Welcome inside the latest edition of Eastern Edge, a weekly fantasy hockey column here at Dobber Hockey analyzing all of the top trending fantasy news impacting your fantasy hockey squad on a week-to-week basis.

The NHL's second half is officially upon us, meaning this next stretch of the schedule for both real-world and fantasy GMs is absolutely critical. Scrutinize each and every lineup shuffle or injury with a keen eye, it could mean the difference in a few weeks' time when fantasy playoff season arrives.

Injuries are a bit of a theme this week, which makes sense given the time of year, as we take a look at a number of fantasy hockey hotspots from across the Eastern Conference that warrant your attention.

Sabres Lose Samuelsson & Quinn + Benson's Opportunity

Yet another pair of tough, disheartening injuries for this already beleaguered Buffalo bunch could potentially be the final straw to snuff out the Sabres' faint hopes of erasing a current 10-point gap on a postseason spot. The recent news that young shutdown Swedish defenseman Mattias Samuelsson will miss the rest of the season and winger Jack Quinn (six-to-eight weeks) will once again be sidelined with significant injury comes at a time when the Sabres were just starting to figure it out a little bit at both ends of the ice while putting up a 7-4-0 record in January.

Aside from clear disappointing seasons in fantasy players pegged for big campaigns in Owen Power, Tage Thompson, and Devon Levi, among others, Buffalo has just been all-around lackluster – especially on the offensive end where just a season ago they sat in the top of the league in overall scoring and power-play proficiency. Fast forward a season and Thompson is one of the biggest fantasy flops of the year, Power hasn't taken the step, and Levi is a rookie still figuring it out. Most importantly, the team isn't scoring, as the Sabres sit 15th in overall goals and tout a power play that's clicking at an embarrassingly bad 14.1 percent, good for 24th-best in the NHL. Rant on how bad the Sabres are is done, back to Quinn and Samuelsson.

Yes, the nature of the injuries, especially to Quinn who was just finding his electric offensive form (12 points in 17 games) once again following Achilles surgery, will definitely impact any hope of Buffalo finding a wild-card spot, but it opens up some fantasy opportunities. In Quinn's absence from practice this week head coach Don Granato slotted intriguing fantasy prospect Zach Benson onto the second line alongside Dylan Cozens and JJ Peterka. Benson has been exactly what you would expect from an 18-year-old rookie in his first season in the show: inconsistent. However, he's obviously shown flashes of offensive brilliance, and this is a really good opportunity to stick on a line with two other solid young pieces.

Ultimately, Benson provides an intriguing angle for offensive fantasy value that cannot be overlooked over the coming weeks.

Jack Hughes Nearing Return – Still Time For Devils?

We all know about the Devils failing to live up to expectations heading into this season as an excellent young team and franchise on the rise, that's been covered. So has the fact that injuries to the likes of Jack Hughes and other key players have clearly impacted the ability of Lindy Ruff's crew to be the imposing offensive threat it was only a year ago. With that said, as Hughes nears a return to health and New Jersey still lurks only five points adrift of the Philadelphia Flyers, we can't help but wonder what a healthy Hughes can mean for the Devils.

Jersey owns a 3-6-1 record over their last 10 without Hughes while getting outscored 38-30. This team most definitely needs to be a lot better in its own end and has to find an answer in the cage, as the duo of Vitek Vanecek and Nico Daws is just not going to be good enough to go up against the likes of the Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, and New York Rangers heading into playoff season.

Hughes was back at practice Monday (in a non-contact jersey) for the first time since suffering his most recent upper-body ailment on January 6th and could be back in the Devils' lineup as early as the end of this week. That will obviously bring a big boost for Hughes owners as well as whatever wingers he slots back between and the entire Jersey group. Make sure he's activated off IR as soon as he's eligible.

Roy's Arrival Boosting Isles' Fantasy Value

The Islanders might only be 2-2-1 since Patrick Roy took over head coaching duties from Lane Lambert on January 20th, but this already looks like a completely different team. An on-ice unit that, on a nightly basis, is going to embody the passion, grit, and determination of their new fiery bench boss as the Isles have fought tooth-and-nail in all five games since Roy took the reins.

It might take a little bit more time and Roy magic to get the likes of Pierre Engvall and Anders Lee going, but take a look at the recent uptick in confidence and production in young stars Noah Dobson (seven assists, 15 shots on net,  27-plus minutes in ice time) and Mat Barzal (two goals, four assists, 17 shots on net, 24-plus minutes in ice time) over the last five games.

Not only are both putting up numbers while seeing a boost in ice time, but both Barzal and Dobson are playing with a newfound pep in their step and overall confidence that cannot be ignored – a lot of that can be attributed to Roy's infectious energy and innate ability to get the most out of his top young guns. Sure, there's still plenty of work to be done before we're willing to deem this Long Island bunch as a true Cup threat and Roy will need to attend to a penalty-killing unit that sits dead last in the NHL with an ugly 72 percent efficiency rate, but things are turning around for New York.

As the Islanders continue to rise, keep stock of the impact it has on their once quiet fantasy pieces.