Late Saturday, the league announced that Tom Wilson has been suspended for seven games for his hit on Brandon Carlo on Friday. A suspension of at least five games seemed possible after Wilson was offered an in-person hearing. With the suspension starting today (Sunday), Wilson will be able to return on Saturday March 20. Fantasy owners will be without him all of next week and most of the following week.

So does the fact that this is Wilson affect your judgment of the hit? Maybe a little, but this is undoubtedly suspension-worthy. If this was Joe Blow, then true, maybe it wouldn't be seven games. But why should Wilson get a break for a short period (by his standards) of good behavior? He's still a repeat offender.

The replies seem to be about 75% throw the book at him.
Half of those reasons were because of his track record, and that's where I disagree. I don't think he's the same dirty player he was three years ago. Pretend Tom Smith did this, and how do you feel? https://t.co/1GoOWMVbDS

— Dobber (@DobberHockey) March 6, 2021

The good news is that Carlo is out of the hospital, but he will mostly likely miss game action.

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Ryan Strome scored a pair of goals in the Rangers' matinee win over New Jersey. He now has multiple points in back-to-back games with a combined plus-4 over that span. He's also listed as a hot player on Frozen Tools with 11 points over his last eight games. He's also managed to do much of this without Artemi Panarin, who has been out of the lineup for the past six games. Panarin's absence hasn't affected the Rangers much either, who have won four of their last five games.

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Mathew Barzal's goal was really something. Highlight of the night and maybe goal of the year material.

MAT BARZAL ARE YOU KIDDING WITH THIS GOAL

SORCERY pic.twitter.com/YdQ3QKc2IH

— Isles on MSG+ (@IslesMSGN) March 6, 2021

Barzal also chipped in an assist with five shots to power the Islanders to another win.

With all the doom and gloom we hear about the Sabres, they entered Saturday with the league's third-best power play (30% conversion rate). What that also means is that their 5-on-5 scoring is really bad (28 even-strength goals in 22 games, which is by far the worst rate in the league).  Therein lies (one of) the problems in Buffalo.

So when your even-strength scoring is this bad, you might as well try Dylan Cozens with Jack Eichel and Taylor Hall, which is what the Sabres did. Only Eichel picked up a point in this game, and it was on an early first-period goal from defenseman Jacob Bryson (his first career NHL goal).

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Joel Farabee's time in Covid protocol was brief, as he returned to the lineup after missing just one game. Although he did not record a point on Saturday, he had been hot entering this game with 14 points over his last 10 games. Get him back in your lineup.

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Before Saturday's game, the Predators announced that Matt Duchene would miss the next 3-5 weeks with a lower-body injury. Duchene was one of numerous Preds who have been sputtering this season with just eight points (3 G, 5 A) in 23 games. Something tells me that his seven-year, $56 million contract signed on July 1, 2019, isn't going to age well. It's not like the Preds will have an easy time trading that contract.

In fact, a glance of the Predators scoring stats shows Filip Forsberg carrying the team with a point per game, then Roman Josi at a scoring rate similar to his pre-Norris Trophy season of last season. After that, no one aside from Mattias Ekholm has a scoring rate higher than half a point per game. The Predators appear unlikely to make the playoffs this season, so Forsberg and Ekholm trades are distinct possibilities. I'd also be surprised if John Hynes is still the coach next season, as I've been told numerous times on my Twitter timeline whenever I bring up someone on the Preds.

Remember Noel Acciari's amazing run from last season, which included back-to-back hat tricks? Well, he's at it again. Acciari scored another hat trick on Saturday, which probably helped no one in fantasy land. That's because the goals were his first three of the season. At least there's one scoring category in which Acciari has been more valuable than Auston Matthews.

Noel Acciari has more career hat tricks than Auston Matthews (3 to 2). #flapanthers

— Point to Point Hockey (@PTPHockey) March 6, 2021

Aaron Ekblad followed up Thursday's four-point game with another goal and assist. That gives him six points and ten shots over his last two games. That helped Ekblad pad his league lead goal total among defensemen to nine goals.

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No Elias Pettersson, no problem for the Canucks. Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller each scored a goal and added two assists to lead the Canucks to a 4-2 win over the Leafs. The goal was Boeser's first in eight games, although his 13 goals ties him for fifth in that category. Nils Hoglander, the third man on that line in Pettersson's absence, also scored a goal. Pettersson's absence is expected to be short term, although Hoglander has been playing in the top 6 all season.

Much of the Canucks' recent success (three wins in past four games) has to do with Thatcher Demko. He's now posted three consecutive wins (including one shutout), along with quality starts in each of his last four games. If you haven't been paying much attention to the Canucks, Demko has emerged as the clear starter over Braden Holtby. He's also showing signs that his near-perfect three games in the playoff bubble against Vegas wasn't a fluke.

Auston Matthews – five games without a goal and counting. His lead in the Rocket Richard race has shrunk to three goals.

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With two goals and an assist against Winnipeg, Brendan Gallagher has six points over his last three games. That includes a three-game goal streak. Gallagher consistently averages more than three shots per game, and that has been the case again this season.

There's one Hab that is tied in shots with Gallagher (75), and that's Tyler Toffoli. After cooling off a bit after a scorching start, Toffoli is holding the hot stick again. His goal on Saturday gives him goals in three consecutive games. As well, his 15 goals place him tied for second in the league behind only Matthews. I've been trying to state sell high because his advanced stats (20 SH%, 9.3 5-on-5 SH%, 3.2 PTS/60) seem unsustainable. Maybe don't sell just yet… two more games against the Canucks are coming up this week (cover your eyes, Canucks fans).

