Playoff hockey begins Wednesday and this years Playoff Payoff once again has the numbers and information to help you win your playoff pool. There is a rather tried-and-true draft strategy and it doesnt require any new tricks to get the job done: pick players from the four teams you think will reach the Conference Finals; that will give the players selected enough games to make a significant statistical contribution. The importance of getting players from the right teams is what makes playoff pools so challenging -- its very difficult to win without having a solid presence among the final four teams because no matter how many points get accumulated in early rounds, if your teams runs out of active bodies before the Conference Finals, its going to be extremely challenging to hold the lead. As always, the focus will be on teams that finish at the top of the standings, but there is always value to be found beyond the number one and two seeds. There is such parity in the league now that the difference between a second-seeded team and seventh-seeded team, for example, is not hugely significant. Boston finished 10 points ahead of Washington this season, but with five more shootout wins. That means, shootout results aside (because thats irrelevant to playoff hockey), the Bruins were five points better over an 82-game schedule. Would it be such a shock to see that seventh seed emerge victorious? That doesnt mean going hog wild on bottom seeds and ignoring the blue chip players -- top players on the favourite teams -- but it does suggest that once you have some cornerstone pieces from higher-seeded teams, then there should be an opportunity to do some damage by getting good value on six, seven or eight seeds in the mid-to-late rounds. At some point in the process, youll likely need to decide if you would rather have the best player on a low seed or a third-line player on a top seed and the answer will probably come by looking at the players youve already selected. If you can take the best player off a lower seed, and it wont contradict any of your early picks, then its likely a good move. If you dont have representation on a highly-seeded team already, its generally not worth it to start investing in lower-tier players. If you decide to go in on the Red Wings late, for example, and you can get Dan Cleary and Ian White, there isnt a great chance that you are going to be able to make much of a difference against the teams that loaded up early on Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Nicklas Lidstrom, Johan Franzen etc. Injuries are always a factor in fantasy sports (real sports too!!), but its imperative to stay on top of the playing status of top players heading into the postseason, both for the potential line combinations and having some idea who might be filling in if a significant player remains sidelined. NHL teams are notorious for being vague or even dishonest regarding injuries at the best of times, let alone at this point in the season, but you may want to avoid, or at least decrease the value of, guys who are already going into the playoffs with injuries. While the injury news appears favourable for the likes of Vancouvers Daniel Sedin, Los Angeles Jeff Carter and perhaps Philadelphias Danny Briere, all of whom were injured late in the season yet could be ready to start the playoffs, there are questions hanging over Blackhawks centre Jonathan Toews, who has yet to play since suffering a concussion February 19. Additionally, monitor the goaltending situations. Washingtons Tomas Vokoun is already out with a groin injury, leaving Michal Neuvirth to handle the starters role down the stretch, but Neuvirth has run into his own injury troubles, which has opened the door for Braden Holtby. Washingtons complicated crease situation could affect the value throughout the lineup. Consider doubling-up on line combinations, when the value is right. There are few things in fantasy sports so sweet as recording multiple points on a single goal. If you like Devils snipers Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise, maybe try centre Travis Zajac later in your draft. Zajac missed much of the season as he recovered from an Achilles injury, but hes back in the middle of the Devils number one line, which seems like a good opportunity to put up points. Also, dont be afraid to make a sleeper pick late in the draft. Its hard to predict from where the next Max Talbot, Ruslan Fedotenko or Sean Bergenheim will emerge, but when it comes to a 12th-round pick, those diamonds in the rough can be the difference between winning and losing. Given these basic plans, the following team lists will provide information to help organize your drafting priorities. Each player listed has their points per game listed and thats a general value to start with. Then, look at what the player has done since the All-Star break. If the point totals are higher, maybe its a young player who is taking on more responsibility, or a veteran whose playing situation changed due to trade. In either case, its usually preferable to get a player who is more productive now, as opposed to one that fattened up his scoring totals in October and November. The third rate included for each player is their NHL career playoff scoring average. In the vast majority of situations, that number will be lower than the others because the playoffs are tighter checking games that involve the best teams. Even some great players have lower career scoring averages in the playoffs because they didnt contribute much early in their career and theyve since emerged as elite postseason perfomers. Pavel Datsyuk, for instance, had 15 points in his first 42 playoff games, but hes tallied 76 points in 79 playoff games since. By no means should previous playoff production eliminate a player from consideration -- because sometimes a player is labeled as unproven in the postseason, until suddenly he is -- but if a player has made a career of under-performing in the playoffs, the safe play could be to let someone else take that risk or wait an extra round or two before pulling the trigger. Power plays rule the postseason so make sure your roster is loaded with players who get time with the man advantage. Power play defencemen, in particular, have more value in the playoffs so dont let these players slip by you in the middle-to-later rounds of the draft. Power play point totals are included as a general guide for which players are most likely to get those man advantage opportunities. Click here for the full stats breakdown. Adidas Kengät Halvalla . Saltalamacchias hit, off the Green Monster, scored Carl Crawford from first base and was the only time the Red Sox had a runner reach second in the game. 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The Vancouver Canucks goaltender said Monday he will look to play in Europe if the NHL lockout lasts much longer. . -- Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte expects to play Monday night against the Dallas Cowboys after missing a game because of a sprained right ankle.(Sports Network) - Trying for their season-high fifth straight win, the Toronto Blue Jays turn their attention to Henderson Alvarez as they aim to finish a three-game sweep of the New York Mets. Alvarez had a personal three-game winning streak broken on Tuesday when he allowed a season-high 10 hits along with two earned runs in a 4-3 loss to the Rays. This will be his first appearance vs. the Mets. Right-hander Dillon Gee surrendered seven runs over 5 1/3 innings in an 8-0 loss to Milwaukee Tuesday. Hell try to bounce back this afternoon. Although Gee has never faced the Blue Jays, the Mets can receive some comfort that Gee has sparkled on the road this year, going 2-0 with a 3.66 ERA in three starts. Yesterday, Brandon Morrow tossed his second shutout of the season in a 2-0 final. Morrow (5-2) gave up just one walk and three hits while striking out eight for the Blue Jays, who have won four straight. Kelly Johnson and Yunel Escobar each had two hits and an RBI in the win. "That was a great game that he threw out there today," said Toronto manager John Farrell.dddddddddddd"We got a couple of timely hits there, but the real story today was Brandon, he was fantastic out there." Lucas Dudas double was the only extra-base hit for the Mets, who have dropped four of five. Miguel Batista started on the mound, but left after two innings with stiffness in his lower back. Jeremy Hefner (0-1), who was called up from Triple-A Buffalo prior to the game, gave up two runs on four hits with five strikeouts over five innings in his second appearance in the majors. "Im not trying to change anything with the way I approach things up here," said Hefner. 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