This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
** Remember to set your fantasy lineups for the 1:00 PM (ET) start today **
Do you want to win your fantasy hockey league? Do you really want to win?
If so, here are a few universal truths to help you on your way.
First, you have to pay attention. You have to watch the NHL Network. You have to read RotoWire and other sites to get a well-researched opinion about a player. And you've got to watch hockey. Lots of it, live or on TV. I find watching it on DVR works best because you can go back and figure out first-unit power-play lines, defensive pairings. Intermission commentary is also a good way to glean player info, too. Live hockey, of course, is the most fun, but I find myself missing some of the action or injuries. Finally, advanced statistics can help you exploit regression candidates and players due for a bump up.
Now if you don't have the above time to GM like an actual general manager, there are a few shortcuts – they just might require a touch of luck or two.
The big shortcut is to watch your league's waiver wire. It doesn't matter whether your league is comprised of experts or first-time fantasy players, every season there's always somebody on the waiver wire who turns out to be more valuable than half the players on your team (or at least more valuable than the free agent alternatives available in your pool).
Last year I cut Jiri Hudler, Kimmo Timonen and Michael Cammalleri early, among others, and they came back to bite me. I also probably held onto a few guys too long. Of course, you also have to know your league. There's usually one guy or gal who picks up and drops players every other day. This is often where the fantasy gold lies.
I will also say that sometimes the best moves are the ones never made. That goes for trading, free agent pickups, etc. For example, I had a hard time giving Paul Stastny away early last year after spending $5 for his services in a keeper league. The former Colorado forward ended up scoring 25 goals and 60 points -- his highest totals since 2009 – and I'm glad nobody wanted him.
Getting back to waiver wire pickups, league rules often determine who gets the newly christened starting goalie for team X. If you have no restrictions as to how many and how often you can make transactions, that's one thing. But if you have to wait a day to see if you get your guy and your league bases waiver wire awards based on standings or in reverse order of the most recent claims, then you might want to hold off picking up a decent-but-not great forward to grab the No. 1 waiver claim of say, a decent backup goalie who's taking over for an injured starter.
Should King Henrik Lundqvist get hurt, Cam Talbot immediately becomes a hot commodity, same goes for Martin Jones if Jonathan Quick re-injures himself. As a rule, goalies come out of nowhere to produce big-time as much as any other position.
In the end, winning takes a certain amount of luck. Oftentimes, it's the healthiest teams which finish closest to the top. Following the above advice won't guarantee victory, but it's helped me win the Rotowire Staff League, finish second in a deep expert league and finish top 20 out of 100,000-plus in the old Small World salary cap leagues. Remember those?
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern) For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
Colorado Avalanche (Semyon Varlamov) at Boston Bruins (Niklas Svedberg), 1:00 PM
Anaheim Ducks (Frederik Andersen) at Buffalo Sabres (Jhonas Enroth), 3:00 PM
Ottawa Senators (Craig Anderson) at Florida Panthers (Roberto Luongo), 7:30 PM
Montreal Canadiens (Carey Price) at Tampa Bay Lightning (Ben Bishop), 7:30 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Monday
Colorado Avalanche
Jesse Winchester, LW - Winchester (concussion) has yet to resume skating, Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reports. (10/9/2014)
John Mitchell, C - Mitchell (head) was placed on injured reserve Wednesday, Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reports. (10/8/2014)
Tomas Vincour, C - Vincour signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Avalanche on Wednesday, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports. (9/3/2014)
Ben Street, C - The Avalanche signed Street to a two-year, two-way contract Tuesday, Darren Pang of FoxSports reports. (7/1/2014)
Patrick Bordeleau, LW - Bordeleau was placed on injured reserve Wednesday, Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reports. (10/8/2014)
Boston Bruins
Anthony Camara, LW - Camara (illness) was placed on the Bruins' non-roster injury list Tuesday, Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe reports. (10/7/2014)
Marc Savard, C - The Bruins are expected to place Savard (concussion) on Long-Term Injured Reserve, Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe reports. (7/6/2013)
Gregory Campbell, C - Though Campbell (core) has been skating with his teammates, he has yet to be cleared for contact. (10/11/2014)
David Krejci, C - The status of Krejci (undisclosed) for Monday's game against the Avs has yet to be determined. (10/12/2014)
Anaheim Ducks
Shea Theodore, D - Theodore will miss 4-to-6 weeks with an ulnar collateral ligament sprain in his elbow, which he suffered in the rookie game Sunday, Duck's official site reports. (9/19/2014)
