So… quite the Capitals-Rangers game on Wednesday night. Next season's rematch should be highly anticipated. Whether you liked it or not, it undoubtedly grabbed your attention.

No surprise that the Rangers were fined $250,000 for their statement regarding Tom Wilson and George Parros. As much as publicly calling for someone to be fired from their job is unnecessary, the NHL has decided that words should be punished far more heavily than acts of violence (think Tom Wilson's $5,000 fine). Maybe that's the case because a large corporation can absorb a much larger fine than an individual? Don't feel too sorry for Wilson, as $5,000 to him is about what your fantasy league dues are to you.

In isolation, Pavel Buchnevich is deserving of his one-game suspension for smashing Anthony Mantha in the face. However, we all saw how violent that game was, and the Rangers were focused on retribution. I'm willing to bet the Buchnevich incident never would have happened had Wilson received proper discipline, but I guess the league wasn't too concerned about what would happen next after not suspending Wilson. And no, a choke slam is not a hockey play, even if Panarin confronted Wilson.

Buchnevich served his suspension during Thursday's game against Boston. With no Buchnevich, Artemi Panarin, or Chris Kreider, the Rangers line combinations looked like this:

RYAN STROME – JONNY BRODZINSKI – KAAPO KAKKO

PHILLIP DI GIUSEPPE – KEVIN ROONEY – MORGAN BARRON

MIKA ZIBANEJAD – COLIN BLACKWELL – VITALI KRAVTSOV

FILIP CHYTIL – TIM GETTINGER – ALEXIS LAFRENIERE

If that version of the Rangers looked watered down, it really couldn't generate anything against the Bruins on Thursday. Jeremy Swayman had a relatively easy time, stopping all 15 shots he faced in a 4-0 shutout win. Swayman has looked nothing short of fantastic in his brief NHL time. His shutout is his second in nine games, eight of which are quality starts. Among goalies who have at least as many games played as he does, Swayman has the best goals-against average (1.44) and save percentage (.946). Yet the Bruins will likely begin the playoffs with Tuukka Rask as starter and Jaroslav Halak backing up as per usual.

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After two wins to begin his NHL career, underdog Michael Houser received a dose of reality on Thursday. The Sabres' fourth-string (or is it fifth-string by now?) goalie surrendered eight goals to the Penguins. Just when you thought it was safe to add a Buffalo goalie. This is how quickly goaltending numbers can turn:

Michael Houser at 7 p.m.: 2-0, .940 save percentage, 2.40 goals-against average.

Michael Houser at 10 p.m.: 2-1, .890 save percentage, 4.22 GAA.

Feel bad for the guy, especially in first game with family in attendance.

— John Vogl (@BuffaloVogl) May 7, 2021

With the loss, the Sabres are now guaranteed to finish dead last in the NHL for the fourth time in eight seasons. That's quite the run of futility.

It wasn't Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin or Kris Letang doing the most damage against the Sabres. Instead, it was newly acquired Jeff Carter, who scored four goals. I thought that Carter would lose a bit of value with a Malkin return from injury. However, Carter is making the most out of a solid third line with Jared McCann and Frederick Gaudreau. McCann finished the game with a goal and two assists, while Gaudreau recorded three assists. Carter and McCann should be solid streamers for Saturday's rematch with the Sabres.

If those two aren't available, there are still a couple of other Penguins to choose from. Kasperi Kapanen had a goal and an assist on Thursday, giving him seven points in his last six games. As well, Jason Zucker added two assists on Thursday, giving him five points in his last five games. Zucker in particular might be the easiest one to find because he's only 10 percent rostered in Yahoo leagues. He's also being deployed on the Malkin line.

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If you decided to start Mikko Koskinen because of a juicy home matchup with the Canucks, you might have to kiss your weekly H2H ratios goodbye. Koskinen allowed four goals on four shots in the first period. Yes, not a single save, which resulted in the rare save percentage of .000. This is probably how you felt upon seeing it:

Mikko Koskinen was not happy after the #Canucks 4th goal of the 1st period 😬

He did not make a save and has been pulled for Mike Smith pic.twitter.com/Ib4eMzplLY

— Sportsnet 650 (@Sportsnet650) May 7, 2021

Mike Smith settled things down by allowing just two goals on 23 shots. The Oilers also responded with two goals before the first period ended, which made it look like this game might get close in the end, although it didn't (6-3 Canucks win).

Connor McDavid drive to 100 update: He pitched in another three assists, giving him 96 points with four games to play. The 100-point mark definitely seems within reach now. I had my doubts a couple weeks ago, but he's been a nuclear weapon for fantasy teams over his last 10 games, scoring 27 points! He also has multiple points in nine of those ten games. Never mind point-per-game, he's nearly point-per-period at this point.

