While the NHL has given every team a five day break in the schedule, the players apparently have a better idea.
They want half the league (presumably two divisions) to get the week before the All-Star break off while the other half gets the week after the All-Star game off.
That way there is a huge break for the players as well as giving the players that make it to the All-Star game some much needed time off.
That actually is a great proposal and we shall see what the owners say. The only crimp in the plans is if the NHL and NHLPA decide they are going to the Olympics next season, in which case, the plan would be implanted the following season.
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Now to The Week Ahead.
WEEK OF FEBRUARY 20-26
4 Games - Arizona, Calgary, Edmonton, Florida, Nashville, New York Rangers
3 Games - Anaheim, Boston, Carolina, Chicago, Colorado, Los Angeles, Montreal, New York Islanders, Ottawa, Toronto, Washington
2 Games – Buffalo, Columbus, Dallas, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Tampa Bay
1 Game – Detroit, Minnesota, San Jose, Vancouver, Winnipeg
Nashville plays all four games on home.
Calgary and Edmonton play all four games on the road.
Carolina, Florida and Toronto play three games at home.
Boston, the New York Islanders and Ottawa play three games on the road.
INJURIES
Gustav Nyquist was suspended six games for spearing Jared Spurgeon. (Click here to see the rest of the injury list.)
Note: A tired team is one that has played the day or night before and is going against a team that did not play the previous day or night. The reverse is true for a rested team.
ANAHEIM
Games this week
@ Arizona, vs. Boston @ Los Angeles
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: @ Arizona (Monday)
Notes
Antoine Vermette received an automatic 10 game suspension for slashing a linesman after a face off draw Tuesday. He is the NHL leader in wins percentage on the draw for players who have taken at least 35, but he was constantly beaten that night by Mikko Koivu, causing him to get frustrated. Sami Vatanen was placed on injured reserve but has been skating. He has a lower body injury. The Ducks have an excess of blueliners once everyone is healthy and there are plenty of teams who may be calling in advance of the March 1 trade deadline as defensive depth is at a premium. Among those who could be on the block are Korbinian Holzer, Kevin Bieksa and Shea Theodore.
ARIZONA
Games this week
vs. Anaheim. @ Chicago, @ Dallas, vs. Buffalo
Rested Team: vs. Anaheim (Monday), vs. Buffalo (Sunday)
Tired Team: @ Dallas (Friday)
Notes
The Coyotes play four games this week including three in four nights. Look for Louis Domingue to get into at least one game with Mike Smith garnering the rest of the action. Oliver Ekman-Larsson is on a five game points streak. He has 10 goals and 33 points in 56 games. The Coyotes have sat Jakob Chychrun for the last four games and perhaps it is time to send the rookie back to junior hockey where he will get in plenty of playing time. I doubt the Coyotes will do that however. Lawson Crouse is out of action with a lower body injury and has missed the last three games. Brendan Perlini scored a pair on Thursday and has 10 goals in 31 games.
BOSTON
Games this week
@ Anaheim, @ Los Angeles, @ Dallas
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: @ Los Angeles (Thursday)
Notes
The Bruins continue their four game road trip out West as well as to Dallas. They are 3-0 under new head coach Bruce Cassidy after they fired Claude Julien. They sent Peter Cehlarik back to the minors at the start of their five day break and should recall the winger who had two assists in the Bruins last game before their break. David Krejci had five points in his last three games. Matt Beleskey has only two assists in the eight games since his return from a knee injury and it looks like he may not be 100 percent. Tuukka Rask is 27-13-4 this season with a 2.27 GAA but a pedestrian .912 save percentage.
BUFFALO
Games this week
@ Colorado, @ Arizona
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: @ Arizona (Sunday)
Notes
After playing nine games in 14 days, the Sabres have their five day break this week before returning to action on Saturday. Evander Kane scored his 19th on Thursday and he has scored every one in his last 35 games. He also has 79 penalty minutes this season and has been a fantasy asset for the first time in years. As I have written of late, I love Sam Reinhart, especially for next season and he potted his 13th of the season Thursday. It was a power play effort and he now has eight on the pp as well as 15 points. He, Jack Eichel, Kane and Rasmus Ristolainen on the blueline have to give Sabres fans a lot of joy for what is coming up in the next few seasons.
