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

With 13 games on tap Tuesday night and two remaining Eastern Conference playoff spots still up for grabs, the majority of the headlines dominating the eastern airwaves right now clearly surround teams on the bubble and playoff positioning. However, work as an astute fantasy hockey GM truly never stops and there are a number of different fantasy angles to still monitor with 10 days left on the NHL regular-season schedule.

Whether it be injury updates, players performing, or fantasy pieces falling, we have you covered with all of the latest Eastern Conference buzz.

Sergachev To Provide Bolts Big Boost?

First and foremost: the Tampa Bay Lightning are going to be a problem for whatever team has to go through this deep and experienced group in the first round. Sure, Tampa has experienced its ups and downs this season and Andrei Vasilevskiy is going to have be a lot better in the playoffs than the 2.87 goals-against average and .900 save percentage he's rocking this regular season, but the Bolts have all the makings of a winner. In addition to the recent additions to the rafters of Amalie Arena, Tampa proves its Cup caliber on the ice by flaunting the best power-play unit (29.5% efficiency) and fifth-best penalty killing group (83.2% efficiency) in the NHL.

They've also been getting that done without their second-best rearguard in Mikhail Sergachev, who's been out with fractures in his left tibia and fibula since February 8 against the New York Rangers. Not only is Sergachev a key piece on special teams, but he's a workhorse who logs the second-most minutes of ice time per night at 22:33 – second to only Victor Hedman. Sergachev practiced Monday for the first time since the injury and even though it was in a non-contract jersey, his potential impending return could be huge should the Lightning have a prolonged seven-game first-round series of even better, crack the second round.

Not so long ago, fantasy hockey pundits pegged Sergachev as the natural replacement to supplant Hedman as Tampa's top blue-liner with the veteran Swede getting a bit long in the tooth. Even though that hasn't happened and Sergachev's production of 19 points in 34 games this season wasn't exactly jumping off the page, his return to the ice as a physical presence who lays the body and chips in on the power play would be a massive boost for Bolts group that is chomping at the bit to drop the puck on the 2024 playoffs. Now would be a great time to buy-low on Sergachev if you're reading into his ability and potential to bounce back at 100% health next fantasy hockey season.

Samsonov Surging In Maple Leafs Cage

Heading into the 2023-24 NHL and fantasy hockey seasons, most Leafs fans and hockey heads expected the up-and-coming Joseph Woll to be the guy manning the blue paint in Toronto for most of the campaign – especially after Ilya Samsonov posted a 5-2-6 record and .862 SV% over his first 15 games. However, Samsonov's turnaround has been nothing short of miraculous. He looks much more confident, he's seeing the puck on a completely different level, putting up wins, and making timely saves to keep the Maple Leafs in games. The big question is: can Samsonov continue this pace and carry his winning ways into the postseason? Time will tell on that front, but the fact remains, Samsonov has been stellar since being demoted to the AHL in late December to the tune of a 18-4-1, .913 SV%, and two shutouts. He is forcing his way back into both NHL and fantasy relevancy.

Woll is likely still the goaltender of the future, so keep that in mind come fantasy draft season. However, in the same vein, Samsonov is once again proving his fantasy worth and that he's more than capable of being a fantasy hockey goalie you can lean on to, at the very least, stack Ws in the win column.

Husso Nearing Return For Red Wings

Speaking of next year's fantasy draft, Ville Husso is likely not a name that will be popping up on many GMs radars, but maybe it should. There's no getting around the fact that Husso was a major disappointment before going down with a lower-body on February 13, as his abysmal 3.55 GAA and .892 SV% would indicate. However, Husso is still an intriguing name with a lot of upside who is going to get all the opportunity in the world to be the number one netminder by the time next fall rolls around in Detroit.

In terms of the end of this season, the Red Wings are very much alive in the Eastern Conference Wild Card race and as it stands, the Wings sit tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins with 84 points and a game in-hand. Meaning, Husso's conditioning stint with Detroit's AHL affiliate comes at a time where he could be immediately thrust into meaningful action. No disrespect to Alex Lyon who has done an admirable job at holding down the fort for the winged wheel, but Husso was supposed to be the guy, he's got legit number one potential, and slightly more playoff experience – should Detroit get there.

It's likely a bold prediction to expect Husso to come back and be inserted directly into the starting lineup, let alone play well, but if we are able to get more of a sense of where his game is to round out the regular season and playoffs, nabbing him at a late round could be a very sneaky add for next season.