Starting your office's playoff pool late? Order the 17^th annual Interactive Playoff Draft List here. Immediate download!

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GROUND has been broken on the 2023 Fantasy Prospects Report! I figure on May 1 I will make next year's offerings available in the shop for pre-order (not there yet). The Prospects Report will be released June 1.

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Toronto prospect Matthew Knies will certainly be a part of that report. His transition to NHL hockey has been seamless, as many expected. To me, he has been consistently impressive with each shift of these playoffs. Noticeable every time he is out there. And I can't say that about any other Leaf, even the big guns. Knies is making things happen even when he is out there on a checking line. His impact reminds me of Chris Kreider. I know that's been a comparable by many around the league, but it's apt. He's not as quick as Kreider, but I think his hockey sense is another degree higher. For fantasy owners, something to keep in mind with Knies is that I also believe his production trajectory will be the same. Kreider had three points in his first season (23 games) and 37 in 66 games in his rookie campaign. He followed that up with 46, 43, 53, etc. That was Kreider's established production range. For eight years. And then he had his 77-point season. I think Knies is going to give us points in that similar range, 45-60, for five or six years, but then he'll really pop. And Knies has higher upside, so his 'pop' should be even better. If you don't mind the wait, I think Knies will eventually top a point-per-game pace.

So how do you play it in dynasty leagues? Well, if you can't get him in the draft this summer (or he was taken last summer, as we advised in last year's FPR), it's best to simply wait. In 2028, his owner will finally cool on him, wrongfully cementing his production window. That's when you grab him. If you can't get him at the draft, his trade price will be far too inflated. Just remember this note a few years from now and buy low at that point.

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I remember when Stefan Noesen was in that Fantasy Prospects Report, and he was a highly-touted prospect and former first-round pick. Talk about blooming late. Now 30, he finally won a full-time NHL roster spot this year and has slowly been gaining momentum in deeper fantasy leagues. It took Noesen until he was 27 to become a point-per-game player in the AHL, with 2021-22 his true breakout year at that level. So he had 48 goals and 85 points in 70 AHL games at the age of 29. Noesen has settled in with Carolina as a power-play specialist, also chipping in from the third or fourth line.

He’s proving himself to be quite a playoff player, too. A year ago, with the Chicago Wolves, he had 25 points in 18 playoff games. So far with the Canes he has four points in four games, thanks to his two assists Sunday. All four points came via the power play, and with Andrei Svechnikov and Teuvo Teravainen out – he'll get no sweeter opportunity to prove himself for more responsibility next year. Especially if Carolina goes deep. As it is, thanks to the injuries, he had been lining up alongside Martin Necas and Jesperi Kotkaniemi – though Sunday it was with Jesper Fast and Jordan Staal.

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Seth Jarvis saw some ice time with Sebastian Aho and scored a couple of goals, leading Carolina in SOG with five. He hits his breakout threshold (BT) late next season, so my expectation is that 2024-25 will be his big one.

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Bo Horvat, who finally picked up his first playoff point Sunday, has 17 points in 34 games since being traded to the Islanders. He had 54 points in 49 games before that. If Brock Nelson can put up nearly a point per game, why can't Horvat? But for whatever reason, the system doesn't work for him when it comes to offense. And he hasn't even started his new contract yet…

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The Alex Lyon experiment was…paused on Sunday, as the Panthers put their $10M goalie in net instead. It didn't work out. Sergei Bobrovsky was okay for the first two periods, giving up only a pair of goals on the power play. But then he gave up an early one in the third, which set the tone the rest of the way. That's been Bobrovsky's story these past few years: decent starts, but unable to do it for 60 minutes.

Taylor Hall had himself a four-point game, including an empty-netter. How great have the Bruins been at acquiring pieces of the puzzle over the last two years? Tyler Bertuzzi had two points, Pavel Zacha had two points, Dmitry Orlov added another assist, I mean – impressive! Here were Boston's line combos on Sunday with David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron sidelines:

Time	%	EV – FORWARDS	GF	GA	+/-	SF	SA	SF%	CF	CA	CF%
8:38	19.0	PASTRNAK – BERTUZZI – ZACHA	0	0	0	5	4	55.6	8	11	42.1
6:58	15.3	MARCHAND – COYLE – DEBRUSK	0	1	-1	1	8	11.1	7	11	38.9
5:44	12.6	FOLIGNO – HALL – FREDERIC	0	0	0	2	4	33.3	4	7	36.4
4:05	9.0	HATHAWAY – NOSEK – LAUKO	0	0	0	0	1	0.0	1	4	20.0

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I think Zacha has another gear. He just enjoyed career highs of 21 points and 57 games. Much like Kreider (noted above), his production range had long been established. But the needle just moved upwards and I believe it will again. If Bergeron retires, Zacha could move to top-line center. He still needs to work on his faceoffs, though.

Florida outshot Boston 43-30, and four players combined for 25 shots: Matt Tkachuk, Brandon Montour, Sam Bennett and Aleksander Barkov.

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John Klingberg has only been back for two games but he has four points for the Wild. But his two points Sunday were in a losing effort. That series could go either way.

Jake Oettinger, oh my:

The Jake Oettinger save on Marcus Johansson was all world pic.twitter.com/5qYZSqUpV2

— Alex Micheletti (@AlexMicheletti) April 24, 2023

The difference between winning and losing right there.

After assisting on all three of Dallas' goals, Roope Hintz now has eight points. He's behind only Leon Draisaitl in playoff scoring.

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Speaking of Draisaitl, he was at it again, posting another three points on Sunday. As already noted, he leads all players in postseason scoring.

The main story in the Edmonton – Los Angeles game Sunday, was how the Kings blew a 3-0 lead. But the second story, to me, is the play of Evan Bouchard. He has been a revelation since the Oilers traded away Tyson Barrie. With three points Sunday, Bouchard now sits fourth in scoring (seven points in four games). He is now "the guy", in case you hadn't figured that out yet, and will continue to be a top blueline own until Connor McDavid goes to another team. He'll still be a great own even after that happens, but with McDavid he'll be a threat to become a 100-point defenseman. Before you argue, keep in mind that McDavid just made Nugent-Hopkins a 100-point player, and Zach Hyman an 80-point player. Here is Bouchard's overtime beauty of a pass:

ZACH 📣 HYMAN 📣 CALLED 📣 GAME. @ZachHyman fires home the OT winner for the @EdmontonOilers, tying their series! #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/SqBL5fUD8H

— NHL (@NHL) April 24, 2023

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So the Kings took a commanding 3-0 lead after one, chasing Stuart Skinner and bringing in Jack Campbell to start the second period. Edmonton scored five of the next six goals. Kevin Fiala was back in the lineup for Los Angeles and made an immediate impact with two assists.

The Anze Kopitar line (with Adrian Kempe and Quinton Byfield) was on the ice for all three even-strength goals against.

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Still looking for their first point of the playoffs (of note): Timo Meier, Shayne Gostisbehere and Max Domi.

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Our DFS subscription is now on sale for $49.99 for the playoffs. That's right: 50% off! Order it here!

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See you next Monday.