What the Bruins did to the Capitals last night was clinical. It was a dissection. I know the Caps played last night and had to travel all the way from Philadelphia but that's embarrassing. The Bruins outshot the Caps 42-16, winning 3-0 and didn't even take a single penalty.

 

If you can avoid penalties against the Capitals you are going to win a lot of games because without power play chances this Caps team doesn't have much of an offense.

 

Alexander Ovechkin was limited to one shot in 16:43. Just couldn't get anything going.

 

Brooks Laich missed the contest with a groin injury.

 

If you are wondering what the Capitals' deficiency might be look no further than their top pairing of Mike Green and Jack Hillen. Those two combined for just shy of 50 minutes last night. I shouldn't have to tell you why that's a problem.

 

Braden Holtby made another start despite his miserable showing in Philly and Jaroslav Halak's arrival and was solid making 40 saves. I still figure we see more Halak than Holtby down the stretch but this is a good sign for the four of you who hung onto Holtby.

 

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Dobber Prospects’ Brendan Ross delivers another ramblings gem. Be sure to head on over and check out his work.

 

 

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Tuukka Rask recorded just about the easiest shutout you'll ever see but considering his play since late December hasn't exactly been otherworldly it's a positive all the same. That's not to say he hasn't been good, he's just been uneven.

 

Patrice Bergeron got first star honours recording an assist and firing off eight shots on goal. He's scored just five points in his last 11 games though. Just doesn't feel like it's his year, which is reasonable when you recall his laundry list of injuries at the end of last year's playoffs.

 

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The Kings had a pretty dominant win over the Jets as well winning 3-1 on the scoreboard with a 41-18 advantage in shots.

 

Marian Gaborik made his debut with the Kings and was pretty invisible to be honest but it was his first game. Can't expect that chemistry to be built right away. And one of the things with Gaborik is he can get hot in a hurry. 

 

I still have nightmares of his six-point game back in '07. That was the first year I ever played fantasy hockey and I didn't know then that guys could have nights like that. Totally unfair.

 

He was skating on the top line with Justin Williams and Anze Kopitar last night. I can definitely see that trio working in my mind. It just wasn't last night.

 

Check out the Kings' lines from last night courtesy of Frozen Pool:

 

Frequency	Strength	Line Combination
19.66%	EV	77 CARTER,JEFF – 10 RICHARDS,MIKE – 73 TOFFOLI,TYLER
18.97%	EV	23 BROWN,DUSTIN – 74 KING,DWIGHT – 28 STOLL,JARRET
14.14%	EV	13 CLIFFORD,KYLE – 22 LEWIS,TREVOR – 71 NOLAN,JORDAN
14.14%	EV	12 GABORIK,MARIAN – 11 KOPITAR,ANZE – 14 WILLIAMS,JUSTIN
5.86%	PP	77 CARTER,JEFF – 12 GABORIK,MARIAN – 11 KOPITAR,ANZE
4.83%	PP	10 RICHARDS,MIKE – 73 TOFFOLI,TYLER – 14 WILLIAMS,JUSTIN

 

So Gaborik is in the money here. Just needs to make it work.

 

Tyler Toffoli isn't totally screwed by Gaborik's arrival. Second line should work just fine, although second PP unit isn't great. Though really, no Kings PP unit is great.

 

Dustin Brown continues to be third line material now. That's a real shame. He once had that 60-point, 10,000,000,000 hits upside. So much for that. Still, he scored last night and contrary to my sass is riding a hot streak with five points in five games since the Olympics.

 

Jeff Carter was the one flying for the Kings last night. He didn't even record a point but he had five shots on goal and that doesn't include the laser he ripped off the post. 

 

Carter has just one point in his last four games but if I had to own one King down the stretch it would probably be him. Just buzzing. And you look at his linemates above, you know he's being put in position to succeed.

 

Fun Gaborik Fact before we move on: he has missed 197 games due to injury in his career. That's two and a half seasons worth of games missed. Add in the season and a half that he's lost due to lockouts and when we look back on his career we'll see a guy with four seasons absent from his prime.

 

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I've made no secret of my displeasure for Ondrej Pavelec's brand of goaltending but he was Winnipeg's best player by about a thousand miles last night. Strong performance.

 

Evander Kane had himself a loud game with one assist, seven shots, three hits and two PIM. I wonder if he'll ever figure it all out.

 

Classic example of the guy with all the tools but no tool box. You'd think guys like Andrew Ladd and Blake Wheeler who were both high picks with similar struggles early in their career could help him mentor him. Who knows? Kane is still only 22.

 

Olli Jokinen continues to have quiet fantasy relevance, especially in leagues that count shots. He's got points in three straight now.

 

Check out Dustin Byfuglien taking out the trash.

