Jason Robertson is listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury, making him unavailable for Game 1 against Colorado today. Robertson left Wednesday's game with the injury – a game that was the Stars' last game of the season. As much as resting star (Star) players inconveniences fantasy teams, this scenario is the argument for load management during the last few games. Dallas had nothing tangible to play for in the game against Nashville, and now they are without their top goal-scorer to start the playoffs.

From the same series, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar has stated that Gabriel Landeskog will be an option for the first round. Landeskog has not played in an NHL game this season, but he played in two AHL games while on a rehab assignment. It would be a great story if Landeskog is able to return to the Avalanche.

David Savard has announced that he will retire following the Canadiens' playoff run. The 34-year-old defenseman is still a major shot blocker, leading the Habs with 180 blocked shots this season, which was also a top-10 total leaguewide. He hasn't offered much scoring to fantasy teams in recent years, although he did so earlier in his career.

For more injury updates and roster transactions, check the Dobber Player News feed.

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With the 2024-25 regular season now in the books, now is a great time to recap the statistical leaders in each relevant multicategory league statistical category. I usually dive into these categories in more detail during the offseason, but at least this is a good time to note whether any of these players were on your team (or on a team that faced you in the fantasy playoffs).

Goals: Leon Draisaitl (52)

This was the first time Draisaitl had ever won the Rocket Richard Trophy, which I found hard to believe for some reason. 2024-25 was the fourth season that Draisaitl has reached 50 goals.

Draisaitl was the only 50-goal scorer this season when there were four last season and five the season before. That could be one sign that scoring is on the decline as messages from coaches about team defense get louder. Barely reaching 50 goals, Draisaitl was also seven goals ahead of second-place William Nylander despite missing 11 games, which I believe sets a record for most games missed while winning the Rocket Richard.

Draisaitl's shooting percentage is always high, and that was no different this season at 21.7%. Draisaitl also averaged 3.4 SOG/GP, which is the second-highest single-season total of his career.

Assists: Nikita Kucherov and Nathan MacKinnon (84)

Not surprisingly, Kucherov and MacKinnon finished 1-2 in point scoring this season. Kucherov won the Art Ross Trophy with 121 points, which is because he scored five more goals than MacKinnon.

Kucherov is the Art Ross winner in back-to-back seasons and now has three career Art Ross Trophies. Why hasn't it been Connor McDavid if McDavid is widely regarded as hockey's top scorer? Kucherov missed only a combined five games over the past two seasons, while McDavid has missed a combined 21 games.

MacKinnon's success the past two seasons compared to previous seasons has been attributed to his own ability to remain healthy. He did not miss a game last season and only missed three this season. Maybe he's ready to rip off the Band-Aid Boy designation, while it might be time for McDavid to be enrolled as a Band-Aid Boy trainee.

Power-Play Points: Kucherov (46)

Often the leader in points is also the leader in power-play points. That was also the case last season, when Kucherov led the league with 53 PPP while also leading the league in overall scoring.

The power-play point race wasn't that close, as Kucherov was 8 PPP ahead of second-place MacKinnon. The Bolts actually finished with the league's fifth-best power play in terms of both goals (60) and percentage (25.9%).

Shots on Goal: David Pastrnak (319)

Pastrnak finished just one shot ahead of MacKinnon for the league lead in this category, also finishing with 11 more goals (43) than MacKinnon (32).

In terms of shots on goal per game, only Brady Tkachuk and MacKinnon finished with a higher average than Pastrnak (3.9 SOG/GP) among qualified leaders.

In terms of shots on goal per 60, only Tkachuk and Alex Ovechkin finished with a higher average than Pastrnak (11.6 SOG/60) among qualified leaders.

Most points since January 1:

69 — David Pastrnak
67 — Nikita Kucherov

The only two with more than 55. pic.twitter.com/guCj9yThDg

— StatMuse Hockey (@statmusehockey) April 18, 2025

Pastrnak was also a one-man band for the Bruins in the new year. The second-highest goal and point total on the team came from Morgan Geekie with 25 goals and 41 points. No other Bruin had more than 11 goals or 29 points after January 1.

