It looks like the Canucks won't be returning to action for quite a while, with an absence that might extend beyond Thursday of next week. Alex Edler, Braden Holtby, Quinn Hughes, Zack MacEwen and Antoine Roussel are joining Adam Gaudette and Travis Hamonic on the COVID protocol list. At one time the league leaders in games played, the Canucks have fallen toward the pack, so there is going to be major catchup as far as games played. The Canucks last played on March 24, so they are looking at a two-week break at minimum. Additional COVID cases are expected to be identified on Saturday, while some of the cases are of the contagious P.1 variant that originated in Brazil. Let’s hope everyone comes out of this okay.

Let's break down how this will affect other teams. We know that Saturday's game against Edmonton and Sunday's and Tuesday's games against Winnipeg are out. Later next week, the Canucks are scheduled to play two against Calgary. Those two games are very much in jeopardy, which would potentially give the Flames a one-game week next week (and a Monday at that). The Canucks are looking at games past the season end date, which could mean that multiple games are lost with this outbreak happening this late in the season. It's probably time to drop any non-essential Canucks from your roster.

The Jets will get a makeup game out of this, as their May 7 game with Ottawa has been moved up to Monday.

Something else I noticed when I was researching the NHL schedule. The last day of regular-season games is now Tuesday, May 11. Both my Yahoo league and Fantrax league are set to finish on Saturday, May 8. I was able to extend that date in Fantrax, but was unable to in Yahoo. This might be something to monitor if you'd like to ensure that no regular-season games are lost. Presently Sunday, May 9 has one game; Monday, May 10 has eight games, and Tuesday, May 11 has two games. Hopefully your league allows for that flexibility in the interest of fairness, although it's entirely possible that meaningless games from an NHL standings perspective might not be rescheduled at all.

For more on the schedule, see Adam's latest Looking Ahead article.

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The Hurricanes have officially recalled Petr Mrazek after an impressive AHL conditioning start (43 saves on 45 shots). That means they are potentially going into three-headed goalie monster mode. Fantasy owners will of course want to know what to do with Alex Nedeljkovic, the NHL's Rookie of the Month for March. My answer: I'm going to try to hang onto him as long as possible (I own him in one league). Especially since the Hurricanes are now a top-5 team in the league.

The Canes play back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday. If Mrazek starts once, these games might be telling as far as where these goalies truly stand on the pecking order. If Ned bumps anyone, it would likely have to be James Reimer, whose ratios, quality start numbers, and goals-saved above averages are not as strong as those of Nedeljkovic or Mrazek (in limited starts). For nearly the past two months, Ned and Reimer have for the most part been on a goalie rotation. From this area of surplus, the Canes could consider trading Reimer to load up further for a playoff run.

As we've said before, contract status matters. Ned has already cleared waivers and would not need to do so again. Don't panic if he is sent to the taxi squad, as teams regularly shuffle players back and forth from there all season. It would hardly seem fair if he is the odd man out, and I think that Rod Brind'Amour would recognize that. Carrying three goalies wouldn't be unprecedented given how teams are playing a highly condensed schedule. Besides, just ask the Avalanche about how disastrous it can be to lose two goalies during the playoffs.

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The Blackhawks and Panthers made a minor trade on Friday, with the Blackhawks reacquiring Vinnie Hinostroza from the Panthers for forward Brad Morrison. Upon signing with the Panthers in the offseason, Hinostroza had an opportunity to earn some better minutes and power-play time. However, his Panthers stint ends with zero points in nine games. Hinostroza is on a one-year contract worth $1 million, so this is a very low-risk move for the Blackhawks.  

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With another win on Friday, Jack Campbell's season numbers now sit at 8-0-0 with a 1.35 GAA and .951 SV%. No wonder Leafs fans want him to appoint him as the starter, even when Frederik Andersen returns. As it stands, the Leafs have no reason to rush Andersen back. The general rule has been that players shouldn't lose their starting jobs because of an injury. But in this case Campbell's season numbers are much, much better than Andersen's. Campbell could easily be the starter during the playoffs and even next season after Andersen has potentially moved on as a UFA.

When Dallas drafted Campbell with the 11^th overall pick in 2010, it seemed as if it would only be a matter of time before he became their starting goalie. Eleven years and two teams later, Campbell might finally have that opportunity. With a career .920 save percentage, it looks like he's earned it. And I'm saying this as an Andersen owner who is hoping for a few more starts from him before the season ends.

