Miro Heiskanen was out of the Dallas lineup on Monday afternoon as he was away from the team for the birth of his child. With Jani Hakanpää and Nils Lundkvist already out, the Stars dressed Joel Hanley and called up some AHL depth to fill out the blue line. It is always interesting to see how quick a team's depth at a particular position can thin out, though Heiskanen will obviously be back soon.

Boston ended up winning that game over Dallas 4-3 in a shootout. The Stars carried the play for the majority of the game, but Jeremy Swayman was excellent in net with 43 saves on 46 shots. It snapped a three-start losing streak for Swayman who now has 17 of them on the season.

Justin Brazeau scored his first career NHL goal after spending parts of two seasons in the ECHL and five of them in the AHL. Jesper Boqvist and David Pastrňák also tallied. Charlie McAvoy had a pair of helpers with two shots, two PIMs, and four hits in a solid multi-cat performance.

Wyatt Johnston, Esa Lindell, and Ryan Suter all scored for Dallas in the loss. Suter had five shots, a pair of blocks, and a pair of PIMs for a very good multi-cat night of his own.

*

New Jersey got some good news about Jonas Siegenthaler:

Jonas Siegenthaler, who has had a couple of morning skate/practices with #NJDevils is also on the ice for today's practice session.

Hasn't returned to play yet from his broken foot but has now been putting in several consecutive on-ice sessions with the team.

— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) February 19, 2024

Coach Lindy Ruff said after practice that Siegenthaler has a good chance of being in the lineup for Tuesday night's game against Washington.

*

Two goals from Frank Vatrano, one from Troy Terry, and another from Adam Henrique were enough to lift the Ducks 4-3 over the Sabres on Monday afternoon. Terry also had a pair of assists for his sixth multi-point game in his last 11 outings. He has 11 goals and 27 points in his last 25 games. Vatrano finished the game with five shots, a block, two PIMs, and a hit in a great multi-cat effort.

John Gibson saved 34 of 37 shots for the win while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (more on him later) allowed four goals on 15 shots.

Tage Thompson, Jordan Greenway, and Zach Benson all scored in the loss for Buffalo. Rasmus Dahlin registered one assist, five shots, two blocks, and a pair of hits for the losing side.

*

Auston Matthews failed to register a hat trick for the third straight games, which is nuts to consider in and of itself, but had a goal and an assist in Toronto's 4-2 win in St. Louis. William Nylander, Matthew Knies, and Bobby McMann all scored as well. McMann had two shots, two blocks, and a hit in 11:54 of ice time as he was moved up to the second line. McMann now has seven goals in 13 games after starting the season with one in his first 17 appearances.

Pavel Buchnevich and Brandon Saad posted the goals for the Blues.

Mitch Marner had a trio of helpers and now has 10 assists in his last four games and is up to 27 points (8-19) in 18 games in calendar 2024.

*

Ben Chiarot (?) scored the overtime winner for Detroit in their 4-3 win in Seattle on Monday. Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond, and Daniel Sprong also scored for Detroit. Seider had three shots, six blocks, and three hits to go with his goal, which was his seventh of the season. That ties his career high in 27 fewer games played.

Alex Lyon stopped 38 of 41 shots in the win in a great rebound game from him after giving up 11 goals in two games during the team's stops in Alberta.

Jared McCann scored twice (one PP) on six shots while Jaden Schwartz also posted six shots, scoring once. McCann now has a five-game point streak, and has 10 goals and 19 points in his last 15 games.

Vince Dunn's assist (PP) on McCann's first goal was Dunn's 40^th point of the season. He continues to be a very underrated player, though his peripherals leave a lot to be desired for us fantasy players.

*

Sean Monahan posted a natural hat trick in under 5 minutes and 30 seconds of game action during the first period, but then Calgary reeled off five straight goals for a 6-3 win. Jacob Markstrom held down the fort with 28 saves on 31 shots for the win.

Oliver Kylington scored his first goal since returning from nearly two years away from the NHL to get the Flames started, and then Nazem Kadri scored twice (one PP) while Blake Coleman, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Andrew Mangiapane also got in on the action. Since November 1^st, the date of Connor Zary's call up, Kadri has 18 goals, 45 points, and 158 shots (five in this game) in 47 outings. They have been tremendous for the Flames.

Kylington finished the game with two shots, two PIMs, and a hit. Keep an eye on his fantasy value if/when Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin are traded. Kylington showed well in his final season before his leave and he may have a much bigger role in 2-3 weeks. If he regains that form, there could be good production from him over the final six weeks of the season.

*

Edmonton scored three times in just over two minutes to help to from a 3-2 deficit to an eventual 6-3 win in Arizona. Evander Kane scored twice on three shots with two PIMs and a hit in the win. Leon Draisaitl had a three-point day (one PP goal, two assists) while Zach Hyman, Warren Foegele, and Mattias Janmark all scored as well. Foegele just needs three more goals to set a career-high.

Evan Bouchard had a trio oif helpers (one on the PP) to go with two shots and two blocks. Bouchard is now over a point per game on the season with 14 goals and 39 assists in 52 outings. Including last season's playoffs, he has 86 points over his last 82 games. Patience has paid off for keeper/dynasty owners.