 

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Wicked performance by Jonas Enroth putting the stops to 43 of the Lightning's 44 shots. I know Buffalo snagged Michal Neuvirth in the Halak deal but I could see them rolling with Enroth the rest of the way. I wouldn't want to rely on either guy in fantasy though.

 

The Sabres won 3-1 with two-point nights out of Tyler Myers, Cody Hodgson and Marcus Foligno.

 

I don't know what has gotten into Myers since the Olympic break but I want it. Think ol' Teddy Nolan brought some of that secret stuff back with him from the Olympics? 

 

I'm kidding of course but that's how far Myers' stock has fallen. For him to score three goals and six points in a five game stretch is a bit mind boggling. I wouldn't act on this hot streak unless you are super desperate.

 

Chris Stewart made his Sabres debut skating on the top line with Foligno and Hodgson. He got no points and I'm not sure that this situation will be all that productive for him. I don't think he'll fit in with Nolan's style. Stewart's more of a floater. If Nolan can get to him (and Ken Hitchcock couldn't so this seems unlikely) then my god, he'd be unleashing a beast.

 

Some bad news on the injury front there:

 

 

Tyler Ennis was held off the board in this one but had scored 16 points in his last 16 games going into the night. He looks like he'll be a great waiver wire warrior for the stretch run.

 

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Steven Stamkos made his return to the lineup immediately getting the "C" slapped onto his chest. Not a bad welcome gift. He went scoreless with five shots on goal. As I said yesterday, I think it'll be a struggle for him coming back from injury and without St. Louis.

 

I took some guesses at what lines we might see in the shaken-up Lightning lineup. As you'll see from Frozen Pool, I wasn't far off:

 

Frequency	Strength	Line Combination
30.38%	EV	17 KILLORN,ALEX – 16 PURCELL,EDWARD – 91 STAMKOS,STEVEN
20.25%	EV	9 JOHNSON,TYLER – 18 PALAT,ONDREJ – 71 PANIK,RICHARD
17.3%	EV	24 CALLAHAN,RYAN – 51 FILPPULA,VALTTERI – 86 KUCHEROV,NIKITA
8.44%	EV	23 BROWN,J.T. – 11 PYATT,TOM – 44 THOMPSON,NATE
6.33%	EV	24 CALLAHAN,RYAN – 51 FILPPULA,VALTTERI – 11 PYATT,TOM
2.53%	PP	51 FILPPULA,VALTTERI – 86 KUCHEROV,NIKITA – 16 PURCELL,EDWARD – 91 STAMKOS,STEVEN

 

Winners and losers really quick here.

 

Winners: Valtteri Filppula, Nikita Kucherov, Alex Killorn, Edward Purcell (Edward? Come on Frozen Pool)

 

Losers: Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson (even though he scored the lone Tampa goal last night)

 

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The Blackhawks sent the Blue Jackets a friendly reminder of how lucky they are to have moved to the East pumping them 6-1 last night.

 

I don't typically have much to say about the Blackhawks because well they are just so plainly awesome. Everyone knows that but let's look at a few trends:

 

Patrick Kane has just 12 points in 20 games in 2014. This after scoring 107 points in 89 games in 2013. Can we please flip the calendar back?

 

Jonathan Toews on the other hand has been blazing with five goals and six points in four post-Olympic games. He also has 36 points in his last 33 games to help make up for a slower start to the season. He's now tied for 11^th in scoring with a bullet.

 

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I really didn't have anything to say about the Blue Jackets after this one but hey, Brandon Dubinsky landed nine hits. Guess that's what happens when the other team has the puck so much.

 

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Pekka Rinne's first two games back he draws the Penguins and then the Blues. Talk about getting thrown to the wolves. Of course, he lost both contests but last night against the Blues was a close one – 2-1.

 

A quick glance at their remaining schedule shows they've got just 17 games left with 12 on the road and five back-to-backs. They play Buffalo twice but also Chicago twice. They have a creampuff Western Canadian road swing and a nightmarish Western US road swing. All told it doesn't look that good for Rinne owners.

 

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This one was real quiet for the Blues.

Steve Ott notched his first point in Blue.

 

Ian Cole of all people had a goal and an assist.

 

Ryan Miller has now won three straight for the Blues going relatively untested in each game. This is all going according to plan.

 

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Anyone who watched the Canucks-Stars game last night was in for a real treat. It's not every day you get to see a team come completely unhinged in front of your eyes. Oh sure, the Canucks had been reeling for weeks going into the Olympic break and didn't come out of it looking any better but this was just complete and utter decimation.

 

I wouldn't be surprised to see John Tortorella step down after this. Remember all the pundits who said that after the way things went in New York that what he probably needed was to just take a step away from the game and recharge the batteries a bit. Sure looks like they were right.

