Fantasy Hockey
Sean Allen, Special to ESPN.com 6y

Rest-of-season fantasy hockey rankings

Fantasy NHL, Fantasy, NHL

The rankings this week start taking some wilder swings than usual, due simply to the fact that there are only two weeks remaining in the NHL regular season. As always, these rest-of-season rankings are only concerned with what a player will do from now until the season ends, and with fewer than 10 games to play for every NHL team, projecting that impact turns on the smallest piece of information.

The Florida Panthers, as you'll see, all take large leaps in the rankings relative to where they usually hang out. Why? They have an NHL-high nine games remaining. The Ottawa Senators (who don't offer much from a fantasy standpoint) and Boston Bruins have eight games each, while all the other teams play either six or seven times. While the final Sunday matchup between the Panthers and Bruins will not count for fantasy purposes (the fantasy season ends on Saturday in ESPN standard leagues, although in league manager formats, your commissioner will have the ability to alter scoring to reflect that final game), Florida still has eight contests remaining in fantasy leagues. All of a sudden, those extra games for the Panthers' skaters become extremely valuable. It's a monstrous advantage in counting stats. Unless you have managed your games-played maximums well this season in rotisserie leagues and don't have leftover games, the Panthers should definitely be on your radar for last minute additions.

Here's a look at some Panthers who are widely available and of service over the final 14 days of the season.

Nick Bjugstad, C/RW (rostered in 50.9 percent of ESPN leagues)

Though his pace hasn't been elite by any means, Bjugstad is steadily accruing fantasy value by virtue of playing on a line with Aleksander Barkov and Evgenii Dadonov with consistency. His minutes and shots on goal are both in the respectable range, and he's managed to slip in six goals and four helpers in the past 10 games. He should have more value than a significant number of players who may possess greater overall skills, but play only six more times.

Frank Vatrano, C/LW (1.8 percent)

As hoped, Vatrano's demotion from the top six in lieu of Denis Malgin didn't last long. He was back with Jonathan Huberdeau and Vincent Trocheck in time for a victory against the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday. Remember that Vatrano profiles as a goal scorer, having led the AHL in goals two seasons ago. Regular ice time with this unit over the course of nine more games should put him squarely on the fantasy radar.

Michael Matheson, D (18.0 percent)

While not scoring a lot, Matheson is doing everything else for his fantasy managers. His past 10 games feature 26 shots on goal, average ice time in the low 20s, a plus-4 and 19 penalty minutes. He's also enjoying secondary power-play time on occasion, so he has a chance to contribute a few points here and there, too.

James Reimer, G (13.7 percent)

Reimer is in a good position to close out the season with value, regardless of Roberto Luongo's current upper-body injury. Even if Luongo bounces back and is in the crease again after missing only one game, the Panthers have three back-to-back sets remaining this season that will feature an appearance by Reimer. For his part, Reimer has stopped 105 of 109 pucks sent his way in his past three starts, winning all three of them.


Forwards on the move

Patrice Bergeron, C, Boston Bruins (up 57 spots to No. 20)

Making a triumphant return to the lineup from a fractured foot on Sunday, Bergeron had two assists and a plus-2 in a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Wild. He skated 19:08 and was immediately re-inserted onto his line with David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand. The Bruins still resemble the walking wounded, with Rick Nash, David Backes and Jake DeBrusk out on offense, but this top line will be just fine with Torey Krug also back to health on the blue line. Rookie Ryan Donato is the fourth forward on the power play for the time being.

Johnny Gaudreau, LW, Calgary Flames (down 32 spots to No. 49)

Even before he was declared out Monday to return home for a "family matter," Gaudreau's prospects to close the season did not look great. Sean Monahan is gone for the remainder of the campaign for wrist surgery, and the Flames have been abysmal on defense for a long stretch of recent contests. In his last four games, Gaudreau has one point and a minus-10. Ugly. Without Monahan to help drive the offense and with no clear timetable on his return, Gaudreau is not someone to lean heavily on at this point. I don't know that I'd relegate him to the bench for this week in all formats, but in shallower leagues, it's definitely an option.

James van Riemsdyk, LW, Toronto Maple Leafs (up 30 spots to No. 95)

It seems like someone reminded van Riemsdyk a couple of weeks ago that he's a free agent after this season. Previously on pace to come close to a 30-goal campaign, van Riemsdyk now has 34 goals thanks to a ridiculous stretch of eight goals in six games. A lot of that offense came with Auston Matthews out of the lineup, so he may not continue at such a torrid pace. But van Riemsdyk remains a key catalyst on the Leafs power play and boasts three points in two games since Matthews' return.

Defensemen on the move

Ryan Pulock, New York Islanders (up 87 spots to No. 123)

Pulock is getting his due just in time to be a game-changer for fantasy over the final weeks of the season. Getting prime power-play ice time and sometimes eclipsing 20 minutes of ice time, Pulock has nine points in his past eight games, with four of those points coming on the man advantage. His thunderous slap shot from the point is finally being unleashed with regularity.

Kevin Shattenkirk, New York Rangers (up 92 spots to No. 130)

I had Neal Pionk leaping in the rankings until seeing news that Shattenkirk was a full participant in practice on Friday and was aiming to return with five games left in the season. The Rangers' power play has looked really solid with Pionk manning the point, so Shattenkirk should have a turn-key unit ready for his return.

Goaltenders on the move

Semyon Varlamov, Colorado Avalanche (up 64 spots to No. 62)

Admittedly, the competition is probably going to be fierce in the final week with the St. Louis Blues, Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks all taking on the Avalanche for the final playoff berth. But Varlamov has had more good games than bad in recent weeks, including some competition against tougher squads. You'll need to watch out for the occasional five-goal clunker, as usual, but on the whole, Varlamov has helped more than hurt fantasy teams this season. Especially with some of the other fluctuations in the crease of late, I'm happy to have him at the tail end of the top 10.

Keith Kinkaid, New Jersey Devils (enters ranks at No. 148)

I can't explain this situation in New Jersey anymore than I can the goaltending in Washington and the situation with Braden Holtby and Philipp Grubauer. There are a lot of parallels here: One of the best goaltenders over the past several NHL seasons is struggling, and a backup is looking far more locked in than what we might expect. But just like with Holtby and Gurbauer, this run of dismal starts by Cory Schneider and success by Kinkaid has been sustained long enough that we can no longer question it. We are just forced to accept it and adapt.

Schneider's March numbers feature an 0-4 record with a 3.82 goals-against average and .862 save percentage, while Kinkaid's March stats are 6-2 with a 2.46 GAA and .931 save percentage. There is a clear choice for the playoff bubble Devils, and fantasy managers need to get on board. Kinkaid is only rostered in 26.7 percent of ESPN leagues.

Quick hits

What was originally projected to be one or two weeks on the sideline with a bruised foot turned into exactly zero games missed. Patrik Laine was back in the Winnipeg Jets' lineup on Friday without missing a beat. Of course, he has zero points in two games since taking a puck off the foot, so perhaps he's still a step slow. Still, if Laine is playing, he has to be in your lineup. ... The Coyotes have a line heating up, and somehow, Richard Panik finds himself a part of it. The ever-underestimated Panik likes to sneak onto scoring lines. He did it with Jonathan Toews and the Chicago Blackhawks, and now he's doing it on the top line with Clayton Keller and Derek Stepan. Panik has five points in five games. ... Michal Neuvirth could be back this week, and Brian Elliott could follow him a couple days later. I don't know that I'd be reacting to the Neuvirth news immediately, but stashing Elliott for the final week of the season doesn't seem like a bad idea -- especially with so much goaltender uncertainty in the air.

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