Frederik Andersen had the best GSAA numbers in round one (a cumulative stat noting how many goals above average a goalie stopped), despite playing only 3.5 games. He made his return for game two last night, and only allowed one across just over three periods last night in the overtime in Washington. He could be the main difference maker in the series, and that $2.5 million cap hit next year is going to be a bargain for every single game he's healthy enough to play.

Jaccob Slavin scored his second of the post-season to win the game in overtime. The Hurricanes hit half-a-dozen posts throughout the game, and that's on top of the shot difference of 33 to 14 for the Hurricanes. If Thompson didn't stand on his head then this could have been a very different result. Will the dam break next game?

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Edmonton is sticking with Calvin Pickard, and still doesn't have Mattias Ekholm back from injury yet. They pulled out a tight win last night that got away from Vegas in the final few minutes, but with both of those points in mind I just can't see Vegas making enough mistakes to allow Edmonton to stay in the series as it gets into the later games, unlike what we saw with Los Angeles last round.

Mark Stone capitalized twice on Pickard in the first period. It's the third game in a row that he's scored in. I'm not sure how his career-threatening debilitating back injury was magically wished away, but the West is a scarier place as a result.

Vegas has some chinks in their armor though, with Alex Pietrangelo out of the lineup due to an illness. Any bug keeping Pietrangelo out of a playoff game isn't a sure thing to be gone by game two, so keep an eye on his status.

Pavel Dorodeyev remains out, but could also be a difference maker later in the series if he's able to return. It sounds like he's close as he is skating, but this time of year we're never sure.

Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard each had two points in the win.

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Some injury news out of St. Louis yesterday:

–Dylan Holloway had surgery and should be ready for camp.

–Tyler Tucker's right leg injury was likely going to keep him out of the playoffs almost regardless of how deep the Blues went. It sounds though like he too should be ready for training camp without needing surgery.

–Torey Krug is unlikely to get healthy enough to play in the NHL again.

Torey Krug is apparently not likely to ever return to playing hockey, which I think is a real shame. Not many players put together a full decade of work playing at his kind of level.

— Micah McCurdy (@hockeyviz.com) 2025-05-06T18:08:56.437Z

Wishing him the best with his post-career journey.

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On the Winnipeg side of that series, the updates are much less clear, with Josh Morrissey, Mark Scheifele, and Logan Stanley all skating yesterday in non-contact jerseys. Scheifele stayed on the longest, so the best guess is he's the closest of the three to returning.

Winnipeg's round two opponents in the series that starts tonight, is also dealing with some key injuries, with the Stars having won round one without either of Miro Heiskanen or Jason Robertson. It sounds as though Robertson will be a game-time call, with Heiskanen a smidge further away.  

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Mats Zuccarello noted in his end-of-season media availability that he was putting 100% into making next year a good season with the Wild, but that he would re-evaluate his future after that, with retirement a possibility. He is 37-years-old at the moment, so this is not at all unexpected. Add to it that his current contract expires in the summer of 2026, and it's more than just talk that this could be the end of the line for one of the best "small" players in the league. He paced for 64 points last year which would be impressive on its own, but in the first half he was actually a point-per-game player. It seems like the only reason he tailed off was Kirill Kaprizov getting hurt. Don't discount Zucc as a useful fantasy piece next year just because of the retirement threat.

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Jesper Bratt is undergoing shoulder surgery, and should be ready for training camp. I would be really curious to know when Bratt’s initial injury occurred, as his season pace by quarter are interesting. His Q2-Q4 shot numbers dropped drastically from his Q1 pace, where he was putting up nearly three per game. His scoring numbers tailed off overall, though that was a more gradual fall. It's tough to pinpoint exactly when in the season the shoulder injury might have occurred, though if it was in the first half somewhere, then a return to full health could see Bratt returning to that level of production again – a 92-point pace.

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The IIHF World Championship is about to get underway on Friday. If you want to watch Marc-Andre Fleury for the last time, then you can see him playing with Sidney Crosby once again, which just tugs at the heartstrings.

The other goalies for Canada combine to narrowly beat Fleury's 40-years of age, between 23-year-old Dylan Garand and 19-year-old Carter George there's a lot to be learned from a mentor like Fleury. If Garand can get a start or two (I assume he plays over George), then it could help put him in the spotlight of the general hockey community before he ends up breaking into the league in 2026 as the Rangers' backup (or earlier if Jonathan Quick gets injured). He had 20 wins to go along with a 2.73 GAA and .913 sv% in the AHL this season, and looks to be on a steady upwards trajectory. As unpredictable as goaltending can be, Garand looks like a very safe and sturdy prospect. The main issue with him at this point is his situation, stuck behind Igor Shesterkin and his monster contract.

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For those of you in a deep league looking for a darkhorse pick to place a bet on for production next year, then I have a name for you. Yesterday, the New Jersey Devils signed prospect Arseniy Gritsyuk to a one-year ELC. The 24-year-old put up a top-15 season in the KHL by NHL equivalency metrics, and is joining a Devils team who has top-tier talent in the top-six, but also support roles available beside them. It's an excellent fit for an over-ripe prospect who should be a lock for the roster in the fall.

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For those of you in the deepest of leagues, looking for the darkest of darkhorses to place a bet on for production next year, then I have a name for you. The Tampa Bay Lightning recently signed Charles-Edouard D'Astous (Though on Fantrax he is listed without the "s" in Charles), a 27-year-old defenceman out of Sweden, who just scored 39 points in 49 SHL games. That was good for second in the league among defencemen, while his 12 goals placed him first. His 67 PIMs were also the highest mark in the league, and his plus-minus was second in the league on top of it all.

D’Astous came up through the QMJHL as a propsect, but was never drafted. He seemed to get squeezed out of the AHL/ECHL development during the Covid years and has played the last few seasons in Europe. The Lightning only signed him to a two-way deal, meaning there is little incentive to keep him on the NHL roster unless he fully outplays some of his counterparts. Lucky for D'Astous, the Lightning are a good team that is surprisingly shallow on the back end. After Victor Hedman, an aging Ryan McDonagh, and an oft-injured duo of J.J. Moser & Erik Cernak, the competition comes down to Darren Raddysh, Nick Perbix, and Emil Lilleberg, who are all very replaceable.

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See you next Wednesday, and if you have any fantasy hockey questions or comments you can find me on BlueSky @alexdmaclean, as that's now my primary platform.