Frozen Fantasy: Playing Spoiler

The last week of the NHL schedule is upon us. And let's be painfully honest: the vast majority of fantasy owners lost interest weeks -- no, months -- ago.

We're losing. Why stay engaged?

I'll admit it's tempting to close up shop and ignore a losing fantasy team. But there are a lot of reasons to keep your mind on hockey. Playing spoiler (fun). Planning for next year (smart). Following the races (intense). Forecasting the first-round upsets (more fun). Watching Buffalo lose both Connor McDavid AND Jack Eichel (painful, but smugly satisfying).

Now there's a losing team that just can't even lose right.

The wild-card teams are far from wrapped up, so the games this last week will be played hard and fast. It's going to be great. And the McEichel race (appropriately dubbed that by my good buddy and Morning Skate collaborator, Dan Pennucci) is about to turn sandy and hot. Yep, Buffalo is about to lose out on both studs. And to Arizona.

Spit. Terry Pegula might have money, but he really hasn't accomplished much ... but I digress.

Buffalo is spoiling things for itself. The Penguins are setting themselves up for a first-round loss. The Red Wings are backing into the postseason ... if they even get there. And Dustin Byfulgien's brain fart all but iced the Jets' hopes for a playoff berth.

Who said there's no reason to pay attention to hockey?

Like you, I've struggled to stay connected to my fantasy teams, losing or not. I run five and sometimes six hockey teams in as many leagues. I end up twisted and torn -- success in one league often means disaster in another, especially in head-to-head formats. Jiri Hudler has been a stud on my one of my teams ... and an absolute killer against one of my others.

Love/hate. I get it now.

The Yahoo! Friends and Family league has kept me going despite the fact I'm sitting eighth of 13. You'll know I was second-to-last there for a while, so clawing my way to eighth has taken real work. The best I can do is shoot for seventh, and I'm all in. Why? Because my fight for seventh may help decide who wins the entire league.

#Spoiler. If you can't win, then ruin it for someone else.

First, my apologies to fellow Rotowire contributor, Evan Berofsky -- he's second in the league by a half point (at least that's where he was Friday). But he's within reach of me in the plus-minus category. So, I just went for it Friday, dumping a bunch of guys and adding plus-minus beasts Johnny Oduya (four games remaining), Niklas Hjalmarsson (four) and Mark Methot (five) to bolster my efforts.

And if Pennucci, who is seventh, loses ground in any category ... Hey, I'm going to make the most of what's left of this hockey season.

So, to that end, let's look at who caught my eye this week.

Richard Bachman, G, Edmonton (1 percent Yahoo owned) - This little guy seems to hit the fantasy radar once every season. He has the ability to stand on his head for short stretches and deliver surprising fantasy results. This past week, he strung together consecutive wins, including a shutout, before he left the team on a personal matter. He'll be back shortly and could find himself plunked right back between the pipes. The games will be tough -- they play the Flames, Kings, Sharks and Orcas before season's end. But the Oilers are 5-4 heading into Saturday's tilt against their provincial rivals. That's better than they've been in ... uh … years?

Aleksander Barkov, C, Florida (10 percent) - I was wrong. I thought the addition of Jaromir Jagr would slow the kitties' speedy youngsters to a crawl. Nope -- not even close actually. Barkov has nine points, including four goals, in his last nine games, and his line with Jagr and Jonathan Huberdeau has been one of the NHL's best. Go figure. Barkov is the least-owned member of that trio, so get on board now. Those kitties really do think they still have a shot (not a chance, but we'll let them dream), so that trio is going to continue to rip it up.

Brett Connolly, RW, Boston (1 percent) - He's talented, but remarkably unlucky. He got his ticket to freedom at the deadline and then busted a digit before he even played a game for the Bruins. He picked up two helpers in his first game (Thursday) while skating on the B's third line. He's out to prove Stevie Y and the rest of the Bolts' brain trust that they made a mistake trading him and has four games left to prove it. Plus the Bruins need to win, so the stars are aligning for him to make his mark ... especially against his old team (April 11).

Niklas Hjalmarsson, D, Chicago (8 percent) - He's plus-13 in his last 11 games. Heck, he even has five points in those 11 games, but that's just "au jus" to me. A plus-13 boost to my lineup would have bumped me up a point or maybe two in one of my leagues ... and taken those points from the guys who are in a dogfight for first. There's no need to make it easy on them. They need to pay attention, too.

Andrej Meszaros, D, Buffalo (2 percent) - This lead-footed Luddite found offense this week. OK, it came against Arizona, Toronto and Colorado, but it came nonetheless and to the tune of four goals and an assist. He's still chopped liver, but hold your nose and swallow ... as long as you don't need plus-minus. Just temper your expectations -- how valuable is a guy who peaked as a rookie. Now that's premature something, right?

Johnny Oduya, D, Chicago (3 percent) - A little Johnny might do you just fine if you're looking for plus-minus. Oduya has a plus-14 rating and five points in his last 11 games. Add one or both to your lineup, especially if you're looking for a potential big boost for that category. I did.

David Pastrnak, RW, Boston (10 percent) - I've told you about Pastrnak before, so this will be short and sweet. He had a fantastic March, has five points and a plus-5 rating in his last four games and has four games left, two of which are against Toronto and Florida. That's a good enough opportunity for me.

Brandon Pirri, C, Florida (11 percent) - Need goals? Stop overlooking this speed demon. He has nine in his last 11 games and 22 in 45 games. And he's doing it without inflating his shooting percentage. You won't find cheaper (or more consistent) goal scoring anywhere else.

Carl Soderberg, LW/C, Boston (24 percent) - Soda pop is riding a four-game, six-point (two goals, four assists) streak heading into Saturday's likely beatdown of the Leafs. And he has nine points, including six helpers, in his last nine games. Check your wire -- you never know if you'll find him lurking there. I did.

Vincent Trocheck, C, Florida (0 percent) - Trocheck has become the new Nick Bjugstad -- OK, a much shorter version of the big jug, but he's getting a chance to strut his stuff as the kitties' second-line pivot. He started slowly there, but he knocked it right out of the park with two goals, one assist and a plus-4 rating against the Canes on Thursday night. The Panthers have a tough slog ahead, but so far, they have refused to give up. Bottle that and drop him in your lineup.

Back to making the most of this last week.

Heading into action Saturday, there are 10 teams with five games to play. Detroit, N.Y. Rangers, Pittsburgh, Ottawa, Columbus, Philly, Carolina, Minny, L.A. and Winnipeg. Just one -- Anaheim -- has only two games left. And only Tampa Bay and Montreal have three.

Take advantage of strong schedules and streaking players on those 10 squads. But don't just dump your high-end Ducks like Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry because they only have two games left -- I'll take those studs with two games left over a waiver pickup with five. Every single day.

Before I close up shop on the season, I'll offer up my predictions for a few of the outstanding items from this season. I hate predictions, but they are fun for everyone else -- who doesn't like to poke holes in someone else's ideas, especially on the interweb?

Last-place finisher: Arizona
Draft lottery winner: Carolina (Buffalo picks third)
West Wild Cards: Minny and L.A.
East Wild Cards: N.Y. Islanders and Ottawa (Detroit out)
Cup Finalists: Tampa Bay and Anaheim
Winner: Tampa Bay (easier path, less beaten up)
Conn Smythe winner:Steven Stamkos
Hart winner:Carey Price
Art Ross winner: Alexander Ovechkin
Rocket Richard winner: Ditto
Norris winner:Erik Karlsson
Vezina winner:Carey Price
Calder winner:Aaron Ekblad
Selke winner:Jiri Hudler

Until next year.