According to Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch, both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are expected to miss at least one week. McDavid was scheduled to undergo an MRI on Friday for a lower-body injury, while Draisaitl's injury is still listed as undisclosed. Obviously this will impact both the Oilers and fantasy teams competing for a championship, so hopefully the recovery won't be any longer than one week. As I mentioned yesterday, Jeff Skinner is worthy of consideration as a short-term replacement. These are unusual times for the Oilers, so now is the time to forget about his underwhelming results to this point and consider the situation. Adam Henrique is another player worthy of consideration if Skinner is unavailable.

Adam Henrique and Jeff Skinner are the two players with the best chance to fill in offensively over the next few games for EDM.
Skinner played a season high 17:06 last night. Will see more PP time with McDavid and Draisaitl out of the lineup. Henrique moved up to play with Hyman.

— Jason Gregor (@JasonGregor) March 21, 2025

Better news injury-wise for Stuart Skinner, who is expected to be available for today's (Saturday's) game against Seattle. Skinner was pulled by a concussion spotter late in the third period of Thursday's game. I would have to assume Calvin Pickard starts in what should be a plus matchup for the Oilers (check Goalie Post for the latest updates).

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Fantasy teams with games of importance were loading up on Columbus and Pittsburgh players on Friday, as they formed the only game to be played that night. The Penguins skated to a 6-3 win, which was their fifth in their last six games. Just when it looks like the Pens should be focusing on improving their draft lottery odds, they win a bunch of games. Probably not how Penguins fans wanted this to play out.

Sidney Crosby, Rickard Rakell, and Bryan Rust each scored one goal and assisted on another with a plus-3. Crosby continues to come through with 10 points over his last six games, while Rakell has eight points over that same six-game stretch. This trio has formed an effective top line for the Pens.

Noel Acciari, Bokondji Imama, and Evgeni Malkin scored the other goals for the Pens.

The scoring was spread out among the rest of the Penguins. Joona Koppanen was the only Pens forward to not register a point on Friday, so you were probably in luck if you added at least one Penguins forward specifically for this matchup.

Justin Danforth, Boone Jenner, and Kent Johnson scored the Blue Jackets' goals.

Playing his second game in consecutive nights, Elvis Merzlikins was burned for five goals on 33 shots. Merzlikins has coughed up five goals in two of his last four starts – both really bad starts. Elvis has now failed to register a win in any of his last six games, while the Jackets as a team have lost six consecutive games. The Blue Jackets as a team have been a wonderful story with the adversity they've had to overcome, but they are starting to fall out of the Eastern Conference playoff race.

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If you're in a do-or-die fantasy playoff matchup this weekend, let's try to help you out with some streamers that might also have the potential for more.

First, the schedule:

Teams that play both Saturday and Sunday: Boston, Buffalo, Carolina, Chicago, Florida, Los Angeles, Nashville, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Vegas

Teams that play Sunday only: Anaheim, Pittsburgh, Winnipeg

Teams with no games Saturday or Sunday: Columbus

I'll start with Columbus players that you could potentially drop to clear space to add who you need to. You're not dropping Zach Werenski unless you're truly desperate, even though Werenski has been held without a point in his last five games. In shallow leagues, you could start with Kirill Marchenko, since he has cooled off recently (0 PTS in last 5 GP) like the rest of his team. From there, Dmitri Voronkov (0 PTS in last 6 GP) and Adam Fantilli (0 PTS in last 5 GP) are easily droppable for single-season leaguers in win-now mode. Marchenko, Voronkov, and Fantilli currently for the Jackets' top line, but they are nowhere near as hot as they were earlier this season. Then you could go down the roster from there.

From there, let's give you ten options that you can search for in your league. They come in various levels of availability and cover different positions and stat categories.

Pavel Dorofeyev – Dorofeyev might be rostered in your league right now, but if not, go get him. You've probably also seen his name in multiple articles recently, such as the most recent Looking Ahead. But if not, he's undoubtedly the least-rostered 30-goal scorer out there, making good on his opportunity on the Vegas top power play.

Jake Neighbours – A very common streamer this season, Neighbours has been heating up as the Blues have with seven points over his last six games. Neighbours is also just one goal shy of reaching 20 for the second consecutive season. In addition, the Blues' back-to-back games are against Chicago and Nashville.

Mason McTavish – The Ducks center has five assists in his last three games, averaging over three shots per game over that span. McTavish has also logged 19+ minutes in back-to-back games while also on the Ducks' top power play. He's tied for the Ducks' team lead with 11 PPP.

Jason Zucker – In his first season with Buffalo, the 33-year-old Zucker is on pace to score at least 20 goals and 50 points. Zucker has also regularly taking a turn on the Sabres' top power play. Road games in Minnesota and Winnipeg aren't the easiest draws, but Zucker is still available in a lot of Yahoo leagues.

Mackie Samoskevich – Samoskevich has been held without a point in his last two games, but he contributed in other ways on Thursday with four shots, five hits, and two blocked shots. As well, Samoskevich continues to be included on Florida's top power play. What's not to like here?

Taylor Hall – Forgotten about in the Mikko Rantanen trade mishap, Hall has come on late with six points in his last six games. This after a slow start with the Hurricanes of two points in his first 12 games. With Andrei Svechnikov currently sidelined, Hall has also found his way onto the Hurricanes' top power play.

Cam Fowler – By now, you've probably trained yourself to bypass Fowler whenever you see him on the waiver wire. Yet what if I told you that Fowler has 25 points in 39 games with the Blues since being traded there from Anaheim? Fowler is also riding the wave in St. Louis with seven points over his last seven games, so he's definitely an option if you need offense from your defense.

Luke Schenn – Need that extra push on Sunday for hits and maybe blocked shots? In five games with the Jets, Schenn has averaged over six hits per game. In two of those games, Schenn has also blocked five shots. Just understand that Schenn won't score for you, as he has just five points in his last 61 games.

Nick Seeler – This is your guy if you need blocked shots specifically. Seeler is fifth in the league in blocked shots (162) while playing back-to-back games Saturday and Sunday. His 15 points this season represents a career high, so any goals and assists should be considered a bonus.

Tristan Jarry – I know, you've been burned on Jarry before. Maybe it was this season. Yet what if all he needed was a mental reset at the AHL level? Just take the time to read this week's Frozen Tools Forensics, where Chris Kane does a great job in selling Jarry compared to other waiver-wire options (which you can also read about there as well and even draw your own conclusions). If you don't have faith in him, fine. I'm just here to tell you that sometimes you should forget about the name and look at the numbers (4 W, 4 QS in last 5 GP). A Sunday start in Florida might not be the easiest place to venture, but the Panthers are without Matthew Tkachuk and Brad Marchand (did they really have Marchand in the first place if he hasn't played for them yet?) Plus with your season on the line, you might just have to grab what's available.

For up-to-date starting goalie information, check out Goalie Post for available options this weekend.

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