Team and league details in sig. I am currently in first place by a sizeable margin, but after a 9 week winning streak, I lost the last couple of matchups and I'm getting my ass handed to me this week. The trade deadline in my league is approaching so I'd like advice on how to tweak my team for the fantasy playoffs.

As good as Lundy has been this season, my supplementary goaltending has not been as strong as it looked on paper.....having Lundy is usually enough to get me 1 or 2 of the goalie cats, but the strength of my team has been my offense and toughness cats. I am undefeated in hits and PIMS and usually take SOG, although my numbers here have fallen off lately as has my G, A. +/- is a coin flip for me, thank you very much Eric Stall

Is my offensive lull just a blip, or do you see any holes with my skaters? I'm sketchy on my goaltending, do you think I should upgrade my goaltending? If so, who should I target and who could I offer?

Thanks!!!! All comments greatly appreciated!

__________________
10 team, head-to-head, multi-cat, keep-10 keeper league. CATS: G,A,+/-,PPP,PIM,SOG,HITS BS,SHP W,SV,SV%,GAA,SO Daily rosters of 6F,4D,2G

F: H. Sedin, Backstrom, Backes, Benn, Brown, Semin, Callahan, Pacioretty
D: Phaneuf, Carlson, Carle, Girardi
G: Lundqvist, Pavelec, Bishop, Ward (IR)

I think unless you come across something particularly intriguing that you should ride it out with who you have. Ward has turned it on of late and is typically a second half stud. I think you can safely ride him. Crawford has been serious garbage lately but Chicago is in the midst of a lengthy road trip. If you can weather this storm I suspect Chicago to be going into the playoffs guns ablazing.

The key for you is going to be Crosby. If he comes back healthy you can guarantee your championship.

__________________
Dig my Cage Match articles? Follow my blog! The Laws of Sport

Also on Twitter @SteveLaidlaw

You have Malkin and Giroux, that's solid, and even Ovi is starting to take form. However it seems after those guys, it's a rather large drop off, the Staals, Doan etc. I would say either wait it out or try to package some of those guys (maybe like an E Staal, who must be killing your +/-, and Callahan) for someone like Gaborik or Spezza, guys that are 1A guys this season next to guys like Giroux and Malkin.

__________________
12 team keeper, nightly starts of 3 C, 3 LW, 3 RW, 4 D, 2 Util and 2 G. Keep 8 (1 goalie and cannot be first two picks) My first two picks were Tavares and Howard.

Stats: G, A +/-, PPP, SHP, GWG, PIM, FW, HIT, BLK, SOG, W, GAA, SV%, SO

C: Tavares, Duchene (LW), Scheifele, Hanzal, Kadri, Rinaldo
LW: Eriksson (RW), Lupul (RW), Ott (C), Dubinsky (C)
RW: Vrbata, Havlat, Michalek (LW), Sam Gagner (C)
D: Byfuglien (RW), Kostka, Schenn, Enstrom
G: Howard, Halak, Lindback
IR: Gardiner, Laich
NA: Subban

The biggest thing I would do is probably move Crawford all the great stats that Lundy/Ward is bringing is getting destroyed by having Crawford's bad starts... I would bite the bullet and move him for a less notable but statistically better goalie.

With Lundy/Ward you don't need a certified number 1 goalie to hold the fort as a 3rd, you need maybe a 50/50 goalie that will put up good peripherals to maintain/stabilize the stats that your top 2 goalies provide.

Goalie stats are key... in H2H if you can own the 4 goalie stats, you only need 2 of the offensive stats to win the week... So really if you win G, A, PPP, SOG you're pretty much going to win the week. Remember when it comes to playoff time you don't need to win 10-1, or 9-2, just 6...

With Lundy/Ward I'd search for a solid 3rd goalie just to support those stats, and go from there. Ovechkin + Crawford should net you a nice goalie plus a decent forward in return...

__________________
Dobber Expert Pool Champion 2011-12

I agree whole heartedly. Dump Crawford on a hawks fan. Run and never look back. The rest of your team looks solid.

__________________
Yahoo Fantasy Roto league

Categories: Goals, Assists, +/-, PIM, SHP, GWG, Wins, GAA, SV%, Shutouts

Position Slots:
C
C
LW
LW
RW
RW
F
D
D
D

G


Center: Jonathan Toews (c), Mikko Koivu (c), Vincent Lecavalier (c)

LW: Jamie Benn (c/lw), Pascal Dupuis (lw/rw), Alex Steen

RW: Claude Giroux (c/rw), Joe Pavelski (c/rw), Jeff Carter (c/rw), David Clarkson

Defence: Sheldon Souray, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Jay Bouwmeester, Ryan McDonagh

Goalies: Niklas Backstrom, Mike Smith

IR: Erik Karlsson

I play music, come take a listen, www.myspace.com/thestumblersinn

I appreciate this input fellas. This has been my inclination so far....I acquired Crawfor via trade a while back when Ward was terrible, thinking he would turn it around.....basically I jsut needed a warm body while I parked Ward on the bench to get his sh*& together, haha.

Do I really need to shed Ovi to get a decent third goalie back though? Ovi is heating up, and with his solid peripherals, he should net a top tier or close to top tier goalie, shouldn't he? Ovi is also one of my biggest contributors in sog and hits, and don't want to hurt my offensive prowess in any significant way to get a third goalie.