CALGARY
Games this week
@ Nashville, @ Tampa Bay, @ Florida, @ Carolina
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: @ Florida (Friday)
Notes
The Flames play three games in four nights as part of a four game week. Look for Brian Elliott and Chad Johnson to share the net unless one gets awfully hot in the interim. The Flames inked defenseman Matt Bartkowski to a two-year/two-way contract. He was playing for Providence in the AHL with two goals and 10 points in 34 games and will be a depth blueliner when he is with the club. Look for him to play in the minors to start. I love the play of Matthew Tkachuk who I thought would get a nine game trial with Calgary at the start of the season before being sent back to London of the OHL. He has 11 goals, 36 points and 92 penalty minutes with a plus-eight rating for the Flames.
CAROLINA
Games this week
vs. Pittsburgh, vs. Ottawa, vs. Calgary
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Bryan Bickell thinks he is very close to returning to action as he last played on October 30. He has multiple sclerosis and may need a conditioning stint in the minors before he makes his NHL comeback. We are all rooting for him. Justin Faulk may be in play for a trade as Adrian Dater reported that Colorado and Carolina have been in trade talks. The Hurricanes could use a forward and Colorado certainly could use some blueline help. Sebastian Aho has five goals and a helper in his last five games while Elias Lindholm has seven assists in his last five contests.
CHICAGO
Games this week
@ Minnesota, vs. Arizona, vs. St. Louis
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
With the Blackhawks on their five day break this past week, they sent Nick Schmaltz, Gustav Forsling, Vince Hinostroza and Tanner Kero to the minors. They have since recalled Kero and Schmaltz. Michal Rozsival was activated from the injured reserve list as he has recovered from a lower body injury that kept him out of action since January 15. He has played only 14 games this season with a measly one assist. Scott Darling set a career high with his 13th win of the season, besting last season’s 12. Patrick Kane is up to 58 points in 57 games but has only four goals with the man-advantage.
COLORADO
Games this week
vs. Los Angeles, @ Nashville, vs. Buffalo
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Hopefully some good news for fans of the Avs as the worst team in the NHL will have a healthy Semyon Varlamov next season. GM Joe Sakic said that Varlamov has had groin problems the last couple of years and had surgery in January on his hip to help repair the groin. Congratulations to Joe Colborne who found the back of the net Sunday for his fourth of the season and first goal since opening night when he had a hat trick. It was a span of 41 games. Tyson Barrie leads the Avalanche blueliners with 23 points and Francois Beauchemin is second with only 13.
COLUMBUS
Games this week
vs. New York Islanders, @ New York Rangers
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: @ New York Rangers (Sunday)
Notes
Brandon Dubinsky has only 29 points in 54 games but has nine in the last seven games. Nick Foligno scored his 20th of the season Wednesday and has 42 points in 54 games thus far. He is far better than last season when he had 12 goals and 25 assists in 72 contests. The trade the Blue Jackets made last season in acquiring Seth Jones has worked out wonderfully. While Ryan Johansen is a talented center, the Jackets have had no problems up front and now have a number one defenseman (the hardest thing to find in the NHL) for years to come. He has 10 goals and 31 points in 50 games and is only 22. Scott Hartnell is day-to-day with a lower body injury.
DALLAS
Games this week
vs. Arizona, vs. Boston
Rested Team: vs. Arizona (Friday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Stars are on their five day break this week and have a pair of home games on the weekend. Patrick Sharp has only seven goals this season but some contender may want to trade for the veteran because he has plenty of playoff experience and could regain his scoring touch. Jamie Benn surpassed the 500 point mark Wednesday. He did it in 563 games and that’s pretty good for a fifth round pick in 2007. You should have been able to count on Antoine Roussel for double digit goals, 30 points and 150-plus penalty minutes and that is just where he is headed with a third of the season to go. I’ve talked too much about the state of Stars netminding this season and I won’t now except to say it’s poor. I guess I just did though.
DETROIT
Games this week
vs. New York Islanders
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Red Wings play only once this week. Gustav Nyquist picked up a six game suspension for a spear to the face of Jared Spurgeon. The Detroit winger was quite lucky that he just missed his eye as it likely would have ended Spurgeon’s career. I don’t think that six games were enough. Tomas Tatar will replace Nyquist on the top line, alongside Henrik Zetterberg and Anthony Mantha. Mantha is turning into the scorer everyone thought he would be when drafted in the first round, 20th overall in 2013. He has 13 goals and 29 points in 42 games, but on a team that is riddled with minus ratings, the winger is a plus-14. Frans Nielsen has been a big disappointment to Detroit fans as the winger, who was their big free agent signing in the off-season, has only 10 goals and 26 points in 54 games with a minus-15 rating.
