We have a trade to announce. It's no huge surprise considering the current state of the Buffalo Sabres, as Eric Staal has been traded to Montreal for a third-round and a fifth-round pick in the upcoming draft. For more, check out the fantasy impact article from Mike Clifford. Staal's value should improve just by getting out of Buffalo. He'll provide center depth for the Habs, which could cut slightly into the icetime for someone like Nick Suzuki or even Phillip Danault.

Keep in mind that Staal will only need to quarantine for seven days instead of 14 before he can join the Montreal lineup. This news from the Canadian government should facilitate more cross-border trades, and it should also help once the conference finals begin and the North Division winner has to cross the border.

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The Florida Panthers have placed Anton Stralman on waivers. Since the 34-year-old Stralman has one year remaining after this one at $5.5 million, this is a move that will likely send him to the taxi squad since he will likely not be claimed.

Usually I don't spend a lot of time in the Ramblings discussing defensive defenseman who possess little value in scoring leagues (unless there's a non-scoring roto category that stands out). So I found it interesting that Stralman has averaged 0:43 PPTOI (although that has dropped recently), while Mackenzie Weegar is having a breakout season (19 PTS in 33 GP) and does not factor into the Florida power play at all. Both are right-shot defensemen, so handedness is not the issue. Aaron Ekblad is also a right shot, but he is being used on the first unit with Keith Yandle.

None of the 25 defensemen with at least as many points as Weegar receive as little power-play time (0:03 PPTOI) as Weegar, while only Darnell Nurse and John Carlson are the only defensemen with more even-strength points as Weegar (18 EVP). By the way, Weegar's other point is shorthanded, not from the power play. Only two of Weegar's points are from goals, so it's not as if his point total has been padded with a bunch of goals. His secondary assists (9) are slightly higher than his primary assists (8), but that's not a large enough imbalance to think he's been on an unsustainable run.  

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After returning on Thursday, then leaving after one period, Tuukka Rask will miss the Bruins' weekend games on Saturday and Sunday. Reinjuries are never a good sign, so Rask may be out a while longer. Jaroslav Halak should continue to receive the bulk of the work while Rask is out. With back-to-back games this weekend, Dan Vladar is in a great spot for a spot start against either Buffalo or New Jersey – the two bottom teams of the East Division. Vladar impressed in his only start, a 34-save performance in a 2-1 win over Pittsburgh on March 16.

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Alex Ovechkin's goal-scoring run continues. With a pair of goals on Friday, Ovie now has 10 goals over his past 10 games. That has helped him sneak to just four goals in arrears of Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews in the Rocket Richard race. Or to put it another way, Ovechkin had just seven goals just three weeks ago and was well off the pace for the goal lead. I think we've learned by now that we should never count him out.

Don't look now, but Alex Ovechkin is now four goals off the League lead in goals — Matthews and McDavid have 21.

He was 12 goals off the League lead on March 12 (two weeks ago)

— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) March 27, 2021

Evgeny Kuznetsov assisted on both of Ovechkin's goals. After a rough start and time in COVID protocol, Kuznetsov is heating up with 11 points and a plus-9 in his last nine games. It was difficult to say which way Kuznetsov would go after he returned from COVID protocol, but in hindsight there was a real buy-low opportunity here.

Ilya Samsonov also battled COVID, but he seems to be fine now. With the 24-save shutout of the Devils on Friday, he has now posted three consecutive quality starts and allowed just three goals over that span. Peter Laviolette has alternated between Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek the past few games. Since the Capitals have won nine of their last ten games, expect that goalie rotation to continue.

Not every Capital player is hot, though. Jakub Vrana has just one point in his last six games and no goals in his last eight games. He was also held to just over 10 minutes of overall icetime in this game.

Because the Devils were shut out, Jesper Bratt's six-game point streak ended. Four of those points came on the power play. Since Bratt has scored just three goals with a relatively low shooting percentage (5.5 SH%), it's possible that the hot play continues because the goal total could actually increase from there.

Nikita Gusev was a scratch again for this game – his fourth consecutive game out of the lineup. Between the scratches and donuts in the boxscores, Gusev hasn't recorded a point since March 2 and is also without a goal since February 23. He probably deserves a better fate, but he shouldn't be in your fantasy lineup at the moment. Maybe a trade will change his fortunes, but will a team want to take on his $4.5 million cap hit, even if it's only for the rest of the season? Gusev is a UFA after the season.

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The Blues/Ducks game was all about busting slumps for at least a few players, for some reason.

