It's time to turn the calendar to April, which means that we are now in the final month of the regular season (not to mention being on the lookout for April Fool's jokes). That might mean you are in a do-or-die head-to-head playoff matchup. Or the opposite, where you are already eliminated or you are waiting for your key matchup to start. If you fall into one of those latter categories and need your fantasy fix, why not give daily fantasy a go? Sure enough, Frozen Tools now has you covered for that with thousands of simulations run instantaneously to provide you with the most optimized lineup for DraftKings. If you order now, get $20 off!

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Auston Matthews is the first player to score 50 goals this season. He has also reached that 50-goal milestone for the first time in his career. I would love to report that it was a highlight-reel goal, but no – it was an empty-netter to seal a 7-3 win for the Leafs. Matthews also recorded an assist along with six shots on goal. Since November 24, he has been a near sure thing to score a goal, hitting the twine 42 times in 45 games. That's like taking candy from a baby if you play any kind of daily fantasy.

I'll throw this up here as a treat for all the Leafs diehards:

Here is all 50 of Auston Matthews' goals (so far) this season for your personal enjoyment: pic.twitter.com/YeiBWH8pdt

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 1, 2022

Since January 15, no player has more points than Mitch Marner (58 PTS in just 32 GP). That included the three assists Marner earned on Thursday. More recently, Marner is on an eight-game point streak where he had piled up 17 points (5 G, 12 A).

William Nylander had scored just one goal in his previous eight games entering Thursday, but he netted a pair of power-play goals along with an assist. Nylander was bumped down to the third line alongside David Kampf and Pierre Engvall, which obviously won't help his near-term value. But he remained on the first-unit power play, where he cashed in.

Ilya Mikheyev was bumped up to the John Tavares line. He finished with a shorthanded goal and two assists.  

In his fifth game as a Leaf, Mark Giordano recorded his first points as a Leaf – a goal and an assist.

Petr Mrazek will be out a minimum of six weeks with a groin injury. That should effectively end his fantasy season, so you can officially drop him if you've been holding out hope that he'll turn it around. Erik Kallgren should continue to see starts, but Jack Campbell could return as early as Saturday. The Leafs goaltending situation continues to be perilous and a constant source of worry for their fanbase entering the playoffs.

Eric Comrie entered this game with wins in each of his last five games dating back to late January, but that streak came to a screeching halt on Thursday. Comrie allowed six goals, which is the first time that he has allowed four or more goals this season. Expect plenty of Connor Hellebuyck down the stretch as the Jets try to keep their playoff hopes alive.

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Clayton Keller's season is over. In case you missed it, Keller slid into the boards and was carried off on a stretcher late in the third period of Wednesday's game against San Jose. The initial source was Keller himself, who tweeted from the hospital:

Want to thank my teammates, the fans, and medical personnel for the love and support last night! Unfortunately the season's over for me, but I'm resting comfortably at the hospital in good spirits. I will be back better than ever for day 1 next season!!!! 🙏

— Clayton Keller (@ClaytonKeller37) March 31, 2022

Later on, the Coyotes confirmed that Keller has a fractured leg and will need a 4-6-month recovery, which means he will likely be ready in time for the 2022-23 regular season. He finishes the season with 28 goals and 63 points in 67 games. The 28 goals and 0.94 PTS/GP are both career highs for him.

One player who will be directly impacted by Keller's injury is Nick Schmaltz. This stat is no doubt propped up by his seven-point game, but Schmaltz has 15 goals and 31 points in his last 21 games. Most of that production has been on a line with Keller. There's a significant dropoff on the Coyotes in terms of production after Keller and Schmaltz, so this might be a good time to sell high on Schmaltz if your league's trade deadline hasn't passed.

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Turns out that the "high" concern for Nathan MacKinnon's injury status was a false alarm. The Avalanche star was in the lineup after all on Thursday after being sent back to Denver earlier in the week to examine an injury resulting from a fight with Matt Dumba on Sunday. MacKinnon was held without a point in 22 minutes of icetime on Thursday, but the Avalanche secured a 4-2 win over San Jose.

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It's been 16 games and counting since Conor Garland scored a goal. The fantasy value of many Canucks has improved since Bruce Boudreau took over as coach, but Garland is not one of those players. Since the Boudreau hiring, Garland has 18 points in 39 games compared to 18 points in just 25 games under Travis Green. Granted, Garland has four assists in his last six games and has taken at least three shots in four of those six games. However, he's been held to just two power-play points all season while on the second unit. Since the Canucks are on the lower end of games remaining by team, Garland is a player you could consider dropping if you need to operate with a shorter bench.