Plus/Minus: Best – Ryan McDonagh (+43), Worst – Mason Lohrei (-43)

I know, you can't stand plus/minus, especially in a fantasy league. Players with the best plus/minuses play for strong teams; players with the worst plus/minuses play for weak teams. It's not a complicated stat, and to be honest I don't lose sleep at night if it's in my fantasy league. That's all I think I need to say here.

Hits: Kiefer Sherwood (462)

With 462 hits, Sherwood set the single-season hits record, finishing over 150 hits ahead of second-place Mathieu Olivier.

Most hits in an NHL season All Time:

• Kiefer Sherwood 462

• Jeremy Lauzon 383
• Matt Martin 382

Sherwood didn't just break the record, he destroyed it. pic.twitter.com/fOt2W93mgP

📢 advertisement:

— Cam Robinson (@Hockey_Robinson) April 17, 2025

If you thought there was any hometown bias from the Canucks scorekeeper on this one, Sherwood had 223 hits in 40 home games and 239 hits in 38 road games. This record is legit.

When signing Sherwood last offseason, the Canucks must have asked him if he could do for them what he did against them in the playoffs last season. Playing for the Predators in their first-round series with the Canucks, Sherwood averaged five hits per game in six games, as well as being difficult to play against overall. He managed to increase that output this season by averaging nearly six hits per game.

Blocked Shots: Ian Cole (211)

The blocked shots race that everyone was on the edge of their seats for turned out to be a tight one! Cole finished only three blocked shots ahead of second-place Jacob Trouba and 11 blocked shots ahead of third-place Nick Seeler.

Cole had never blocked 200 shots in a season prior to this one. So how did he reach his shot-blocking prime at the ripe old age of 36? Injuries on Utah's defense to players like Sean Durzi and John Marino played a factor, as Cole also averaged over 20 minutes per game for the first time in his career. When those two players returned to the lineup later in the season, Cole's icetime dipped a little to about 19 minutes per game.

Penalty Minutes: Nikita Zadorov (145)

During the first half of the season when the Canucks were struggling defensively, many of the issues pointed to the fact that they let both Cole and Zadorov walk away in free agency. Cole (1 x $3.1 M) may have been somewhat affordable, but Zadorov (6 x $5 M) would have been too pricey.

That being said, Zadorov is an absolute beast. Standing 6-6 and weighing 248 lbs., he has a presence on the ice like few others. He may not have had the best season defensively in Boston, but things will happen when he's on the ice. Zadorov also led the Bruins with 219 hits and finished third on the team with 107 blocked shots, adding to his bangers credentials.

Games Played: Cody Ceci (85)

This one has no relevance in fantasy leagues, but I find bonus games interesting anyway. There are always a handful of players who play more than the full 82 games in a season as a result of being traded to a team that has games in hand. Ceci was traded from the Sharks to the Stars on February 1. Three players played 84 games, while three more played 83 games.

Wins: Connor Hellebuyck (47)

Goals-Against Average: Hellebuyck (2.00)

Save Percentage: Hellebuyck (.925)

The goals-against average and save percentage is among goalies with at least 35 games played. If we lower the bar to 30 games, Anthony Stolarz is the league leader with a save percentage a hair above Hellebuyck's at .926.

In terms of goals saved above expected, Hellebuyck was also the runaway winner (42.96 GSAx), finishing nearly 13 GSAx ahead of second-place Stolarz.

These stats should effectively lock down a second consecutive Vezina Trophy win for Hellebuyck. Maybe a goaltending expert will break this down using more advanced stats to who the best goalie really is, but NHL award voters aren't going to analyze their choices to that degree.

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For more top fantasy players this season, check out old friend Steve Laidlaw's 2024-25 All-Fantasy Hockey Team. Steve breaks down his players by position.

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Don't forget that you can also purchase Dobber's Interactive Playoff Draft List if you are in a playoff pool.

As well, join DobberHockey's Bracket Challenge over at NHL.com. Make your picks, then compare them to mine.

DobberHockey's bracket challenge!https://t.co/5CyfSrOCoB
cc. @Ian_Gooding @SlimCliffy @pharling

— Dobber (@DobberHockey) April 17, 2025

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