Canadiens' Captain Nick Suzuki led the team to an impressive 4-2 victory over Florida with a goal and two assists. He has 25 points in 17 games since the 4-Nations Face-Off, elevating his game at the most crucial stretch of the Habs' playoff push.
Patrik Laine opened the scoring for Montreal with his 15th power-play goal of the season. He's now just one PPG behind league-leader Jake Guentzel, who's played 29 more games. Laine's ability to find the back of the net with his one timer, from any angle, is a sight to behold. His lethal shot, combined with Lane Hutson's world-class playmaking ability, makes Montreal much more dangerous with the man advantage compared to years past.
Speaking of Hutson, with three assists on Sunday, he's up to 48 points in 53 games since earning PP1 duties in late November. Not only does that lead all rookies, it ranks fourth among blueliners across the league. Incredible stuff from a young man that just turned 21 last month. I know there are a few rookies with compelling cases for the Calder this year, but after watching Hutson deftly find open space before dishing the perfect pass, night after night, he has to be my pick right now. How about the vision on this pass to set Suzuki up for the game winner?
Juraj Slafkovsky joined Hutson in the 21 club on Sunday and celebrated his birthday with a goal and assist. Just like last year, Slafkovsky is on a second-half surge, boasting 17 points in his last 18 appearances. He's averaging 2.5 hits per game this season and is sure to be a multicategory beast in the next couple years as he enters his prime alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.
Brendan Gallagher scored the empty netter on Sunday and now has eight points in his last seven games. He's frequently been described as the Canadiens' heartbeat during his tenure in Montreal; that passion is coming through again now that the Habs are playing meaningful games in March for the first time in a long time.
After scoring on Sunday, Sam Reinhart is up to four goals in his last six games. He won't touch last year's impressive 57-goal total, but pacing for another 40-goal season is still very impressive. We all knew last year's 24.5% shooting percentage wasn't sustainable, but he's established himself as a very efficient shooter with another lofty rate of 18.1% this year.
Nico Sturm didn't register a point on Sunday but he was all over the stat sheet otherwise, racking up two blocks, three shots, four hits and four faceoff wins. Limited minutes in a depth role result in limited offensive impact, but he's made solid contributions across the four aforementioned categories since joining the Panthers a few weeks ago.
After posting one point in his first seven appearances with the Panthers, Seth Jones now has three points in his last five outings after scoring on Sunday. He's been munching minutes for Florida lately, averaging over 27 minutes a night since he stepped up to PP1 on March 11th.
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Usually a force in hits and blocks, Connor Clifton has been a surprising source of offense lately. Not only did he tally six blocks and four hits Sunday, but he also put up two assists, giving him four points in his last five outings. His defensive deployment makes this level of offense difficult to sustain, but no harm in riding a hot streak white it lasts.
Those of you who read last Sunday's Ramblings and picked up Ryan McLeod have been rewarded handsomely. Across four games this past week, he picked up five points, six shots, five blocks and 32 faceoff wins. Not bad for a player that was rostered in just 3% of Yahoo Leagues a week ago.
Expectations were high for Jack Quinn after he posted a 58-point pace in limited action last year. He had an abysmal start to this season as he posted just five points in his first 24 games and ended up as a healthy scratch for the next five. Since that benching, he's managed 26 points in 40 games, including 10 points in his last seven outings – bolstered by back-to-back three-point showings on Saturday and Sunday. His overall numbers are weighed down by a slow start, so keep this late-season surge in mind as you make projections for next season because 23-year-old Quinn has potential to be a sleeper.
Like Quinn, Alex Tuch also posted three points against Washington. With two goals on Sunday, Tuch is up to 15 goals in his last 20 games, tied with John Tavares and Leon Draisaitl for the league lead during this stretch. He's hit the 30-goal mark for a second time in the last three years.
