Sidney Crosby's stay on COVID protocol lasted just one game, as he was back in action for the Penguins on Thursday.

Unfortunately, Joel Farabee was placed onto the COVID protocol list. He has been hot recently with 14 points in his last 10 games, as well as a point-per-game pace (19 points in 19 games). Prior to Thursday's game, he was the second-leading scorer on the Flyers and tied for the team lead with 10 goals. He's emerged as a must-own in fantasy leagues.

The battle of Pennsylvania itself was an interesting one. The Penguins scored three goals in the first four minutes of this game. However, the Flyers scored four unanswered goals in the last 50 minutes, including Claude Giroux's second of the game with just over two minutes in regulation to win 4-3.

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If your league is one of those rare leagues that counts hat tricks as a separate category, hopefully you have Chris Kreider on your team. Kreider scored his second hattie in just over a week (five games) and in consecutive road games. The hat tricks and three other recent goals gives him nine goals (!) over his past six games. This after he scored "just" four goals over his first 15 games. Kreider is now suddenly a top-5 goal scorer with 13 on the season. Imagine my luck in picking him up the day before his first hat trick. I'm not kidding. He's up to nearly 30 SH%, so I really shouldn't expect him to keep up with the Matthews and McDavids of the world.

With a goal and an assist, Alexis Lafreniere recorded the first multipoint game of his career. He's now on a four-game point streak with six points in his last six games. It seems like he started to score not long after I advised you it was okay to drop him in single-season leagues. Well, it's time to pick him up, maybe even for the rest of the season. He's now on a scoring line with Mika Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich, and his icetime is slowly climbing.

It wasn't all good for the Rangers, as Igor Shesterkin left the game late in the third period. Here's how it happened, along with possible diagnoses and timelines.

Likely a groin injury for Shesterkin

Grade 1: day-to-day to 2-3 weeks
Grade 2: 4-6 weeks
Grade 3: months

Unlikely but can't definitively rule out a knee injury (MCL, ACL, meniscus) because of limited angles and the abundance of goalie gear in the way #NYR @tfdnhl https://t.co/AOCxObUz2o
— Dr. Harjas Grewal (@Harjas_Grewal) March 5, 2021

The Rangers play back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday, so veteran backup Keith Kinkaid could be recalled from the taxi squad to play one of these games.

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Aaron Ekblad had a monster multicategory game against the Predators, scoring two power-play goals while adding two assists and firing six shots on goal. His eight goals not only surpasses his total from all of last season (5), but it also leads all defensemen in goal scoring at the time of writing. Ekblad has scored double-digit goals in each of his previous five seasons, so he's clearly got his scoring touch back. It helps that he's shooting the puck more, as his 2.9 SOG/GP this season is his highest since 2016-17. Since 2014-15 (Ekblad's rookie season), only seven defensemen have scored more goals than Ekblad (79).

Filip Forsberg scored a goal and added two assists on Thursday, giving him 11 points over his last 10 games. With five shots, Forsberg has 92 shots, which places him into the top 5 in that category. Forsberg has four seasons under his belt where he has fired at least 200 shots. However, his 4.0 SOG/GP is the highest average of his career. The fact that he's shooting the puck more has also helped his scoring, as his 0.91 PTS/GP is the second-highest total of his career.

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Elias Pettersson was a late scratch for the Canucks due to an upper-body injury. It doesn't sound like a long-term issue, although his status for Saturday's rematch with the Leafs is in doubt.

In terms of players benefitting from Pettersson's injury, how about… Jake Virtanen? After a rough start to the season that includes low icetime and even healthy scratches, Virtanen was bumped up to the Bo Horvat/Tanner Pearson line. Unlike what has happened with any opportunity this season, Virtanen took full advantage in scoring two goals. Since the rumblings last weekend of a Virtanen for Danton Heinen trade with Anaheim, Virtanen has been more visible in his effort. Maybe he's trying to boost his trade value, or he's making a last-ditch effort to convince his hometown team not to trade him. Jim Benning better be working the phones!

Nils Hoglander was bumped up to the top line with Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller, although he did not record a point.

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Don't forget that the Midseason Guide will be available in a week's time (March 12). You'll receive much of what you receive in the preseason fantasy guide, including rest-of-season scoring projections. For more information, click here.