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Jakub Vrana was a healthy scratch for Friday's game against the Devils. Even though Vrana has not scored a goal in 11 games, he has points in two of his last three games, but it looks like there are more issues at play beyond just offense.

Laviolette on Vrana: "We've had many conversations just about his play with regard to the competitiveness of it and the speed of it. He is a very skilled player but there's other aspects of the game that are very important. …We're looking for a higher level of play." #Caps

— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) April 2, 2021

Vrana has averaged just 11:54 of icetime per game over his last five games, so it's not getting any better for fantasy owners waiting for his icetime to increase. Season-wise, it hasn't changed much from the previous two seasons at just over 14 minutes per game. Vrana is fourth on the Capitals with 2.7 PTS/60, ahead of the likes of T.J. Oshie, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and John Carlson, so I agree that he is deserving of more. He should be back in the lineup for Sunday's rematch with the Devils, but don't expect his minutes to climb suddenly.

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While we're on the subject of scorers who have recently been healthy scratched, Mike Hoffman returned to the Blues lineup after a one-game absence. He had been held without a point in his previous five games, but he broke the slump quickly with a first-period goal. Fantasy owners had high hopes for Hoffman signing with the Blues, especially with Vladimir Tarasenko sidelined to start the season. Now Tarasenko is back, and Hoffman didn't have the impact that was expected.

The Blues haven't used Hoffman on the first-unit power play where he has done much of his damage in the past. As a result, he has just one power-play goal and four power-play points. Over a full season, he'd finish well below the 10+ PPG that he scored in three of his past four seasons and 20+ PPP from each of his last four seasons. As a result, he is down nearly one shot per game and would be on pace for 50 points over a full season. He seems like a good bet to move on from St. Louis after the season, but he won't likely be earning a raise on the $4 million he earns this season.  

Hoffman wasn't the only Blue to break his slump on Friday. Brayden Schenn entered this game with no points and a minus-8 in his previous eight games. He managed to fill multiple categories with an assist on Hoffman's goal, five shots, and three hits. His January goal-scoring numbers (six goals in nine games) seemed unsustainable, but now it's swung the other way with no goals in his last ten games. The fact that he's shooting the puck (nine shots in his last two games) means that he should eventually score.

In spite of a quality start with 39 saves and three goals allowed, Jordan Binnington is now winless in his last five games. He has won just once since (looks down) February 18. Between the recent long-term contract and Ville Husso's season numbers, expect Binnington to continue to receive a long leash.

That smile when you realize you've been traded from a last-place team to a first-place team.

The goalie hugs have been good tonight 🤗🤗 pic.twitter.com/OeMFAj9D9i

— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) April 3, 2021

Yes, that's Jonas Johansson winning his first game of the season after five losses and two overtime losses. The 27-save performance in the 3-2 win was just his second quality start of the season. With the Avalanche dominating games at the moment, Johansson is worth a spot start whenever he is given the nod. That probably won't be much beyond back-to-backs in the near term, although he could see a little more action once the Avs mathematically secure a playoff spot.

Gabriel Landeskog recorded two assists on Friday, which gives him 19 points (7 G, 12 A) over his last 11 games. That gives Landeskog a 1.73 PTS/GP average over that span. Only Connor McDavid (24 PTS in last 13 GP) has a higher points-per-game average (1.85 PTS/GP) than Landeskog over at least as many games. The Avalanche are cruising right now, which is aided by having a healthy captain.

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Phil Kessel is one of the league's hottest players at the moment. With a goal and an assist on Friday, Kessel has six goals and ten points over his last seven games. Kessel's 15 goals surpasses his total (14) from all of last season, so this has been a nice rebound season for him. In my Experts League draft, he went 271^st overall. I distinctly remember round after round passing and no one wanting to touch him with a 10-foot pole. A 20.8 SH% suggests that this pace won't be sustainable, as he is taking just under two shots per game. The current success is nice to see, though.  

Ryan Getzlaf left Friday's game with an upper-body injury, in case you were wondering why his icetime was only eight minutes.

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Believe it or not, Martin Jones has a 12-7-2 record. More recently, he has three consecutive wins and wins in five of his last six games. On Friday, Jones posted his first shutout of the season, a 30-save effort against the Kings. He's also earned starts in six of the last seven Sharks games. His season numbers still look dreadful, but Jones just might be worth a pickup if you're looking for a goalie who has the hot hand. I'm not so certain that's sustainable if you look at his numbers over the past few seasons, but it appears he has fixed something.

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