With the trade deadline behind us, teams are getting into the final stretch as they make a push for the playoffs. In these final 10-12 games for most of these teams, we’ll see a mixture of teams trying to keep a stable set of lines as they head into the playoffs as well as teams that are as good as locks mixing things up to account for different scenarios.

This does have a good chunk of players similar to last week which we talked about those that were traded at the deadline. However, now it is less speculation and more knowledge as we see where these players actually landed on their new teams. There will be some other players sprinkled in, too, though. All stats are from Natural Stat Trick.

Nikita Gusev (10 percent Rostered on Yahoo) – If there was ever going to be a time for Nikita Gusev to succeed in the NHL it is probably going to be with his new role on the Florida Panthers. After struggling to find his footing in New Jersey, he is now lining up with Aleksander Barkov on the Panthers. We have seen the sort of bump to a player’s production that Barkov can bring with Carter Verhaeghe exploding this season playing alongside him. The two are playing with Mason Marchment and although they’ve spent just 38:31 together at even strength, their 57.7 Corsi For percentage (CF%) is encouraging. Additionally, Gusev has been on the top power play unit with Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Patric Hornqvist and Keith Yandle. This is Gusev being put in a position to succeed so now is the time to grab him in case he finally realizes his NHL potential.

Casey Mittelstadt (22 percent) – This is probably a fluke more than anything, but Casey Mittelstadt has put up 9 points in 10 games while mostly playing on a line with Tage Thompson and Rasmus Asplund. This line hasn’t been great with just a 45.6 CF% over the last three games so there is probably a bit of flukiness to this success. However, he is playing around 17 minutes per game so it’s not like he has been productive in 10 or 12 minutes a night; the ice time is there. In addition, there might be some extra confidence as Mittelstadt is also playing on the top power play unit with Sam Reinhart and Victor Olofsson with Taylor Hall out of the picture. If Mittelstadt can get a more productive player with him at even strength he may start to live up to some of his potential as a former eighth overall pick.

Josh Norris (14 percent) – In the month of April, Josh Norris has seen a big bump in ice time. After seeing 15:30 in the month of February, he was bumped up to 16:21 in March and in April he is way up to 17:43. His power play time has remained the same for April (2:20 per game) compared to his season long numbers (2:23 per game) so this significant boost in ice time is at even strength. However, it is worth noting that of his 11 points in 10 April games, seven of them have come on the man advantage. This is certainly an interesting wrinkle as that is the one aspect of his game that hasn’t really changed at all. His even strength line mates of Brady Tkachuk and Drake Batherson should have led to solid even strength production as the line does have a respectable 52.03 CF%.

Chandler Stephenson (32 percent) – This isn’t much of a change in situation as it is simply the top line center on the Vegas Golden Knights being under owned. Surprisingly, Chandler Stephenson has spent almost the entire season with Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty on the team’s top line. They have a very solid 54.14 CF% throughout the season at even strength with a 57.93 expected goals-for percentage (xGF%). His 26 points in 40 games is actually pretty solid when you consider he is eighth among forwards in average power play ice time per game and has contributed just five points with the man advantage.

David Krecji (38 percent) – Like many teams since the trade deadline, it has only been a few games but the David Krejci, Taylor Hall, Craig Smith line has been playing well. Hall has already matched his Buffalo Sabres goal total of *checks notes* two, in which he put up in his first three games. It has now been four games and he has totaled three points with 11 shots on goal. This new line has certainly been a nice boost to Krejci who has three goals and five points since Hall joined the team. Again, small sample size, but in 38:017 at even strength this line has a 54.55 CF% and has been a fantastic secondary scoring line to back up the big 3.

Nick Foligno (28 percent) – Piggybacking on the trade deadline post from last week, Nick Foligno is expected to debut for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday and it sounds like he’ll be stepping right into a top line role with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. There is no saying whether or not he will stay here the entire time, but if he is productive then the Leafs can roll out three scoring lines by keeping the now-injured Zach Hyman on the third line. We’ve seen the third wheel on this top line have offensive production whether it was old man Joe Thornton, reclamation project Alex Galchenyuk or the ever-reliable Hyman. This is a fantasy gold mine to play on this line so if he can be successful here there will be little reason for Sheldon Keefe and the Maple Leafs to switch things up.

Colin Blackwell (15 percent) – Since Artemi Panarin took time off due to some political issues with Russia, he has come back with a vengeance and playing on a line with Ryan Strome and Colin Blackwell. This line has put together a respectable 52.47 CF% at even strength. However, in the month of April, Blackwell has taken his game to another level. He has accumulated 4 goals and 6 points in 10 games on just 13 shots. Of course the crazy 30.8 shooting percentage this month is unsustainable, but it just shows that the line is clicking on all cylinders right now. He’s worth keeping an eye on and certainly worth adding in deeper leagues.