Whether it's a major blockbuster or a more mundane swap, Dobber Hockey will have breakdowns from a fantasy perspective of trades from a fantasy perspective prior to Monday's deadline. It's sure to be an interesting next few days, both from a real-life and a fantasy perspective.

–

Some unlucky St. Patrick's Day news for Senators fans and those with Thomas Chabot on their fantasy team, as the workhorse defenseman is expected to miss the rest of the season with a fractured hand. This news is especially untimely as Chabot finishes the season with 10 points in his last 10 games. As well, at the time of injury only six defensemen have a higher shot total than Chabot (165 SOG, 3.0 SOG/GP), and no defenseman has a higher average time on ice (26:23).  

With Chabot's injury, Erik Brannstrom could be worth keeping an eye on. Although he hasn't posted a point in 10 games, Brannstrom led Sens defensemen with 3:28 of power-play time on Wednesday. Although it appears that he has taken a step back this season (5 PTS in 31 GP), Brannstrom has a real opportunity here and could be worth a flier in deeper leagues. The vibe might also be that he won't pan out at the NHL level, but he is still only 22 years old. For what it's worth, D.J. Smith even hinted that Brannstrom could pick up some of Chabot's minutes.

Smith – Its an exciting time for a guy like Brannstrom. When he is going get another chance to play Chabots minutes and #1 on the PP.

— TSN 1200 (@TSN1200) March 17, 2022

If you're wondering what this means for Jake Sanderson, the University of North Dakota is currently listing him as week-to-week with a recent injury. Depending on the nature of the injury, Sanderson could make his NHL debut late in the season if he signs with the Senators after his NCAA season finishes.

–

Make it two wins in two starts for Erik Kallgren. The rookie netminder allowed two goals on 37 shots in the Leafs' 3-2 win over Carolina. You were probably reminded by the Toronto-based media that Kallgren shut out the Stars in his first NHL start on Tuesday, giving the Leafs far superior goaltending than they have received from Petr Mrazek recently and Jack Campbell shortly before his injury.

At this point it's probably safe to say that Sheldon Keefe will ride the hot hand and start Kallgren on Saturday against Nashville. Feel free to add him, although the expectation should be very short-term given that he could be back in the AHL once Campbell returns or on the bench should the success not continue. Kallgren posted a 3.02 GAA and .904 SV% in 26 games with the AHL Marlies this season.

Ondrej Kase now has goals in three consecutive games and six points in his last six games. The issue throughout his career hasn't been his hockey ability, but staying injury-free. He's currently finding some success on William Nylander's line, so he may also be worth a short-term pickup.

–

Philadelphia celebrated Claude Giroux for his 1000^th game on Thursday. Could that have been his last game in a Flyers jersey?

THREAD: Claude Giroux is not accompanying the @NHLFlyers to Ottawa. He is staying back while Chuck Fletcher puts the finishing touches on a trade.

A deal is not yet final, but I'm told it's going to be with the Florida Panthers.

— Anthony SanFilippo (@AntSanPhilly) March 18, 2022

No Claude Giroux trade yet, sources say. He won't play Friday or Sunday, the Flyers will hold him out until the situation is resolved through the deadline. Florida remains very interested. I think Colorado remains in the mix. We'll see what Friday brings. @TSNHockey @TheAthletic

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) March 18, 2022

'Tis the season for players being shopped to be healthy scratched, which seems inevitable now that Giroux has played that milestone game with the only NHL team he has played for. Giroux did not record a point in what might be his final game for the Flyers, although the Philadelphia faithful went home happy with a 5-4 win over Nashville.

Tanner Jeannot has now scored 20 goals, which ties him with Michael Bunting for the rookie scoring lead. Jeannot also did his thing for bangers leagues with eight hits and three blocked shots. Only three players have more hits than Jeannot (213), who has suddenly become a poor man's Brady Tkachuk.  

