It was a huge 13-game slate in the NHL last night. After the last month or so where we had a lot of make-up games, and thus had a lot of reasonable nights of five, six, or seven games, it was a reminder of how the NHL usually works up their schedule: a couple games on M-W-F and absolutely loaded nights on T-Th-Sa. Not complaining about a lot of hockey but I really hope the NHL figures out their schedule in the near future.

Anyway, we had some big news on Thursday, depending which team you're a fan of, and what qualifies as "big news".

First, we have a Rasmus Ristolainen extension:

Hearing another UFA-to-be may be coming off the board: Rasmus Ristolainen and PHI grinding closer to an extension. Expecting AAV in the $5M range.

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) March 10, 2022

It would be nice to say this came out of left field, but I've been an NHL fan for too long. It really wasn't that long ago that the Vancouver Canucks gave Tyler Myers his huge contract. The team has been outscored by 11 with him on the ice at 5-on-5 over the last three years, and that's with a .921 save percentage behind him. It hasn't been great. It isn't that he's awful, it's just these are the kinds of contracts that just are… there. Ristolainen is not worth $5M a season, he never has been, and unless he overhauls his game, he never will be. But he is tall and hits a lot, so the Flyers just love him.

Anyway, cap league players will get some savings here as his AAV does come down. And he does post a lot of peripherals, as he's sitting with 267 hits+blocks in 49 games on the year, heading into Thursday night. I guess the lower AAV than his current contract means it'll also be easier to swallow the fact he's seen his points per game decline for five years straight. With little production, it's all peripherals for that $5M AAV in cap leagues. It'll be up to owners to decide if he's worth it.   

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A positive update on Drake Batherson:

Smith says Batherson "didn't have to stop and start today. He's not ready. It's just good to have him back with the guys." He won't play this home stand. #Sens

— Bruce Garrioch (@SunGarrioch) March 10, 2022

He's not on a path to imminent return but it does seem he should be back in the next couple weeks. That is great news for the kid after that horrific high-ankle injury earlier this year. It should also be noted that the original timeline was for him to be out at least two months, and if he comes back anytime in the next two weeks, he'll come in under that timeframe. Just really good news all around for him and the Ottawa Senators.

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We have new lines in Pittsburgh and a wrinkle to the second line:

Interesting lines at Penguins practice: Guentzel-Crosby-Rust Heinen-Malkin-Rodrigues McGinn-Carter-Simon. Fourth line has ZAR and Kapanen rotating with Blueger and Boyle. Matheson skating on a fourth pairing with Joseph.

— Shelly Anderson (@_ShellyAnderson) March 10, 2022

To be honest, assuming the Crosby-Malkin duo is playing well, Evan Rodrigues might be the key to this team being a true Cup contender. At the risk of putting too much weight on his shoulders, he had 30 points in 33 games to start the year and five points in 25 games since. While percentages are not in his favour, he's also ending up with far fewer scoring chances per 60 minutes, so the percentages dropping make sense.

If Rodrigues can find his form from earlier in the season and form a truly great second scoring line alongside Evgeni Malkin, that is game-changing for the Penguins. They could even use him on the third line to lengthen the lineup, as Phil Kessel did 5-6 years ago. Unless (until) they add pieces at the deadline, his performance is the difference between a top-heavy lineup and perhaps having three true scoring lines. So, yes, him turning his play around will be big for Pittsburgh, and he'll get the chance alongside Malkin.

I wonder about this being a good place for fantasy. He won't get top PP minutes unless there's an injury, but a 50-point pace is still possible without them. Rodrigues could be a good speculative add for anyone needing depth help down the stretch, just be prepared to drop him again if he doesn't pan out quickly.

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There was a significant piece of new from Dallas and defenceman Miro Heiskanen:

Stars say defenseman Miro Heiskanen has been diagnosed with mono and is out indefinitely.
He's on IR, retroactive to March 2.

— Tracey Myers (@Tramyers_NHL) March 10, 2022

I am not a doctor, I only play one on Twitter, but this doesn't appear to be a short-term issue. As in, don't expect him back next week or something. That could be a big problem for Dallas as Heiskanen was having an excellent two-way season, and was easily their most valuable blue liner. They are teetering on a playoff spot at the moment and a significant injury like this could really hurt, especially with how tight the race is.

For fantasy owners, not much can be done here. The guy who will take all the PP1 minutes is John Klingberg and he's surely rostered in competitive leagues (though it never hurts to check). What I will say is that with Heiskanen out for the last week, both Jani Hakanpaa and Esa Lindell have seen ice-time increases (the former much more than the latter). Those guys thrive through peripherals, and more ice time is always welcome. Check for them on the wire in your multi-cat leagues, as Lindell is probably going to sneak some secondary PP time as well.

