right so far as he only has a 0.45 PPG pace. That said, any player can be a great short term add and Atkinson is making his case right now. He's playing on the top line with Ryan Johansen and Scott Hartnell and has three points in his last three games and six points in his last six games. He's playing on the top powerplay unit, even though he doesn't have any points on it recently and he should contribute there. The best thing about Atkinson and the reason why he was an intriguing player to watch is that he shoots a ton. With 21 shots in the past two weeks, we're hoping he can continue his recent success.

Contributes in goals, assists, shots
Can hurt you in penalty minutes

David Desharnais - C - MON (13%): Desharnais will only help you if you need assists, but he's been contributing those at an elite rate over the last week. Named the third star of the week with one goal and five assists, Desharnais has been on fire playing with sniper Max Pacioretty.

Contributes in assists, plus/minus
Can hurt you in goals, penalty minutes

Mats Zuccarello - LW/RW - NYR (44%): Norway's best player, Mats Zuccarello, is playing well on the second line with Chris Kreider and Derick Brassard. He was a fantasy gem last year with 59 points, but has been a bit of a disappointment so far this year. His six points during his current five game point streak is a step back in the right direction.

Contributes in assists
Can hurt you in penalty minutes

Travis Hamonic - D - NYI (16%): Typically a player chosen for his prowess to hit the sin bin, Hamonic's recent prowess on the powerplay is worth noting. He has taken charge on the top powerplay unit with four powerplay assists in the last two weeks and if he can be a scoring tough guy, he has far more value than we've seen in the past. Added bonus, they play three games this week and five games next week.

Contributes in assists, penalty minutes, powerplay points
Can hurt you in goals

Cam Talbot - G - NYR (38%): Opportunity speaks volumes and Talbot has opportunity with Henrik Lundqvist out for the next three weeks. His first three starts were alright, but not great, but the fact of the matter is is that he is a starting goaltender readily available on a decent team. Definitely worth a pickup.

Hopefully there is enough here to help you through the week, but if not, here is a preview towards next week.

Week Eighteen (February 16-22) Preview:

5 Game Week: New York Islanders
4 Game Week: Boston, Buffalo, Carolina, Colorado, Columbus, Dallas, Edmonton, Florida, Minnesota, Montreal, Nashville, New York Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Vancouver, Washington
2 Game Week: Arizona
All other teams at 3 games

My NHL Schedule:

The NHL Schedule has not been revised for anything since last week but can be found here: 2014-15 NHL Schedule . Don't forget to change the time zone to your appropriate time zone. The one thing I ask of you is that you do not take my schedule and use it for your own personal gains. Please do not sell it, you can direct people here to find it, but do not sell it.

I'm new to the twitterverse, but I'd love to hear your feedback and questions. Follow me on Twitter @HockeyGauntlet for more of my thoughts and all of your fantasy hockey needs.