In a head-to-head do-or-die week, scheduling matters. The Canucks are the one team without any remaining games this week, with every other team playing at least once on Saturday or Sunday. That means dropping players like Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Conor Garland, and even the injured Brock Boeser should be strongly considered.

You'll probably want to hang onto Thatcher Demko, J.T. Miller, Quinn Hughes, and red-hot Elias Pettersson if you can in case you need them next week, since the Canucks play four games. If it's a matter of survival, dropping those players isn't completely out of the question either, although you'll want to search for other more droppable candidates first. This is all written for non-keeper leagues, as keeper leagues deserve a more long-term strategy.

I was about to mention Bo Horvat among the Canucks to retain if possible because he's been on a tear recently (5 G in 5 GP entering Thursday). However, Horvat left Thursday's game with a possible foot injury after blocking a shot. Without completely knowing his status for next week, you might be best to cut him if you need a more immediate option. Some potentially good news surfaced following the game, though.

Bruce Boudreau says Bo Horvat is going to be okay. They didn't bring him back into the game because they had a comfortable lead. They're hoping he'll be ready to go for Monday. #Canucks @Sportsnet650

— Brendan Batchelor (@BatchHockey) April 15, 2022

Vasily Podkolzin's stock is rising right now. The rookie scored a pair of goals with an assist on Thursday, giving him power-play goals in back-to-back games. The eye test shows a player who is much more involved in the play, and that's caught the attention of Bruce Boudreau, who has bumped up Podkolzin's icetime as a result. He's one of the featured players in the Frozen Tools Forensics article this week, so I won't dive into his situation much further here.  

Alex Chiasson is still hot, taking advantage of injuries to several Canucks forwards. Chiasson scored two more goals on Thursday, giving him five goals over his last four games and nine points over his last five games. I've discussed him in previous Ramblings as a player who needs top-line minutes and first-unit power-play time to have any value, and he's receiving all of that right now. I doubt that he fits into the Canucks' long-term plans and will probably end up as a power-play specialist somewhere next season.

Miller piled up five assists in the 7-1 win for the Canucks over Arizona. He now sits at 91 points with nine games to play, so he will be one of a few players gunning for 100 points.

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Auston Matthews reached 100 points and Michael Bunting broke his 17-game goal drought… all on the same play.

💯-point season for Auston Matthews.@MapleLeafs | @AM34

🎥 @NHL pic.twitter.com/iQZ1YZjjtj

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) April 14, 2022

Matthews is already the fifth player to reach triple digits this season. There are surely more to follow, although no other player has reached 95 points yet.  

As for Bunting, the regression that seemed to be overdue all the way back from last season had finally occurred. On that Bunting – Matthews – Mitch Marner line, Bunting had still picked up 12 assists over those 17 games without a goal. That keeps him in the lead in the rookie scoring race with 59 points.

Bunting, Ilya Mikheyev, and William Nylander each scored a pair of goals for the Leafs in their 7-3 win over Washington.

Ilya Samsonov has not had a quality start since (scrolls down) February 15. That's 12 consecutive games where he has not recorded a save percentage above .909 in a single game. Strangely enough, he entered Thursday's game with five consecutive wins before getting yanked against the Leafs. The Capitals haven't had an easy schedule during that stretch, but you'd think he'd have at least one standout performance. If Washington faces Florida in the first round, things could get ugly for the Capitals goalies. The Capitals better bring their scoring to the playoffs.

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Owen Power recorded his first NHL point in his second NHL game, which was an assist on Alex Tuch's goal. Power finished the game with 23 minutes of icetime, although none of it was on the power play. Although the Sabres appear to be providing him with regular minutes right from the get-go, the lack of power-play time might limit his time. Sometimes we want to add the shiny new toy right away, but it may take some time for the 19-year-old d-man to stand out in fantasy leagues.

Despite all his promise, Power was handed an official "welcome to the NHL, rookie" by Vladimir Tarasenko.

YOU'VE GOTTA SEE THIS!!! #stlblues pic.twitter.com/rllErlYnP1

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) April 15, 2022

Tarasenko's game wasn't limited to that, as he finished with a hat trick and two assists. He now has three consecutive multipoint games with 10 points over that span. He's also scored six goals over his last three games. As well, he's now scored 30 goals for the sixth time in his career. Remember when he was left unprotected in the Seattle expansion draft? Even though he wanted out of St. Louis, the Blues sure dodged a bullet when the Kraken passed on him.

Robert Thomas isn't done, extending his point streak to 11 games. Not only that, but he picked up five assists. That five-assist total matches the single-game high this season, which has been reached six other times, including Miller mentioned above. Spoiler alert: I have added him to the upcoming Top 100 Roto Rankings, and that was even before the five assists. Why is Thomas a top 100 roto player, you ask? Well, he's now a point-per-game player (71 points in 64 games).

Today marks the first time 2 NHL players (Robert Thomas, J.T. Miller) had 5+ assists on the same day since Theo Fleury and Pat LaFontaine did so on February 10, 1993.

— Stats By STATS (@StatsBySTATS) April 15, 2022

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Andrei Vasilevskiy isn't getting it done during the fantasy playoffs. Vasilevskiy was pulled for Brian Elliott midway through the second period after allowing three goals, the last two within 30 seconds of each other. The all-star goalie doesn't have a win in his last five games, and he has three really bad starts over his last seven games. The Tampa commentators suggested that the pull was more to shake the team up as opposed to on the goalie himself, so it's possible that the team in front of him already has its eye on the playoffs and isn't thinking about regular-season matchups against Anaheim. Regardless, he's not as obvious a start as usual.

Vasilevskiy was last pulled from a regular-season game in March of 2018. That gives you an idea of how reliable he usually is game after game.

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Vasilevskiy wasn't the only stud goalie to wreak havoc on fantasy teams on Thursday. Jacob Markstrom was pulled for the second consecutive game, allowing four goals on 17 shots. Both Markstrom and Vasilevskiy are in the top 5 in terms of games played, which should be no surprise. These goalies could be wearing down from the heavy workload, which means they may be rested a little more than normal down the stretch as their teams gear up for the playoffs. I'd still start them as you normally would, but lower your expectations.

Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson led the Vegas charge in their win in Calgary, each scoring a goal and adding two assists with a plus-3. Marchessault in particular has heated up recently with 15 points over his last nine games.

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In this alternate universe that we seem to be living in this fantasy playoff week, Vasilevskiy and Markstrom are sputtering while Alex Nedeljkovic pitched a 46-save shutout on the team that traded him away. Ned entered this game with only one win and quality start in his last five games, a span that included allowing seven goals in one game and five goals in two other games. This wasn't a game that we would have recommended you start Nedeljkovic, but we know that nothing in life and fantasy hockey is ever certain.

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In more results that defy logic, Mike Smith recorded a 30-save shutout in Nashville. He now has four consecutive quality starts, allowing just four goals over that span. He's also reeled off five consecutive wins. I've somehow hung onto Smith all season on one of my teams and I have a playoff match next week – should I really start him? The Oils will face Dallas, Colorado, and Columbus. The second matchup in particular scares me; otherwise, it's food for thought if you're wondering the same thing.

Leon Draisaitl recorded a hat trick – no, not the one that he's known for on Frozen Tools. The original kind. Draisaitl finished the game with three goals and a plus-2 (credit where credit is due). His 54 goals trails only Matthews.

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Linus Ullmark left after the first period of Thursday's game, and it wasn't performance-related because he didn't allow a goal. Ullmark entered this game with a .932 SV% in his previous eight games, so this is a potentially untimely injury.

Tim Stutzle kept his hot play going against Ullmark's replacement Jeremy Swayman and the Bruins. Stutzle scored a goal and added two assists with five shots in the Senators' 3-2 win. He may be playing the finest hockey of his career at the moment, as he has scored points in each of his last seven games (interrupted by injury, so it's not a true point streak). More recently, Stutzle has back-to-back three-point games. Stutzle has quietly reached 50 points this season – the third Senator to reach that mark.  

Josh Norris also reached 50 points in this game with another goal, giving him 14 points in his past 11 games. He's also in the top 25 in goals (33) in the league, even though he has missed 13 games.

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Jake Guentzel scored two goals and added two assists in helping the Penguins clinch a playoff spot. Guentzel has scored twice in back-to-back games and has seven points over those two games.

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Is Michael Misa the next long-term keeper that you need to keep an eye on? Misa is the sixth player in OHL history and the eighth player in CHL history to be granted exceptional status. If you're not familiar with exceptional status, it allows a young prodigy to play in Canadian major junior at age 15. Connor McDavid, John Tavares, and Aaron Ekblad are the most notable players to debut in the OHL as 15-year-olds, while current CHL stars Shane Wright and Connor Bedard also began their junior careers at that age.

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If I missed anything important, I'll try to pick it up tomorrow, as Friday's schedule has only two games. I'll also try to help you with some weekend waiver-wire pickups. In the meantime, follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding for more fantasy hockey.