Sergei Bobrovsky seems to be at a point where he can be relied upon again. The Panthers goalie picked up 29 saves in a 6-3 win over Washington. If not for a late third-period power-play goal, Bob would have had his fifth consecutive quality start. However, he also has wins in four of his last five games as the Panthers now move into a tie in points with the Capitals for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The last time Bobrovsky had a really bad start was on January 1, and he has posted eight quality starts since then.

Anton Lundell snapped a nine-game goal drought with a goal in Florida's win, also adding two assists. He's no longer stuck on the third line, having being elevated to a scoring line with Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart. Being moved to left wing also gives him additional positional eligibility, which helps his value even more.

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Seth Jarvis ended a dry spell in a big way on Thursday. Jarvis scored three goals with a plus-4, ending a four-game stretch without a point. As well, Jarvis had only recorded one point in his previous eight games prior to Thursday. Even with the hat trick, Jarvis has taken a step back from a points-per-game perspective this season (from 0.59 PTS/GP to 0.50 PTS/GP) after being a popular sleeper before the season. Playing on a scoring line with Sebastian Aho might help, as would a bit of better luck in the shooting department (9.2 SH%).

The out-of-nowhere run of Rafael Harvey-Pinard continued on Thursday. Harvey-Pinard scored another goal, giving him seven goals in his past nine games. He's scoring so often that the injury-riddled Habs have been left with no choice but to elevate him to the first power-play unit as well as the de facto top line with Nick Suzuki. There's no doubt that Harvey-Pinard will cool off, as a 35.0 SH% should be an obvious sign. The thing is, will he stick around after that? If you haven't already, read Dobber's take from his most recent Ramblings. You could add Harvey-Pinard if you feel tempted, but I'd need to see a larger NHL sample size from a player whose AHL numbers were good but not great. In other words, I've let others grab him in my various leagues.  

I noticed that Jonathan Drouin was trending as a popular profile on Frozen Tools. Maybe because he's played 32 games but still doesn't have a goal? Okay, it's more likely because he posted five assists in two games leading up to Thursday's game. Unfortunately, he was held without a point and was a minus-3 on Thursday.

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With an assist on Thursday, Adam Boqvist has seven points over his last nine games. Four of those seven points have been on the power play, where Boqvist is currently on the first unit. Because of the injuries to Zach Werenski, Jake Bean, and probably others, Boqvist is practically uncontested for power-play time among blueliners. He's rostered in just 6 percent of Yahoo leagues, so he's one option if you need more points from your defensemen.

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We're not used to slumps from Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron, and they seem even less likely with the Bruins' success this season. Yet both broke point droughts on Thursday – Marchand with his first goal and point in six games, and his usual linemate Bergeron with his first points (goal and assist) in seven games. The Bruins sit at the top of the league in spite of production that has declined from last season for both players: Marchand from 1.14 PTS/GP to 1.02 PTS/GP; Bergeron from 0.89 PTS/GP to 0.74 PTS/GP.

Jeremy Swayman's 28-save shutout in Nashville is his second of the season. His other shutout was exactly one month ago against Philadelphia. Among goalies with at least 20 games played, only two goalies have a better goals-against average than Swayman (2.21 GAA). One of them is teammate Linus Ullmark (1.90 GAA), which should be an indication of how strong the Bruins' defense has been in front of them. The two B's goalies have generally split starts since November, and they are both must-starts every time they play.

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I've watched a few games involving Dylan Larkin recently, and it seems like he is scoring at will. Larkin recently terrorized the Canucks with back-to-back two-goal games, and he's added to that with two more multipoint games as the Wings tour through western Canada. That works out to 10 points over his last four games and a six-game point streak with 12 points, including three assists in Calgary on Thursday. I mentioned last week that Larkin might be a player to trade for because the Wings have a strong schedule in terms of total games during the fantasy playoffs in many leagues. If you quickly pulled the trigger on a trade, you were instantly rewarded. If the Wings continue their recent hot play, then I don't see how they trade Larkin by the deadline.

Dominik Kubalik flew out of the gate (21 PTS in first 18 GP), but he had cooled right off after that (13 PTS in next 34 GP). On Larkin's line, Kubalik scored a pair of goals on Thursday. Kubalik entered Thursday's game without a point in his previous five games and without a goal in his previous eight games.

The third member of that line is Tyler Bertuzzi, who after a slow start and injuries is starting to heat up. Bertuzzi scored a goal and added two assists on Thursday, giving him five points over his last four games. Prior to that, Bertuzzi had scored just six points in his first 19 games.

Jakub Vrana was healthy scratched for a second consecutive game after being recalled. I know that fantasy hockey Twitter is screaming for Vrana to get back into the lineup, but the Wings have now won five games in a row. Sounds like Vrana will be in the lineup in due time, but coaches don't like to tinker with a winning formula. Vrana's next opportunity to return to the lineup will be Saturday in Seattle.