Nick Bjugstad scored twice, managing four shots total, with a block, two PIMs, and a hit in a great multi-cat game. Clayton Keller had a goal and an assist and that pushed him over the 50-point mark for the season.

*

Logan Thompson saved all 29 shots faced in San Jose as Vegas skated out of the Shark Tank with a 4-0 win. Mason Morelli who, like Brazeau earlier, is a career minor leaguer, posted a goal and an assist in his first NHL game. That has to feel really good.

Keegan Kolesar, Michael Amadio, and William Karlsson all scored for Vegas. Alec Martinez had three assists (one on the PP) with two shots, three blocks, and a hit in a great fantasy night.

The big news was the Vegas activated defenceman Shea Theodore from the long-term injured reserve before the game. He didn't end up playing but it's a clear sign that he's ready to return.

*

Of course, the big game from Monday was the absurd 10-7 (not a typo) win the Minnesota Wild posted over the Vancouver Canucks. The teams combined for nine (!) goals in the third period alone with Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek, and JT Miller all recording hat tricks (also not a typo). It might be shorted to do this in bullet form:

• Kaprizov: three goals (one PP), three assists (two PP), seven shots, and two blocks.
• Eriksson Ek: three goals (one PP), three assists, four shots, two PIMs, and a hit.
• Matt Boldy: one goal, three assists (one PP), and five shots.
• Mats Zuccarello: one goal (PP), three assists (all three PP), one shot, two PIMs, and a hit.
• Marco Rossi: one goal, and two shots.
• Jonas Brodin: one goal, one shot, and three blocks.
• Miller: three goals (one PP), one assist, four shots, two blocks, two PIMs, and five hits.
• Brock Boeser: one goal, one assist (PP), two shots, and a hit.
• Pius Suter: three assists and two shots.
• Elias Pettersson: one goal, four shots, one block, and two PIMs.
• Ian Cole: one goal, one shot, and four blocks.
• Nikita Zadorov: one goal, two shots, one block, two PIMs, and a hit.
• Quinn Hughes: two assists (one PP), one shot, and two hits.
• Casey DeSmith, Filip Gustavsson, and Marc-André Fleury: 16 goals against on 49 shots.

Best wishes to the head-to-head players with no Wild/Canucks skaters on their roster.

*

Mathieu Joseph got some revenge on his former team as Ottawa went into Tampa Bay and skated out with a 4-2 win with a lot of help from Joseph. The former Lightning winger had a pair of goals on four shots with three blocks and a hit in a very good multi-cat night. Joseph now has 10 goals in 42 games after managing just seven across his first 67 games with the Senators.

Tim Stützle registered a goal and an assist, one shot, two PIMs, and three hits in a very good fantasy outing. Vladimir Tarasenko also scored once (with five total shots, a block, and a hit) while Artem Zub had a pair of helpers. Zub also posted two shots, four blocks, and a hit in a very good multi-cat night. The defenceman now has 20 points in 42 games, his second 20-point season, and he just needs three points the rest of the way to set a career high.

Anton Forsberg stopped 23 of 25 shots in the win while Andrei Vasilevskiy allowed four goals on 28 shots for the loss.

*

Carolina fans got what they probably wanted to see on Monday night as the Hurricanes toppled the Chicago Blackhawks 6-3, but Connor Bedard had a three-point game (one PP goal, one PP assist, one EV assist). That made two goals, four assists, and 10 shots in three games since he returned. Nick Foligno and Tyler Johnson each had a goal and an assist in the loss.

Scoring six goals made it the third time in six games the Hurricanes have scored at least five, and it pushed them into the top-10 of the league by goals-for/60 this season. If they can start getting solid goaltending between Pyotr Kochetkov and Frederik Andersen – who was at morning skate with the team – then they are true Cup contenders.

Brent Burns (PP), Jordan Martinook, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and Michael Bunting all scored as well. After going 12 games without a point, and a 21-game stretch with just two points, Kotkaniemi now has points in back-to-back games. Hopefully a turnaround for him in a season that started with so much promise.

Martin Nečas kept his hot streak since his own injury return rolling along with a goal, an assist, two shots, and a hit. He has eight goals, six assists, and 47 shots in his last 12 games. Sebastian Aho also had a goal and an assist (PP), three shots, one block, and one hit as well.

*

Every season, there are players that break out offensively and provide fantasy owners with tremendous value. We are at a time of the year where decisions about the future of keeper/dynasty rosters need to be made as far as buying/selling goes. The question becomes: which breakout performances are for real (Robert Thomas in 2021-22) and which are not (Andrei Kuzmenko in 2022-23)? Let's try to parse that out and help trade decisions. As usual, data will be from Natural Stat Trick, Frozen Tools, Evolving Hockey, or AllThreeZones, unless otherwise indicated.

