The main beneficiary of Alex Ovechkin's absence from the lineup (now nearly two weeks) has been Daniel Sprong. With another goal on Friday, Sprong now has six goals in his last six games. Currently he's on what should be considered the Capitals' top scoring line with Nicklas Backstrom and Anthony Mantha. Sprong is still only 2 percent owned in Yahoo leagues, but that may have a lot to do with fantasy leagues coming to a close and the continual day-to-day status of Ovechkin. Sprong also saw time on PP1 in this game, which would have a lot to do with no Ovechkin or Evgeny Kuznetsov in the lineup.

Removing Tom Wilson from Wednesday's game seemed to be precautionary, as he was back in the lineup on Friday. He seemed relatively toned down, as he did not record a hit and took just one shot.

Wade Allison was the scoring star for the Flyers in the 4-2 win over the Capitals. Allison scored two second-period goals, which gives him points in three consecutive games. Allison isn't receiving the kind of overall icetime and linemate opportunity that Sprong is, in case you are evaluating options for Saturday. To compare, Sprong played nearly five more minutes (19:02) than Allison (14:06) in this game. For more on Allison, see his Dobber Prospects profile.

When I've used Brian Elliott in recent weeks, he's been a complete disaster. Of course when I don't start him, he picks up a 28-save win. Friday's game was Elliott's first quality start in his last five games.

Not only did Cam York get into his first NHL game, but he logged over 20 minutes as well as first-unit power-play time. Since Shayne Gostisbehere still has another game to serve on his two-game suspension, York could very well receive PP1 opportunity on Saturday. York was held without a point with one shot in his NHL debut. York's Dobber Prospects profile. 

–

Someone suggested recently that I should move Joe Pavelski out of the Top 100 Roto Rankings because he was slowing down after an unexpectedly strong start. He wasn't going to keep up with nine goals and 17 points over his first 12 games for sure. On Friday, Pavelski scored two goals and added two assists with a plus-5, giving him his third four-point game of the season and first since early February. Pavelski also has six points and 11 shots over his last three games. Pavelski now has 24 goals and 50 points in 54 games, so he’s not going anywhere.

Roope Hintz also had a big game, scoring a goal and adding two assists. I've been adamant about not adding him to the Roto Rankings because I find his perpetual game-time decision status difficult to rely on. Yet Hintz has now played in nine consecutive games and is scoring at over a point per game over the entire season (43 points in 41 games). I might have to rethink that for the May rankings. If he's able to shake this issue next season, I'm willing to take him seriously as a top 100 option for sure. Yes, it's probably taken me longer to get there than it has many of you. The experience of owning Peter Forsberg late in his career affects me to this day.

–

You can start prepping your playoff brackets and pools. For the first time in history, cross-state rivals Tampa Bay and Florida will face off in a playoff series. This playoff series should be a lot of fun, as these two teams have been very evenly matched this season.

It's official – the @TBLightning and @FlaPanthers will go head-to-head in the #StanleyCup Playoffs for the first time.

The kicker? The Sunshine State foes still have two regular-season games against each other before starting their best-of-seven First Round series. #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/3Wr9MV2zW4

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) May 8, 2021

Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov are reportedly ready for the playoffs. Both players are currently out of the lineup, so they will provide a massive boost for the Lightning in their effort to repeat as Stanley Cup champions. Having no salary cap in the playoffs makes that all possible, of course. Kucherov might be forgotten about in playoff pools because he didn't play all season, but draft him where you would normally pick a top-tier Lightning forward.

With the Stars defeating the Lightning on Friday and keeping their playoff hopes alive, the Carolina Hurricanes have clinched the Central Division title. They will face either the Stars or the Predators in the first round.

–

In his fifth NHL game, Joe Veleno scored his first NHL goal, which happened to be a power-play goal. Veleno also took a season-high three shots in 14:50 of icetime. For more on Veleno, see his Dobber Prospects profile.

Powering the Red Wings in their 5-2 win over Columbus were Vladislav Namestnikov with two goals and Valtteri Filppula with three assists. The five-goal output for the Wings seemed completely out of nowhere, as they'd scored a grand total of three goals over their previous five games.

With two assists, Filip Hronek snapped a six-game pointless drought. Hmmm, I could have used those assists last week before my team got eliminated in head-to-head. Anyway, with Detroit mercifully playing its last game of the season today (Saturday), Hronek should finish as the team leader in scoring. He currently has 25 points, while no other active Red Wing has more than 20 points. It's possible that Hronek could lead the Wings in scoring while finishing with a sub-40-point pace over a full season.