The Wings have also signed Olli Maatta to a two-year extension with an AAV of $3 million. Maatta doesn't carry a ton of weight in fantasy leagues, but this seems like a reasonable contract for the Wings.

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The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. Also, negativity sucks the joy right out of players. cc: @NHLFlames

— Allan Walsh (@walsha) February 17, 2023

Allan Walsh is a must-follow on Twitter for how willing he is to share his opinions, whether you think those opinions are over the top or not (remember the painting of Marc-Andre Fleury getting stabbed in the back?) In related news, his client Jonathan Huberdeau was held without a point on Thursday and is without a goal in his last six games. I see that Huberdeau is averaging just 1.6 SOG/GP this season when he averaged a minimum of 2.1 SOG/GP in his previous eight seasons with the Panthers. I've tried to be optimistic about a Huberdeau turnaround this season, but that declining shot total stands out as a red flag. Maybe Walsh is hinting that Huberdeau isn't happy in Calgary.

The Flames are a middle-of-the-pack offense that seems capable of more, so I wonder if Darryl Sutter's best before date as Flames coach has passed. Sutter is under contract for two more seasons, but the Flames are currently on the outside looking in when it comes to Western Conference playoff spots. Even with some major changes following last season's division win, missing the playoffs would be viewed as a major disappointment in Calgary. Yet the longer Huberdeau fails to score at the expected level of his contract, the fewer the days that Sutter likely has remaining behind the bench in Calgary. If the players don’t produce, then the first person gone is often the coach.

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With a goal and an assist on Thursday, Brayden Schenn has three consecutive two-point games since Vladimir Tarasenko was traded. In addition, he has power-play points in back-to-back games. Schenn has recently been moved up to a better line with Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas, so Schenn could be instantly benefitting from the Tarasenko trade.

Fantasy Take: Rangers Acquire Tarasenko; Blues Get Blais

Schenn is not having his strongest multicategory season with under two shots per game and a minus-25 ranking. That being said, he is only four hits away from reaching 100 hits, which would be the 12^th consecutive season that he has been credited with at least 100 hits.

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At this point I find it surprising that William Carrier is rostered in just 4% of Yahoo leagues and 15% of Fantrax leagues – particularly bangers leagues. Carrier scored the game-winning goal on Thursday against San Jose, giving him four goals in his past five games and a career-high 15 goals. What might be even more surprising is the fact that seven of those goals are game-winners, which places Carrier third in the league in that category. Carrier has been playing with better linemates recently, most notably Chandler Stephenson. It may even be no coincidence that Carrier's recent hot streak (9 PTS in last 8 GP) started at around the time Mark Stone went out of the lineup with a back injury.

Why don't we talk about William Carrier's game winner for a second… 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/Q2MZzurRVW

— NHL (@NHL) February 17, 2023

Even though he is not shy about shooting the puck, Jonathan Marchessault is now without a goal in 13 games. Marchessault is still averaging nearly three shots per game, so eventually the puck will start to go in for him.

Adin Hill is holding the fort nicely while Logan Thompson is out. Hill has wins and quality starts in each of his last three starts, allowing just four goals over that span. On Thursday he allowed one goal on 27 shots.

Kaapo Kahkonen deserved better in the San Jose loss, allowing the game-winner to Carrier with just 18 seconds left in regulation. Kahkonen made 36 saves on 38 shots and kept the Vegas power play 0-for-7. Kahkonen has hardly been reliable this season as you'd expect from a Sharks goalie, but at least he has quality starts in three of his last four games.

With a goal on Thursday, Alexander Barabanov has eight points in his last six games, including five goals. I was looking for a right wing in one league and he seemed like a decent option. By my observation, right wing is the most difficult of the three forward positions to fill in fantasy leagues. By the way, Barabanov is on pace for nearly 60 points, and he's also been receiving first-unit power-play minutes.

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Travis Konecny broke his eight-game point drought with a pair of goals on Thursday. Because of their recent slumps, Konecny and Marchessault have both dropped out of the Top 100 Roto Rankings. The rankings are one possible option if you need to make some player comparisons.

Yanni Gourde will be in this week's Frozen Tools Forensics because he has been centering two recently hot players in Eeli Tolvanen and Oliver Bjorkstrand. Yet it was Gourde himself who was hot on Thursday, scoring a pair of goals while adding an assist. Gourde entered this game without a point in his previous seven games, so he was definitely due. Gourde also led the Kraken with five shots.

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One last thing: Potential bad news if you've been waiting on Thatcher Demko.

Sounds like Thatcher Demko suffered a setback and tweaked something in practice on Thursday. #Canucks won't know full extent of injury for a few days.

— Irfaan Gaffar (@irfgaffar) February 17, 2023

The best decision for the Canucks at this point would be to go full-on tank, so I wonder if Demko is shut down for the season if he has in fact re-aggravated his injury.

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Follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding for more fantasy hockey.