Roman Josi chipped in another three assists along with six shots. Josi is flat out on fire with at least three points in each of his last three games along with 19 points over his last eight games. He's passed Cale Makar as the top-scoring defenseman (72 points in 59 games), which puts him on a 100-point pace… as a defenseman! He would need 28 points over his last 23 games to reach that. Seems doable, right? The last defenseman to reach 100 points in a season was Brian Leetch in 1991-92.

–

Jake Allen played in his first game in over two months on Thursday, allowing four goals on 35 shots in an eventual overtime loss. With Sam Montembeault's season numbers resembling those of Red Light Racicot, Allen should receive his share of starts for a team that is playing better under Martin St. Louis. Depending on the opponent, Allen might be a worthwhile add if you need a goalie start. The Habs next play Saturday at home against Ottawa before some tough matchups next week against Boston, Florida, and Toronto.  

Since the All-Star break, Cole Caufield leads all rookies with 11 goals and 21 points in just 17 games. He added another goal and assist on Thursday to go with five shots. I might be preaching to the converted here, but he needs to be starting in all leagues right now.

It doesn't sound like Dallas will be trading John Klingberg at the deadline, so you shouldn't have to worry about him being healthy scratched within the next few days. The Stars are in the middle of the Western Conference playoff chase and are without Miro Heiskanen due to mono, so it would make sense that they would retain Klingberg, who is a UFA at season's end.

The Stars are unlikely to trade John Klingberg and will not move goalie Braden Holtby before the NHL Trade Deadline at 3 p.m. ET on Monday, general manager Jim Nill tells @Zeisberger in a Q&A. https://t.co/PioJFQCA7h

— NHL.com (@NHLdotcom) March 16, 2022

Good thing, because Klingberg has been hot recently. Klingberg scored the game-tying and game-winning goals while adding an assist and six shots on Thursday. That gives him eight points over his last five games. This closely aligns with the time that Heiskanen has been out of the lineup. Klingberg's icetime has also increased recently, as he has averaged 25 minutes over his last six games (including 29 minutes on Thursday). That's up over three minutes per game.

–

Chris Kreider has reached 40 goals. That's probably not a prediction you would have made before the season. Barring an injury or a major slump, it looks like he'll be able to reach 50 goals. If you've been expecting him to slow down and he hasn't, he's still shooting at 20 percent. That's not much different from last season, and he's typically has a double-digit shooting percentage anyway. Regardless, Auston Matthews is the only player who has scored more goals than Kreider.

Digging deeper on Frozen Tools, I learned that Kreider has 15 tip-in goals, which far and away leads the league. No other player has more than seven. As well, Kreider has 21 power-play goals, while the next-highest player (Leon Draisaitl) has 17 and then two players tied with 13. If you don't watch the Rangers regularly, that summarizes how Kreider typically scores his goals. Seems like Gerard Gallant has implemented a system that is maximizing Kreider's production.

Although he didn't score a point in his Rangers debut, Frank Vatrano was placed on an even-strength line with Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome. This presents a golden opportunity for Vatrano, who seemed like the odd man out in Florida given his lack of scoring-line usage and overall icetime (just over 12 minutes). Vatrano played just under 15 minutes on Thursday while seeing limited power-play time.

Fantasy Take: Vatrano Shipped to the Rangers

–

Anthony Mantha scored a pair of goals on five shots in the Capitals' 7-2 trouncing of the Blue Jackets. That gives Mantha goals in back-to-back games, in case you need a reason to add or start him.

T.J. Oshie left Thursday's game in the third period with a lower-body injury.

–

With a goal on Thursday, Kailer Yamamoto now has goals in four consecutive games. He also added an assist, which gives him assists in three consecutive games and seven points over his last four games. I often wonder why he doesn't produce more given the elite linemates he usually lines up with (which is why I often pick him in the Tim Horton's Hockey Challenge, for those of you who play), so I'm willing to give him a little more rope than others with similar numbers. I'd be okay with you adding him as well, since he's rostered in just 9 percent of Yahoo leagues and 36 percent of Fantrax leagues.

