Fantasy Hockey Week Eleven Top Performers
This week’s top 10 performers are getting hot the right time as we head out of the regular season and into the playoffs. A familiar face that seems to have found his game leads the way with his teammate reaping the benefits in the two hole. The duo and the other eight are listed below:
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1. Alex Ovechkin - Washington Capitals (LW, RW)
5 goals, 2 assists and a plus-5 rating this past week, including his 12th career hat-trick, which came against the Florida Panthers. He's got 15 goals in his last 14 games and nobody in the league has been hotter in the past month. Those who invested in Ovie despite a lackluster start to the year and an underachieving season last year are glad they took the gamble now.
2. Nicklas Backstrom - Washington Capitals (C)
9 points last week (all assists) to go with a plus-5 rating and six minutes in the penalty box. Three of his helpers came on the powerplay. It’s no coincidence he’s paired with Ovie on this list as he’s quite the player himself. When healthy, he’s a point a game playmaker and when his captain is on fire, there’s not question he becomes a fantasy force to be reckoned with.
3. Taylor Hall - Edmonton Oilers (LW)
2 goals, 5 assists and a plus-3 rating last week. He’s got 41 points in 35 games this year and although it looks like he’s settled in as the type of player that comes in below the 30-goal mark on an annual basis, being at a pace higher than a point a game is a definite improvement over the career-high 53 points in 61 games he managed last year. That’s an especially good sign on a team that continues to grow into a future powerhouse.
4. Derek Stepan - New York Rangers (C)
3 goals (2 on the powerplay) and 3 assists to go with a plus-6 rating last week. He seems to have found some chemistry playing with Rick Nash and Ryan Callahan over the last little while, a result of the changes made at the trade deadline by the team. He's been a solid second line center all season and seems to have found room to work while his linemates provide a combination of size, toughness and skill. He's a good bet to be one of the more productive players in the fantasy playoffs as the Rangers push towards securing a spot.
5. Rick Nash - New York Rangers (LW)
3 goals (1 on the powerplay), 2 assists, a plus-4 rating and a healthy 26 shots on goal this past week. It helps that his center Stepan is playing well and the departure of Marian Gaborik leaves the bulk of the team's offense to Nash and Brad Richards. It looks like the toughness the team acquired from San Jose and Columbus is better suited to the character of John Tortorella's teams and as a result, all the Rangers on this list should be a fantasy force in the postseason.
6. Henrik Lundqvist - New York Rangers (G)
3 wins and a 1.22 goals against average in four contest this past week. Normally the top goalie on this list would need a shutout to get on it, but you don’t need one if you can stop 48 out of 49 shots in a game the way King Henrik did against Carolina on Saturday. The Rangers have looked great since the trade deadline and you can bet they’re going to need their goalie at the top of his game as the regular season draws to a close.
7. Brad Richards - New York Rangers (C)
1 goal, four assists and a plus-2 rating last week. He's right about where you'd expect him to be points wise, in the 60-70 range with a lot of helpers; just six goals is considerably less than fantasy owners would hope for. Seems to have found a home on a line with Ryan Clowe and Mats Zuccarello, both of whom can drive to the net and capitalize on Richards' playmaking ability.
8. Brian Elliott - St. Louis Blues (G)
3 wins and his first shutout of the season this past week. He's already appeared in more games, three, in the month of April than he did in all of March. Teammate Jaroslav Halak may be out for the rest of the regular season with a lower body injury, so Elliott and Jake Allen will carry the load. Elliott has had a very difficult season, starting just 10 contests this year after posting a career-high 9 shutouts in 36 starts last season. Hopefully he's found his game as we head into the fantasy playoffs.
9. Evander Kane - Winnipeg Jets (LW)
1 goal, 1 assist and a plus-1rating in four games this past week. That’s not much in terms of the scoring he’s usually expected to produce, but he makes this list because of the uncharacteristically lengthy amount of time he spent in the sin bin; 23 minutes to be exact. The Jets have struggled as a team but are still in a battle for the Southeast Division title. Having Kane heat up offensively would be ideal, both in reality and in the fantasy world.
10. Just Williams - Los Angeles Kings (RW)
3 goals, 2 assists and a plus-4 rating this past week. He’s pretty hot right now and has notched 6 goals and 2 assists on this current 7 game point streak he’s managed to put together. He’s a steady secondary scoring option that’s proven he can get his fantasy owners 50+ points over the course of a full season. He’s keeping up that pace this season and a plus-19 rating would be a career-high if it holds for the remainder of the year.
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