As we wind down the end of the regular season, and head-to-head leagues are either finished or in their championship week, we will take a look around the league to see which players may be that final push you need to win your league in point points and rotisserie leagues. Some of these players have seen a bump in playing time or increase in power play usage while others may just be playing much better as of late for one reason or another.

Cole Caufield (13 percent rostered on Yahoo) – After going pointless in his first three games in the NHL, Cole Caufield has officially arrived. It may have just been a small bump in the road as one would expect from somebody getting into the NHL, but Cole Caufield has now gone back-to-back games with a goal. That seems fine in and of itself, however both of those goals were overtime game winning goals which is obviously even more impressive. He is averaging just 13:33 minutes per game playing alongside Artturi Lehkonen and Jake Evans which are fine linemates but given some of the other talent on the Montreal Canadiens, they could be better. The Habs have five games left in the season so we’ll see what else Caufield can do to finish off the season.

Jeff Carter (28 percent) – At 36 years old, Jeff Carter has really taken a downswing in his career averaging less than 0.5 points per game over the last three seasons. However, with the Pittsburgh Penguins acquiring Carter at the deadline there was a bit more excitement for him again. He has been alright with four goals and six points in 11 games, but things might get better as the season finishes with the return of Evgeni Malkin. It was a bit surprising to see Malkin line up with Jason Zucker and Kasperi Kapanen in his return last night, but I am sure over time we will see Carter and Malkin on the same line. Even if we don’t, Carter will be on the third line and face weaker competition than he is used to with his usual top-six role throughout his career.

Casey Mittelstadt (20 percent) – It seemed like a small little streak Casey Mittelstadt was on to start April, but he finished off the month just as hot. This is a player that actually contributes across the board pretty nicely. He’ll get you faceoff wins with winger eligibility, which is a huge bonus, but he’s put up 13 points in his last 16 games, averaging 2 shots per game over that stretch while contributing both on the power play and the penalty kill with two short-handed points. Don’t expect much of anything from a hits perspective, but this is a player that has quietly been awesome over the last month. Mitteltstadt was the 8th overall pick in 2017 so it is not entirely crazy to see him starting to produce with increased ice-time. His even-strength line mates are not great, but considering the Buffalo Sabres are terrible, all he needs is opportunity. He has seen his time on ice per game increase each month going from 10:21 in January to 12:10 in February to 15:33 in March all the way up to 17:34 in April which would also be a large contributor to his success. Now, it is worth noting that his eight goals on 32 shots — or a 25 percent shooting percentage — in the month of April is unsustainable, you can ride this wave until the end of the season with just three games remaining.

Anthony Beauvillier (19 percent) – With nine points in his last seven games, Anthony Beauvillier is certainly ending the season with a bang. In addition, he’s shooting the puck at a decent rate with 22 shots in these seven contests. He has played with Brock Nelson and Josh Bailey for most of the season and their 50.86 Corsi For percentage (CF%) on the season is solid but nothing too special overall. Beauvillier does play on the top power play unit so spending some time with Mathew Barzal is certainly a nice little bonus. The New York Islanders have four games left with one against the Buffalo Sabres and two against the New Jersey Devils, which is a solid three matchups.

Erik Haula (2 percent) – Watching Erik Haula play, I always felt like there was more for him to give. His two years in Vegas he had a 50.7 CF% and 62.6 CF%, however since he left he has only managed to break 50% once and it was his short 7-game stint in Florida at the end of last season. He is on a bit of a streak here with five points in his last five games to go along with 12 shots, which is more than he would typically average per game with 80 in 49 games this season. He plays on the second power play and the Predators have just three games left against the Columbus Blue Jackets followed by two versus the Carolina Hurricanes. It is not an easy stretch by any means, but for me I always hold out hope for Haula despite his age clearly indicating he is what he is.

Owen Tippett (1 percent) – Owen Tippett has been part of the Sam Bennett resurgence on the Florida Panthers as the two have been playing with Jonathan Huberdeau and been quite dominant. It has only been 30:28 at even strength, but their 72.73 CF% is ridiculously impressive albeit unsustainable. This line has not been together the entire time Bennett has been on the Panthers and really only started to play regularly in the most recent couple, but there have been some early benefits without a doubt. Tippett has 5 points in his last 5 games along with 21 shots including an 8-shot performance against the Predators. He is still only seeing about 14 minutes per game on average over this stretch, but there is at least some benefit here and this boost has been in large part with Patric Hornqvist out with an injury.

*Stats from Frozen Tools or Natural Stat Trick