So the Canucks think they can still make the playoffs, eh? Their chances are really slim but they more than doubled with last night's win, especially because they took a bite out of Minnesota who they are seven points back of.

Minnesota is essentially in, barring a profound collapse but you have to consider it possible.

 

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It sure was nice of Ryan Kesler to come back the week after I had been eliminated in my head-to-head playoffs. Just splendid timing on that one.

 

Actually, I think his going down was a blessing in disguise. I'd never have dumped him otherwise but his second half game log reads like a Tim Horton's box. Since the break he hasn't even been shooting the puck much with less than two SOG per game.

 

I want to say that Kesler makes a great sleeper for next year but I've said that the last two years and he's burned me both times. Maaaaaaaaybe he's on the downside. I say maaaaaaaaaybe because I'm not willing to commit to it yet.

 

This Canucks team has been banged up and depleted all year, with multiple injuries to both of the normally dependable Sedins, not to mention Kesler himself. It basically can't get any worse in Vancouver. And it's possible that Kesler gets dealt somewhere he can recoup some value. Also, his rotisserie production (post-Olympics not withstanding) has remained formidable with loads of SOG, PIM and hits.

 

But it's also possible that years of playing with his foot constantly on the gas pedal have taken their toll on Kesler. After all, he does turn 30 this season, which may or may not be when forwards start turning into pumpkins.

 

Don't give up on him yet, but maybe don't go around forcibly dry-humping your league-mates after you snag him in the ninth round, like I did this year.

 

After not scoring a goal in over three months David Booth has three goals in the last two games. Obviously that more than makes up for a half-season worth of no-shows.

 

Since we are all into arbitrary starting points – how about Zack Kassian since January 1? 15 points in 30 games. That's damn near a half-season worth of solid production. Of course that comes included with Sunday's miracle four-pointer against Buffalo, which should essentially count as an AHL game. Still, if you add that scoring to Kassian's burly peripherals you have a player who can make noise in some rotisserie leagues.

 

A word of caution: his shot-rate has barely increased from the first half of the season, which isn't a positive sign. There's a very good chance Kassian falls short of 100 SOG this season. That's not all that surprising considering how deep he sits on the Canucks' depth chart but I'd be waiting to see a real spike in Kassian's shooting before committing to him as a genuine breakout candidate.

 

Alex Burrows left this contest early after taking a tough hit from Nino Niederreiter. He did return however:

 

Burrows thumb: doctors had to burn through the nail to repair the flesh that had been split open and then stitch through the nail. #canucks

— Dan Murphy (@sportsnetmurph) March 27, 2014

 

Kudos to Eddie Lack for settling down to win three straight. I'm still avoiding him like the stinky kid on the bus but at least he's making an effort.

 

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What a terrible month of March it has been for Darcy Kuemper. He was looking like Minnesota's saviour for a while there – and a waiver wire gold mine for poolies but the wheels have come off.

 

The culprit here is obviously Ilya Bryzgalov. Kuemper has one win in seven tries since Bryzgalov arrived and has allowed fewer than three goals only twice. Who knew Bryzgalov's miserable netminding was so contagious?

 

At least Mikko Koivu is trending in the right direction. He has points in three straight and seven in the last five games.

 

He has been clicking with Charlie Coyle (goals in three straight) and Matt Moulson (scoreless last night but has six points in his last five games).

 

Unfortunately, as is so often the case, one line rolling means another line slumping. Zach Parise has just two points in his last six games while Mikael Granlund has just one in his last three.

 

I'm cherry picking a bit but check out Minnesota's lines from last night:

 

Frequency	Strength	Line Combination
19.53%	EV	21 BRODZIAK,KYLE – 24 COOKE,MATT – 22 NIEDERREITER,NINO
18.14%	EV	64 GRANLUND,MIKAEL – 11 PARISE,ZACH – 29 POMINVILLE,JASON
17.21%	EV	3 COYLE,CHARLIE – 9 KOIVU,MIKKO – 26 MOULSON,MATT
6.51%	PP	9 KOIVU,MIKKO – 26 MOULSON,MATT – 11 PARISE,ZACH – 29 POMINVILLE,JASON
6.05%	EV	56 HAULA,ERIK – 15 HEATLEY,DANY – 8 MCCORMICK,CODY
5.58%	EV	21 BRODZIAK,KYLE – 24 COOKE,MATT – 15 HEATLEY,DANY
3.72%	PP	3 COYLE,CHARLIE – 64 GRANLUND,MIKAEL – 15 HEATLEY,DANY

 

Granlund and Parise are still skating together at evens but now Granlund is toiling on the second power play unit with Dany Heatley's corpse. If this keeps up it's going to be a long end to the season for Granlund.

Parise should be fine though.

 

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It's a real shame that the Flyers and Rangers should still be fighting for their playoff lives this late in the year but it led to a playoff atmosphere that I'm really hoping is replicated in a few weeks. The odds of these two playing in an opening round series are looking very good right now and thank goodness because that would make for one heck of a series. Folks much older than I will recall this matchup as an annual playoff tradition but these teams haven't faced off in the post-season in almost two decades. It's time for a reboot.

 

The Rangers came out on top thanks to some truly splendid goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist. It's hard to believe just how bad he was for the first few months of the season but Lundqvist has rebounded quite well and is driving the bus for the Rangers now having won five straight contests.

 

He couldn't stop this humdinger by Zac Rinaldo though.