EDMONTON
Games this week
@ Tampa Bay, @ Florida, @ Washington, @ Nashville
Rested Team: @ Nashville (Sunday)
Tired Team: @ Florida (Wednesday)
Notes
The Oilers play four games on the road this week including three games in four nights. Cam Talbot is expected to see action in three contests while Laurent Brossoit plays once. Connor McDavid had a three point night on Thursday to maintain a two point lead over Sidney Crosby in the NHL scoring race. Patrick Maroon has a couple of goals and four points in his three game points streak. His 73 penalty minutes don’t hurt you either. What a difference a year makes. In the summer of 2015, the Oilers traded for Cam Talbot with the idea being he was a number one goaltender. Well he struggled at the start of the 2015-16 season and Anders Nilsson replaced him for a while. The Oilers went back to Talbot and the results have been fabulous this season as he already has 29 wins, eight better than last season with more than a quarter of the season still to go. They did find their number one goalie.
FLORIDA
Games this week
@ St. Louis, vs. Edmonton, vs. Calgary, vs. Ottawa
Rested Team: vs. Edmonton (Wednesday) vs. Calgary (Friday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Panthers play four games this week so look for James Reimer to get one start with Roberto Luongo getting three. Reimer picked up a nice cheap win on Wednesday when he replaced the injured Luongo in the final minute of the third and made both saves as the Panthers won in overtime. Luongo apparently only cramped up and is slated to be back on February 17. Jonathan Huberdeau has been back for only four games and has three goals and seven points already. Too bad Florida didn’t have him all season but an Achilles tendon tear in training camp forced him to miss the first 51 games of the season. Congratulations to Jaromir Jagr who picked up his 1,900th career point on his 45th birthday. He is second all-time in scoring to Wayne Gretzky but is still 957 points behind.
LOS ANGELES
Games this week
@ Colorado, vs. Boston, vs. Anaheim
Rested Team: vs. Boston (Thursday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
Dustin Brown had a goal and an assist Thursday to give him 27 points in 54 games. His point totals the last three seasons have been 27, 27 and 28 so it looks like he will have his best season offensively in the last four years this season. Tanner Pearson has back-to-back three point games, breaking a five game scoring slump. He has a career high 18 goals with 28 games to go and could reach the 25 goal mark. Anze Kopitar is 19 points behind Jeff Carter for the team lead and he is going to be hard-pressed to lead the Kings in scoring for a 10th straight season. Kopitar has 33 points in 50 games this season.
MINNESOTA
Games this week
vs. Chicago
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Wild are nearing the end of their eight game home stand and only play once this week as they have their five day break. Jonas Brodin remains out with a broken finger suffered on January 17 but is close to returning and should be back in time for the Chicago game. Eric Staal is having a great season with 16 goals and 44 points in 57 games but had only a goal and five points in his last 16. Jason Pominville was the first star of the week with two goals and eight points in four games. He has 10 goals and 36 points in 57 games. It hasn’t been the best of seasons for Zach Parise with only 13 goals and 27 points in 48 games but he does have five goals in his last nine.
MONTREAL
Games this week
@ New York Rangers, vs. New York Islanders, @ Toronto
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Canadiens fired their head coach Michel Therrien and hired back former coach Claude Julien. It happened on Valentine’s Day as the Habs showed no love for Therrien. Montreal was in danger losing their spot atop the Atlantic Division, a spot they have held all season after a 13-1-1 start to the year and decided to make the switch with plenty of time left in the season. Julien’s first order of business will be to turn around the season of Carey Price. The goaltender started the season 20-5-4 with a 2.06 GAA and a .930 save percentage but it has been downhill ever since, winning four of 14 games with a 3.30 GAA and a .894 save percentage. Those are closer to Jhonas Enroth numbers and not the supposed best goalie in the NHL. Brendan Gallagher returned to action on Sunday, playing alongside Alex Galchenyuk and Andrew Shaw. His return will help Montreal immensely.