Joel Farabee

A team having a season like Philadelphia needs multiple players with great years. That can be said of Farabee, who needed just 48 games to set a career-high 40 points, currently sitting with 42 in 56 appearances. Though it's his first 40-point season, it isn't as if he's been unproductive. Farabee's first four seasons saw him post 132 points in 252 games (43 points/82 games), and just 14 of those points came on the power play. His points/60 minutes at 5-on-5 in those four years was 2.11, a rate that was higher than names like Mark Scheifele, Zach Hyman, and John Tavares, and an 80^th percentile mark among forwards.

This season, Farabee's 2.68 points/60 at 5-on-5 is near the top-10 in the league. He is doing that thanks to a variety of positive marks. First, his scoring chance assists/60 minutes at 5-on-5 is 3.78, much better than the league average of 3.03, and in line with names like Tim Stützle and Aleksander Barkov. He plays a lot off the rush as his rush assists/60 is in the 85^th percentile of the league, nestled between Carter Verhaeghe and Martin Necas. He plays fast, is good at finding teammates for chances, and is consistently a high-percentage shooter at 5-on-5.

The concern is Farabee registering a point on 87.2% of goals scored at 5-on-5. It is a career-high, a top-10 mark in the league, and well above his three-year average of 70.7%. The upside is if Philadelphia can ever shows us a league-average power play, a drop in that percentage will be outweighed by vastly improved PP production. Once he earns more ice time, he should easily be a 210-shot, 70-hit forward with 70-point potential. He is a player to hold onto.

Jake Neighbours

Every year, there is a Cy Young winner in the NHL, or a player with way more goals than assists. A couple years ago, Yakov Trenin had 17 goals and 7 assists, while last season saw Kirill Marchenko post 21 goals and 4 assists. This year's likely Cy Young winner is Neighbours, who sits with 19 goals and 7 assists (heading into Monday's game) with four of those helpers coming in the last nine games. He should crack 25 goals on the season and could push for 30 if he continues his current hot streak for a bit longer.

Of course, the concern is shooting 18.6%, a top-20 mark in the league of any player with a least 41 games played. The big issue is shooting 33.3% on the power play, scoring six times on 18 shots. Last season, one forward with at least 200 minutes on the power play managed at least 33.3%, and it was the aforementioned Kuzmenko, and we know what happened there.

What is also worrisome is Neighbours isn't doing a lot else offensively. His scoring chance assist rate is 1.6/60, much worse than the league average, and he doesn't do any heavy lifting on zone entries. The same could have been said about Marchenko last season, though, and despite a slight goals/game drop, Marchenko's sophomore effort has been much better in just about every area this year.

The bonus for Neighbours is he provides a lot of hits, so even if the production doesn't improve much, he can be helpful in other areas. Long-term, he has the inside track to be part of the top line with Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou. In shallower keeper leagues (under 100 players kept), he can probably be moved, but there's Sam Bennett-like upside otherwise, and perhaps more if he holds onto a top power play role.

Thomas Harley

It is easy to look at the 13.9% shooting and assume big regression for Harley, but that belies the fact that his 5-on-5 shot attempt rate of 12.6/60 is 83^rd percentile, his individual expected goals/60 is 88^th percentile, his zone exits with possession (10.7/60) is not far behind the rate of Miro Heiskanen (11.1/60), and he has 100 blocked shots in 58 games. Even if his shooting percentage were cut in half, he'd have all those underlying numbers and still be on pace for 40 points.

The one concern is having Heiskanen ahead of him on the power play depth chart. We have seen how similar situations have held back the fantasy value of very good defencemen like Mikhail Sergachev, Devon Toews, Gustav Forsling, and Filip Hronek. He can give 400 shots+hits+blocks per season, but he'll be hard-pressed to be a reliable 50-point option without that power play role. He can take the spot from Heiskanen eventually – Shea Theodore did that to Alex Pietrangelo when Theodore was healthy – but it's a big gamble to take. Harley can be a 60-point defenceman, but not without that power play time, and we need a crystal ball to see what things look like in 2026-27 to know if he gets it or not.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

At the risk of sounding obvious, the usual caveat applies to Luukkonen: goalies are voodoo. Ask anyone that bought into Filip Gustavsson's 2022-23 season, or Jack Campbell's 2021-22 season.

With that said, he is having a stellar campaign. The good news is that it is being supported by an improved Buffalo defence; the 2022-23 season saw the Sabres finish 25^th by expected goals against/60 at 5-on-5, a ranking that is 21^st this season. The bad news is a lot of his value has come from a .908 save percentage on the penalty kill. The league average is .871, only one goalie finished over .900 in 2022-23 (and it was Gustavsson), and Buffalo's PK is giving up nearly as many shots/60 as Columbus, and more than San Jose. If he's getting a bit lucky on the PK, and there are no other improvements, next year could be a lot worse. And then there's still Devon Levi gaining experience in the AHL and hoping to rebound in 2024-25.

Given not many people were probably clamouring for UPL before the season, he could be found-money and worth hanging onto. But there are issues here with the team in front of him (the defence still isn't great), his penalty kill numbers could take a dive, and Levi could easily start 50-plus games next season. If this is anything other than a Jake Oettinger– or Sam Montembeault-like breakout, UPL's value will not be higher than it is now.