Kyle Palmieri, RW - Palmieri (ankle) has no timetable for a return and Coach Bruce Boudreau cannot confirm any details other than he cannot skate yet, Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register reports. (10/12/2014)
Sheldon Souray, D - GM Bob Murray said Souray's career remains in jeopardy as a result of his season-ending wrist procedure in January, NHL.com's Curtis Zupke reports. (9/1/2014)
Bryan Allen, D - Allen (lower body) is considered doubtful for Thursday's game against the Penguins, the Los Angeles Times reports. (10/8/2014)
Dany Heatley, LW - Heatley (groin) resumed skating in Anaheim on Sunday, but is unlikely for the team's home opener against Minnesota on Friday, Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register reports. (10/12/2014)
Buffalo Sabres
Patrick Kaleta, RW - Kaleta (face) was placed on injured reserve Tuesday, Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550 reports. (10/7/2014)
Matt Hackett, G - Hackett (knee) was placed on injured reserve Tuesday, Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550 reports. (10/7/2014)
Mark Pysyk, D - Pysyk (upper body) was placed on injured reserve Tuesday, Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550 reports. (10/7/2014)
Jake McCabe, D - Coach Ted Nolan said Wednesday that McCabe (undisclosed) would be out for about "a week or so." (10/8/2014)
Ottawa Senators
Marc Methot, D - Methot (back) remains without a return timetable to resume skating, the Associated Press reports. (10/12/2014)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau, C - The Sens cut Pageau (undisclosed) on Monday, Steve Lloyd of TSN reports. (10/6/2014)
Florida Panthers
Blake Parlett, D - Parlett (undisclosed) was waived by the Panthers on Wednesday, Ren Lavoie of TVA Sports reports. (10/8/2014)
Montreal Canadiens
Alexei Emelin, D - Emelin will miss Saturday's game due to a lower-body injury. (10/11/2014)
Michael McCarron, RW - McCarron (shoulder) has been ruled out for six weeks, John Lu of TSN Montreal reports. (9/25/2014)
Tampa Bay Lightning
Jonathan Drouin, C - Drouin (thumb) will not play Saturday against the Senators, Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune reports. (10/11/2014)
Adam Erne, LW - Erne is still awaiting full clearance to practice following his July wrist surgery, Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune reports. (9/11/2014)
Mattias Ohlund, D - Ohlund (knee) was placed on long-term injured reserve Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Times reports. (10/2/2013)
Hot
David Krejci, C – The Bruins have scored just three goals in three games and Krejci is expected to make his season debut Monday. The centerman posted 15 goals and 42 points in 41 home games last season. Make sure Krejci is active as Boston plays four times in Week 2 and hosts a struggling Avalanche squad Monday.
Alex Stalock, G – The San Jose backup goalie was a trendy fantasy pick before the start of the season and he rewarded fantasy owners with a 30-save shutout Saturday. He makes for a good play in daily leagues in Week 2 with four games on San Jose's docket. He may have to wait a while (perhaps even as long as 2015-16) before he takes over the Sharks' starting reigns in goal from Antti Niemi – who also recorded a shutout in his first appearance.
Kris Letang, D – He was pre-ranked outside the top-10 defensemen, given his long list of injuries and a stroke which forced him to miss considerable time last spring. While the injury risk won't ever go away, Letang has proven the naysayers wrong in the early going, potting a pair of assists in two games. New coach Mike Johnston has kept Letang on the No. 1 PP unit over Christian Ehrhoff and Paul Martin – he leads the Pens with a 4:22 TOI power-play time average. Johnston's puck possession style suits the defenseman and it wouldn't be surprising to see Letang average close to a point per game.
Cold
Cam Fowler, D – Eventually, Fowler will right his ship, but for now he seems to be struggling a bit. The blueliner missed time in camp with a leg injury. Sami Vatanen has looked good on the power play and could continue to take some opportunities from Fowler. Keep an eye on Fowler's progress.
Valeri Nichushkin, F – The Dallas winger missed time with a groin injury during training camp and hasn't yet found his groove. His minutes are down and he's yet to see any time on the power play. Nichushkin has the potential to thrive with the Stars, but he could also fall off the radar a bit with the team's improved depth. He could make for a good waiver wire pickup if an antsy owner cuts him. At the very least, track his health and his power-play minutes.
Nikita Kucherov, F – Kucherov ranks ninth on the Lightning with 2:34 TOI avg. on the power play and at even strength, he's 14th (9:51 TOI avg.). If coach Jon Cooper isn't willing to give Kucherov power-play time, then he's pretty much useless. The rookie tore up preseason with five goals, but it might take a while for the talented Russian to do the same in regular season.
Recommended Pickup
Pascal Dupuis, F – Dupuis was a forgotten man on draft day. Injured for most of 2013-14 and 35 years of age, it was questionable whether the talent would rebound from knee surgery. He has. A four-point outburst Opening Night might not happen again, but he's likely available in many formats and sees time with Evgeni Malkin. Dupuis has also totaled more than three minutes (3:23 TOI) on the man advantage after amassing 11:21 PP TOI in 39 contests last season.