The third and final three-point player from this game was Alex Ovechkin, who is now just five goals away from breaking Gretzky's goal-scoring record. Forget the record for a second, pacing for 91 points when you're months away from turning 40 is absolutely ludicrous.
Speaking of impressive goal scorers in Washington, Aliaksei Protas tallied a shorthanded marker for his 30th goal of the year. Remarkable stuff from a player who had just 13 goals in 169 games coming into this season. If you're looking for reasons behind this breakout, one would be ice time as he's seeing roughly three more minutes than last year. Linemates have also played a factor as he's spent most of this year beside the deadly duo of Ovi and Dylan Strome, after playing beside pre-breakout Connor McMichael and Anthony Mantha last year. Deployment is another piece of the puzzle as Protas has started 58% of his shifts in the offensive zone, compared to 39% last year. Of course, I wouldn't bet on him replicating this rate next season considering his lofty individual (22.4%) and team 5on5 (14.6%) shooting percentages.
Jakob Chychrun added another page to his excellent debut season with Washington, scoring his 19th and 20th of the campaign to enter a tie for second in blueliner goal scoring – behind only Cale Makar. Chychrun has been racking up shots lately, registering at least four in each of his last four appearances.
Other members of the Caps' blueline have also been surprisingly productive lately. Trevor Van Riemsdyk and Martin Fehervary each had an assist on Sunday, giving them an identical five points in their last seven games. Rasmus Sandin's apple gives him seven points in his last 13.
Logan Thompson has been excellent this year but picked a bad time to have his worst game of the season, surrendering seven goals on 22 shots to sink fantasy playoff dreams.
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Another monstrous game in the hit department for Kiefer Sherwood, who racked up 10 hits against the Jets. He's hit that mark in four of his last six games.
With a goal on Sunday, Pius Suter now has points in all four games he's played as Vancouver's number-one centre – a promotion necessitated by an injury to Elias Pettersson. Suter has been excellent during this stretch, racking up eight points, seven shots, four hits, four blocks and 32 faceoff wins.
In tallying the assist on Suter's goal, Jake DeBrusk is quietly riding a five-game point streak. He's been hot and cold in his first year with Vancouver, flirting with that 50-point mark which was very familiar to him as a Bruin.
Mark Scheifele also achieved a five-game point streak with an assist of his own.
Not to be outdone, Nikolaj Ehlers extended his point streak to six games with an assist Sunday. He's on pace for 79 points this season thanks to a top-unit power-play role. Ehlers has potential to break his career-high pace of 80 points, which he set in 2020-21.
Cole Perfetti scored a beautiful insurance marker against Vancouver. The 23-year-old forward now has nine points in his last 11 outings, working towards the lofty potential that comes with being the 10th overall pick of the 2020 draft. If Ehlers leaves Winnipeg this summer, Perfetti could grab his role on the Jets' top power play next season.
With a goal and assist Sunday, Kyle Connor is on pace for a career-high 100 points.
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A day after signing their entry level deals out of college, defenseman Sam Rinzel and forward Oliver Moore made their NHL debuts. Rinzel looked great, racking up four shots and two hits through 20 minutes of action, including some secondary PP time. Moore also had some good moments through 15 minutes of play, primarily on a line with Nick Foligno and Joe Veleno, but will likely need to spend next year in the AHL to prepare for big league action.
Speaking of Veleno, he's up to four points in four games after scoring on Sunday. Linemate Foligno is also in good form with three points in his last four.
The goal above features a great pass and assist from 19-year-old Artyom Levshunov. After going pointless in his first two NHL appearances, last year's second overall pick has five points in his last eight games. Two of those points came with the man advantage as he's been skating on Chicago's top power-play unit during this stretch.
Red-hot Ryan Donato kept the temperature high with another goal on Sunday. He's up to six goals in his last four appearances, and a remarkable 35 points in his last 29 games.
Arvid Soderblom showed some promise early in the season but he's struggled lately, allowing 15 goals over his last three outings.