–

The Red Wings had yielded 60 goals in their last 11 games entering Thursday's road game in Vancouver, so it would make sense to sit whoever their starting goalie would be, right? Nope. As Chris Berman would say, that's why they play the games. Alex Nedeljkovic stole this game for the Wings, stopping all 43 shots he faced in a 1-0 shutout win. That was Ned's first quality start in five games and his first win since March 1. He had recorded just one quality start after the All-Star break prior to Thursday. Expect Nedeljkovic to receive the start again on Saturday in Seattle over the struggling Thomas Greiss. Given Thursday's result and the opponent, I'd be okay with starting Ned in that spot.   

Nick Leddy was held out on Thursday as a "management decision," which is code for "we're working on a trade." Leddy is expected to be held out on Saturday as well if he is not traded by then.

Elias Pettersson returned to the lineup after missing his past two games with another wrist issue. Although he did not score, he looked comfortable in firing six shots. Although a re-aggravation of this injury seems entirely possible, it has not affected his recent play, as he entered this game with four points in his last three games.

J.T. Miller's point streak came to an end at 13 games. He had piled up 27 points over that span. Given how important he is to the Canucks as they try to claim a playoff spot, he seems highly unlikely to be dealt by Monday's deadline.

–

The Golden Knights finally won on Thursday, snapping a five-game losing streak with a 5-3 win over Florida. But the win may have come at a price, as Jack Eichel left the game with an upper-body injury.

Mark Stone out
Max Pacioretty out
Reilly Smith out

Alec Martinez out
Brayden McNabb out
Nic Hague out

Robin Lehner out

So what happens next?

Jack Eichel not on the bench for the 3rd after blocking a shot.

This is surreal! pic.twitter.com/WP6JLUk38I

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) March 18, 2022

Whether Vegas has Eichel at its disposal for the foreseeable future, it will need its secondary scorers to pick up the slack in order to hang in the Western Conference playoff race. Evgenii Dadonov did his part, scoring a pair of goals, which included a power-play marker. Missing an entire top line isn't going to be ideal if you're rostering players like Dadonov, Jonathan Marchessault, Chandler Stephenson, or William Karlsson.

By the way, remember when Karlsson came out of nowhere and scored 43 goals in a season? He's back to what we originally thought William Karlsson would be. His goal on Thursday was his first since February 8 – a span of 15 games. He had recorded just four assists over those 15 games as well. Karlsson has logged (close to) 20 minutes in each of his last three games, and he could be leaned on even more heavily if Eichel misses any time.

–

Cal Petersen earned a 29-save shutout against San Jose on Thursday, rebounding from allowing five goals against the Sharks just five days earlier. Petersen has earned quality starts in three of his last four games. I'd like to tell you that Petersen is finally taking over as the starter in LA over Jonathan Quick, but Quick started the previous two games for the Kings. So we might not quite be there yet.

My potential Chabot replacement in a deeper league, at least in the short term: Sean Durzi. The rookie blueliner led all Kings with 26 minutes in icetime while primary assisting on two of the Kings' three goals. While Drew Doughty has been out of the lineup, Durzi has taken over PP1 responsibilities and has looked sharp in doing so.

LA Kings defenseman Sean Durzi with the 1st of his 2 assists tonight, his 16th assist of the season. pic.twitter.com/nptzcbNiZp

— Allan Walsh (@walsha) March 18, 2022

Man, I sure attract a lot of Allan Walsh clients on one of my fantasy teams (Jonathan Huberdeau, David Perron, and Filip Hronek are others). Walsh must be a good salesman, at least on Twitter.

Holy moly…David Perron is on fire! What a goal…he now has 9 goals in his last 8 games. @DP_57 🔥🔥🔥 https://t.co/HAe7YbG99u

— Allan Walsh (@walsha) March 18, 2022

–

Hope you enjoyed your St. Patrick's Day! With a lighter schedule tonight (six games), I'll try to discuss any other noteworthy players in tomorrow's Ramblings. In the meantime, follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding for more fantasy hockey discussion.