For most leagues, the playoffs have begun. Unfortunately for me, I missed out due to a loss where I would’ve beaten any other team except for the one I played and ended up losing on a tiebreaker. Tough way to go down, but there were certainly some days I forgot to check at the end and paid the price. I am hoping people reading this article don’t make that same mistake. So for those of you that did make the playoffs, you may want to roll with your core. But if you have a need due to bad matchups or injuries, here are some sleeper waiver wire picks that can be the difference in your playoff matchup.

Winger

Sam Reinhart (BUF)
The two forwards I picked are interchangeable when it comes to center and right wing. For those who need a strict left wing, focus on Alex Killorn of the Tampa Bay Lightning. But my articles focus on both wings, and yes, I am selecting a Buffalo Sabres player to be a sleeper. Reinhart, despite not panning out in his Sabres career, is still having a solid season, with 19 goals and 23 assists. And with Evander Kane being traded about a month ago to the Sharks, Reinhart has become the No. 2 option on the team after Jack Eichel in terms of point production. That combined with the matchups he has this week, I believe Reinhart can be a sneaky good option in the playoffs. The Sabres have four games in this Wednesday through Tuesday slate I like to base my articles on, and three of the four are outstanding matchups, with the one sub-par matchup being a goaltender that isn’t something I’d be too afraid of. The matchups include the Arizona Coyotes, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs have done well defensively (2.85 GAA, 12th best in NHL) but still don’t have overly scary defensive talent. As for the other three teams, they do have statistically bad defenses. The Rangers are sixth worst in terms of goals allowed per game at 3.14. The Coyotes are seventh by one one-hundredth at 3.13. And the Canadiens, who will not be getting Carey Price back this season, are ninth worst at 3.10. Now, obviously, Buffalo has struggled to score goals this season, so it is tough to trust the team to get an offensive groove. But with Eichel and Reinhart being the only options that have been consistent on that team once Kane got traded, you would have to think they would be able to accumulate points anyway even if their team loses the game. And being that they have three teams that have struggled to win as well, this may be an opportunity for the Sabres to play good hockey. And for those reasons, I think Sam Reinhart can be a sneaky good option for fantasy.

Center

Elias Lindholm (CAR)
Another forward that is interchangeable with winger and center, Lindholm, unlike Reinhart, is in the thick of a playoff race. Despite the chances being slim for the Hurricanes, who are nine points back with 10 games to go, this stretch of easy matchups will be do or die for them. So expect the strength of their team, their forwards, to be a key piece in terms of winning some high-scoring games, as their defense has been shaky throughout this season and also has been hurt by injuries. Lindholm has been solid, but not overly amazing, with 15 goals and 23 assists on some balanced second and third line play for the Hurricanes. Along with Jordan Staal, Justin Williams, Derek Ryan, Victor Rask, and Brock McGinn, the scoring depth have had similar looking seasons. But being that I picked Staal and Williams in articles past, I’ll go Lindholm this time around. Now to the matchups. The Canes have four games this week, two against the Ottawa Senators, one against the Arizona Coyotes, and one against the New Jersey Devils. The Senators have been second worst when it comes to goals against average at 3.34. Like I said above, the Coyotes are seventh at 3.13. And despite the Devils getting Schneider back, their defense still has been just up and down this season, right now 18th in the NHL at 2.93. As it stands right now, the Devils have the second wild-card spot so that game will be crucial for the Hurricanes if they can make a push in the three games before, which they should be able to given that the Senators and Coyotes have struggled all year. And with those good matchups, I believe Lindholm will be a key to their success offensively, along with possibly some of the others I listed above. So if you need extra games or some good matchups for injury replacement, look no further than the Carolina Hurricanes.

Defenseman

Olli Maatta (PIT)
I’ve constantly picked players from the defending champions because they play well down the stretch. Despite still being two points behind the Capitals, having to play one extra game at the Verizon Center has never hurt their chances. And when it comes to the regular season, still expect them to put up a fight, and that means scoring a lot of goals. Maatta has led the Penguins defense in goal scoring with seven and is second only to Kris Letang in assists. That being said, there are not many second pairing defensemen who can say they have seven goals and 19 assists. And surrounded by offensive talent on a daily basis like the Penguins have, those assist numbers can go up drastically. And with the matchups this week, he may even be able to score some goals too, if he gets the open looks. Like the last two teams I have mentioned, the Penguins have four games of good value this week. The Islanders have been the worst defense all year, currently allowing 3.6 goals per game, wasting a great offensive season from their collective forwards. As for the rest of the matchups, they play the Canadiens, Devils, Flyers, and Red Wings. Montreal has been woeful, like I’ve mentioned constantly, without Carey Price between the pipes. The Devils, despite getting Schneider back, have still been iffier than expected defensively. The Flyers are better than usual, but still don’t have talented goaltending, and 2.85 goals per game is nothing to be afraid of, especially with Petr Mrazek still as a starting goaltender who has struggled at times. And Mrazek’s former team, the Red Wings, are eighth-worst at 3.10 goals per game. The Penguins have proven year in and year out they can score against the best of the best, leading to their last two Stanley Cup championships. So with that talent against these matchups, both statistically and skill wise, expect the Penguins to continue to flourish offensively. And Mike Sullivan, who likes to get his defensemen involved in the rush, have watched their defense flourish from an offensive perspective as well. And Maatta has been one of those players all year long.

Goaltender

Cam Ward (CAR)
I also went with the Hurricanes this week from a defensive and goaltending perspective. I am not saying Cam Ward is a great goaltender at this point of his career or will blossom with two or three shutouts, but among goaltenders owned under 50%, Ward seems like the best option. The matchups are strong and they do have four games, which Ward may start all of being that Scott Darling has started the last two. Once again, they have two games with the Coyotes and one with the Senators, and then a sense of urgency game against the Devils. Like their stats show defensively, the Devils’ offensive stats are right in the middle of the pack, 15th in the NHL at 2.94 goals per game. And besides Taylor Hall, they don’t have much overly scary offensive players. The Hurricanes don’t have a great defense, but they still could do enough to support Ward in that game if he does play, especially with the sense of urgency that they will need to be playing with. And like I mentioned, they also have two games with the Senators and one game with the Coyotes. The Senators have some decent offensive players, but that hasn’t amounted to team offensive success, as they have only scored 2.75 goals per game, which is tied for 10th worst right now. The Coyotes are the second worst when it comes to goal scoring at 2.4 goals per game. With those matchups combined with the sense of urgency for the Carolina Hurricanes, expect Ward, if he does play the bulk of those games, to step up big and bail out a defense that has been shaky much of the year.

Kyle Kloiber is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Kyle, check out his archive and follow him @2Kgmenrule1080.