The East playoff race is not exactly an arms race at the moment, but it is certainly fascinating. The Capitals were supposed to be done two months ago, and were too far out. Instead, after being sellers at the deadline, they're getting balanced scoring, their top players are producing, and the young guys all look capable. The defence is reliable and mobile, while the goaltending from Charlie Lindgren is mostly solid and consistent. They won't be an easy out in the first round, and I say that with confidence that they will be there, because they have the look of a team that is going to find a way to get things done and close out the season in the top-eight.

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I got lucky streaming Sam Lafferty in one league on Monday night, getting a goal, two shots, and eight hits from him. He plays again on Sunday night, and for those in deeper leagues with peripherals, he's one guy to look at as he doesn't have a game Saturday that would waste on your bench anyways as a result of the heavy 15-game schedule that day.

With Anaheim being the other team playing Sunday, and it being the second game of a back-to-back, it's very possible we see Lukas Dostal with that game, playing against Casey DeSmith (who is likely already scooped up as the de-facto Vancouver starter of the moment). With those two being the only two goalies playing on Sunday, streaming options are going to be very limited, so you may have to jump early if you want a last-minute goalie game.

For the skaters, Trevor Zegras made his return to the Anaheim lineup, playing on the third line with Isac Lundestrom and Brett Leason. Hopefully his return helps spark the offence, as there are a whole host of cold players on the Ducks right now, while Pavel Mintyukov is the only hot one.

Troy Terry was even dropped recently in one of my leagues, and while he hasn't been as cold as some of the others lately, his 60-point-pace with next to no peripherals has been disappointing this year compared to his 70-point-pace the last two years. Chalk that up to some bad puck luck with a low team shooting percentage happening along with a drop in his secondary assist rate. I'll be buying/drafting Terry as a 70-point player in the fall.

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The Bruins came out of Florida with two points against the Panthers, but this game could have gone either way, and would make an amazing seven-game series this summer if we're lucky enough. David Pastrnak picked up two points to push him over 100 on the season, with Charlie McAvoy, Pavel Zacha, and Trent Frederic scoring the other goals for the Bruins.

Earlier on in the year I traded Frederic one-for-one in exchange for Rickard Rakell, and I thought it was a clear win at the time. All Frederic has done since is perform as one of the best third-liners in the league, so I'm doubting myself a little there, especially with the outlook cloudier in Pittsburgh now due to the playoff miss this year. Aside from Rakell's hot streak from mid-December to mid-January this year, he has been a disappointment, looking like a 30-point player most of the time.

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Toronto and New Jersey went toe to toe last night not bothering to play much defence. It seems like the heavy workload in New Jersey is getting to Jake Allen a little after a hot start there, though to be fair to Allen, New Jersey's defence has also been decimated and has left him out to dry. He had 26 shots against him in the first period alone. He had 42 saves on 45 shots overall in the win.

On the Leafs' end of the rink, Joseph Woll has been very inconsistent since his return from injury last month. Toronto fans are very much so hoping that this Ilya Samsonov injury is minor and doesn't linger.

It would make sense for New Jersey to give a little more leash to Kaapo Kahkonen at this point to see what they have in him before his contract expires in the summer.

Jesper Bratt recorded three assists bringing him to five points in his last three games, to take him back a smidge below a point-per-game pace. His power play scoring rate has dropped dramatically from Q1 this season where he had 16 PPPs alone in 20 games. Nico Hischier also had three points, and is right behind Bratt for his season scoring pace. A minor step back from last year, but a similar range.

William Nylander hit the 40-goal mark for the second-straight season, but this time he didn't do it in the last game of the year. He has time to get close to 50 if he gets a couple bounces the rest of the way.

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Unfortunately for the other Nylander, Alex Nylander was out of the Columbus lineup last night with an upper-body injury. He has been a great streaming option the last two weeks, but he's someone that I'm not hesitating to drop right now to get a healthy body into your fantasy lineup for the stretch run.