–

Here is your Kirill Kaprizov highlight of the night… an overtime winner for the Wild.

Who else but Kirill Kaprizov to win it for the @mnwild in OT! pic.twitter.com/BSl38SwPkb

— NHL (@NHL) May 8, 2021

Kaprizov now has three consecutive two-point games, a five-game point streak, and 11 goals over his last 11 games. His 27 goals also places him in the top 10 of all players, not just rookies. As much as Jason Robertson has had a fabulous season, don't overthink the Calder Trophy race here. Kaprizov stands out as the winner.

–

Even though they lost to Vegas in overtime, the Blues have officially clinched a playoff spot in the West. That means all four playoff teams in that division are finalized (Vegas, Colorado, Minnesota, St. Louis). The order is yet to be determined, but the Blues will play whichever team wins the division.

Here's that overtime winner for the Golden Knights from Jonathan Marchessault:

The @GoldenKnights are just flawless in OT.

What a comeback!

NHL x @trulyseltzer pic.twitter.com/vG7HskPrD9

— NHL (@NHL) May 8, 2021

With the goal, Marchessault keeps his point streak alive at seven games. Over that span, he has scored six goals and 11 points while taking over three shots per game (23 SOG). He's usually at his best when he's firing the puck.

–

The Avalanche were without Nathan MacKinnon on Friday because of a lower-body injury. After the game, Jared Bednar said that no decision had been made on whether MacKinnon would suit up on Saturday. So if your championship hopes are riding on MacKinnon, the Avalanche don't play until later (10 pm ET), so any alternative that you'd swap in would need to be from the following set of games: Avs/Kings, Blues/Knights, Canucks/Oilers, or Coyotes/Sharks.

One possible MacKinnon substitute could be Tyson Jost, who took MacKinnon's spot on the top line with Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog. Jost scored a second-period goal while logging 18 minutes on Friday. Expect him to be back on that line on Saturday if MacKinnon isn't back. Jost has now scored goals in back-to-back games.

Rantanen managed just fine without MacKinnon, scoring a goal of his own while firing seven shots. Over his last 10 games, Rantanen has scored nine goals and 16 points while taking four shots per game. Whether MacKinnon plays should be of zero concern to Rantanen owners, as he is a talented enough player on his own with 60 points in just 48 games.

–

Yesterday I mentioned that I needed to stream right wings to make up for unused games played at that position in my roto league. One of the players I picked up for that purpose was Conor Garland. Luckily, I decided to hang onto him longer than a day, and it turned out to be a good decision on my part. Garland scored a goal and added two assists on Friday, giving him six points in the three games since he has returned from injury. Garland is scoring at nearly a 0.8 PTS/GP pace (38 points in 48 games), which would be a 65-point pace over a full season.

The legend of Michael Bunting continues. With another goal, Bunting now has 10 goals in 20 games this season. Bunting also took five shots, which was his second-highest total of the season. I've discussed him in previous Ramblings, where I've mentioned that his shooting percentage is simply unsustainable (26.3% currently). But if you need a goal or two on Saturday, he is holding the hot stick.

Phil Kessel recorded his 900^th point in the Coyotes' 5-2 win over San Jose. Probably mentioned less than the 900 points is the fact that he broke a four-game pointless drought in this game.

Phil Kessel with his 900th NHL point with the breakaway tally! Coyotes take the 3-2 lead!#Yotes pic.twitter.com/xt3xkuCRhF

— Hockey Daily 365 (@HockeyDaily365) May 8, 2021

Jan Jenik made his NHL debut in this game, scoring an empty-net goal with a plus-2 and two shots. Jenik is a 2018 third-round pick whose career numbers over various levels show that he could be valuable in leagues that count both points and penalty minutes. For more on Jenik, see his Dobber Prospects profile.

–

Finally, today (Saturday) is the last day for many fantasy leagues. Many teams will be making that final push toward a league championship. With 14 games on the schedule, only Calgary, Chicago, and Dallas won't be in action. There will be no shortage of options available, but you may need to stay on your toes for any last-minute scratches. Remember that many teams' situations have already been decided, which means that it's possible that certain key players with very minor injuries are rested. That may not really be fair, but it's expected at the end of the season. Those of you who have competed for a fantasy football title in Week 17 will be able to relate.

Good luck, and I'll be back tomorrow to recap games and discuss what you might need to know if your fantasy season is continuing into Sunday and beyond, or perhaps even into the playoffs.

–

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