Could the awkwardness of Evgenii Dadonov returning to the team that tried to trade him provide some motivation? The saga of the missing no-trade list turned out to be the top story of the trade deadline, with Dadonov returning to the Golden Knights' lineup on Thursday night after a brief stay as property of the Anaheim Ducks. For his trouble, Dadonov was reassigned to Jack Eichel's line while receiving first-unit power-play minutes. He responded with a power-play goal and two assists, giving him six points in his last three games. Not bad for a player that Vegas seems ready to move on from.

Dadonov may still end up being the odd man out once either Mark Stone or Alec Martinez is activated. A post-deadline, in-season trade for Vegas to clear cap space would end his season. Yet there's some short-term value here while the Vegas lineup still isn't at full health (Max Pacioretty and Reilly Smith are also sidelined). It's a bizarre situation, but it's happened because the Golden Knights have bitten off more than they can chew in their quest for a Stanley Cup.

Also, I'm surprised that the NHL didn't have some sort of central registry for no-trade clauses. In a world where everything has to be in writing and essential information should be readily available, there should be one. Although I understand the need for confidentiality (a player obviously doesn't want another team's fans finding out that he would rather not be traded there), this debacle by multiple parties could have easily been avoided. These types of scenarios often result in process improvements for the future so that they don't happen again.

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Drew Doughty might miss the rest of the regular season with what is believed to be a hand injury. Since Doughty's injury in early March, rookie Sean Durzi has been logging the bulk of the power-play minutes for the Kings. On Thursday, Durzi assisted on three goals while logging a career-high 27 minutes. Durzi is rostered in just 3 percent of Yahoo leagues and 32 percent of Fantrax leagues, so he's worth adding in many league formats for those who need blueline scoring help. I mentioned last week that I added Durzi as a Thomas Chabot injury replacement, so I felt the need to bring him up again.

Just keep in mind that the Kings have a bunch of defensemen sidelined beyond Doughty, including Matt Roy, Sean Walker, and Mikey Anderson. With Durzi's role on the Los Angeles depth chart unknown next season, this opportunity may not carry forward. That may be strange to say about a 23-year-old rookie defenseman, but it speaks to the Kings' depth and how they've been able to weather the storm with all these injuries.

Phillip Danault scored a pair of goals while taking seven shots on Thursday. That gives him four goals in his last four games and a career-high 21 goals on the season. He's been a valuable two-way forward for LA, but the reason for his increased offense might have something to do with the way he's being deployed for his new team. Danault's 50.8 OZ Start% is the highest of his career. Last season in Montreal, Danault received only a 41.8 OZ Start%. 

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Another new first-unit power-play d-man to keep an eye on is Cam York. The rookie blueliner has three assists over his last two games, including an assist on Friday. None of these assists have been on the power play, but four of York's eight points on the season have been with the man advantage. Right now, York is getting power-play minutes over more experienced options such as Keith Yandle, Ivan Provorov, and Travis Sanheim. York is readily available in Yahoo league with just 1 percent rostership (28% in Fantrax).  

With Claude Giroux now in Florida and Sean Couturier out for the season, it's up to Kevin Hayes to log major minutes for the Flyers. Hayes has reached the 20-minute mark in three of his past five games. His scoring has also started to pick up, as he now has seven points over his last four games, including an assist on Friday. Hayes' league ranking might be misleading, since he has played in just 31 games this season. However, his 21 points puts him on a 56-point pace for the entire season. With all of that in mind, Hayes might not be a bad option for the final quarter.

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NAZEM KADRI GORDIE HOWE HAT TRICK 🚨🍎🥊@Avalanche | @43_Kadri pic.twitter.com/cBiLCeiXZ6

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 26, 2022

Nazem Kadri's final stat line for this game was a goal, two assists, seven penalty minutes, and seven shots on goal. Not a bad roto day indeed. All of Kadri's points came in the first period. After hitting his first slump of any kind this season (no goals in a 10-game span), Kadri now has goals in three of his past four games. He's also taken 13 shots over his last two games.

Unfortunately, I did not see any Draisaitl hat tricks (goal, assist, minus rating) on Friday. Maybe next time.  

Cale Makar scored a pair of goals, giving him 24 goals on the season. Not only does that lead all defensemen, but it also set an Avalanche franchise record for d-men.