If you're a John Gibson owner, you haven't had an easy time lately. He's a talented real-life goalie, but that doesn't always translate in fantasy leagues because of the team in front of him. Gibson has just two wins and two quality starts in his last 13 games, so many fantasy owners have already made the decision to move on. For those fantasy owners still waiting for something positive to happen, Gibson earned a W by stopping 33 of 34 shots, including this one:

Welcome back, John Gibson! pic.twitter.com/ciIGCyL4PI

— Nick Alberga (@thegoldenmuzzy) March 27, 2021

A couple of Ducks managed to break point droughts in this game. Cam Fowler's assist on Derek Grant's empty-net goal was his first point in 10 games. Also, Jakob Silfverberg's assist on Sam Steel's goal was his first point in nine games.

It wasn't all good for the Ducks, as rookie d-man Jamie Drysdale left the game with an upper-body injury.

Despite the loss, Torey Krug recorded an assist, which was just his second point in his last 10 games. He still has no goals dating all the way back to January 23, which is a span of 29 games.

Unfortunately, Brayden Schenn was not one of those players who broke some kind of slump on Friday. He was held without a point for the seventh consecutive game. It hasn't been all bad for Schenn owners in leagues that count penalty minutes, as he has now dropped the gloves in consecutive games (10 PIM in last 2 GP).

Jakob Chychrun was reportedly injured on Friday and is considered 50/50 to play Saturday, as per Craig Morgan.

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In Christian Dvorak's first 12 games, he scored 13 points (7 G, 6 A) and appeared to be well on his way to a breakout season. But then he hit the skids with just four points (2 G, 2 A) over his next 21 games. That included no points over his last nine games and no goals over his last 15 games. He broke both slumps on Friday, scoring a pair of goals in the Coyotes' 5-2 win over San Jose.

In the win, Adin Hill posted his first quality start in seven games (and all season, for that matter). With both Darcy Kuemper and Antti Raanta sidelined, he's going to see a lot of the net going forward. Like maybe even for Saturday night's rematch with the Sharks.

With a power-play goal on Friday, Phil Kessel now has goals in back-to-back games and a four-game point streak. And also this photo for your viewing pleasure, marking his 1100^th career game.

Legend. pic.twitter.com/RqUWGXpeTE

— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) March 27, 2021

Martin Jones posted four consecutive quality starts entering Friday, so he was given his third consecutive start. You really didn't think that run was going to last, did you? Sure enough, Jones allowed five goals on Friday, earning him the Really Bad Start. If you're okay with rolling the dice on Sharks goalies, Devan Dubnyk should be back between the pipes on Saturday.

Hot Shark: Tomas Hertl, who with a goal on Friday has nine points in his last nine games.

Cold Shark: Logan Couture, who has only one point in his last eight games, and he was also a minus-3 on Friday.

With an assist, Erik Karlsson snapped his four-game pointless drought.

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The coaching change to Darryl Sutter is not having its intended effect for the Flames, who have now lost four games in a row. That includes two losses to the Senators earlier this week, as well as a 3-2 loss to the Jets on Friday.

Calgary Flames head coach Darryl Sutter:

"We had some dopey players that didn't wake up till we were down a goal"

— Salim Nadim Valji (@salimvalji) March 27, 2021

Fantasy Take: Flames Fire Geoff Ward, Bring Back Darryl Sutter

In an attempt to shake things up, Sutter moved Elias Lindholm to right wing to play alongside Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan, as opposed to centering Matthew Tkachuk's line. Lindholm had only one point in his last four games entering Friday, but he did record an assist late in the third period. The Flames have scored only four goals in their last four games entering Friday. I don't think Sutter is known for bringing more offense for a team, but here are a few Flames top-6 forwards who aren't scoring at the moment:

Monahan: one point in his last seven games

Gaudreau: one point in his last five games

Andrew Mangiapane: no points in his last five games

Speaking of coaching changes:

.@NHL teams since coaching change:#GoHabsGo 5-3-5#COfRed 4-5-0#LetsGoBuffalo 0-3-0

— Nick Alberga (@thegoldenmuzzy) March 27, 2021

We’ve heard about the teams that made midseason coaching changes and won a Stanley Cup (eg. Sutter in LA), but so far these coaching changes have not resulted in a significant turnaround as hoped.

Juuso Valimaki might run the Flames power play one day, but he doesn't appear ready to do so now. He has now been held without a point in his last 13 games. I tried to include him in a keeper league trade package for Zach Werenski earlier this week and was denied, but that may turn out to be a blessing in disguise for me if I continue to be patient with him.

Paul Stastny scored a goal and an assist on Friday, which gives him eight points (4 G, 4 A) over his last nine games.

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