Now that the first round of the playoffs has concluded, congratulations to those of you who are currently battling it out in the second round. To those who weren't as lucky and were eliminated, I am sorry to hear and now you get to set your sights on conducting draft research and preparing your personal draft boards. There is a lot more to a season being a success than placing high in the standings; seeing growth from your younger players, having players bounce-back to their former selves, and acquiring long-term assets are all valid ways to help determine how successful your team was for this season. So don't get to down on yourselves if you've been eliminated from the playoffs earlier than expected.

Now that the second round is around the halfway point, there are only a couple of games left in the matchup. This is the time where you can go to the waiver wire and start trimming the fat from your team, the guys that have been slumping and the players that aren't locked to be on your roster next year are all able to be swapped out for guys with better schedules, or those that are playing in a better role currently. Having name value on your team is nice, but if said name value isn't performing currently, you must be willing to cut ties with them and go for the lesser-known asset and bank on them staying hot.

As I said last week, this is going to be a month-long series to help offer solutions to those teams that have been riddled with injuries (like myself) to help try and vault them to the promise land of winning the championship.

* Not done in a particular order, the positions come from the official NHL website and your leagues may have players listed differently, so make sure you pay attention as to what positions are listed on your platforms before making any transactions! *

* For the 'Power play' and 'Short-handed' sections in the stat tables, it is saying how many power-play and how many short-handed points that they have, not goals. Just to clarify! *


#1) Jake DeBrusk – LW – Boston Bruins

Contract: $3.675M – 1 Year remaining (Extended for $4M for 2 years starting next season)
Roster Percentages: 14.6% ESPN, 32% Yahoo, 35% Fantrax

With David Pastrnak having missed the last few games due to injury, DeBrusk has received a little bit more of a showing with fewer superstars around. Boston has had to rely on their 'depth scoring' options for the last little stretch and DeBrusk hasn't disappointed, with 10 points (7 goals, 3 assists) in his last 10 games. Even before Pastrnak was hurt, they had him on the second line with Taylor Hall and Erik Haula (another valuable streamer candidate), while DeBrusk was riding shotgun with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron. There is a reality where DeBrusk keeps his place in the lineup at even strength, but while he is currently on the top power play unit, that is likely to change once Pastrnak gets cleared to return to action. The average time on ice is a little bit low on paper, but when you start to look at his last five games, his time has been hovering between the 15-21 marker. He's averaging 2.32 shots per game this season, to me anything over two shots per game isn't going to hurt your averages if you're in a categories league. That being said, DeBrusk is also the type of player to have four or more shots in a game from time to time and if you're in a points league that awards points for shots taken he may be able to assist you in that area. The Bruins also play twice this week (Thursday and Saturday), and then three times next week, and four the following week (if your league has the finals scheduled to be two weeks, having him for seven games may not be bad). Overall, DeBrusk is worth taking a chance on given the talent around him, mixed with his playstyle and position in the lineup. Especially if you're missing your primary scoring forwards.

#2) Erik Brannstrom – D – Ottawa Senators

Contract: $863K – 1 Year remaining (RFA this summer)
Roster Percentages: 0.6% ESPN, 2% Yahoo, 33% Fantrax

I know, his numbers do not look that great from this season, but that was before Thomas Chabot went down with a season-ending injury. In his last 10 games he has five points (all assists), which isn't bad for a young defender who has played a career-high of 44 games this season. He is currently slotted in on the top power play unit alongside of players who have been hot as of late in Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stützle, Josh Norris, and Drake Batherson. Normally I wouldn't be suggesting a player that is averaging less than 0.25 points-per-game but given his role on the team and for what he costs to add, he is a guy that is worth taking a gamble on if you're lacking scoring and if you're looking to possibly boost your power play production, along with your TOI. Throughout the last 10 games, he has averaged more than 20 minutes of ice time on seven occasions, along with five games of an average power play time of three minutes or more five times. While Brannstrom is labelled as a guy who excels on the offensive side of the game, his deployment metrics show that as well. He starts 63.3% of his shifts in the offensive zone. Ottawa has averaged 3.5 goals-per-game over the last 10 games, and honestly, the Senators have a good schedule the end the year. Plays this Thursday and Saturday, and then in the final two weeks of the season they play teams like Seattle, Vancouver, Montreal, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, and seven games total in that span. This is a player that you look to acquire to help you due to their good schedule, their deployment, and what they play with. Not a bad an option to explore if your options are thin.

