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Week 18 of the Fantasy Hockey season begins February 1st 2016 but the games after the much needed All-Star break don't actually begin until Tuesday the 2nd. Be aware of your league trading deadline and position limits so you don't wind up getting left out in the cold. Here is what I have for you this week!
Teams with four games this week are the Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadians, New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals.
Teams with two games this week are the Los Angeles Kings, Tampa Bay Lightning and Vancouver Canucks. Every other NHL team has three games on their schedule this week.
Week 18 Back to Back Games
Anaheim (Thur-Fri), Arizona (Thur-Fri), Buffalo (Wed-Thur), Columbus (Thur-Fri), Calgary (Fri-Sat), Detroit (Wed-Thur), Edmonton (Sat-Sun), Montreal (Sat-Sun), New York Islanders (Sat-Sun), Philadelphia (Sat-Sun), Pittsburgh (Fri-Sat) and Washington (Sat-Sun).
Week 18 Waiver Wire Options
Right Wing: Teddy Purcell and the Oilers have four games this week and over the past five games he's scored 2 goals with 2 assists and 12 shots on goal for a plus minus rating of zero. Purcell spends roughly 19 minutes a night on the Oilers top line as well as the top power play unit, has racked up 8 penalty minutes this season and is available in just over 85 percent of all Major Fantasy Hockey leagues.
Right Wing: Jannick Hansen and the Canucks have just two games this week but over his past five games Hansen has been hot with 3 goals and an assist with 10 shots on goal for a plus minus rating of five. Hansen has been skating about 16 minutes a night on the Canucks third line, has 18 penalty minutes this season and is available in just over 75 percent of all Major Fantasy Hockey leagues.
Center/Left Wing: Brayden Schenn and the Flyers have four games this week and over his past five games 2 goals and 2 assists and 6 shots on goal including 2 power play goals for a plus minus rating of minus three. Schenn has been skating about 17 minutes a night on the Flyers third line as well as the top power play unit, has racked up 25 penalty minutes this season and is available in just over 65 percent of all Major Fantasy Hockey leagues.
Defense: Johnny Oduya and the Dallas Stars have three games this week and over his past five games Oduya has 1 assist and 8 shots on goal for a plus minus rating of 2. Oduya skates about 21 minutes a night on the Stars third line of defense, has 14 minutes in penalties for the season and is available in just over 85 percent of all Major Fantasy Hockey leagues.
Defense: Mattias Ekholm and the Nashville Predators have three games this week and over his past five games has scored a goal with 5 helpers and 8 shots on goal for a plus minus rating of 2. Ekholm skates roughly 21 minutes a night on the Predators second line of defense as well as the Pred's second power play unit, has 24 penalty minutes this season and is available in just over 60 percent of all Major Fantasy Hockey leagues.
Defense: Karl Alzner and the Capitals have four games this week and over his past five games has scored a goal with 1 assist and 7 shots on goal for a plus minus rating of 3. Alzner skates roughly 23 minutes a night on the Capitals top line of defense, has 14 penalty minutes this season and is available in just over 85 percent of all Major Fantasy Hockey leagues.
Good luck this week Fantasy Hockey General Manager.
On Tuesday's Phil Naessens Show Brian Rutherford from Rotowire joined me to discuss sell high strategy involving several players. I will leave the player below or you can visit my site here.