Saturday fantasy hockey tips - NHL picks, matchups, more

Fantasy hockey friends, we're now forced to pay some real attention to the dreaded 'r' factor. After accomplishing all they can in capturing the President's Trophy and home-ice advantage from mid-April onward, outside of carving out fresh records for accumulated points, Boston can do no better. Which means some players — including some of your most precious fantasy faves — will start resting with greater frequency. Taking games off. Like this very weekend, when the Bruins visit the Penguins Saturday (watch on ESPN+) before heading to St. Louis for a Sunday matinee with the Blues. Prolific players like Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, Hampus Lindholm and others are bound to sit out one of the two (my early guess is Sunday's), meaning it's more important than ever to check Jim Montgomery's real, live lineup before setting your own.

This is just the start. As additional teams wrap up their position in the standings, for rich or for poor, coveted performers are going to take nights off more and more often. Or call is a season altogether. If you're still harboring a shot at fantasy hockey glory — and if reading this I'm guessing you are — daily diligence in lineup monitoring is key.

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In any case, you won't be wanting for fantasy substitutes to stream this lively Saturday, with 13 games on the schedule. Highlights include a Hurricanes squad hoping to get back on winning-track against Montreal before hosting the Islanders on Sunday, while the Panthers are under immense pressure to beat up on the Blue Jackets. Tampa's Andrei Vasilevskiy has allowed three total goals in his past three games,