#3) Trevor Moore – C – Los Angeles Kings

Contract: $1.875M – 2 Years remaining
Roster Percentages: 4.4% ESPN, 14% Yahoo, 31% Fantrax

While only having five points in his last 10 games (3 goals, 2 assists), he has managed to get three short-handed points. For those playing in category leagues, they have been loving him (myself included) since it is so hard to get a lock on the short-handed points category. That is normally a category that I call a 'toss-up', its so hard to predict who will get short-handed points to the point where that category can really help make or break a matchup. Being able to roster a guy like Moore who can get short-handed points is worth it for his low price-tag. Currently being deployed in the Kings' top-six on the left side of Danault and the opposite wing to Arvidsson (another great option to explore on free-agency) has made the team have a solid secondary scoring line. Moore is currently averaging over 2.5 shots-per-game, which is a valuable asset to have locked up. For a player with the toolbox that Moore has, it is a little bit surprising to see him nearly average a hit-per-game. The faceoff percentage is low, but through 75 games this season, he has only taken 65 faceoffs total, so I wouldn't worry too much about that. The TOI looks a little low, but when you go through his last 10 games, he has only had two games where has averaged less than 16:30 of ice time. While the Kings only play one more time in this current matchup (Saturday), they also only play five times throughout the last two weeks, but they also play teams that have struggled heavily at times throughout the season. Moore is worth looking into for his specialty for short-handed points, and even strength points, along with his shot volume.

#4) Jake McCabe – D – Chicago Blackhawks

Contract: $4M – 4 Years remaining
Roster Percentages: 5.8% ESPN, 3% Yahoo, 9% Fantrax

This isn't a player you have to look for to get goals and assists, he is purely a peripheral specialist, he helps pad the hits and the blocks categories while playing a good chunk of time each night. He is fifth across the entire NHL in blocks, and he leads the Blackhawks in hits. While the price-tag is seemingly high for a player who doesn't produce a whole lot of offense (0.27 points-per-game, 23-point pace through 82 games), he is amongst the league's best when it comes to hits and blocks, that is where category leagues are won and lost. There are a lot more scoring options available in fantasy sports than there are guys who are elite at providing the peripheral stats. While the Blackhawks haven't been the best team this year, they still have some solid scoring options up front including the likes of Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat. Maybe McCabe can cash in on getting an assist from one of those guys randomly, but overall McCabe should solely be viewed as a peripheral specialist and a great one at that. The Blackhawks play two more times this week (Thursday and Saturday), they also play seven times during the last two weeks against some middling teams, and then a couple of games against some of the league's worst.


#5) Ivan Barbashev – C – St. Louis Blues

Contract: $2.25M – 2 Years remaining
Roster Percentages: 31.6% ESPN, 42% Yahoo, 62% Fantrax

Barbashev is sort of a rare player to find in today's game, a forward who can score points and still puts up a sizable amount of hits (tied for the team lead). He may be on the third line currently, but he is on that line with Brayden Schenn and Jordan Kyrou. That is honestly better than a lot of other teams' second line and it shows just how deep this Blues roster is. Barbashev is having a career year with 53 points in 72 games (0.74 points-per-game, 60-point pace through 82 games played). He is more of a secondary player on the Blues, but he is good enough to be a primary option so realistically even as a depth piece on that team he is still better than a lot of other options out there. Currently on the second power play, he has managed more than two minutes of power play time on five separate occasions through the last 10 games. Speaking of stats through the last 10 games, he has had nine points (4 goals, 5 assists). His time on ice seems to bounce between anywhere from 14:30 a game up to around 17:30. In saying that, he is averaging almost two hits a game, from a player that is playing on average a TOI of 16:34 this year, that is amazing especially at the contract that he has. The Blues play seven games in the last two weeks of the season, and while it is against some stronger teams. They have also averaged 4.5 goals-per-game through their last 10 games, so I wouldn't really worry about the level of competition that they're playing.

*Honorable Mentions*

* Anthony Mantha, Martin Fehevary, Mario Ferrario, Jesse Puljujarvi, Victor Olofsson, Kent Johnson, Matthew Beniers, Mason Marchment *

Best of luck to all of you in the playoffs, and for those of you who aren't in the playoffs right now. Remember that you have extra time to prepare for your league's draft, as well as there is always next season to look forward to.

If you want to have any questions answered or interact with me, please feel free to interact with me on the forums or in the comments of the articles, or on Twitter @JamieMolloy_DH.