 

The good news is that with the Canucks doomed to miss the playoffs we'll hopefully get Tortorella back on the TSN panel. I find his shtick hilarious.

 

With the way things are headed if I were Daniel Sedin I wouldn't come back this season. And if I were Henrik Sedin I'd find a way to claim twin sympathy and join him on the IR. 

 

At least new acquisition Shawn Matthias acquitted himself well landing seven shots on goal.

 

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Vancouver's implosion is Dallas' gain. Last night's win puts an emphatic stamp on their becoming the number one contender for that final playoff spot in the West.

 

Tyler Seguin had another one of those batty multi-point efforts racking up the natural hat-trick and five points total for the evening. That's his third hat-trick of the season and fifth game with four points or more.

 

 

There was an interesting question in the forum on whether you'd take Seguin over Claude Giroux. I said no, Giroux is way better. But Seguin getting to play with Jamie Benn (who had three points of his own last night) makes this a conversation worth having. I still think Giroux over Seguin but it is a lot closer because of the linemate disparity.

 

Just because there's nothing like soiled underwear in the morning, can you imagine Benn playing with Giroux instead of Seguin? I know I just made something happen in your pants there. Don't tell me what.

 

Alex Goligoski even notched a goal and an assist in this one, which is probably the height of embarrassment for the Canucks here. That said, Goligoski does have goals in three straight and five points in his last five games.

Goligoski is almost back up to 0.5 points per game. He needs just 11 points over his final 19 games to hit 40. I think he gets there. I've been saying it all year. What do you think?

 

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So the Detroit Red Wings retired Nicklas Lidstrom's number last night, fittingly against the Colorado Avalanche. You can bet with the injuries to Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg they were wishing they could get #5 out there for one more night but alas, the legend is gone for good.

 

So might the Red Wings' playoff streak. I predicted it would be done last year but then the shortened season happened and the wily veterans pulled it out. This season is proving to be just too long for them.

 

And they might pull it out. They are sitting in a tie for the final playoff spot. Datsyuk going down looks like the last straw though.

 

That won't help matters for Gustav Nyquist or Johan Franzen who had been rolling alongside Datsyuk.

 

Might be time to look for upgrades on Jimmy Howard if, like me, he's your number one option.

 

Niklas Kronwall managed a goal in this one. His value takes a hit too but you figure whatever offense the Wings manage the rest of the way he's going to be in on most of it. And a defenseman scoring just five points every eight games might not take a huge hit over a sample of 20 games.

 

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Nathan MacKinnon is having a second half of terror for the Avalanche. He's now on a 13-game scoring streak with 18 points in that span. I'm dumbfounded.

 

But let's not sleep on Ryan O'Reilly's scoring streak. He's got points in five straight since the Olympic break with nine points over that stretch.

 

Erik Johnson has been on a tear since coming back from his suspension. He's got points in all three games with six in total over that short stretch. We all owe Patrick Roy a debt of gratitude for resuscitating Johnson's fantasy value because he was flat-lining and now he's among the top 30 scoring defensemen, just one behind Drew Doughty.

 

I read some musings that the acquisition of Reto Berra meant the end of JS Giguere this season. Not so. Giggy was in the pipes last night and was splendid stopping 35 of 37 shots. I don't know what the point of grabbing Berra was but I don't think it was to unseat Giggy.

 

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It's been a while since we saw an offensive explosion like this from the Coyotes. Remember when they were just humming along to start the year?

 

Anyways, two points for Mike Ribeiro, Radim Vrbata, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Shane Doan and I guess Kyle Chipchura too. It's been a long time coming.

 

I guess that's what happens when you get Peter Budaj on the other end.

 

Martin Erat did not score and saw no power play time but was up over 16 minutes. I'd say his situation has improved over getting buried in Washington but it's a marginal improvement.

 

Mike Smith is starting to heat up. He's allow two goals or less in seven of his last eight starts. Could this be another late season miracle run for Smith?

 

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I spoke about the Habs at length yesterday so I'll just leave you with their lines from last night with Thomas Vanek in the lineup, courtesy of Frozen Pool:

 

19.25%	EV	21 GIONTA,BRIAN – 14 PLEKANEC,TOMAS – 20 VANEK,THOMAS
18.78%	EV	51 DESHARNAIS,DAVID – 11 GALLAGHER,BRENDAN – 67 PACIORETTY,MAX
7.51%	EV	17 BOURQUE,RENE – 48 BRIERE,DANIEL – 27 GALCHENYUK,ALEX
7.04%	EV	17 BOURQUE,RENE – 81 ELLER,LARS – 27 GALCHENYUK,ALEX
5.63%	EV	17 BOURQUE,RENE – 48 BRIERE,DANIEL – 81 ELLER,LARS
5.63%	EV	81 ELLER,LARS – 32 MOEN,TRAVIS – 53 WHITE,RYAN
5.16%	PP	51 DESHARNAIS,DAVID – 11 GALLAGHER,BRENDAN – 67 PACIORETTY,MAX

 

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Ben Scrivens! I'm telling you guys. He's the truth. He's only 5-4-0 but his numbers are disgusting. Yeah that's no sample size to work with but watch the games guys! He's too hot to trot. Too legit to quit.

