If this is a fantasy playoff week for you, Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov are doing everything possible to help you (or your opponent) win, even though the Lightning are playing only two games this week. Point was involved in all six of the Lightning's goals on Thursday, scoring three of them and assisting on the other three. Kucherov was involved in five of them with a goal and four assists.

Point has been piling up the points recently, as he is now up to 19 points in his last 12 games. Kucherov has been hot all season, but more recently he has a nine-game point streak with 18 points over that span. Kucherov trails Nathan MacKinnon by just three points in the scoring race and has a game in hand. Hopefully you didn't bench either of these studs simply because you were looking at their lack of games played. A counterpoint to maximizing games played: A well-rested player can be a productive player.

Anthony Duclair has goals in back-to-back games with the Bolts, so it's easy to assume that his value suddenly improved when he was traded to Tampa Bay. However, Duclair had just been heating up with the Sharks, scoring five goals and eight points over his last four games in a San Jose uniform. Either way, Duclair is a solid pickup who is just 13% rostered in Yahoo leagues and 35% rostered in Fantrax leagues. He's not on the Kucherov – Point line or the top power play, but Steven Stamkos and Anthony Cirelli seem like decent linemates. In addition, the Bolts are back to four games next week.

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Frederik Andersen is officially back in business. Andersen stopped all 21 shots he faced to pick up his first shutout of the season. Since his return from a blood clotting issue, Andersen has quality starts in all three games he has appeared in, allowing only three goals over that span. Dating back before the absence, Andersen has six quality starts over his last six games. He is definitely cutting into Pyotr Kochetkov's workload and may even be the starter for Game 1 of the playoffs. Either Carolina goalie should be started in fantasy leagues with confidence, which is a far cry from the struggles they had early in the season.

Evgeny Kuznetsov scored his first goal and point in his fourth game as a Hurricane. He also has a +50% faceoff winning percentage in each of those four games. Kuznetsov has worked his way into the Carolina mix, playing on a solid second line with fellow new acquisition Jake Guentzel and Martin Necas. Kuznetsov and Guentzel playing to their potential could bolster the Hurricanes immensely, which would make them strong favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference.

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Remember what I said about Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen being a must-start? Well, Luukkonen just posted a 21-save shutout against the Islanders. UPL's string of nine consecutive quality starts was broken on Thursday, but that means he still has 10 quality starts (and eight wins) over his last 11 games. Buffalo is making a late charge toward a playoff spot, so expect the hot goalie to play a lot down the stretch. Next up is a Saturday date against the struggling Red Wings (more on them shortly), although things get a little more difficult next week with a road trip through the northwest (Seattle, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary).

Zach Benson scored a pair of goals for the Sabres in their win. Benson now has three goals and five points over his last two games after being held without a point in his previous seven games. Ah yes, the up-and-down life of an 18-year-old rookie with loads of potential.

Since being acquired by the Sabres, Bowen Byram has five points in four games, including an assist on one of Benson's goals. Byram has averaged 24:21 with the Sabres, which is over four minutes higher than he averaged in Colorado. He's also being paired with Rasmus Dahlin while receiving first-unit power-play minutes, something else he didn't receive in Colorado.

Byram might be the player whose value increased the most at the trade deadline. Initially, that's not really what we expected, since the Sabres already have first overall picks Dahlin and Owen Power in the fold, and the worry was Byram would be pushed down the lineup like he was in Colorado. But it appears the Sabres parted with Casey Mittelstadt to acquire Byram for a reason. If Byram happens to be available in your league, make room for him.

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Just as the Sabres are surging, the Red Wings are freefalling out of the playoff race. The Wings have now lost seven in a row, the latest a 4-1 home loss to the toothless Coyotes.

Projected to be a third-string depth goalie, Alex Lyon was a productive waiver-wire pickup at around midseason. Based on recent play, you shouldn't be starting him right now. Lyon has lost six consecutive games, with three of those really bad starts. In fact, Lyon has a 4.90 GAA and .855 SV% over that span. The Wings are struggling mightily defensively, which is making life difficult.

Alex DeBrincat can be hot and cold, but his scoring has really taken a dip recently with just one point over his last seven games. Not having Dylan Larkin available could be a major reason. Larkin may begin practicing next week, for what it's worth now.

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Maybe the Penguins were in a nasty mood after their Jaromir Jagr bobbleheads were stolen. Or they were simply playing the San Jose Sharks. Regardless, the Pens broke their scoring slump of two goals in their last four games by torching the Sharks for six. Recently slumping Penguins such as Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang, Sidney Crosby, and Evgeni Malkin no longer show up on the Frozen Tools cold list, with each of these players registering a point on Thursday.

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Auston Matthews scored goal #55 in the Leafs' 6-2 win over Philly. No other player has reached 50 goals yet, with the closest being Sam Reinhart and Zach Hyman with 46 goals each. Matthews is shooting at a 20.4% rate this season, which is the highest of his career.

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In his first start with the Devils, Jake Allen impressed in making 35 saves in a 6-2 win over Dallas. Allen had not registered a quality start since January 27 and has just two in nine games since the calendar turned to 2024. Moving to New Jersey seems like a lateral move for Allen, as he goes from sharing the net with both Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau to sharing the net with both Kaapo Kahkonen and Nico Daws.

With a goal and an assist on Thursday, Timo Meier has 12 points over his last eight games. Eight of those points have been goals. Meier has had a difficult season with both injuries and a nine-game point drought, but his recent production should make him a must-start for the fantasy playoffs.

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If Marc-Andre Fleury is approaching the last few weeks of his career, he's making the games count. Fleury made 16 saves in the Wild's 2-0 win over Anaheim, picking up his second shutout of the season. He has started four of the past five games for Minnesota, picking up wins in all four games. Wouldn't it be something if Fleury pushed the Wild into the final playoff spot in the West, ahead of his old team… the Golden Knights? Although he's seen better days, Fleury seems worth starting at the moment.

Marat Khusnutdinov played in his first NHL game on Thursday, finishing without a point or even a shot but blocking four shots and winning six of nine faceoffs. Khusnutdinov is the Wild's second-round pick in 2020. Although he was on a line with Marcus Foligno and Frederick Gaudreau, Khusnutdinov has the upside to move up the Wild lineup. For more, see his Dobber Prospects profile.

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If I missed anything important, I'll be back tomorrow. In the meantime, follow me on X @Ian_Gooding and Threads.