Week Seven of the 2013-2014 National Hockey League Season is in the books; before we make way for our Week Eight preview, let’s take a look back at last weeks’ news.

This past week was our worst week for game picks, as we went 22-25 — negative winning percentage for the first time all season — thanks to unexpected losing streaks for teams like Detroit, Anaheim, and Vancouver.

We are now 164-107 on the year (.605 winning percentage).

Before we preview this weeks’ games, lets review some of the big news from late in the week:

Sunday News:

Washington Capitals defenseman Mike Green was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. Green was originally listed as day-to-day, but apparently the injury is more serious that expected. He will be out at least a week. Defenseman Dmitry Orlov, a 22-year-old prospect out of Novokuznetsk, Russia, was called up from the Hershey Bears (Washington’s AHL affiliate) to replace Green on the roster. Expect defenseman John Carlson to benefit most from Green’s departure from the lineup.

The Edmonton Oilers (really the Edmonton Dumpster Fires), recalled goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov who they signed last week to a one-year $2-million deal. Bryzgalov is likely going to start on Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets, but he is to be avoided in Fantasy Hockey until he can prove he’s distanced himself from the problems that he experienced with Philadelphia.

Updating what would have otherwise been a Saturday news report, New York Islanders goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, who left Saturday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings, has been diagnosed with a groin injury and is expected to miss at least four weeks according to Newsday. Expect goaltender Kevin Poulin to get the vast majority of the starts for the Islanders going forward while Nabby recuperates. The 23-year-old Poulin is sporting a 2.52 goals-against average on the season and a save percentage of .909. Both numbers are considerably better than Nabokov’s 3.30 and .892 marks respectively.

Saturday News:

Detroit Red Wings forward Daniel Alfredsson has missed two games thus far due to a groin injury. Alfredsson is old and frail and currently there is no approximation for when he will return, but he needs to remain out of your lineup this week.

Colorado Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy told the media on Saturday that Alex Tanguay will remain out “indefinitely” with the knee injury he suffered on November 2nd against the Montreal Canadiens.

Friday News:

Columbus Blue Jackets forward Marion Gaborik will miss four-to-six weeks with a sprained knee. Gaborik, at the time of the injury, was tied with multiple players with five goals, but now Ryan Johansen has taken the lead with six. The loss of Gaborik will be felt by a Columbus team that is already a cellar dweller.

The Chicago Blackhawks traded for Kris Versteeg, re-acquiring him after parting ways with him after their 2010 cup win. The Blackhawks gave up nothing of significance (for them), as they shipped prospects Jimmy Hayes and Dylan Olsen. Versteeg is expected to take on a third line role, as well as play valuable power-play minutes on the second unit.

Game Picks:

Monday, November 18th:

BOS @ CAR: 7:00 p.m. Our pick- Boston

ANA @ PIT: 7:30 p.m. Our pick- Pittsburgh

CGY @ WPG: 8:00 p.m. Our pick- Winnipeg

Tuesday, November 19th:

STL @ BUF: 7:00 p.m. Our pick- St. Louis

NYI @ TOR: 7:00 p.m. Our pick- Toronto

OTT @ PHI: 7:00 p.m. Our pick- Philadelphia

MIN @ MTL: 7:30 p.m. Our pick- Minnesota

NSH @ DET: 7:30 p.m. Our pick- Detroit

BOS @ NYR: 7:30 p.m. Our pick- New York Rangers

CHI @ COL: 9:00 p.m. Our pick- Chicago

CBJ @ EDM: 9:30 p.m. Our pick- Columbus

FLA @ VAN: 10:00 p.m. Our pick- Vancouver

TB @ LA: 10:30 p.m. Our pick- Tampa Bay

Wednesday, November 20th:

MIN @ OTT: 7:30 p.m. Our pick- Minnesota

PIT @ WSH: 8:00 p.m. Our pick- Washington

CBJ @ CGY: 10:00 p.m. Our pick- Calgary

NJD @ ANA: 10:00 p.m. Our pick- New Jersey

Thursday November 21st:

STL @ BOS: 7:00 p.m. Our pick- St. Louis

NSH @ TOR: 7:00 p.m. Our pick- Toronto

BUF @ PHI: 7:00 p.m. Our pick- Philadelphia

CAR @ DET: 7:30 p.m. Our pick- Detroit

CHI @ WPG: 8:00 p.m. Our pick- Chicago

NYR @ DAL: 8:30 p.m. Our pick- Dallas

COL @ PHX: 9:00 p.m. Our pick- Phoenix

FLA @ EDM: 9:30 p.m. Our pick- Edmonton

NJD @ LA: 10:30 p.m. Our pick- Los Angeles

TB @ SJ: 10:30 p.m. Our pick- San Jose

Friday, November 22nd: 

NYI @ PIT: 7:00 p.m. Our pick- Pittsburgh

MTL @ WSH: 7:00 p.m. Our pick Washington

FLA @ CGY: 9:00 p.m. Our pick- Calgary

CBJ @ VAN: 10:00 p.m. Our pick- Vancouver

TB @ ANA: 10:00 p.m. Our pick- Anaheim

Saturday, November 23rd:

CAR @ BOS: 1:00 p.m. Our pick- Boston

MIN @ WPG: 3:00 p.m. Our pick- Minnesota

WSH @ TOR: 7:00 p.m. Our pick- Washington

PIT @ MTL: 7:00 p.m. Our pick- Pittsburgh

OTT @ DET: 7:00 p.m. Our pick- Detroit

NYI @ PHI: 7:00 p.m. Our pick- Philadelphia

DAL @ STL: 8:00 p.m. Our pick- St. Louis

NYR @ NSH: 8:00 p.m. Our pick- Nashville

ANA @ PHX: 8:00 p.m. Our pick- Anaheim

CHI @ VAN: 10:00 p.m. Our pick Chicago

COL @ LA: 10:30 p.m. Our pick- Los Angeles

NJD @ SJ: 10:30 p.m. Our pick- San Jose

Sunday, November 24th:

DET @ BUF: 5:00 p.m. Our pick- Detroit

OTT @ CAR: 5:00 p.m. Our pick- Ottawa

Games by Team:

Four games: Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, Detroit Red Wings, Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins

Three games: Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets. Florida Panthers, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals, Winnipeg Jets

Two games: Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers, Phoenix Coyotes, San Jose Sharks

Favorable Matchup of the Week: Upset Pick!

The Anaheim Ducks appear to have a favorable schedule this week with two home games, with one of them being against the New Jersey Devils, and the other being against the Tampa Bay Lightning — both of whom are on long west-coast road trips.

However, their game against the Devils is going to be a trap game. The Ducks are coming home after a long road trip — flying from Pittsburgh to Anaheim on Tuesday, and playing Wednesday in Anaheim — and it will be tough for them to adjust to the time zone difference with such a quick turnover. With the Ducks having lost all three games against the three former Southeast Division mates (Florida, Tampa Bay, Carolina), they will be starving for a win in Pittsburgh after finally having enough time to recuperate. If they leave everything they have on the ice in Pittsburgh like we expect, they may not be ready for the Devils. New Jersey will be waiting patiently in Anaheim, having Sunday, Monday and Tuesday off to rest for them.

Devils forwards Adam Henrique (22.3% owned), Patrik Elias (83.6% owned), Dainius Zubrus (0.4% owned), and Travis Zajac (2.8% owned) are all excellent sleepers to stream for this week, and especially Wednesday against Anaheim. The Ducks are a good team, but we expect them to be exhausted on Wednesday, making that game a good game to bet on, as well as starting some of the Devils players in fantasy.