An upper-body injury caused Connor Ingram to leave Sunday's clash with the Capitals. It seems he got hurt after taking a heavy shot up high. Karel Vejmelka was excellent in relief, stopping 30 of the 32 shots he faced en route to a shootout victory. Vejmelka has solid numbers on the season but has struggled of late, with Ingram outperforming him in 2025. Some time to rest during the Four Nations Face Off break should help Ingram return to full health before the regular season resumes, allowing him to play a prominent role down the stretch.

After sitting out for a few weeks with a lower-body injury, Dylan Guenther returned to the lineup on February 4^th. He's been excellent since, racking up four goals and three assists over four games, posting at least five shots in each of those contests.

Dylan Guenther knocks down his 20th goal of the season. 💪 pic.twitter.com/DeoMB3YjpT

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 9, 2025

Josh Doan's second year in the NHL hasn't been as successful as his first, but he's starting to heat up with four points in his last three games for his first point streak of the season.

He's having an incredible season overall, but after another lacklustre showing on Sunday, Logan Thompson seems to be in his first proper slump of the year. He's allowed 12 goals in his last three games. Hopefully the upcoming break gives him a chance to reset and return to elite form down the stretch.

Pierre-Luc Dubois' multipoint matinee extends an excellent stretch that he hasn't gotten enough credit for. He leads the team in scoring since the beginning of December, boasting 28 points in his last 31 games. A secondary power-play role may limit his value in some formats, but he deserves to be rostered in more than 50% of Yahoo Leagues.

Tom Wilson's resurgent campaign continues as he tallied two goals and an assist to put himself on a career-high 36-goal, 63-point pace. Two of his points on Sunday came with the man advantage, which has been a key source of his production this year. This is the first season of his 12-year career that he's seeing a majority share of Washington's power-play time. He has a career-high 14 PPPs thanks to this new opportunity.  

With a goal and assist on Sunday, Dylan Strome extended his point streak to six games. This has been a welcome rebound as he had just one point in his previous nine outings. Strome is putting together an excellent season, on pace for 81 points which would be a career high.

Alex Ovechkin took a break from his usual goal scoring to become a playmaker on Sunday, racking up three assists against Utah. 39 years old, scoring at a 90-point pace. Outlandish stuff.

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After an amazing first four starts in the NHL, Jakub Dobes' inexperience has been more evident lately. He's posted a save percentage below .890 in four of his last five starts. Dobes was pulled after allowing three goals on eight shots Sunday, replaced by Sam Montembeault, who stopped 11 of the 12 shots he faced. With Dobes struggling, the Habs may consider recalling Cayden Primeau, who is 10-0, with a .923 SV% and 1.96 GAA, since he was sent down to the AHL.

Montreal's offense probably didn't move the needle in fantasy formats as Brendan Gallagher, who scored two goals, and Christian Dvorak, who tallied the third, are rostered in just 2% and 1% of Yahoo Leagues, respectively. Gallagher was once a very productive player, but injuries have taken a toll and forced him into a reduced role where he doesn't have much fantasy impact. Still, he's provided an underrated source of goal-scoring as he's on pace for 20 this year.

Coach Martin St. Louis shuffled his lines after his team fell behind, dropping Juraj Slafkovsky to a line with Dvorak and Gallagher, while Jake Evans was promoted to the top line with Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki. I don't expect these combinations to last after the break but perhaps there's merit to showcasing Evans in an elevated role for trade purposes. Recent reports indicate he and the Habs aren't close to an extension.

As discussed at intermission during on our Habs TSN broadcast, my understanding is Jake Evans and the Canadiens have exchanged numbers on what an extension might look like and they're not close. Obviously things can change with one phone call, but as of now that makes it more…

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) February 9, 2025

After posting a promising 56-point pace last year, Alex Newhook's 26-point pace this year has been incredibly disappointing, especially after sustained stretches in a top six role. He's finally showing signs of life lately, with five points in his last five games. Considering he's 24 with only 270 games under his belt, it's fair to expect that his best is yet to come.

Following a quiet start to the season, rookie Gage Goncalves has points in five of his last six outings, benefitting from ice time beside Tampa's stars thanks to some stints in the top six.

Two more even-strength points for Brandon Hagel gives him 49 on the year, which puts him into the top 5 for even-strength scoring, now ahead of Connor McDavid.

Nikita Kucherov missed Sunday's clash with the Canadiens due to a minor injury.

Jon Cooper says Kucherov tweaked something last night and couldn't go today. Says the break comes at a good time for him.

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) February 9, 2025

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With just two games on tap for Superbowl Sunday, I thought we could spend the rest of today's Ramblings discussing players to add and drop for this year's fantasy playoffs. Since different fantasy leagues have different playoff schedules, I chose to focus on the final month of the regular season (March 17^th to April 17^th) as it should encompass important weeks for most formats, but I encourage you to use Dobber's Schedule Planner if you have a different period of interest!

