Fantasy Hockey Playoffs: Ultimate League Strategy & NHL Playoff Tips

Welcome to the Yahoo playoff primer to help prepare those who have made it into the postseason in your head-to-head leagues. I'm going to break down the schedule in all three rounds, as well as give you some tips.

Best of luck!

Maximizing Quarterfinal Matchups and Transactions

Week of March 23-29

4 Games - Boston, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Florida, Montreal, Nashville, New Jersey, New York Rangers, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay

3 Games - Anaheim, Buffalo, Calgary, Carolina, Colorado, Detroit, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Minnesota, New York Islanders, Pittsburgh, San Jose, Seattle, St. Louis, Toronto, Utah, Vancouver, Vegas, Washington, Winnipeg

Chicago plays all four games on the road, while the New York Rangers play all four games at home.

Anaheim, Dallas, Minnesota, New Jersey, San Jose, Seattle and Toronto play three games at home.

Buffalo, Calgary, Nashville, the New York Islanders, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Tampa Bay play three games on the road.

If you play in a league with weekly transactions, there isn't much strategy this week, as everyone plays three or four times. Playing the home schedule could work, but with such an even slate, it makes the most sense to just play your best players.

In daily transaction leagues, there is plenty that can be done this week. There are 64 games being played, with 53 occurring on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Chances are that most of your players are only playing on those three days.

The Rangers play all four games on off-days (Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, giving you a huge advantage if you can add extra Rangers to your lineup. One example is Braden Schneider, who is rostered in nine percent of Yahoo leagues. Picking him off waivers should, on average, gain 19 points on the week, and that could be enough to put you over the top. Other Rangers to consider are Noah Laba (1 percent rostered) and Tye Kartye (1 percent rostered).

Boston, Buffalo and Chicago play on two off-days. Pavel Zacha (38 percent), Viktor Arvidsson (19 percent), Jack Quinn (8 percent), Josh Doan (29 percent), Jason Zucker (14 percent) and Frank Nazar (17 percent) are others to consider, especially if you are able to pick up more than one player off waivers.

There is one more strategy this week. If you have a bye into the semifinals, take Pittsburgh players. The Penguins play five times during the week of the semifinals, and you can take advantage of finishing atop the regular-season standings by loading up on Pittsburgh players. Anthony Mantha (41 percent rostered), Ben Kindel (5 percent) and Kris Letang (28 percent) should all be available in most leagues.

Semifinals Roster Strategy: Target Players on Hot Streaks

Week of March 30-April 5

5 Games - Pittsburgh

4 Games - Anaheim, Boston, Carolina, Colorado, Detroit, Florida, Montreal, New Jersey, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Ottawa, Philadelphia, San Jose, St. Louis, Vancouver, Washington

3 Games - Buffalo, Calgary, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Edmonton, Minnesota, Los Angeles, Seattle, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Vegas, Winnipeg

2 Games – Nashville, Utah

St. Louis plays all four games on the road, while the New York Rangers and San Jose play all four games at home.

Anaheim, Colorado, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Ottawa, Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay play three games at home.

Boston, Calgary, Detroit, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg play three games on the road.

As noted above, it's beneficial to roster Penguins for the semifinals. Another team to look at is the Blues, who play Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday during the semifinals. St. Louis has been hot late in the season, and that will help. Some players to consider are Colton Parayko (41 percent rostered), Jake Neighbours (7 percent), Philip Broberg (9 percent) and Pius Suter (1 percent).

Colorado plays four times, with three games coming on off-nights. Josh Manson (46 percent), Parker Kelly (2 percent) and Ross Colton (4 percent) are players who could pick up 15 points, possibly putting you over the top and into the finals.

Anaheim should also be a consideration, as the team plays on three off-nights, as well as Saturday. Beckett Sennecke is rostered in 47 percent of leagues and is averaging 7.03 points per game, giving you an extra average of 21 total points on off-nights. He could be the best pickup of the week. Don't forget, you should drop a player who won't play at all for you this week, or perhaps once, giving a big boost to your roster.

Finals Strategy: Schedule Planning and Risk of Resting Stars

April 6-12

4 Games – Calgary, Columbus, Montreal, Nashville, New Jersey, Ottawa, San Jose, Seattle, Tampa Bay, Utah, Vancouver

3 Games - Anaheim, Boston, Buffalo, Carolina, Chicago, Colorado, Dallas, Detroit, Edmonton, Florida, Los Angeles, Minnesota, New York Islanders, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Toronto, Vegas, Washington, Winnipeg

2 Games – New York Rangers

Tampa Bay plays all four games on the road, while New Jersey plays all four games at home.

Anaheim, Dallas, Los Angeles, Montreal, the New York Islanders, San Jose and Utah play three games at home.

Calgary, Columbus, Edmonton, Florida, Nashville, Philadelphia, Vancouver and Vegas play three games on the road.

April 13-17

3 Games - Colorado, Los Angeles, San Jose, Seattle, St. Louis, Winnipeg

2 Games - Anaheim, Buffalo, Calgary, Carolina, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Edmonton, Florida, Minnesota, Nashville, New York Rangers, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Utah, Vancouver, Vegas

1 Game – Boston, Columbus, Montreal, New Jersey, New York Islanders, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, Washington

Los Angeles and San Jose play all three games on the road.

The finals are spread over 11 days, and there are definite ways to benefit. There are 11 teams that play four games in the opening week and six teams that play three times in the final week. While no team plays more than six total times, you could mix and match, getting you to seven games in some spots.

If you are playing in a league weekly transactions, you can benefit by adding players from the Kings, Sharks and Kraken in the second week, as they are likely to still be in the playoff chase, and all three teams play three games.

A big factor the in the final week is that teams that have clinched their position tend to rest their stars. Therefore, look for players like Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Sebastian Aho, Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Victor Hedman to miss at least one game in the final week. Top goaltenders whose teams have clinched their spot in the playoffs tend to be rested in the final week, giving some playing time to the backup, who may not see any action in the playoffs. Tampa Bay, with Andrei Vasilevskiy and backup Jonas Johansson, is a good example of this.

A big factor in redraft leagues is that you can easily drop a player who is done for the season. Leon Draisaitl was injured Monday and is done for the regular season, so there is no reason to keep him on your fantasy roster.

Once again, best of luck in winning your league!