 

Okay. Enough hyperbole. I think he's a very solid goaltender and I'm glad the Oilers finally found one.

 

Not to be overshadowed, Sam Gagner notched a couple of assists and has three points in his last four games. It's starting to look like he won't be moved after all. He need only survive the stretch between the end of the playoffs and July 1^st and he's home free. Or at least he's got greater control over his destination once his NTC kicks in. After all the flack he's taken I wonder if he even still wants to be there?

 

I still believe the key to salvaging real fantasy value out of Gagner is a trade. His skillset is just redundant in Edmonton.

 

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Anders Lee! Now at seven points in seven career games. It's absolutely unsustainable but it's fun to watch a prospect I've been sitting on for like four years now making waves.

 

How many still on board the Kyle Okposo bandwagon? He's got three points in his last eight and two in the five Tavares-less games since the Olympic break. Hate to say it but that bubble is bursting. 

 

I'm at the point where I want to move Okposo but it’s in my cap league where he's such a freaking bargain at $2.8 million for two more years that I can't bring myself to do it, even if his scoring drying up could sink me as we head into the playoffs.

 

In a league with no salary function I'd totally ditch him for a better option.

 

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Slow start by the Sharks last night going down 2-0 after one but great job sticking with it and completing the 5-3 comeback win. They outshot the Penguins 47-22 so it was only a matter of not getting frustrated.

 

The Joes led the way with two points for both Pavelski and Thornton.

 

Brent Burns found himself back on the top line with those two and notched a goal. If the Burns owner in your league is still a bit antsy given Burns' recent struggles definitely make a pitch, I think he's back in the money.

 

Burns also had five shots and five hits. Just a beast.

 

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Looking at the final score I figured, here we go again for Marc-Andre Fleury but thankfully it was Zatkoff in net facing all that rubber. The Penguins are apparently saving Fleury to get shelled by the Ducks tonight instead.

 

I've got Jonas Hiller and Fleury facing each other tonight and I'm totally rolling with Hiller. Fleury on the road terrifies me. Most every goalie has a bad home/road split but Fleury's is narly:

 

Home: 20-3-2, 2.07 GAA, 0.928 Save%

Road: 12-11-1, 2.57 GAA, 0.901 Save%

 

That's like flipping from Rask into Carter Hutton depending on where he plays.

 

Sidney Crosby was held scoreless and went minus-four on the night. Has he gone minus-four in a game since his rookie year? What an anomaly.

 

Olli Maatta scored a pair in this one. I'm trying to toe the line on how much praise to caution with him. What he's doing is great and when he shows these flashes you have to ask, why not him? Why can't he be the next big offensive defenseman?

 

I'll say this. He didn't project to be a big-time scorer when he was first drafted. That doesn't mean he can't do it but Pittsburgh's a special place where some players can look better than they actually are. It's worked for Kris Letang (who is good but his value is inflated) for years.

 

That's not necessarily a knock on Maatta on its own. After all, why would the Penguins move him?

 

But Maatta still has growth to do as an NHL player. He's nowhere near a complete product. What if he goes the way of the Doughty?

 

And to be fair, so long as Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are in Pittsburgh the Penguins will never be as anemic as the Kings but Maatta's also never going to be as good as Doughty so my point is that sometimes talented guys have to use those towards things other than scoring and that's the type of player Maatta always projected to be. I'm all for shattering those projections but I'm trying to instill a little bit of caution here.

 

For the rest of this season though, go nuts on Maatta. Letang's done for the year and Paul Martin is still recovering from surgery. With those two down it's all Maatta and Matt Niskanen.

 

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The Hurricanes placed Justin Faulk on the IR. He's expected to miss about a week. Not much concern here.

 

They did call up Ryan Murphy to take his place. Might be good for a quick run through your lineup.

 

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Sean McIndoe presents the NHL's Top-Secret Trade Request Application.

 

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Justin Goldman gives us the fantasy goalie winners and losers of the trade deadline. Not sure Eddie Lack is really a winner. Sure he gets to be a starter but what good is being the goalie for a team that's already quit?

 

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Did you catch this unruly goal by Connor McDavid?

 

 

I cannot wait to tank all next year for this kid. I'm only half kidding. The Sabres, they aren't kidding about that at all.

 

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You can follow me on Twitter @SteveLaidlaw and please fire me questions any time!