NASHVILLE
Games this week
vs. Calgary, vs. Colorado, vs. Washington, vs. Edmonton
Rested Team: vs. Washington (Saturday)
Tired Team: vs. Edmonton (Sunday)
Notes
The Predators get a rare four game home stand in the same week and look for Pekka Rinne to play three times with Juuse Saros getting one appearance. Saros was sent to the minors as the Preds were on a five day break but look for him to be recalled as they were giving him some playing time in the minors. Viktor Arvidsson was named the third star of the week as he led the NHL with five goals and chipped in as well with a pair of helpers. P.K. Subban has four points in his last three games. The five day break could not have come at a worse time for Roman Josi as he is on a three game goal scoring streak in which he has four goals. He only had five in his previous 44 games and has improved to 28 points in 47 games this season.
NEW JERSEY
Games this week
vs. Ottawa, vs. New York Rangers
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Devils activated Beau Bennett off the injured reserve list Thursday. It looks like the former first round pick will be a bust in his NHL career as he is 25 years of age and has 19 goals and 36 assists in 170 NHL games with six goals last season being a career high. The Devils traded for a scorer in the off-season when they picked up Taylor Hall from Edmonton. He leads the team in scoring with 37 points but the Devils are still not getting enough scoring in their lineup. More than two-thirds through the season, Kyle Palmieri and Adam Henrique lead the team with 15 goals and that is not going to get you into the playoffs.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
Games this week
@ Detroit, @ Montreal, @ Columbus
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Islanders have one hot player in Anders Lee who has five goals and 10 points thus far in eight games in the month of February. He has 21 goals in his last 37 games after scoring only once in his first 18 games. He certainly loves playing with John Tavares. Andrew Ladd was a huge bust at the start of the season and while his 14 goals and 20 points in 52 games look terrible for a first line player, he has six goals in his last 10 games. Cal Clutterbuck has missed the last five games with a lower body injury. Nick Leddy is having a nice season with nine goals and 31 points in 55 games.
NEW YORK RANGERS
Games this week
vs. Montreal, @ Toronto, @ New Jersey, vs. Columbus
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: vs. Columbus (Sunday)
Notes
The Rangers play four games this week including three games in four nights so Antti Raanta will get one game in net with Henrik Lundqvist getting three games between the pipes. Lundqvist saw his five game winning streak end Thursday in a 4-2 loss to the Islanders. Jimmy Vesey had six goals in his first 10 games and then six goals in 44 games but has goals in consecutive games to give him 14 this season. The Rangers gave Pavel Buchnevich the night off Thursday. J.T. Miller saw his seven game points streak end Thursday but has 18 goals and a career high 46 points this season with a plus-19 rating in 57 games.
OTTAWA
Games this week
@ New Jersey, @ Carolina, @ Florida
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Senators play all three games on the road this week. Dion Phaneuf scored on the power play Thursday and it was the Senators first in six games. Darren Dreger of TSN reported that Curtis Lazar’s agent is due to meet with the team and trade rumors are flying with the anticipation J.P. Barry will ask for his client to be dealt elsewhere. Lazar played Thursday for the first time in five games as he was pointless. He has only one assist in 30 games this season and it’s hard to say what the Senators would expect in a trade for the 17th overall pick in 2013. It was great to see Craig Anderson return to action Saturday after missing more than two months as he was with his ailing wife. All the best to the family.
PHILADELPHIA
Games this week
vs. Washington, @ Pittsburgh
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Flyers only play twice this week. They have lost five of their last six and while Michal Neuvirth has started six of the last seven games, he gave up six Thursday in Edmonton and that could open the door for Steve Mason to get another start. Before Thursday’s game, Neuvirth had given up only seven goals in five games. Brayden Schenn had a goal and an assist Thursday to halt a five game pointless streak. Four Flyers have a minus-20 or worse with Shayne Gostisbehere at the bottom at minus-22. Wayne Simmonds has 24 goals this season. Travis Konecny was placed on the injured reserve list and will miss another three-five weeks with a lower body injury.
PITTSBURGH
Games this week
@ Carolina, vs. Philadelphia
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Congratulations to Sidney Crosby who hit the 1,000 career point mark on Thursday, the 86th player in NHL history to do so. He did it in 757 games, the 12th fastest. Evgeni Malkin showed why he is one of the most valuable players in fantasy hockey as he returned from a seven game absence to get a goal and an assist in each of the two games since coming back. He also picked up six penalty minutes Thursday and was a total of plus four. He has 24 goals and 58 points in 49 games with 62 penalty minutes. Phil Kessel has goals in four straight games and has 21 this season with 55 points in 56 games. The Penguins blueline took a huge hit on Thursday as Olli Maatta is out six weeks after hand surgery and Justin Schultz was hurt after he was smacked into the boards by Dustin Byfuglien.