It wouldn't have had an impact in most fantasy leagues, but Alex Kerfoot exploded with three points against Chicago. He was relevant in formats last year while skating on the team's top power-play unit, but now that he's in a depth role with minimal PP time, Sunday's production will be hard to replicate.
Mikhail Sergachev snapped a four-game point drought with a goal and assist against Chicago. He's had a solid season overall but has cooled down at an unfortunate time for fantasy managers as he's been held pointless in seven of his last nine.
Speaking of players navigating dry spells in Utah, Dylan Guenther's assist on Sunday was just his third point over his last nine outings.
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After a couple months in the AHL, Tristan Jarry returned to the Penguins lineup and had a solid stretch of six games. That was followed by two awful outings, where eight goals were surrendered on 22 shots. It would have been easy to spiral at that point, reverting to his early-season struggles, but instead Jarry bounced back with an excellent 31-save shutout against Ottawa on Sunday.
Fabian Zetterlund only has one point – an assist – through 11 appearances with Ottawa, but it isn't for lack of effort. He had six shots on net Sunday and from most accounts has been playing quite well. He's been skating on the Sens' top line with Tim Stutzle and Claude Giroux lately, while also seeing a fair amount of PP time on the second unit. Zetterlund is in a really good situation right now and I wouldn't be surprised to see him heat up once that first one goes in. Though the offense hasn't come yet, he's been a solid source of hits.
With the OT winner, Sidney Crosby extended his point streak to 10 games. He has an impressive eight goals during this stretch.
After racking up 55 points in 62 AHL games this year, 21-year-old forward Ville Koivunen was called up for his NHL debut Sunday. He had a very strong showing, looking comfortable through his 17 and a half minutes of action, which included some stints on Pittsburgh's top power-play unit since Evgeni Malkin's injured right now. Koivunen skated beside Rickard Rakell and Connor Dewar at even-strength, but I imagine Malkin replaces Dewar on that line when he's back.
Rutger McGroarty was also called up with Koivunen and ended up playing his fourth NHL game Sunday. He played his first three in October before getting sent down to the AHL, where he tallied 39 points in 60 games before this recall. Through roughly 17 minutes of action, McGroarty managed three shots, four hits and a block. He's in a great spot on a line with Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust, setting the stage for sneaky fantasy value down the stretch.
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Anders Lee directed a whopping 10 shots on net Sunday. Fortunately, justice prevailed, and he was rewarded with a goal. He's racked up 26 shots over his last four games.
Bo Horvat posted two assists against Carolina. He's pacing for just 58 points after putting up 68 in his debut campaign with the Islanders last year. A healthy Mathew Barzal should help Horvat bounce back offensively next season.
Sunday marked the first multi-goal game of Pierre Engvall's career and his second goal of the night was a beauty. He's been shooting the puck more often lately and has been rewarded with four goals in his last seven appearances. He'll need better deployment and linemates to keep this offense up, so let's see if he's rewarded with a promotion as a result of this solid play.
Mark Jankowski is now up to seven goals in 10 games since joining the Hurricanes. As I've said before, his depth role makes this level of offense hard to sustain, but feel free to ride this hot streak while it lasts.
With an assist Sunday, Andrei Svechnikov has found the scoresheet in both games he's played since returning from a lengthy injury absence. He's being eased back into the lineup as he skated 11:48, primarily on the fourth line, in his first game back, but was up to 13:31 on the second line with Jack Roslovic and Taylor Hall Sunday. He's been skating on the team's second power-play unit, allowing Hall and Jackson Blake to stay up with the first group for now. Hall is on a four-game power-play point streak after registering a helper with the man advantage Sunday.
Sebastian Aho had a big performance on an important night for fantasy managers, racking up a goal on the power play, two assists (one on the penalty kill), four shots and five faceoff wins. Aho's overall production isn't as good as last year because he hasn't been as productive with the man advantage, but he's still having a solid season overall.
