Fantasy Hockey

February 15, 2013 | 11:47am ET

Tweet

Winning through injuries
By Tab Bamford, TheFourthPeriod.com

You know what the great thing about playing daily fantasy on DraftKings is? Injuries don't cripple your season! Take the injury to Erik Karlsson. His loss is just the latest of a frustratingly-high list of stars that have been lost for significant time already this season.

If you're exasperated by injuries, or simply want to try out something new and fun (where you could win a lot of money), we highly recommend daily fantasy on DraftKings.

Because you can choose a new team every time you wish to play, we've listed some healthy players to keep an eye on when you're drafting. Here are a few to watch (games mentioned Feb. 18-24).


Forwards

The Superstar: Patrick Kane, RW, Chicago

Kane's been incredible the entire season, and has two interesting games this week. Chicago hosts Vancouver on Tuesday night, and then San Jose visits the United Center for a second straight Friday night. Then, on Sunday, the Hawks host a Blue Jackets team they always perform well against.

The Big Score: James van Riemsdyk, LW, Toronto

Of Toronto's four games this week, three are against teams that are in the bottom-third of the league in team goals against average (Florida, Buffalo and Tampa), and the fourth -- Ottawa -- just lost their best defenseman for the season. JVR is off to a great start this season, and will likely have a few opportunities to add to his numbers this week.

The Sleeper: Chris Stewart, RW, St. Louis

In his last three games, Stewart has two goals and three assists and has a nice schedule coming up this week (vs. San Jose, @ Colorado and vs. Columbus). He's been effective on special teams as well; he has three points with a man advantage in the last three contests.

The Darkhorse: Ryan Kesler, C, Vancouver

Kesler was medically cleared to play on Thursday and will get a chance to jump right into the mix this week with road games at Chicago, Dallas, Nashville and Detroit. With the Canucks losing Manny Malhotra for the remainder of the season, they'll need Kesler to produce. He might be a great buy-low candidate.

Defense

The Superstar: Brian Campbell, Florida

With Karlsson done for the year in Ottawa, goal-scoring defensemen are suddenly a more valuable commodity. Campbell's Panthers begin the week hosting the Leafs before travelling to the Flyers and Penguins on Thursday and Friday, respectively, before hosing the Bruins on Sunday.

The Big Score: Kevin Shattenkirk, St. Louis

We already discussed the Blues' upcoming schedule, but Shattenkirk's production is no longer hiding behind the more publicized Alex Pietrangelo. Shattenkirk's 12 assists lead all defensemen, and his schedule could afford him more opportunities to help others find the back of the net.

The Sleeper: Lubomir Visnovsky, New York Islanders

Yes, the same Visnovsky that didn't want anything to do with the Isles is now a guy you should quickly consider in fantasy this week. He has three assists in his last two games and has already been credited with 10 shots in three games.

The Darkhorse: Jay Bouwmeester, Calgary

Bouwmeester has fallen out of favor with many fantasy owners over the last couple years, but he's been an interesting defenseman to watch early this year. He's been credited with at least one shot on net in 10 of 11 games so far, and the Flames will try to capture some momentum from their seven-goal performance against the Stars in a week that features games at Phoenix (Monday) and them home for Los Angeles (Wednesday), Minnesota (Saturday) and another round with the Coyotes (Sunday).

Goaltenders

The Big Money: Pekka Rinne, Nashville

Three shutouts in his last four games. Do we need to say more?

The Sleeper: Ray Emery, Chicago

Corey Crawford has been superb early this season for Chicago, but Emery has quietly stayed undefeated and could see a start or two in the coming week (he'll start on Friday, Feb. 15 against San Jose).

Be sure to stop by our friends at DraftKings.com for fantastic daily games starting as low as $1, and they're offering a great 100% Deposit Bonus if you sign up today.

 Tab Bamford is a Columnist for The Fourth Period Magazine. Be sure to follow him on Twitter.