The Colorado Avalanche are the latest team to have games postponed due to COVID. The NHL announced on Thursday that the Avalanche will be out of action until February 11. This cancellation includes games against St. Louis on Saturday and Sunday and Arizona on Tuesday and Thursday. Move your Avalanche players to your bench, although chances are a few of them (eg. Nathan MacKinnon, Devon Toews, Pavel Francouz) were already there or on IR anyway.

The Coyotes and Blues were quick to come up with a creative partial solution, arranging to move their March 29 and 31 games up to this coming Saturday and Monday. Both teams would otherwise be sitting idle for the next few days because their opponents (Minnesota and Colorado) have both been shut down. This games shuffle also helps when the NHL has to reschedule cancelled games later. Arizona and St. Louis will now be facing each other SIX times in a row – three games this week, and three games next week. I'm sure it'll have the feel of a playoff series to those tuning in every night.

The Avalanche are the fifth team to be shut down in the last week, joining Vegas, New Jersey, Buffalo and Minnesota. This week has easily been the roughest one when it comes to COVID-related cancellations. Three games that were scheduled for Thursday (Minnesota/Colorado, Buffalo/NY Islanders, New Jersey/Pittsburgh) were cancelled, while a net three fewer games than originally scheduled will be played on Saturday. If you've fallen way behind in your head-to-head matchup (like I have), this is the wrong week to be trying to play catch up. 

As much as we can control the fates of our fantasy teams with the decisions that we make, circumstances will play more of a role this season than in any. If you're looking for some tips on how to get ahead or at least keep your head above water during these challenging times, have a look at this recent Goalie Ramblings from Goalie Post.

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The Nashville/Florida game was an absolute delight if you own two players in particular. Not so much for the starting goalies (Juuse Saros and Sergei Bobrovsky), who allowed a combined 11 goals in a game that went to overtime.

Before the end of the second period, Jonathan Huberdeau had recorded his first career hat trick plus two assists.  Huberdeau now has 12 points in just seven games. Only three players (Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Joe Pavelski) that have played at least as many games have a higher points-per-game average than Huberdeau.

Jonathan Huberdeau looking casual…pic.twitter.com/6fRDuLcCg1

— Dave Hall (@hall1289) February 5, 2021

Because of cancelled games, no team has played fewer games (7) than the Panthers and the Golden Knights. Since the majority of teams are in the double-digits in games played, Panthers players such as Huberdeau will be at an advantage fantasy-wise down the stretch… assuming that further cancelled games aren't pushed outside a fantasy season, or that your team isn't already eliminated by the time you're able to cash in.  

Not to be outdone, Filip Forsberg posted his own five-point night (two goals, three assists), which was the first of his career. His second goal was the overtime winner, which completed the comeback from a two-goal deficit late in the third period. With eight shots in this game, Forsberg is now just outside the top 10 in shots (39 SOG).

Jonathan Huberdeau (3-2—5) and Filip Forsberg (2-3—5) are just the third pair of players to have dueling five-point games in the regular season over the last 30 years. #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/j1n6NXjOSB

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 5, 2021

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It was turn back the clock night for 37-year-old Jason Spezza, who posted his own hat trick in just over 12 minutes of icetime. It shouldn't come as news to you that Spezza's days as a viable fantasy option have long since passed. However, the Leafs play two more against the Canucks' paper-thin defense, and Spezza has posted points in four of his last five games to give him eight points in ten games. Somewhere, there's a fantasy team in a league deep enough to justify adding Spezza in the short term.

The hat trick is also a nice story, since Spezza was put on waivers earlier this season. He even stated he would retire if he was claimed, as he would prefer to stay on the Leafs' taxi squad to playing for another team.

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Sam Bennett, who probably wishes he was 18 years old again, was a healthy scratch on Thursday. The Flames could easily make the argument that the decision was performance-related, as Bennett had no goals and just one assist in nine games. He has had his opportunities to score, lining up with middle-six options like Mikael Backlund, Josh Leivo, and Andrew Mangiapane. However, Leivo has just one point in 10 games (Canuck fans can breathe a sigh of relief), while Mangiapane's goal on Thursday was just his third point in the same number of games as Leivo. The Flames' big guns have brought it so far, but they haven't had a whole lot in the way of secondary scoring.