After scoring two goals on six shots Sunday, Seth Jarvis has now registered a point in 10 of his last 11 games. Remarkable consistency at a crucial time for fantasy managers.
An assist on Sunday gives Shayne Gostisbehere 12 points in 16 games since the 4-Nations Face-Off break. Half of those points have come with the man advantage.
Pyotr Kochetkov and Frederik Andersen have been alternating starts since the latter returned from injury, but if you're wondering who Carolina's starter is, these last few games are a good indicator. Kochetkov has surrendered 14 goals over his last three appearances, while Andersen has allowed just 11 goals over his last six starts.
Jordan Staal missed the game with a lower-body injury.
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After faltering in his last two starts against the lowly Sharks and Predators, Joseph Woll finally got back in the win column, stopping 28 of the 30 shots Anaheim threw his way Sunday.
Playing the final game of a California road trip – their third game in four nights – the Leafs' depth propelled them to a 3-2 victory over Anaheim. Mitch Marner was the only big name from Toronto that found the scoresheet. He extended his point streak to five games with a goal on Sunday.
Speaking of five-game point streaks, Jackson Lacombe is riding one of his own after posting an assist Sunday. Since he was given the keys to PP1 on December 12th, the 24-year-old blueliner leads Anaheim in scoring with an impressive 36 points in 46 games. Only six defensemen in the league have more points than LaCombe during this stretch.
Jacob Trouba missed this one with a lower-body injury and is officially out day-to-day.
An assist on Sunday gives Trevor Zegras five points in his last five games. His overall production this season is weighed down by a slow start that saw him tally just three points in his first 15 games. However, he's managed a respectable 23 points in 33 outings since then.
After scoring on Sunday, 20-year-old Leo Carlsson is up to 20 goals and 20 assists on the season. He's been in excellent form lately, boasting 24 points over his last 22 appearances.
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With two goals on Sunday, Adrian Kempe has hit the 30-goal mark for the third time in four seasons (he had 28 goals in 77 games last year). He's scored more goals than last season but he's on pace for fewer points (67 vs 80) because he hasn't tallied as many assists. That's especially evident on the power play, where Kempe has just five helpers after posting 22 last year. The Kings have been worse with the man advantage this season, and they've seen fewer opportunities than last year (from 3.02 to 2.35 heading into Sunday's game). The team's PP offense also hasn't been flowing through Kempe as it did last year, when he registered a point on 71% of power-play goals scored while he was on the ice (at just 51% this year).
After going pointless in his first seven games with the Kings, Andrei Kuzmenko has finally found his footing. After potting a goal and two assists Sunday, he's up to seven points in his last six outings, clicking on a line with Kempe and Anze Kopitar. With three assists Sunday, Kopitar also has seven points in his last six.
Warren Foegele had a strong game against the Sharks, tallying two goals on six shots. His 22 goals and 42 points represent a career high, and he still has time left to improve these totals. More ice time has been key to this extra offense as Foegele's 16 minutes per game this year represent a two-minute increase from anything he's seen in previous seasons.
Sunday's goal gives Phillip Danault a point in five of his last six games.
Quinton Byfield and Drew Doughty both snapped three-game point droughts with two assists apiece against San Jose.
20-year-old Cam Lund now has two goals through three NHL appearances after scoring again on Sunday. He's been skating beside Macklin Celebrini and Tyler Toffoli lately, which is a great spot to be in, but Lund probably needs some time to develop before he's ready to contribute consistently in the NHL.
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Bad news for fantasy managers who will most likely have to navigate the upcoming week without Connor McDavid…
Although it was encouraging to see Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek practicing with the team for the first time since their respective injuries, they haven't been cleared for contact and most likely won't be available during Minnesota's upcoming road trip. The Wild return home to face the Stars on Sunday, so perhaps one (or both) of Kaprizov/Eriksson Ek will be ready by then, although it might take more time to see how they respond to full-contact practices.
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Thanks for reading! Hope you have an awesome week ahead!
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