Welcome fantasy managers to another edition of the Eastern Edge. This week we'll be taking a look at Jakub Dobes' solid rookie campaign for the Montreal Canadiens, and big bounce back campaigns for Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy and New York Islander forward Mathew Barzal. Lastly, we'll take a closer look at Linus Ullmark's quiet dominance while facing adversity both on and off the ice.

Let's get to it!

Much has been made of the Montreal Canadiens goaltending situation with last year's number one netminder Sam Montembeault struggling mightily to regain the form he showed a mere twelve months ago. Enough to have insiders linking Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky to the Habs with the upcoming trade deadline fast approaching.

That being said, Montreal may want to simply stay in house rather than give up assets for what would likely amount to a rental with the current level of play the organization is getting from 24-year-old Czech netminder Jakub Dobes. The 2020 fifth round pick is quietly having a very solid campaign with the 6'4" 215lbs goaltender fashioning a 19-5-4 record accompanied by a decent 2.92 goals against average and .893 save percentage that includes a 57.1 percent quality start rate and 9.33 goals saved above expected. All this behind a Montreal defense ranked in the league’s bottom third (24th overall – 3.20 GA/GP)

Montreal Canadiens brass must be even more encouraged with the young netminders play since mid-December with Dobes posting an 8-0-2 record over his last ten games played with a 2.75 goals against average and .895 save percentage including 8.16 goals saved above expected. Quite simply, he's a battler that is giving his team a chance on an almost nightly basis all while dealing with the challenges of what was at time a three-headed monster between himself, Montembeault and potential goaltender of the future Jacob Fowler all being on the club's active roster.

The Canadiens find themselves fully immersed in the playoff race and would be wise to continue playing their rookie netminder with how he has outplayed Montembeault to this point in the campaign. I would expect coach Martin St-Louis to lean more heavily on Dobes from now until the end of the season providing fantasy managers with great volume as well as some solid win totals and decent peripheral numbers.

It has been a banner year for Boston Bruins defensemen Charlie McAvoy as the bruising blue liner is playing at an elite level once again for a surprising Bruins roster that is currently holding down the last wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

McAvoy's numbers this year are some of the best of his now-9-year career as the newly minted Olympic champion is playing at a 72PTS pace (0.87 PTS/GP) while logging a team high 24:13 a night. This is while missing a total of 11 games with a fractured jaw due to being hit by a puck, keeping him out of action for about a three-week period from mid-November to the second week of December.

In addition to winning a gold medal at the Milano-Cortina Olympic Games with team U.S.A., McAvoy has been on a real heater of late with 22PTS in his last 20 games while stuffing the stat sheet to the tune of 26 SOG, 20 HITS and 40 BLKS offering some excellent coverage regardless of your league's format.

McAvoy's continued deployment on the team’s first pairing, first power play unit as well as the first penalty killing unit should tell you all you need to know about the players importance to the roster. The added bonus for both team and player is that his offensive game has blossomed to elite status.

New York Islanders forward Mathew Barzal is having a phenomenal bounce back campaign after an injury riddled season in 2024-2025. Barzal has been a driving force for an Islanders squad that was not expected to contend for a playoff spot as the shifty centreman is currently riding a 6-game point streak accumulating 10PTS in the process.

A ton of ink has been spilled on uber-talented rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer who continues to amaze us all with his advanced development and supreme skill, however, Barzal's contributions at the offensive end have not gone unnoticed by coach Patrick Roy with the Hall of Famer leaning heavily on the soon-to-be 28-year-old at both five-on-five as well as on the man advantage.

With the Islanders holding down third in the Metro by a mere six points over the Washington Capitals I would think it safe to say that Barzal will continue to see a ton of ice time as the Islanders make their postseason push. If Barzal can maintain his recent level of play (25PTS in his last 20GP), it will go a long way in helping the Isles do just that while also taking the next step in the team evolution under GM Mathieu Darche.

In what has been an extremely challenging year for Ottawa Senators netminder Linus Ullmark, he has shown much resilience as well as a high level of performance in the face of adversity. Ullmark bravely took a leave of absence from the team to deal with his mental health earlier this year through the Player's Assistance Program.

That being said, his performance has been more than solid considering what he has had to deal with over the course of the campaign as the big Swede is currently sporting a 17-8-6 record accompanied by 2.80 goals against average and .885 save percentage including a 59.4% quality start rate and -12.09 goals saved above expected.

Best part for the Senators is that Ullmark has been on fire over his last 10 games played with a 7-0-2 record accompanied by 2.21 goals against average and .905 save percentage including a 2.40 goals saved above expected which is quite encouraging for a team scratching and clawing to secure a playoff spot this spring.   

That's it for this week folks, I hope everyone has settled back into some NHL hockey with both the trade deadline and fantasy playoffs right around the corner. Be sure to keep an eye out for the Weekend Waiver Wire over at the Goalie Post each and every Friday morning for potential streaming options heading into the weekend.

Thanks for reading and feel free to follow me on X @mikeouellet9 or BlueSky @mikeouellet9.bsky.social

(All stats courtesy of: Dobber's Frozen Tools / MoneyPuck)

See you all again next Tuesday!