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Jonathan Dahlen returned to the top line on Thursday night for the Sharks and that's an important development here. He has been in the coach's dog house, to say the least, for at least a month now. His ice time has been nuked down to nearly 12:30 a night over his last 10 games, and that's when he's not a healthy scratch. But through the first two months of the season, he had 14 points in 23 games, pacing for 50 in a full season. That is useful in fantasy, even if he doesn't bring a lot in peripherals.

This is for deeper leagues, but it's getting to that time of year where some people need a prayer. Hopefully, they leave Dahlen on the top line and he has time to re-establish his offensive game. He could also be on the fourth line by next week, if not healthy scratched.

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Staying in California, Drew Doughty missed Thursday night's game with Sean Durzi taking top power-play duties. When we hear more on Doughty, we'll pass it along, but this could be a huge boon to Durzi's fantasy value. Might be time to check the waiver wire.

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Alex Nedeljkovic had himself quite a night on Thursday. He assisted on a goal from Lucas Raymond, he got into a dust up with Cam Talbot, and then he had this:

oh no.. pic.twitter.com/izbURnY0Lh

— Dimitri Filipovic (@DimFilipovic) March 11, 2022

This is about as close to a goalie getting a Gordie Howe hat trick as we'll probably ever get, and for that I'm thankful.

We also had a Robby Fabbri injury:

UPDATE: Robby Fabbri (lower body injury) will not return.

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) March 11, 2022

Obviously we don't know more for now.

Matthew Boldy had a pair of goals in the Detroit-Minnesota game that went to a shootout. For Boldy, he now has 11 goals and 23 points in 25 games on the season. It is a wonder where he might be in the Calder conversation had he started the season on the roster.

Both Lucas Raymond and Jakub Vrana scored a pair of goals for the Wings, a tantalizing taste of the future for Detroit. Vrana was also over 17 minutes with four shots on goal, all good signs following his return from that shoulder injury.

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Kyle Connor scored his 35^th of the season in Winnipeg's 2-1 win over New Jersey. He is now three goals shy of tying his career-high of 38 in 2019-20, and has played just 58 games. A marvelous season for the NHL's most underrated scorer.

Jack Hughes scored the lone goal for the Devils, adding five shots as well. The biggest knock on Hughes was his finishing and he now has 18 goals in 38 games. That level of finishing will play just fine.

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Carolina took a 2-0 win from Colorado, with Antti Raanta stopping all 36 shots he faced in the win. It really is quite remarkable how well both goalies have fared for Carolina this year.

Sebastian Aho scored the insurance goal, his 25^th of the year. He had five shots in total, bringing him to an even three shots per game on the season. He had two PIMs and a couple of hits in a very good fantasy evening.

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Jakob Chychrun scored twice in Arizona's 5-4 win over Toronto last night. He had four shots total, a couple blocks, and a pair of hits in what was a wonderful fantasy performance. He has 5 goals and 10 points in his last 6 games, averaging 3.5 shots per game. Add 1.5 hits and a block per game and his last three weeks have been just great. A showcase for his future team, perhaps?

Auston Matthews kept the goal scoring going in the loss, scoring his 37^th goal in his last 38 games. Even when the team loses, he still manages to keep the momentum going. Just an incredible season.

Timothy Liljegren had a superb fantasy night in the loss with an assist, five shots, a block, and a couple of hits. If he rounds into form for the playoffs, that is a big boost for a team that needs one on the blue line.

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Jack Eichel and Vegas looked very poor most of the game in Buffalo last night and the Sabres looked like they were absolutely flying. Predictably, this led to a 3-1 Buffalo win, with Craig Anderson securing his 300^th win of his career. He stopped 30 of 31 in the win, a game he'll surely never forget.

It should be noted that it appeared Max Pacioretty was playing with some sort of lower-body injury as he was seen limping at times. He has had a brutal season from an injury standpoint and this team can't afford to lose him, or more games.

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The David Pastrnak Heater continued last night in Boston's 4-3 win over Chicago. He had two goals and an assist, giving him 15 points in his last 10 games. He had three total shots and a hit in what was a great evening for him.

Brandon Hagel scored a pair of goals in the loss for the Blackhawks. Despite a bad year for the 'Hawks, he has really shown that he can be a part of this team's future. He is up to 20 goals on the year and it's partly due to his 20%+ conversion rate, yes. But 20 goals in 53 games is nothing to sneeze at and even 15% shooting would see him get to 20 goals comfortably this year. He has some more work to do on his offensive game, but he's turning into a nice player for them.

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Sam Reinhart managed a hat trick in Florida's 6-3 win over Philadelphia. That gives him 22 goals on the year, three away from his career-best set in 2018. Remember that he has done a lot of this on the third line for the Panthers, and has two fewer PP goals than he did last year. What an addition he's been to this Panthers team.

With four assists in the game, Jonathan Huberdeau is now the league leader in points with 82, eclipsing Connor McDavid by one (for now). Just… wow.

Also with four assists was Aaron Ekblad, who could very well threaten for 70 points this year. For a guy that has typically been known for his defence, this is just an unreal season from him.