Who says it's too late to help your chances in your fantasy league? Check this out: Eleven players have scored three goals or more during the past seven days, and four of them are available in more than 50 percent of ESPN.com leagues. In fact, only five of them are owned in more than 95 percent of ESPN.com leagues. Kyle Okposo (available in 92 percent of leagues) has a five-game point streak. Antoine Vermette (90 percent availability) has at least one point in all four games as a Blue Jacket; in fact, he has six points with his new club. Alexandre Burrows (still available in 63 percent of leagues) has 13 points in 12 games. So, never say it's too late to do something for your club.
You must retain focus to steal your fantasy team those precious points down the stretch. If you're 30 assists ahead of the next guy in the standings and 30 assists behind the guy ahead of you, nothing will change in the next month. Alexei Ponikarovsky (available in 88 percent of ESPN.com leagues) won't do much for your club, despite his six assists in the past week. No, you need to know where you can make up ground. If you and three other owners are all within six power-play goals of one another, Jarret Stoll and Cory Murphy could be huge difference-makers for your team. Stoll (89 percent available) and Murphy (99 percent) each has a pair of power-play tallies this past week.
You can shed weight that isn't exactly helping you at this point, too. Maybe David Krejci helped you to where you are now atop your league's standings, but that doesn't mean you should hold on to him for sentimental reasons. Sure, he is plus-32 on the season, but he is an even zero in his past 12 games with just three points. Unfortunately, fantasy hockey is a game of "What have you done for me lately?" Brian Campbell has been terrible all season and is now minus-8 in his past 10 games with just five assists to show for it. Depending on your positioning in each category, those assists might not be worth his minus-8. Consider things from all angles, as even the great Scott Niedermayer is minus-10 in his past 12 games with nine points. What do you need more? His nine points, or to avoid his minus-10?
Hidden gems can be had depending on your needs. Jason Blake's five points in his past eight games are weak when compared to other players who shoot as often as he does, but those shots on goal might be enough to steal a point depending on how your league shakes out in that category. Blake trails only Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin and Eric Staal when it comes to shots on goal in the past 15 days.
The trouble is evident in the goaltending categories as well. Most leagues have enough separation that it's tough to make a move in goals-against average or save percentage, but it's not impossible. At the very least, continuing to march out Marty Turco every night with Kari Lehtonen available in your league is tantamount to throwing in the towel on your goaltending season. Turco continues to prove he isn't worth the effort you exhausted by clicking on his name at the draft with a 3.05 GAA and four wins in eight tries during the past 15 days, while Lehtonen has won five of six in that same time frame with a 1.98 GAA. Make the switch. You may think you can't make up ground in the goaltending categories, but if you drop Turco and the person ahead of you in the standings picks him up, that would increase your chances of catching him.
The point is you always can make a move to improve your team. You just have to search for it sometimes.
Olli Jokinen put up five points in a losing effort against the Maple Leafs on Saturday night, and one has to wonder whether he is playing so well for the Flames' sake or whether he is just getting excited about snapping his dubious streak as the NHL player who has gone the longest without making the postseason. That streak surely will come to an end this season, and it will be thanks in part Jokinen's strong play down the stretch. Given that, consider his new linemate Curtis Glencross. The sturdy yet average winger has relieved Michael Cammalleri of the coveted role alongside Jokinen and Jarome Iginla and had two points Saturday to show for it. … Get Evgeni Nabokov back into your lineup pronto. He made his first start on Saturday since Feb. 25 and looked solid while stopping 23 of 24 in an overtime victory against Los Angeles. … Colorado's power-play unit has been weak all season, but it, especially quarterback John-Michael Liles, seem to have perked up a bit during the past few days. Liles has four points in his past two contests, and three of them have come with the man advantage. … Your shutout leaders in the NHL for the 2008-09 season: Rookie Steve Mason leads with nine, and rookie Pekka Rinne follows with seven. Yeah, you'd better believe we are on the cusp of seeing some great goaltending in the league. Rinne notched his seventh goose egg with a blanking of the Coyotes on Saturday. He remains a must-start, having won seven of his past eight (three of them shutouts). … Don't look now, but Sean Avery has goals in two straight and a total of three points in five games as a Ranger. Maybe coach John Tortorella really has gotten through to him (for now). … Call him Mr. Streaky if you must, but make sure you get David Backes back into your lineup. After going cold for much of February, Backes has two points in four of his past five games. That came out confusing. Try this: Backes has 10 points in his past five games. There, that drives home the point better.