I've been hard at work writing the goaltending information, including rest-of-season start projections. The COVID situation has added an extra layer to these projections, with some teams already using three goalies, as well as the travel/quarantine restrictions that hinder normal player movement. Don't forget about the unique schedule, which will force many teams to play a heavy concentration of games through March and April and early May, as well as the series of games that teams play against a particular opponent. These challenges only add to the ever-increasing unpredictable nature of projecting goalies. Hopefully your goalie situation hasn't blown up in your face this season.

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When discussing the challenge of trading for a player this season, one example worth bringing up is Ryan Dzingel. After being traded on February 13, Dzingel made his (re)debut with the Senators on Thursday. That only took 19 days following quarantine and practices needed to learn a new system. I realize not every trade will be a cross-border one, but I'm expecting this trade deadline to be lighter than usual. Especially for the Canadian teams.

Fantasy Take: Dzingel back to Ottawa for Galchenyuk, Paquette

Dzingel scored a goal in 15 minutes of icetime while on a line with Austin Watson and Chris Tierney, but that was hardly the storyline of this game. The Senators allowed seven goals to another North Division team that has had its share of struggles recently – the Calgary Flames.

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Dillon Dube recorded his first career hat trick in the 7-3 win. Dube doubled his season goal total with the hat trick, as he had scored just three goals over his first 20 games. He had also not scored a goal in his previous nine games. Linemate Matthew Tkachuk assisted on both of Dube's goals. If Dube can stick on that line with Tkachuk and Elias Lindholm, then there might be room for more points.

Sam Bennett was once again a healthy scratch for the Flames. He has just one goal and no assists over his last nine games.

BREAKING NEWS just as I'm about to post this… the Flames have fired coach Geoff Ward, replacing him with Darryl Sutter. Yes, really. Maybe a bit of a surprise considering that the Flames won, but this must have been in the works for at least a few days if they're bringing in Sutter. I won't try to do the instant analysis here, so more to come.

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Even though the Sabres lost again, Taylor Hall finally scored his second goal of the season. His first goal was in his first game, so we're talking about a stretch of 19 games without a goal. Even though he's reportedly considering signing long-term in Buffalo, he must be thinking there was a better opportunity somewhere else. I was as shocked as anyone that he picked the Sabres, and I don't think things could have gone much worse. The good news? His advanced stats (3.6 SH%, 4.4 5-on-5 SH%, 1.9 PTS/60, 928 PDO) suggest that he'll pick it up. I would think it could only get better for him from here, even with the losses still piling up in Buffalo. Dare I say he's a buy low, although his minus-14 might not improve.

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Showing signs of his potential, Filip Zadina scored two goals while firing six shots for the Wings. The goals were his first since February 9 – a span of 11 games. That gives him 12 goals in 56 career games, which is nearly 20 over an 82-game season. And without much in the way of scoring options around him. He might not be a must-own in single-season leagues yet, but he's one of those guys that you have to be patient with in a keeper league.

In the Hurricanes' 5-2 win over the Red Wings, Jordan Staal scored a goal and added two assists with a plus-2. Not only does Staal have multiple points in back-to-back games, he's also scored at a near point-per-game pace this season (20 points in 21 games). All of that in spite of a recent seven-game stretch without a point! It seems like Staal is one of those players that you see at the top of waiver wires every season because he's been on a recent hot streak. Yet if you're thinking about adding him, you have to keep in mind the cold stretches. Use while he's hot, but bench/drop when he's not.

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Andrei Vasilevskiy's shutout streak ended at 228 minutes (three games), but he picked up his fifth consecutive win. Vasilevskiy leads the league in wins again (14), yet this season he has taken it up a notch. He also leads the league in quality starts (14), as well as posting some dynamite ratios (1.66 GAA, .942 SV%). He's not just benefitting from the team around him – he truly deserves to be considered fantasy hockey's top goalie.

Top 100 Roto Rankings – February 2021

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The Devils placed Nico Hischier on IR, as he is week to week with a sinus fracture and concussion after being hit by a puck over the weekend.

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Finally, some sad news. The world's greatest hockey dad has left us at the age of 82.