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Best prediction of the night:

Such a trap game for the Habs tonight.

One team can't stop winning and the other can't stop losing. Logically it should be a slam dunk which is why it might go the other way…

— Eric Daoust (@DH_EricDaoust) February 4, 2021

Despite being outshot 38-22, the Senators were able to pull out a very surprising 3-2 win over the Canadiens. If you dared to start Matt Murray, he actually came through for you! This was just his second quality start (to compare with four Really Bad Starts^©) in eight games, to give you an idea of how awful it has been for Murray owners thus far.

Tim Stutzle owners may not have to wait very long for his potential awesomeness to show. Stutzle scored a goal and two assists on Thursday while also leading all Senators forwards in power-play time. I can't see the Senators moving out of the North Division basement this season (in spite of the Canucks' recent efforts to sink as low as they can), so why not play the hell out of the kids? Placing Braydon Coburn on waivers and recalling Erik Brannstrom might be a sign that the Senators are seeing the light and leaning that way.

By the way, Brannstrom recorded an assist with a plus-2 along with some second-unit power-play time in his season debut in this game

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Patrick Kane must be looking around the Chicago roster and wondering where half his team went. It's even been enough to make me second-guess drafting Kane 11^th overall in one single-season league. Yet even with Mattias Janmark as his most frequent even-strength linemate, Kane was able to pile up the points (one goal, three assists) in 23 minutes of icetime. Not to worry, as Kane is now above the point-per-game mark (15 points in 12 games) once again, as he has been for seven of his eight previous seasons.

Kane assisted on both of Alex DeBrincat's goals in the third period. DeBrincat is on a hot streak, having recorded multiple points in three of his last four games. The Cat also fired six shots and dished four hits with a plus-2 on Thursday, so he was filling the stat sheet in roto leagues.

Not to be outdone, Dominik Kubalik scored a goal and added two assists. All three of his points came on the power play.

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Mike Hoffman is another player that I've been concerned about drafting too high. St. Louis seemed like a great match, but he stumbled out of the gate with just a goal and an assist in his first six games. Yet he poured it on during the final few minutes of Thursday's games, scoring two goals (and spoiling an Antti Raanta shutout bid that I was crossing my fingers for!) More notable is that Hoffman took nine shots on goal, easily a season high.

Hoffman has been stuck on the Blues' second power-play unit, which seems like a waste. He's reached double-digit power-play goals in three of the last four seasons. I'm sure someone out there who has watched the Blues more than I have can provide a technical explanation as to why he's not on the first unit. Yet being surrounded with the likes of Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas, and Vince Dunn on the second unit isn't a terrible situation either.

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The Arizona Coyotes seldom feature players that are among the scoring leaders. So it's interesting to see Christian Dvorak among a large group of players that are tied for 10^th in goal scoring with six goals. Dvorak has done this on the heels of five goals over his last three games and two points in each of his last three games. I'm not that bullish on him continuing on this pace given the Coyotes' lack of scoring depth, but his fifth NHL season could turn out to be his best.

Also on the Yotes: Nick Schmaltz has two goals and two assists over his last three games. Schmaltz is scoring at a near point-per-game pace (nine points in ten games).

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Over his last six games, Mason Appleton has scored three goals and added three assists. He scored two of those goals on Thursday and also showed a plus-3. His primary linemates haven't been the big guns (Mathieu Perreault and Adam Lowry), and he's had virtually no power-play time, so I'd lean toward no as to whether this is sustainable. Sorry, Jets fans.

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With three helpers on Thursday, Artemi Panarin has posted back-to-back three-point games. The Bread Man is riding a four-game point streak as well. It's the wrong week for me to be facing him in head-to-head.

Panarin assisted on both of Ryan Strome's goals. Strome currently has a four-game point streak. As long as he's on Panarin's line, there's value.

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Patrik Laine scored his first goal as a Blue Jacket on Thursday while playing on a line with Max Domi and Alexandre Texier. Domi broke a three-game point drought on Thursday, while Texier broke a four-game point drought. Laine's presence at both even strength and on the power play could help Domi and Texier in particular.

Fantasy Take: Dubois Going to Winnipeg for Laine, Roslovic

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Talk to you tomorrow. For more fantasy hockey discussion, or to reach out to me, you can follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding