A Jakob Chychrun trade might be forthcoming, although it didn't happen on Saturday night. Chychrun was made a healthy scratch by the Coyotes for "trade-related reasons." Not long after the game start in the HNIC second-intermission 32 Thoughts, Jeff Marek stated that a trade was not imminent with any of the Oilers, Maple Leafs, or Kings (although Frank Seravalli stated there's lots of smoke around the Kings). We will wait and see, but you know we will provide our Fantasy Take shortly after a trade is officially announced.

On a side note, defensemen Victor Soderstrom and Dysin Mayo have been recalled from the AHL.

What the heck, let's throw in a bit of premature analysis. Juuso Valimaki would stand to benefit from a Chychrun trade (depending on what might come the other way). Valimaki recorded four assists on Saturday, giving him six helpers in his past three games. Valimaki was also on the first-unit power play, where he registered two of those assists.

Related to Valimaki, it's also worth noting that Shayne Gostisbehere is out of the lineup with an upper-body injury, and his name was also dropped during 32 Thoughts as a potential fall back option for the Oilers should they not be able to acquire Chychrun or Erik Karlsson. Soderstrom, the 2019 first-round pick, might also be one to watch here, as would J.J. Moser.  

The Coyotes were down 5-2 at one point in the third period in this game, but they charged back to eventually tie the game with just under a minute in regulation. Nick Schmaltz finished with a goal and three assists, while Clayton Keller scored twice and added an assist. Both have been red hot recently (Schmaltz 13 PTS in last 7 GP, including two 4-PT games; Keller 8 PTS in last 3 GP) and should be rostered everywhere.

Ryan O'Reilly and Pavel Buchnevich returned to the Blues' lineup on Saturday, with O'Reilly scoring the game-winning goal in overtime. Buchnevich recorded three assists, including one on O'Reilly's winner. As has been reported many times, O'Reilly is one to watch as we near the trade deadline.

As players come in for the Blues, players may also come out. Jordan Kyrou took a high hit late in the game and did not return, which might signal a concussion.

With two goals in the span of less than two minutes, Calle Rosen very quietly has 15 points in just 33 games. That's a better point-per-game output than John Klingberg, Samuel Girard, Ivan Provorov, and Evan Bouchard (among others). And yes, I had Rosen on my bench. Not sure it would have mattered in this particular league, though.  

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Anthony Beauvillier is finding new life in Vancouver. Beauvillier scored a power-play goal and recorded an assist on Saturday morning (to the people in Vancouver). That gives him goals in back-to-back games as a Canuck. He's also being given every opportunity to succeed with his new team, playing on the top line with Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser and also being sent out on the first-unit power play. He's an obvious waiver-wire pickup, especially since the Canucks have a soft schedule over the remainder of the season and are simply a better-scoring team than the Islanders.

With Beauvillier's addition, recently extended Andrei Kuzmenko has been moved out of the top 6 and the first-unit power play. Things can obviously change, but an early conclusion of the coaching change in Vancouver could be that Kuzmenko is not a favorite of Rick Tocchet. Kuzmenko has been held without a point in his past three games and has registered just a single shot over his past two games.

If you're trying to squeeze in a trade before your fantasy league's deadline, consider sending an offer for Dylan Larkin. The Red Wings have one of the highest-volume schedules during the fantasy playoff period of many leagues (March 20 to April 14). If you can, hold onto that offer until closer to the deadline, though. I don't think the Wings would trade their captain, but he is a UFA to be and a trade could set the Wings up well as they continue their rebuild. As well, there's always that trade that none of the insiders predict on trade deadline day, and a couple years ago that trade involved Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings (Jakub Vrana/Anthony Mantha).

Larkin led the Wings with a pair of goals and an assist in their 5-2 win over the Canucks. Jonatan Berggren also scored a pair of goals, inching his way closer toward the top 10 in rookie scoring in spite of spending the first month of the season in the AHL. The demotion of Jakub Vrana to the AHL likely had something to do with the play of Berggren, who has played well enough to remain on the Wings in spite of him still being waivers exempt. I was able to grab Berggren in one league as an inexpensive keeper. He's still available in about three-quarters of Fantrax leagues.  

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Who said that the 2022-23 Darryl Sutter-led Calgary Flames can't score? The Flames erupted for seven goals in Buffalo on Saturday. Dillon Dube led the point parade with a goal and three assists, while his linemate Tyler Toffoli scored twice and added an assist. If you've been waiting on certain Flames players, this type of game might provide the confidence boost that they need.

Jakob Pelletier even got in on the fun, scoring his first career NHL goal and point. Pelletier is no longer buried on the fourth line, having been elevated to a scoring line with Nazem Kadri and Jonathan Huberdeau. Pelletier might be a player to watch if he can catch fire on this line before Sutter changes his mind and sticks him in a role where he'll forget about him again.

Huberdeau, by the way, recorded a pair of assists, which were his first points in four games. I know not everyone agrees with me, but I'm staying the course with Huberdeau. I highly doubt he'll reach 115 points again, but I don't believe in selling low unless a player is clearly on the downside of his career. I don't think that's the case with Huberdeau, who would be falling off a cliff if that were the case. He might just need a full season in Calgary before he figures things out.  

Jacob Markstrom earned a much-needed win on Saturday – his first win in seven games and his first quality start in four games. It's been over a month since Markstrom picked up a win (January 6). I'd still lean toward Markstrom getting the majority of starts over Dan Vladar down the stretch, but Vladar has made more of an impact than we thought he would. Markstrom is probably more of a pick-and-choose goalie option as opposed to an every-game starter, so keep an eye on his progress.

Markstrom had an easy time over the first two periods, facing just nine shots over that span. The Sabres picked things up in the third period with 14 shots.

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Saturday wasn't a good day for anyone named Forsberg that plays for an NHL team.

First, Filip Forsberg left his game in the first period after taking a hit along the boards from Rasmus Ristolainen. Predators coach John Hynes did not provide much of an update after the game, saying that it could be anything. With Forsberg leaving this game fairly early, Cody Glass was promoted to the top power play. Glass recorded an even-strength assist, giving him five points in his last five games. The former first-round pick is worth a speculative pickup (2% Yahoo/23% Fantrax).

Meanwhile, Anton Forsberg was stretchered off the ice in the third period with a possible knee injury. Forsberg had allowed six goals to the Oilers prior to his departure. With Cam Talbot also out, Mads Sogaard took over in net for the Senators. Assuming Forsberg misses games, the 22-year-old Sogaard is probably the Sens' best option in net at the moment, but he hardly seems NHL ready (6-9-0, 3.30 GAA, .898 SV% in the AHL this season). Kevin Mandolese would likely also be recalled.

McDAVID OMG pic.twitter.com/Ko364tZA6G

📢 advertisement:

— Tim and Friends (@timandfriends) February 11, 2023

With this assist and two more points on Saturday, Connor McDavid extended his point streak to 15 games. Over that span, McDavid has 25 points and has just matched his jersey number in season points. If this was Joe Schmo on a 15-game point streak, we wouldn't stop talking about how he's on an amazing breakout and whether it's sustainable. But because it's McDavid, we seem to shrug it off like we expect it from him. Too bad. McDavid is on pace for 150 points. Let's see if he can do it.

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The goals just keep on coming in for the Rangers, who have scored six goals in back-to-back games since acquiring Vladimir Tarasenko.

You'd have to assume Tarasenko was in on the scoring again on Saturday, right? Nope. Not a thing from him. But linemate Artemi Panarin (for at least part of the game) scored four goals and an assist, with three of those goals in the third period. I mention "part of the game" because Panarin was eventually moved onto a line with Vincent Trocheck and Jimmy Vesey, each of whom had two assists with the same plus-4 as Panarin. Panarin had not scored a goal in his previous games, so I guess he was saving them all for this one.

Gerard Gallant can reshuffle the lines all he wants, but I think this offense will continue to roll. As I type this, the Rangers are 10^th in goals per game (3.32 GF/GP). I'd bet on them being higher than that by the end of the season. Three high-upside scoring lines.

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Speaking of goals for, do you need a quick method to determine which players and goalies to start on a busy day? Go to the Schedule Planner in Frozen Tools, and you'll now see the Opponent GF/G and Opponent GA/G numbers for each team. We listen to our reader input.

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After 30 games and 13 goals, Kirill Marchenko finally recorded his first career assist! Marchenko entered Saturday's game with no goals (or points) in his previous three games. Marchenko also scored his 14^th goal of the season for a two-point game while on a line with Johnny Gaudreau and Boone Jenner.

Jenner, by the way, had a nice game when it comes to roto categories: 1 G, 1 A, +2, 9 SOG, 5 HITS, 2 BLKS.

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Tweet of the night, given its relevance to the news of the day:

NORAD has confirmed several flying saucers located in the back of Chicago's net 🛸 #GoJetsGo | https://t.co/CCG87Y1JDq | #ad pic.twitter.com/08rGrIiXNB

— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) February 12, 2023

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On Dustin Brown statue night, Adrian Kempe made the hats fly down with a natural hat trick in the second period. Kempe now has five goals over his past two games, giving him a team-leading 25 goals on the season.* Kempe can be notoriously streaky, as we found out on the way to a 35-goal season last season (which also led the Kings). His goals are also significantly higher than his assists for the second consecutive season. He's a shoot-first player who has fired at least three shots over each of his last four games, so he's also picking up his season average in that category.

* Third period notwithstanding. Because of the Brown ceremony, this game didn't start until about 8 pm PT (11 pm ET). I didn't feel like waiting around to post this. Even if the stats aren't 100% accurate, hopefully you get the idea about Kempe.  

Assisting on all three of Kempe's goals in the second period, Anze Kopitar has at least three points in each of his last two games. At age 35, Kopitar continues to be a fantasy difference maker.

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Follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding for more fantasy hockey.