__________________
10 team, head-to-head, multi-cat, keep-10 keeper league. CATS: G,A,+/-,PPP,PIM,SOG,HITS BS,SHP W,SV,SV%,GAA,SO Daily rosters of 6F,4D,2G

F: H. Sedin, Backstrom, Backes, Benn, Brown, Semin, Callahan, Pacioretty
D: Phaneuf, Carlson, Carle, Girardi
G: Lundqvist, Pavelec, Bishop, Ward (IR)

Oh, and Pavelec and Schneider are the only guys worth noting on the waiver wire, everyone else carries 3 or 4 goalies. Im not sold on eith guy, and I know if I dropped Crawford, he'd get scooped in a hurry....I'd rather trade him and get value back.

I still wanna hope he turns it around along with the Hawks down the stretch though, is that foolish?

__________________
10 team, head-to-head, multi-cat, keep-10 keeper league. CATS: G,A,+/-,PPP,PIM,SOG,HITS BS,SHP W,SV,SV%,GAA,SO Daily rosters of 6F,4D,2G

F: H. Sedin, Backstrom, Backes, Benn, Brown, Semin, Callahan, Pacioretty
D: Phaneuf, Carlson, Carle, Girardi
G: Lundqvist, Pavelec, Bishop, Ward (IR)

It depends on what you can get in return. Since Ovi produces those great numbers, he has much more appeal to potential trade partners. If you offer Crawford with Ovy, you can ask for the moon in return. I mean if you can get someone with similar numbers in return, say Backes (for the HITs and SOG) plus Rinne/Quick/Fleury... you'd gain pretty much in all areas, while taking a small hit in the points (over the final 25ish games, you might lose what? 10 points and maybe 30 SOG?)

Or maybe a package of Giroux (since he doesn't bring much peripheral stats) and Crawford could land you something like Backes/Rinne or Fleury or Quick...

Remember the big picture... in H2H with 11 categories, all you need to do is win 6 categories, if you control all of the goalie stats, that's 4 in your pocket already, you only need to control 2 more and you're set. Let's say you 50/50 the 4 goalie stats, then you need to control 4 of the 7 skater stats in order to win. With +/- and PIMs pretty wishy-washy as it is, it's a tough ask to have to win 4 of 7...

I dunno see what happens doesn't hurt to just toss a line out there and see what it can fetch...

I think the main reason why you were you strong at the start of the season was because Crawford was playing well and you controlled the goalie stats, the last 3 weeks Crawford has been struggling, which has resulted in you losing your weekly matchups... So my question to you is, do you want to head into your playoffs with your fantasy fate depending solely on the play of Crawford, or do you want to have more control of it?

__________________
Dobber Expert Pool Champion 2011-12

Couple of interesting splits as well...

Crawford is 7-7-2 on the road, but 11-6-3 at home.

The Hawks also allow an average of 2.59 goals per game at home compared to 3.4 on the road. 16 of the remaining 28 contests will be on the road, so you can expect the numbers to essentially stay where they are as opposed to improving...

H2H playoffs Week 22-24:
Week 22: 1 road: @CLB, 2 home: Van, Nsh
Week 23: 2 road: @NJ, @Nsh, 2 home: STL, Min
Week 24: 2 road: @Min, @Det

H2H playoffs Week 21-23:
Week 21: 1 road: @Dal, 2 home: Stl, Wsh
Week 22: 1 road: @CLB, 2 home: Van, Nsh
Week 23: 2 road: @NJ, @Nsh, 2 home: STL, Min

Probably a good time to drop Crawford

__________________
Dobber Expert Pool Champion 2011-12

I definitely see your point, and that's some great analysis btw! My only concern is that I am dominating 5 out of the 7 scoring cats......I've only lost 4 weeks total all season, and I'm in first by 22 points. Goalies are more volatile than skaters, and I don't want to upset a good thing to get a goalie that may or may not work out. I also dread the thought of trading Giroux or Ovi to a team and then facing them in the playoffs.....

Also, I dont think any of the goalies listed would be available as they are all owned by teams in similar situations to mine......it would be like me trading Lundy, I'd cripple myself. I also dont think anyone would even want Crawford coming back the other way in a trade right now, I think he's pretty worthless till he and the Hawks win a few. Its not looking good so far again tonight.....

Potential goalies I could target would include:

Howard: I kinda like this option......he's a buy low-ish candidate and his owner is loaded in net. I could just ride the Lundy/Ward wave till he's healthy.

Biron: Drop Crawford for Biron or drop a skater for Biron. With Lundy getting rested this year, this might not be a bad option, and Biron's stats are solid. I don't like just dropping Crawford though. Even if no one wants him via trade, I know he'll get snatched immediately if he's free.

Backstrom: owned by the same guy that has Howard

Price: The guy that has him is tanking. Is price even an improvement though? The Habs stink.

Lehtonen: owned by the same buy who has Price.

What do you think about these options and potential offers?

__________________
10 team, head-to-head, multi-cat, keep-10 keeper league. CATS: G,A,+/-,PPP,PIM,SOG,HITS BS,SHP W,SV,SV%,GAA,SO Daily rosters of 6F,4D,2G

F: H. Sedin, Backstrom, Backes, Benn, Brown, Semin, Callahan, Pacioretty
D: Phaneuf, Carlson, Carle, Girardi
G: Lundqvist, Pavelec, Bishop, Ward (IR)