Players to Add

Mackenzie Blackwood

Since joining the Avs two months ago, Blackwood ranks second in the league with 15.2 goals saved above expected (via Evolving Hockey). He also ranks second in wins with a sparkling 14-6-2 record during this stretch. Colorado's opponents over the final month of the season are currently averaging 2.84 goals per game – which is the lowest average of any team's opponents in the final month. A good goalie, on a great team, facing weak offenses during the most crucial stretch of your fantasy season? Sounds like a recipe for success.

Mats Zuccarello

Entering the break on a five-game point drought, now is a great time to trade for Zuccarello as you'd likely be paying a discounted rate. The Wild have a league-leading nine games on light nights during the final month of the campaign, so you wouldn't face as many scheduling conflicts that would otherwise cause you to bench players unnecessarily. While there's no concrete timetable for superstar Kirill Kaprizov's return, there's hope he'll be back before the end of the regular season. Since Zuccarello and Kaprizov often share the ice at both even strength and on the power play, Kaprizov's return could reinvigorate Zucc just in time for the fantasy playoffs.

Matthew Knies

The Leafs have a favourable schedule down the stretch, with 16 games and six light-night affairs. However, what's most endearing about Toronto's final month of action is their opponents allowing 2.87 goals per game – only Ottawa's opponents are allowing more (2.95). Knies is a prominent part of a star-studded top six and top power-play unit in Toronto, boasting 17 points through 15 games in 2025. He's the kind of late-season addition that steers fantasy teams to championship success. Knies can be had for free in 50% of Yahoo Leagues, where he's just sitting on the waiver wire.

Frederik Andersen

The 35-year-old netminder had an amazing start to the season before knee surgery sent him to the sidelines. His first five games have produced mixed results, but this initial rust isn't surprising given that he was out for almost three months. Injuries have limited Andersen in recent years, but he's been excellent when healthy. Sure, those injuries bring some risk, but they also lower the cost to acquire Andersen in fantasy formats. With a strong team in front of him, I'm further reassured that Andersen can rediscover his elite form. Jacob Markstrom and Stuart Skinner are also worth targeting given favourable schedules for New Jersey and Edmonton down the stretch, but I imagine the cost to acquire Andersen will be lower than those two.

Players to Drop

Rickard Rakell

The 31-year-old winger has been incredible since late November, boasting 36 points in his last 33 appearances. With Pittsburgh playing a league-low 13 games between March 17^th and April 17^th, selling high on Rakell makes sense if you're looking to maximize games played for your fantasy roster. He's currently scoring on 17.1% of his shots, which is a much higher success rate than we've seen from him in recent years, creating the possibility of some regression down the stretch.

Artturi Lehkonen

Considering he's riding shotgun beside the lethal duo of Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas – at both even strength and on the power play – you might think me a fool for suggesting you part ways with Lehkonen. I embrace that title in most cases but would ask that you hear me out in this instance. During the final month of the campaign the Avs play 14 games, which falls on the low end as most teams play 15 or 16. That alone isn't a problem, but the fact that they have a league-low three games on light nights might cause you to bench Lehkonen more often than you would like. Most teams have at least six light night games in the final month, so swapping Lehkonen for a player on one of those teams would help you get more games in, and hopefully more fantasy points as a result. Other concerns with Lehkonen are his uncharacteristically high shooting percentage (23%) and lack of role stability as Valeri Nichushkin's return could push Lehkonen out of the excellent spot he's in right now.

Aliaksei Protas

Not to take anything away from the 24-year-old power forward's incredible breakout campaign, but it's always hard to trust lofty shooting percentages. Protas' individual (23.2%) and 5on5 (14.8%) shooting percentages appear unsustainably high, which has me concerned for his production down the stretch. Now, a new power-play role could offset some of that regression, and Washington's schedule isn't as problematic as other team's listed in this section, so selling high on Protas isn't mandatory, although I think it could be the right play from a value perspective.

Cam Talbot

As Dobber's Schedule Planner illustrates, Detroit has a brutal schedule down the stretch. On average, their opposition has the best record, highest goals for per game and lowest goals against per game. That sets up a highly unfavourable situation for the team's netminders, who will be hard pressed to find wins and post respectable GAAs. If no one wants to trade for Talbot, you may want to consider dropping him down the stretch depending on the state of your league's waiver wire.  

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Finally, a couple of injury updates ahead of the Four Nations Face Off. As a reminder, the NHL regular season will be on hold until Thursday February 22^nd to accommodate the tournament.

Mikko Rantanen is en route to Montreal and is expected to play for Team Finland

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) February 9, 2025

Sidney Crosby making his way to Montreal. He will skate tomorrow as part of Canada's ongoing evaluation. Rosters need to be finalized by 5pm et Monday. As long as there's progress Canada may opt to keep Crosby and gamble on his availability game by game.

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) February 9, 2025

Quinn Hughes is officially out of the 4 Nations.

Was an agonizing decision for him. Badly wanted to play, but Canucks need him for race to playoffs.

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) February 9, 2025

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Thanks for reading! Hope you have a great week ahead!