It’s officially nitty-gritty time in the fantasy hockey realm. 

The postseason will begin this week for some, myself included. It’s the perfect time to begin a two-week, quarterfinal matchup that allows your league to culminate one week before the end of the actual regular season. The timing helps fantasy owners avoid star players sitting out to preserve their health ahead of their team’s playoff rounds. 

If your league doesn’t subscribe to this type of timeline, I encourage you to harass your commissioner to make sure it’s changed for next year. 

At this juncture of the year, it’s time to evaluate each player because at this time of year, we can’t trust early-season performers who have fallen on hard times. The difficult decisions are upon us. There is no loyalty in the quest for glory. Which makes finding one last gem off of the waiver wire that much more important. 

As we do every week, I'll explore some candidates that are owned in fewer than half of Fantrax leagues at the time of writing who suddenly find themselves in better situations, with a hot hand, or facing an overly generous schedule.

This week, a couple of the standout options come from the Vancouver Canucks who are continuing a seven-game homestand with four tilts at home, including three against non-playoff teams. The Ottawa Senators have four games against non-playoff squads, including three at home and matchups against the Arizona Coyotes and Montreal Canadiens.

And the Washington Capitals have four games including two on light matchup days for your daily roster setters. 

With that in mind, let’s dive into a handful of players who could step up and step into your lineup this week and make a difference.