Tomas Tatar also recorded three assists in this game, giving him a three-game point streak. That's something for Tatar owners, who have watched his point total fall well off last season's pace.

Carey Price struggled in his first game under new coach Dominique Ducharme (five goals allowed). Since then, he's settled in nicely with back-to-back wins in allowing one goal apiece, including a 28-save effort on Saturday.  

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Tyler Pitlick had a day for the Yotes, scoring two goals with a plus-2 while taking seven shots. He had not recorded a point in his previous four games, while he totalled seven shots in his previous five games. Being deployed with Clayton Keller and Christian Dvorak recently has finally paid off for him, though.

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Maybe being placed on waivers is a sound motivational technique. Adam Henrique has two goals and two assists in his last five games since the unexpected waiver announcement. That's the same number of points (4) that Henrique had over the 16 games he played before being placed on waivers. Because of his contract ($5.825 million for three more seasons after this one), there isn't much the Ducks can do with him other than play him.

I mentioned Rickard Rakell yesterday, but after Saturday's performance I have to bring him up again. Rakell posted a three-point game (1 G, 2 A) with five shots on goal, which gives him nine points over his past five games. Rakell has been firing the puck a lot during that five-game stretch, averaging four shots per game. I own Rakell in one keeper league and have simply had to be patient with him. His shooting percentage is only 4.9%, so there's not a sell-high opportunity. Even though I'm not enamored with the linemates, he seems to be trying to make things happen whenever I've watched the Ducks. Go grab him.

Troy Terry scored twice and also took seven shots on goal in what turned out to be a Ducks' overtime win over Colorado. That's great, you say, but what about Trevor Zegras if all these Ducks have been having recent success? Sorry to say that Zegras was a healthy scratch on Saturday. He has just a single point (an assist) in six NHL games. It seems like he'll come around, but remember that he's only 19. He's probably not ripe for single-season leagues with shallow benches, though.

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Jake Oettinger earned a 21-save shutout for the Stars, the first of his career. That was the rookie netminder's first victory in over a month (since February 2), even though he posted three quality starts in between that did not result in wins. The ratios (2.02 GAA, .922 SV%) look outstanding, so he's worth an add/spot start whenever it's his turn.

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I drafted (yes, drafted) Vladimir Tarasenko 208^th overall and kept him on IR all season in one league awaiting this day. After offseason shoulder surgery, he made his season debut on Saturday. It didn't result in anything scoring-wise, as he didn't record a point in 15:51 of icetime and took four shots. Yes, I'd be a bit worried that the shoulder still might not be completely right after three surgeries in the past three years. By now he's rostered in most leagues, but if he's somehow still available in yours, he should be added.  

In a "come from three goals down" overtime win for the Kings, Anze Kopitar scored twice and added an assist while taking six shots. Kopitar is on a four-game point streak, and he's found his way into the top 10 in scoring (28 points in 23 games). Only four players have more assists than Kopitar (22), and a slightly-lower-than-normal 11.8 SH% indicates that there might be a few more goals as well. The Kings are a better team that what was projected for them, which has a lot to do with their superstar from their Stanley Cup seasons.

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Marc-Andre Fleury's 23-save shutout on Saturday was his fourth of the season, which leads all goalies. This was a goalie with an ADP of 92 that was thought to be on the outs in Vegas because of Robin Lehner. Having $12 million tied up in goaltending this season and next might not be the best long-term strategy for the Golden Knights, but while Lehner is sidelined and Fleury is having a Vezina-caliber season, it's working.

Alex Tuch had a game, scoring two unassisted goals while firing six shots in nearly 20 minutes of icetime. The red light has been coming on for him recently, as he's now scored goals in four consecutive games along with eight goals in his past seven games. It doesn't seem to matter that he's not on a Vegas scoring line, as he can use his speed and size to his advantage all on his own. Yes, he will cool down, as his advanced metrics suggest (27.3 SH%, 11.7 5-on-5 SH%, 3.4 PTS/60, 1058 PDO).

Timo Meier missed Saturday's game with a lower-body injury. He is considered day-to-day.

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Jacob Markstrom returned to the Flames for his first start since February 20. It was a decent performance (30 saves), but not enough in a 3-2 loss against McDavid and friends.

McDavid snapped a three-game pointless drought with his second-period assist on Jesse Puljujarvi's goal. Then he added another helper on Kailer Yamamoto's goal in the third period, followed by his own go-ahead goal with just under five minutes to play. He finished the game with a plus-3 and five shots. No reason to panic if it's McDavid.

The goal was just more textbook McDavid. Using his speed, shot, and ability to beat defenders.

When you need a big goal, just call Connor McDavid!#NHLonSN #ItsOn pic.twitter.com/iW6V8Rcdgr

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 7, 2021

Yamamoto's goal was his first point in five games and his first goal in 10 games.

Even though he has been held without a point in four games and without a goal in 10 games, Tyson Barrie fired a season-high eight shots on Saturday.

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Finally, here's Wayne Gretzky's eulogy for Walter. Well-spoken and powerful.

"I don't think I've ever met a prouder Canadian than my Dad."

Wayne Gretzky delivers a heartfelt eulogy for his father, Walter.

Watch Walter Gretzky's memorial service: https://t.co/02L5dEMgr3 pic.twitter.com/74heI5oApY

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 6, 2021

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