ST. LOUIS
Games this week
vs. Florida, @ Chicago
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Jake Allen has won four straight, giving up only six goals as it looks as if he may have turned his season around. His peripherals are still weak but improving as he has a 2.68 GAA and a .903 save percentage to go with 22 wins. Carter Hutton is working on two straight shutouts and has four this season. The Blues are finally getting goaltending as they have moved back into a playoff position. Kevin Shattenkirk had three assists Thursday and while he is eligible to become a UFA on July 1, the Blues may not trade him as they could use him for their playoff run. Magnus Paajarvi has been seeing time with Vladimir Tarasenko and Alexander Steen with the injury to Paul Stastny.
SAN JOSE
Games this week
@ Vancouver
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Sharks play only once this week. Brent Burns was tied for second in NHL scoring with 61 points heading into Thursday’s action and only two points out of the lead. The Sharks didn’t play but both leader Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby each had three points to pull ahead. Still, Burns is having an amazing season and who would have thought that last year’s 27 goal and 75 season could be surpassed. He has 25 goals and 61 points with 24 games to go. He was a minus-five last season but is plus-20 this campaign. Kevin Labanc is on a three game points streak. Joe Pavelski had a big game Wednesday with two goals and four points.
TAMPA BAY
Games this week
vs. Edmonton, vs. Calgary
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Ryan Callahan is having trouble recovering from hip surgery and if doctors determine that he is too far behind schedule, they could shut him down for the remainder of the season. There is good news on the other hand regarding Steven Stamkos as it is thought he is still on schedule to return from his mid-November knee surgery. It was supposed to be four-six months and it appears it may be closer to four. Ben Bishop has won three straight and finally looks to be out of his season long slump. Jonathan Drouin has 16 goals and 35 points in 48 games with two goals and four points in his last four contests.
TORONTO
Games this week
vs. Winnipeg, vs. New York Islanders, vs. Montreal
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Mitch Marner was not on the ice at Leafs practice Friday after suffering an upper body injury Wednesday. Consider him day-to-day and read the Rotoworld blurbs for the latest updates. The Maple Leafs have over $16 million in cap space heading into the trade deadline and that bodes very well to grab a good young prospect to give another team some cap relief to make another trade. Josh Leivo has been hot of late with five points in his last two games. He is making it impossible for Mike Babcock to take him out of the lineup. Defenseman Nikita Zaitsev had nine points in 11 games before being held off the scoresheet Wednesday.
VANCOUVER
Games this week
vs. San Jose
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Markus Granlund has been seeing time on the top line with the Sedin twins. That’s not as good fantasy-wise as it used to be because Daniel and Henrik are not the players they were even a couple of years ago. Henrik Sedin has 12 goals and 35 points in 58 games with a minus-19 rating while Daniel Sedin has 12 goals and 32 points with a minus-12 rating. They are 36 and it may be time for the Canucks to pack it on the Sedin years. Bo Horvat returned to the lineup Thursday and scored on a line with Alex Burrows and Jannik Hansen. The Canucks only play once this week as they play San Jose Saturday.
WASHINGTON
Games this week
@ Philadelphia, vs. Edmonton, @ Nashville
Rested team: None
Tired Team: @ Nashville (Saturday)
Notes
The Capitals play three games in four nights this week so look for Philipp Grubauer to play once with Braden Holtby playing twice. The Capitals picked up some defensive depth when they acquired Tom Gilbert from Los Angeles. He will play in the minors for now but could be an asset in the playoffs as injuries are inevitable. Zach Sanford and Jakub Vrana were recalled on Friday as the Capitals neared the end of their five day break. Lars Eller is seeing some action on the power play as Andre Burakovsky is out with a hand injury. Nicklas Backstrom hit the 700th career point mark Saturday.
WINNIPEG
Games this week
@ Toronto
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Jets play in Toronto on Tuesday before getting the rest of the week off. The Jets have so much young talent in the pipeline and more at the NHL level as 23-year-old Mark Scheifele leads the team and is tied for fifth in NHL scoring with 25 goals and 58 points in 57 games. Add rookie Patrik Laine (27 goals and 48 points in 52 games) and sophomore Nikolaj Ehlers (19 goals and 47 points in 60 contests) and the future is extremely bright in Winnipeg. They just need Connor Hellebuyck to grab the bull by the horns and give them the goaltending they will need to do well in the post-season. Toby Enstrom is out two-three weeks after undergoing surgery for a lower body injury.