 

Martin St. Louis continues to struggle with the Rangers. He is now scoreless in four straight and has just three points in 12 games. I didn't see this coming at all and it's a credit to Lightning youngsters Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson as well their head coach John Cooper. They helped keep St. Louis productive and the Lightning afloat while Steven Stamkos was out. I haven't really heard that angle yet but watching St. Louis struggle this badly in New York you've gotta credit the guys he left behind in Tampa Bay.

 

Ryan McDonagh is an absolute beauty. Check out this sick snipe from last night, the game winner:

 

It's likely too late to snag McDonagh in a keeper league. You'd surely be buying at a high point. After all, he's already scored 14 goals this season – good for fourth amongst legit defensemen. But what if McDonagh is only scratching the surface? What if the Rangers could somehow crack the top 10 in offense at some point during his career?

 

We know McDonagh can do the double-digit goal thing. Give him some forwards who can consistently bury the puck and we are looking at 50+ potential.

 

It's likely a pipe dream. Drew Doughty is a great example of what can happen for a great defenseman when everything comes together but he's also a great example of how some teams just cannot generate a good offense no matter how solid their personnel.

 

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Steve Mason's four-game winning streak came to a close last night. You know how I feel about him so I won't belabour you with my shtick this week.

 

Wayne Simmonds hit McDonagh with a really greasy slash in the hand at the end of the game last night. They were both sent off with just minor penalties considering there were just four seconds remaining on the clock. Could have been a real boon for poolies had he earned more. What I'm wondering is whether he deserves some supplemental discipline. I doubt he gets any games but it's something to monitor.

 

Andrew MacDonald got a point and was plus-two in his first game in a Flyers uniform. Since then he's gone scoreless and minus-four over nine contests. That's more like the MacDonald Islanders fans remember.

 

Mark Streit had a really tough start to the season but he's got four points in his last five games helping to keep the dream of 40 points alive. He needs six points over the last 10 games to get there. Easily doable.

 

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Karri Ramo's posts did some absolutely fantastic goaltending last night as the Flames' netminder scrambled about trying to stifle the Ducks' attack. Ramo did fairly well himself steering aside 31 of 34 shots. But he was beat several times only to be saved by the iron.

 

If you couldn't tell, my opponent had Ramo in net last night so every ping was like a knife to the heart.

 

To make matters worse, I also had Jonas Hiller in net for my squad, which made this tight battle far more unnerving than it should have been. Fortunately, I got a positive outcome. Hiller even added a power play assist for my squad. And yes, goalie scores count in this league. If they don't in your league you need to find a new league.

 

In related news, I'll be dumping all my weak Yahoo! leagues this summer.

 

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After setting the league ablaze for two straight weeks Mike Cammalleri has slowed a bit with goose eggs in each of the last two games. He still had some good chances last night though so I wouldn't be too concerned. 

 

His mini-slump has also come with visits from the Sharks and Ducks so it can't be all that surprising, though his scoring streak did begin with visits from the Kings and these same Ducks so who knows?

 

Jiri Hudler is righting the ship with three points in four games since returning to the lineup.

 

Notable aberration: Flames rookie defenseman Tyler Wotherspoon has points in three straight games despite no power play time. I think he'll be a good pro but he's not someone I'm concerning myself with in fantasy leagues. He couldn't even break 40 points in junior skating on some of the most blatantly loaded Portland Winterhawks teams.

 

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Francois Beauchemin was a healthy scratch for the Ducks. I wouldn't be overly concerned, apparently this is just Bruce Boudreau using his tremendous depth to buy his players some extra rest:

 

With eight d-men, BB said he wants to rest one regular for each of the games on trip. Won’t be surprised if Beauchemin sits tonight.

— Eric Stephens (@icemancometh) March 26, 2014

 

Sami Vatanen took to the ice in his stead for his second straight game since being called up. He notched two assists last night and is looking fairly comfortable as a puck-distributor.

 

I wasn't much a fan of what Vatanen was doing earlier in the season and obviously the Ducks agreed sending him down to the minors for an extended stretch. With Cam Fowler on the shelf however I do think that Vatanen can bring a dimension the Ducks have been missing. It helps that he appears to have regained some confidence after his latest trip to the AHL.

 

The Ducks are still trotting out Hampus Lindholm in Fowler's spot on the top power play unit, which strikes me as looney tunes. As impressive as Lindholm has been in his rookie season, he isn't ready for that spot and the power play is suffering.

 

It doesn't help that the Ducks have bumped Nick Bonino down to the second power play unit. He's the guy who makes that top unit run. Naturally, the only power play score the Ducks had all game was from Bonino and Vatanen on the second unit.

 

Teemu Selanne vs. smelling salts.

 

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Apparently Kris Letang will be able to make his return to game action whenever he feels he is ready. I never expected to see him again this season. What a turnaround. If he's still out there on the waiver wire it's a no-brainer to at least give it a shot. The payoff could be huge.

 

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More beauties in Elliotte Friedman's latest 30 Thoughts:

22. Interesting experiment: Staal is now playing left wing beside brother Jordan and Alex Semin. That’s where he lined up when winning gold with Team Canada in 2010. Staal’s got three points in three games. Is this his future?

 

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When ask me anything goes right: Sean McIndoe answers your questions on Reddit.

 

When ask me anything goes wrong: The Penguins' #AskNeal Twitter campaign.

 

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Forbes takes a look at how introverted leaders like Saku Koivu succeed.

 

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So someone decided to experiment with a different shape for a hockey puck… ummm, what?!?

 

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The evolution of NHL jerseys since 1917 in one graphic.

 

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Sean McIndoe debunks some myths about the Original Six.

 

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You can follow me on Twitter @SteveLaidlaw.