Taking Nylander's spot in the lineup was James Malatesta, making his NHL debut. He put up over a point-per-game last year in the QMJHL as an older player, but he's more suited to a bottom-six role as a fore-checking presence.

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The Flyers and Rangers also decided that defence was optional, with Travis Konecny, Scott Laughton, and Mika Zibanejad picking up two points each. Konecny especially filled the stat sheet with three shots, two hits, two blocks, and a plus-one rating. He has been fantastic the last eight games with nine points, 27 shots, and 11 Hits. He's a top-50 fantasy player in the league, whether you and your league mates see him that way or not.

The Rangers got the last laugh though, winning 6-5 in overtime, and being the first team this season to clinch a playoff berth. It wasn't Igor Shesterkin's best game (nor has it been his best season) but he has been good enough to get the team a win more often than not of late, and that's all that really matters in the end.

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For those of you looking for Hits over the next couple weeks, the news on Radko Gudas isn't great:

Radko Gudas did not make the trip to Seattle with Anaheim.#FlyTogether https://t.co/6qF7vtgcUf

— Derek Lee (@Derek_Lee27) March 26, 2024

Anaheim's next game after the road trip is all the way on April 5^th. That's halfway through what is the Championship week for many leagues, so you may not have time to wait for Gudas to return.

However, if Hits are what you need then Jeremy Lauzon just returned from an injury, and is running away with the league lead for Hits this year. He's in a chase for Hits record, but would need to average about six per game to be able to get there. He's certainly aware of the chase, and that might give him some incentive to get there. He could be an even bigger factor in the Hits column than usual the rest of the way.

Funnily enough, he added an assist last night to go with the four hits in what ended up as a crazy finish with Nashville tying the game at four before winning in overtime. The Preds are now 16-0-2 in their last 18 games. Not someone that any team will want to lay in the first round. At this rate they may even find a way to jump out of a Wildcard spot.

THE CAPTAIN'S GOT IT. 🚨

Roman Josi scores the @SUBWAYCanada OT winner in a comeback victory for the Nashville Predators. pic.twitter.com/2qWMXJUJYu

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 27, 2024

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Alexei Kolosov hasn't been on my radar for very long, but I think that speaks to how under-appreciated he is as a prospect in the fantasy world right now. He is a very good goalie, and could make a very smooth adjustment to the NHL game after performing well in multiple KHL seasons. 

One of the best goalies playing outside of North America. This is great news for the #LetsGoFlyers that could really use a strong goaltender right about now. https://t.co/QhtQSaz0UO

— Fantasy Hockey Doctor – Victor Nuño (@VictorNuno12) March 26, 2024

No guarantee that he sees games this year, but there is an outside shot that he takes over as the starter for Philly in the playoffs (assuming they make it). That is certainly worth taking a flier on in deeper leagues where available now.

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Sticking with backup goalies:

**Breaking News** 🚨 📰
I'm told the @Avalanche are signing G Annunen to a 2 Yr 1 Way Contract Extension that will carry around 833K AAV. #GoAvsGo #HockeyX #HockeyTwitter @INEOSGrenadier pic.twitter.com/ZsD41bRgUl

— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) March 26, 2024

This is a steal for the Avalanche, locking up a young and upcoming backup for less than $1 million a season, especially considering the cap crunch they're going to have over the next few years. Justus Annunen will be a worthwhile own next year in fantasy leagues where quality is rewarded over quantity.

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As a quick glance ahead to playoff pools, the top guys on the Rangers, Hurricanes, and Panthers in the East, as well as Avalanche, Oilers, and Stars in the West should be the main targets. Taking what players you can from those teams is advisable in the early rounds, but it's pegging the bottom-third team that upsets and makes it a couple of round that can make or break your draft with those later picks. I have a soft spot for the Predators, and may end up with a few of them, but I also really like Tampa Bay and the LA Kings as teams outside the top-five in either conference that should make the most of any first round matchup.

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See you next Wednesday. In the meantime, you can find me on Twitter/X here, or BlueSky here if you have any fantasy hockey questions or comments.