Fantasy All-Access: More to Senators than Hammond

Every Monday, NHL.com contributor Matt Sitkoff identifies waiver-wire pickups, roster trends, schedule notes and a prospect to watch in fantasy hockey.

The fantasy world now knows all about Ottawa Senators goalie Andrew Hammond, who is the fifth goaltender in NHL history to earn a point in each of his first 11 career starts. But the players around him that have helped him on that streak also have fantasy value.

Captain Erik Karlsson leads the Senators with five goals and 12 points since Hammond started his run Feb. 18. Right wing Mark Stone also has 12 points in those 13 games and forward Milan Michalek has 11 points.

WAIVER-WIRE WATCH

Tyler Ennis, Buffalo Sabres (owned in 10 percent of Yahoo leagues) -- Playing on the top line with Matt Moulson and Johan Larsson, the 25-year-old has five points, 16 shots on goal in his past seven games. He has dual eligibility at left wing and center, and leads Sabres forwards in minutes played and power-play minutes played. Buffalo plays four games this week, at home against the Washington Capitals and New Jersey Devils and at the Boston Bruins and Nashville Predators. Though the Sabres' offense has struggled this season we expect the production to continue from the top line.

Kris Russell, Calgary Flames (owned in 35 percent of Yahoo leagues) -- The Calgary Flames lost captain and leading scorer to a torn biceps tendon Feb. 25 but have points in six of eight games since then (5-2-1). Taking the lead on defense has been Russell, who has eight points, 15 shots on goal, a plus-6 rating and 46 blocked shots while averaging more than 27 minutes of ice time per game in those eight games. He is one point away from matching the career-best 29 points he had last season.

Eddie Lack, Vancouver Canucks (owned in 40 percent of Yahoo leagues) -- The Canucks' push for a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs will in part depend on Lack's play in goal while Ryan Miller is recovering from a knee injury. Lack is 5-2-1 with a 2.34 goals-against average and .925 save percentage in nine games since Miller's injury. The Canucks have four games this week with three of them are against teams outside of the playoff race, the Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets and Arizona Coyotes, which bodes well for Lack this week.

ROSTER TRENDS

Busy vs. off nights -- One of the most important roster trends to pay attention to in the last few weeks of your fantasy season is how your team shapes up on light nights on the NHL schedule. Overall, 128 of the 193 games (66 percent) left to play are scheduled for a Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday. With that in mind target players from teams that play on the off-days, Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The Buffalo Sabres lead with eight games on those off-days, followed by the Anaheim Ducks, Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers with seven.

Primary and secondary assists -- One of the new enhanced stats featured at NHL.com/stats is the first and second assists, which can be helpful to your fantasy team. Of the 30 assists for Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin's 30 helpers, 25 (83.3 percent) are first assists. The Flames' Johnny Gaudreau leads all rookies with 22 first assists, which accounts for 64.7 percent of his assists. Two players to be worried about when looking at second assists are New York Rangers defenseman Keith Yandle; 25 of his 37 assists have been second assist, and he does not have an assist in seven games with the Rangers. And 19 of Nashville Predators captain Shea Weber's 29 assists this season have been second assists (65.5 percent).

PROSPECT RUMBLINGS

Ryan Spooner, Boston Bruins -- The 45th pick of the 2010 NHL Draft is making an impact on the Bruins' run to the postseason with nine points in 11 games since being recalled from Providence of the American Hockey League. He had a seven-game point streak, the longest by a Boston rookie since Brad Boyes had an eight-game streak in 2006. Spooner started the season in Boston but was sent to the AHL after five games. He had 26 points in 33 AHL games and was recalled when David Krejci sustained a knee injury. Spooner is centering a scoring line with Milan Lucic and David Pastrnak. With the uncertainty of Krejci and the Bruins' inability to acquire another offensive-minded forward ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline, expect Spooner to continue to see time on that scoring line. He should be owned in all fantasy formats.

Follow Matt Sitkoff on Twitter: @MSitkoffNHL