The Rat has finally suited up for the Cats. In his Panthers debut, Brad Marchand registered an assist on the overtime winner with four shots on goal in 16:30 of icetime. Marchand was on an even-strength line with Sam Bennett and Mackie Samoskevich. Marchand was also used on the Panthers' second power play with rookie Samoskevich remaining on the top power play. A UFA after the season, Marchand's regular-season career with the Panthers may last just 11 games anyway.

WELCOME TO SOUTH FLORIDA 🌴

In his @FlaPanthers debut, Brad Marchand sets up Sam Bennett for the @Energizer overtime winner! pic.twitter.com/vAlCNHaybn

— NHL (@NHL) March 29, 2025

Fantasy Take: Marchand Departs Boston, Now a Panther

Bennett's goal was his second of the game, with his first goal coming on the power play. Bennett also fired six shots while blocking two more.

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To borrow a Bob Cole expression, everything was happening in the Vancouver/Columbus game. The Canucks had a 3-0 lead after the first period, and then the Jackets scored three of their own in the first half of the second period. After the Canucks got the score to 5-3, the Jackets scored three in the third period, with the game-tying and go-ahead goals less than a minute apart. Less than a minute after that, the Canucks tied the score at 6. Columbus eventually won in a shootout, grabbing the second wild card spot in the East.  

Because Elias Pettersson and Filip Chytil are both sidelined, Vancouver's center depth is being tested – but the replacements are coming through. Pius Suter assisted on three of the Canucks' goals while logging 24:20 – the second time in three games he has been on the ice for at least 23 minutes. Suter also has three consecutive multipoint games (7 PTS over that span). As a UFA-to-be currently earning $1.6 million per season, first-time 20-goal scorer Suter stands to receive a significant raise next season. And yes, add him if you need a Sunday scoring push (15% Yahoo/23% Fantrax).

Recently recalled from the AHL, Aatu Raty scored a pair of goals on Friday. That gives him goals in back-to-back games. The injuries represent the perfect opportunity for onetime top draft prospect Raty to shine. He has 39 points in 41 games with Abbotsford this season, although he has yet to make anything beyond a short-term impact at the NHL level. He's only averaging 10-12 minutes per game with no power-play time, so he's only an add in deeper leagues at the moment. He might be worth paying attention to again in keeper leagues, though (16% Fantrax).

Hits leader Kiefer Sherwood also added three assists, giving him three points in back-to-back games. Over those two games, Sherwood has also piled up a plus-5 with 10 shots on goal and 14 hits (including 10 on Friday). You came for the hits, and now you're getting coverage all over the place. Sherwood should be rostered in every bangers league imaginable.

That was just the Canucks. For Columbus, Boone Jenner scored a pair of goals while adding an assist while taking six shots. Since his return from injury, Jenner has 14 points in 15 games while averaging nearly three shots per game and two hits per game. Jenner also has goals in three consecutive games with 15 shots over those three games. Like Sherwood, Jenner is rosterable in all bangers leagues. He doesn't offer the ridiculous hit totals of Sherwood, but he offers more in the way of scoring.

Dante Fabbro scored a goal while adding two assists with three shots and two hits. Since being added by the Jackets from Nashville, Fabbro has 20 points in 52 games while being Zach Werenski's regular defense partner. His scoring totals aren't exceptional, but the former first-round pick's career has taken a positive turn in Columbus.  

Speaking of Werenski, he broke a six-game point drought with an assist. Even though Werenski is second among defensemen with 20 goals, he has not scored a goal in his last 10 games. He and Quinn Hughes are now tied for second in points among d-men with 70 each, although Hughes has played 11 fewer games.

As soon as I saw Kent Johnson skating with the puck in the shootout, I knew a goal was coming. Not surprisingly, Johnson is tied for the league lead in shootout goals with 4.

Kent Johnson with the lone goal in the shootout and it was GROSS 🤢🔥 pic.twitter.com/DD2BPHyKkZ

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) March 29, 2025

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The Montreal Canadiens could not pull any much-needed points out of Carolina, losing to the Hurricanes by a score of 4-1 and falling out of a wild card spot in the East. Frederik Andersen faced just 15 Habs shots, earning his sixth consecutive win and quality start. Over that span, Andersen sports a 1.50 GAA and .940 SV%. Splitting starts with Pyotr Kochetkov seems to be keeping Andersen fresh and injury-free.

Andrei Svechnikov returned to the Canes' lineup on Friday, scoring a goal with two shots and two hits. Svechnikov had missed the past seven games with an upper-body injury.

Jackson Blake is making the most out of playing on the top line with Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis and the top power play. Blake scored a goal while adding two assists on Friday, one of the assists coming on the power play. Blake has six points over his last six games. He is rostered in just 1% of Yahoo leagues and 22% of Fantrax leagues, so he could be an effective Sunday streamer.

If Taylor Hall is also available in your league (19% Yahoo/38% Fantrax), I'd also consider adding him. Hall scored a power-play goal on Friday, giving him five goals in his last three games. Over his last eight games, Hall has 10 points in his last eight games. He has exceeded expectations as a solid trade-deadline addition for the Canes, unlike that other guy they traded for that day. But if you needed a reminder of what happened that day:

Fantasy Take: Rantanen and Necas Traded in 3 Way Deal

(Yes, I was wrong about the Hall portion of the trade.)