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Jonathan Toews's 1000^th game was spoiled by a 4-0 win for the Panthers over the Blackhawks. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped all 37 shots he faced to earn a shutout. Bob has now won seven consecutive games dating back to early March. Not surprisingly given Florida's success this season, he's among the league leaders in wins (33).

Because of some recent unexpected goal scoring, Ryan Lomberg was rewarded with a promotion to the Jonathan Huberdeau line. Lomberg scored again, giving him four goals over his last three games. Although he normally doesn't play a ton (11:27 ATOI), Lomberg is noticeable for his hard-nosed style of play.  He's certainly an option for bangers leagues at the moment, as his 63 PIM and 107 Hits give you an idea of what kind of player he is if you've never seen him before.

Huberdeau's 71^st assist of the season sets the NHL record for most assists in a season by a left wing. He trails only Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in the league scoring race.  

There's a reason Radko Gudas is the NHL's hits leader. He added another six hits on Thursday, including this one that flipped Kirby Dach right over.

My goodness Radko Gudas. What a hip check pic.twitter.com/FZ8U3dyDFa

— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) April 1, 2022

Gudas's 304 hits are 65 hits clear of second-place Tanner Jeannot, making Gudas a category killer in the true sense of the word.

At one point the Panthers used five forwards on the power play. The lucky players:

CLAUDE GIROUX – JONATHAN HUBERDEAU – ALEKSANDER BARKOV – SAM REINHART – ANTHONY DUCLAIR

With Aaron Ekblad out, don't be surprised to see this arrangement again.

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Frederik Andersen recorded a 32-save shutout of the Habs. Like the previously mentioned Bobrovsky, Andersen is in a group at the top of the goalie leaderboard in wins (33). Andersen also has four quality starts in his last five games.

Think Jake Allen has been busy? Over his last five games, Allen has faced 46, 42, 51, 45, and now 43 shots (his Thursday total). He has only received a win in one of those games. Even if he hasn't been helping fantasy teams earn wins, he's not hurting the save percentage (.921 SV%) over that span.

Here is a moment that is similar to that when the earth and the sun and the moon align perfectly.

Both Sebastian Ahos scored at the EXACT same time in DIFFERENT games 🤯

📹 @NHLGIFs pic.twitter.com/RdLlxCc2PX

— 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬 Canada 🇨🇦 (@sportingnewsca) April 1, 2022

7:14:40 pm ET Sebastian Aho scores for the Islanders

7:15:14 pm ET Sebastian Aho scores for the Hurricanes

— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) March 31, 2022

I'm surprised the middle initial isn't used to differentiate these two players more often, like the Canucks did when they had two players named Greg Adams at one point during the late 1980s. In case you're wondering, Sebastian A. Aho plays for the Hurricanes, while Sebastian J. Aho plays for the Islanders.

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The Bruins burned the Devils for eight goals on Thursday. That included a six-goal second period, which might have included a seventh goal had it not been called back for offside. That goal would have given Brad Marchand a hat trick, so he had to settle for two goals. Marchand has seven goals in his last seven games.

The usual suspects also chipped in with points, including Patrice Bergeron with a goal and two assists and David Pastrnak with three assists. Jake DeBrusk had a goal and an assist, giving him goals in three consecutive games as he continues to benefit from icetime with Marchand and Bergeron.

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Rickard Rakell got off to a slow start with the Penguins, being held without a point in his first three games while on a line with Jeff Carter and Kasperi Kapanen. Now that he has moved onto the Evgeni Malkin line, Rakell has caught fire. With two goals on Thursday, Rakell has five points in his last three games. The Penguins are one of several teams to play four games next week (see Schedule Planner), so Rakell is one viable option for your fantasy playoffs if you have an all-important matchup next week. Rakell is rostered in just 23 percent of Yahoo leagues and 53 percent of Fantrax leagues.

Fantasy Impact: Pittsburgh Acquires Rakell

With his overtime winner and an assist, Evgeni Malkin has a six-game point streak that includes seven goals. That point streak was preceded by a six-game point drought.

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With just a point in his previous five games, Denis Gurianov was a healthy scratch on Thursday. Gurianov has received his minutes with Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn, so linemates aren't the issue. He's not a strong player defensively, so being left out of the lineup might happen if he doesn't score. Gurianov is an arbitration-eligible RFA this offseason.

Benn scored the overtime winner for the Stars on Thursday, giving him eight points in his last eight games.

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If I've missed anything noteworthy, I'll try to catch up tomorrow with the slightly lighter schedule. In the meantime, follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding for more fantasy hockey.