#Oilers Connor McDavid records his 17th game with 3+ points this season.

That's the 2nd most in a single season since 2005-06

The players with 18 three point games all did it in an 82-game season

— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) May 7, 2021

Of course, stacking McDavid with Leon Draisaitl has led to this insane output. Draisaitl scored two goals but did not record any assists. So no Draisaitl hat tricks for either McDavid or Draisaitl, which is too bad because they both had the minus-1. Eric, can we call multiple points (regardless of if they are goals or assists) with a minus-1 a modified Draisaitl hat trick?

There was a hat trick of another kind on Thursday: Travis Hamonic recorded a Gordie Howe hat trick with a goal, an assist, and a fight with Alex Chiasson. The goal was Hamonic's first in 30 games as a Canuck, so don't count on him for any offense. From a pure hockey-watching standpoint, I like what I've seen from Hamonic recently, for what it's worth.

Brock Boeser and Nils Hoglander each scored a goal and added an assist in the Canucks win. Hoglander is a decent streamer option not only because of the Canucks' volume of remaining games, but also because he's been playing on the top line with Boeser and J.T. Miller. Hoglander is making the most of the opportunity with four points in his last three games, as well as nine shots over his last two games. In a season with a lot more negative than positive for the Canucks, Hoglander has been one bright spot with his never-ending hustle. With 24 points in 48 games, the rookie would be on pace for 40 points over a full season.

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Just as McDavid's point total looks like that of a normal 82-game season, so does Auston Matthews' goal total. The Leaf sniped his 40^th goal of the season in just his 49^th game. With just three games left, 50 goals seems out of reach. But there's no lack of trying from Matthews, who has scored goals in five consecutive games. Over his last nine games, Matthews has taken a minimum of four shots per game, with an average of over five shots per game over that span. Not surprisingly, Matthews is the league's shots leader with 210 SOG.

Cole Caufield scored again on Thursday, giving him three goals in his last four games. What's more, he took five shots, which is the highest total of his seven-game NHL career.

In my neverending effort to find streamers at the right-wing position to fill up my maximum games played total in my roto league, I noticed that Tomas Tatar returned to the Habs' lineup on Thursday. Tatar wasn't worth activating, as he had been held without a point with a minus-3.

One player in, another player out for the Habs. Phillip Danault left Thursday's game with an upper-body injury.

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Dobber mentioned this one in a tweet, but in case you missed it, Anthony Beauvillier has 20 points in his last 23 games. A total of 13 of these points are goals, including five goals over his last five games. Remember that he scored nine goals in 22 playoff games last season, so he appears to be heating up at the right time for the Islanders.

With another goal on Thursday, Pavel Zacha now has six goals and nine points over his last seven games.

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I haven't been enamored with the Sharks fantasy-wise this season. However, here are two potential streamers from San Jose that are nearly guaranteed to be on your waiver wire, if you're in any kind of deep league.

Traded by the Leafs to the Sharks at the deadline, Alexander Barabanov has been skating on a scoring line alongside Evander Kane and Tomas Hertl. He has responded with six points in his last six games. No, I didn't pick him up, because I need someone who is shot-heavy, and he has just seven shots over that span. Still, he could provide another point or two as the Sharks play back-to-backs on Friday and Saturday against Arizona. You're extremely likely to find Barabanov on your waiver wire, as he is rostered in just 1 percent of Yahoo leagues.

If you're having trouble finding a goalie, Josef Korenar might be worth considering. Remember that a spot opened up for him after Devan Dubnyk was traded to Colorado. Korenar has quality starts in each of his last three games, along with a confirmed start against a bottom-10 offense in the Arizona Coyotes. Korenar is rostered in only 7 percent of Yahoo leagues.

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One hockey topic that did not receive nearly enough discussion this week (maybe because of the Rangers-Capitals shenanigans) was the under-18 tournament that wrapped up on Thursday night with a Canadian gold medal. I'll leave you with highlights from Connor Bedard and Shane Wright, both of whom have received exceptional status to play in the CHL at age 15. Bedard and Wright both appear to be on the fast track to NHL stardom and a keeper league near you.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, CONNOR BEDARD. 🇨🇦😱 #U18Worlds pic.twitter.com/75WLJo1KHx

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 7, 2021

Back and forth we go!!

Canadian captain Shane Wright's seeing-eye shot ends up a power-play goal. 🇨🇦 #U18Worlds

WE. ARE. TIED. pic.twitter.com/7ekyNyOUHO

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 7, 2021

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