Happy Tuesday y'all! I can't believe we are already into the month of March. It is crazy to think 2026 is already one-sixth of the way over. Any plans/resolutions you had for this year, you better get on it! Maybe like winning a fantasy title? Let's finish the season on a strong note and win you some titles (and hopefully some money!). 

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The Dallas Stars came back from the Olympic break (or didn't come back depending on how you look at it) missing two of their top forwards plus their checking line center. While Roope Hintz and Radek Faksa could return to action this week, Mikko Rantanen is out for at least a few weeks. This injury upped the value for two forwards, Mavrik Bourque and Jamie Benn.

Bourque was a first-round pick in 2020 by the Stars and has been buried because of how much depth the team has and bringing on the right players that have stuck (Matt Duchene revival, emergence of Wyatt Johnston and Logan Stankoven, Rantanen trade) and this is finally his chance to grab the bull by its horns. In the three games since the break, Bourque has two assists and has thrown 11 shots on net. This kid could be a real league winner for you if the Stars decide to keep Rantanen on the shelf and let him heal before the playoffs start. Currently owned in only 1% of Yahoo leagues, he needs to be picked up.

Benn is the other beneficiary because it opened a spot on their top power-play unit and Benn has filled that role in the last three contests. He is a disruptor in front of the net and could have some powerplay points go in off of his stick (or shin or skate) to go along with some decent peripheral stats. Take a flyer on him in any deep leagues you play in.

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The Los Angeles Kings are another team that has been ravaged by injuries during the break and since the NHL resumed their games. Kevin Fiala is done for the season, Andrei Kuzmenko is labeled week-to-week and could be done for the year, Quinton Byfield is out with an upper body injury, and they just fired their head coach (that is actually some good news for fantasy purposes).

It's hard to predict the lineup for this squad because of all their injuries and the potential of adding another piece before the trade deadline, but DJ Smith will give a spark to this team and compete for the rest of Anze Kopitar's final season. Guys like Warren Foegele and Trevor Moore are deep options and if Kopitar is available, he could find some final year magic next to the breadman, Artemi Panarin.

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We get treated with a nice spread of games over the entire week that sees almost every team play at least one lightly scheduled night. The leaders in this category for this week are the Anaheim Ducks, Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues, and the Vegas Golden Knights. The Ducks and Golden Knights each play four total games and three of them fall on our light nights (Wednesday, Friday, Sunday) while the Red Wings and Blues play all three of their games on light nights.

For the Ducks, we have been beating the Beckett Sennecke drum all season and his ownership on Yahoo is finally approaching 50%. If you are in the 50% of those leagues that he is available, you need to pick him up for the stretch run. Sennecke has averaged 1.0 points and 3.1 shots per game since the 2026 calendar flip. Anaheim does have a few injuries up front, which is why we have seen an uptick in Canadian winger's usage, but Coach Quenneville will rely on the youngster down the stretch to help pull the Ducks to a playoff berth. 

One player to keep an eye on is Frank Vatrano. He has been injured for most of the season and got off to a cold start, but if you are in a league that counts a lot of different peripheral stats, the ex-New York Ranger provides in a lot of those categories (PIMs, shots, hits, blocks). The youth movement really took over the Ducks lineup this season, one of the main contributors to his declining ice time, but if he provides 75% of the offense he has in the past to go along with his peripheral stats, Vatrano could be a league winner in deeper leagues.

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Robert Thomas returned to the Blues this week, but he might not finish the week in St. Louis. If that is the case, it is wheels up for Dalibor Dvorsky. The former first round selection will be given plenty of ice time if their current number one center is dealt. He has averaged over 15 minutes of ice time since the beginning of January and as St. Louis continues to slide out of the playoff race, the youngsters will be tapped to hop the boards.

Good luck to everyone in their stretch run and if you have any questions about trades or line ups, hit me up on Twitter @LAM1926