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Hopefully you didn't pull the plug on Bo Horvat earlier this season. Horvat now has goals in three consecutive games as well as eight goals in his last nine games. As well, only four players have more goals than Horvat since February 21 (11 G). In an effort to shake up the scoring, Bruce Boudreau has recently moved Horvat onto a line with Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser.

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Sean Monahan was healthy scratched on Friday. He was probably due for it, since he's gone 14 games without a point and is a team-worst minus-16 on a Calgary squad full of league leaders in that category. With a cap hit of over $6 million through next season, Monahan should also be considered a strong buyout candidate this summer. An injured hip from last season might still be slowing him, but a fresh start elsewhere without the expectations of a large contract might also help.

The Flames have emerged as a serious Stanley Cup contender due to the outstanding performance of other key players. They've also been blessed with incredible luck when it comes to avoiding the injury bug. It's difficult (or at least time-consuming) to compare to other teams because of the differing number of games, but the Flames entered Friday with what might be a league-leading 11 players who have appeared in every game this season. With Monahan scratched, that number was reduced to 10.

Injury avoidance has also helped four Flames reach the 30-goal mark (Elias Lindholm, Andrew Mangiapane, Matthew Tkachuk, Johnny Gaudreau) with 18 games still to play. None of these players have missed a game this season.

With three points on Friday, Gaudreau has six points over his last three games. He also has goals in three consecutive games.

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In the Rocket Richard race, Chris Kreider scored his 43^rd and 44^th goals of the season, while Alex Ovechkin and Kyle Connor each scored their 41^st goal of the season. Auston Matthews still leads the race with 46 goals, while Leon Draisaitl is tied with Kreider for second. By my math, all of these players are on pace for 50 goals.

I won't count last season because it wasn't a full season, but the less-shortened 2019-20 season had five players with at least 40 goals (none reached 50). The last truly full season (2018-19) had 13 players reach 40 goals with two reaching 50 (Ovechkin and Draisaitl). Offense is on the way up again, as 2005-06 was the last time that there were five 50-goal scorers. You may remember that was the season following the lockout and the rule changes that were implemented to spark offense. 2005-06 was also Ovechkin's first NHL season (he scored 52 that season).

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GOTTA SEE IT: Welcome to New York, Andrew Copp! 🗽

Copp buries his first goal with the @NYRangers after a pretty pass from Artemi Panarin. 👏

Presented by @charmin | #EnjoyTheGo pic.twitter.com/UFvOiVT2RD

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 26, 2022

Andrew Copp scored his goal as a Ranger in his second game with his new team. Moreover, he was inserted onto the Artemi Panarin – Ryan Strome line, which should help his value. Copp recorded two assists in his first game with the Rangers, and he also has six points in his last three games dating back to his time with the Jets.

Fantasy Impact: Winnipeg Trades Copp to the Rangers

Frank Vatrano also scored a goal, which was his second with the Rangers over the past three games. It's also worth mentioning that he's on the Kreider – Mika Zibanejad line, which is a big step up from the third- and fourth-line-level linemates he was usually stuck with in Florida.

Fantasy Take: Vatrano Shipped to the Rangers

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Josh Morrissey's power-play time has increased since the All-Star break, and it's starting to show in his offense. With a goal on Friday, Morrissey now has four goals in his last six games, with two of those goals on the power play.

Kyle Connor's point streak is now at 10 games. He has 20 points (8 G – 12 A) over that stretch. He's also cracked 80 points for the first time in his career and is on pace for 102 points. Only Ovechkin and David Pastrnak have taken more shots than Connor (278 SOG). Quite a remarkable season that is flying under the radar compared to some of the usual names.

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Jeff Skinner is up to 26 goals this season, including two on Friday. He's also recorded eight multi-goal games this season. Only four players have recorded more. I'm sure that's something that you didn't expect. As I've stated before, he's back into the fantasy discussion.

However, he recently had a six-game stretch without a point, so the bouts of inconsistency haven't disappeared completely. In addition, there isn't a whole lot there for peripherals beyond shots. That might explain why he's rostered in only 21 percent of Yahoo leagues and 42 percent of Fantrax leagues. That being said, Skinner might be worth turning to once again if you need goals.

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Follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding for more fantasy hockey.