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Alex Iafallo scored two goals in the Jets' 4-0 win over New Jersey. With Gabriel Vilardi week-to-week with an upper-body injury, Iafallo was moved up to the top line with Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor as well as the top power play. One of Iaffalo's goals happened to be on the power play. With that short-term boost in value, Iafallo (2% Yahoo/7% Fantrax) should be a Sunday stream worth targeting with the Jets playing at home against the Canucks that day.

Connor Hellebuyck stopped all 24 shots he faced in earning his league-leading 7^th shutout of the season. My head-to-head matchups this week are playing out like a Zero G counterargument (in other words, a reason to draft goalies in the early rounds). My two teams are getting goalied by a combined beast of Jake Oettinger (on both teams), Andrei Vasilevskiy, Mackenzie Blackwood and Hellebuyck. Here are the stats for these four goalies this week:

Name	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	SO	GA	SA	SV	GAA	SV%
MACKENZIE BLACKWOOD	COL	2	2	0	0	1	2	45	43	1.00	0.956
ANDREI VASILEVSKIY	TB	2	2	0	0	1	1	40	39	0.50	0.975
JAKE OETTINGER	DAL	2	2	0	0	1	3	76	73	1.50	0.961
CONNOR HELLEBUYCK	WPG	2	2	0	0	1	2	53	51	0.99	0.962

The most telling stat is the shutout (SO) column. Yes, each of these goalies has one shutout this week. In addition, these are the only goalies that have posted shutouts this week. Imagine trying to win in head-to-head when your opponent has multiple shutouts and no losses. Anything can happen over the weekend, but this isn't looking like my week, which would mean it won't be my year either. Teams that win head-to-head leagues are obviously strong, but a lot of luck also has to be involved.

Throw out Blackwood, who started the season in San Jose and thus wouldn't have been universally drafted but became nearly universally rostered once traded to Colorado. Vasilevskiy, Oettinger, and Hellebuyck all had an ADP of 35 or higher in Yahoo leagues, which means they usually would have been drafted in the first three rounds of 12-team leagues. These three goalies were also on average three of the first six goalies drafted in Yahoo leagues, along with Igor Shesterkin, Juuse Saros, and Jeremy Swayman. The other three goalies haven't had the level of success of the first three either this week or this season, so I'm definitely not making the point that this is the path to success.

The fear of drafting a goalie high has been that they are more likely to bust based on the volatile nature of goaltending. That can definitely happen, as Saros and Swayman have negative GSAx numbers for teams about to miss the playoffs, while Shesterkin has been good but not great for an up-and-down Rangers team. Yet if you land a goalie that can deliver during fantasy championship week, then they are worth their pick and then some. This doesn't necessarily mean I will abandon Zero G, but it will at least give me something to think about as I try to value goalies relative to skaters.  

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Ryan Donato scored all three Blackhawks' goals in their 5-3 loss to Vegas. After failing to crack 20 goals or 40 points in a season prior to this season, Donato is now just two goals shy of reaching 30 goals and just two points shy of reaching 60 points. He also has five goals and two assists over his last three games, moving ahead of Connor Bedard for the team scoring lead (58 points to 57 points). Donato's unexpected jump in points comes in a contract year, so expect his salary to jump from his current $2.0 million cap hit.

William Karlsson picked up three assists for Vegas. Since his return from a lower-body injury that sidelined him for two months, Karlsson has six points (all assists) in five games, with power-play points in three consecutive games. Karlsson is back on the top power play, which makes him worth adding at the moment (16% Yahoo/40% Fantrax). The Golden Knights play again today (Saturday) against Chicago, which means Wild Bill could cash in again. Note that he hasn't scored a goal since December 21 – a span of 19 games without one.  

Victor Olofsson scored two goals, which were his first points in a month (since February 27). Olofsson had missed a few games in March due to injury, but the goals were his first points in 10 games and his first goals in 21 games.

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The Rangers seemed to be in a great spot with a 4-2 lead in the third period. However, Anaheim scored two goals in the final six minutes of regulation and then in overtime to defeat the Rangers 5-4. The Rangers earned a point but missed an opportunity to take possession of the second wild card spot in the East.

Leo Carlsson earned the first four-point game of his career, scoring a goal while adding three assists with a plus-4. Carlsson now has three goals and seven shots over his last two games, making some noise as a potential Sunday add. Carlsson is currently 12 percent rostered in Yahoo leagues.

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All 32 teams play at least one game on Saturday and Sunday, with six teams playing two games: Buffalo, Los Angeles, NY Islanders, Ottawa, San Jose, and Toronto.

Players that I've been watching from these teams:

Jason Zucker (18% Yahoo) – scoring

Mikey Anderson/Vladislav Gavrikov (6% Yahoo each) – blocked shots

Andrei Kuzmenko (14% Yahoo) – power-play points

Phillip Danault (9% Yahoo) – overall category coverage

Tony DeAngelo (19% Yahoo) – defense scoring

Kyle Palmieri (18% Yahoo) – scoring

David Perron (4% Yahoo) – scoring

William Eklund (18% Yahoo) – scoring

Bobby McMann (9% Yahoo) – goals

Simon Benoit (4% Yahoo) – hits

For goalies, James Reimer (2% Yahoo) has wins in all of Buffalo's last three games. He is definitely worth adding if he gets the start on Saturday against Philly. David Rittich (7% Yahoo) would be in a fantastic spot if he starts against the Sharks on Sunday. Anton Forsberg (6% Yahoo) could also provide a win against the Blue Jackets, who are playing the second of back-to-backs on Saturday, or the Penguins on Sunday.

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Follow me on X @Ian_Gooding and Threads @goodsfantasyhockey and Bluesky @goodsfantasyhockey.bsky.social