After an incredibly busy night last night, I'm sure you're tired of hearing about (and dealing with) how this week's NHL schedule is so unbalanced. Next week it gets a bit better, and if you're in a position to get a jump on schedule management there, then target the five-game week from the Penguins. Now, onto the fun stuff.

*

Another year, another injury for Evgeni Malkin in the fantasy playoff weeks. He did have a couple of healthy season ends, but he has been liable to miss a couple of weeks at the end of the season for almost two decades now, so owners at least can't say they're too surprised. Hopefully there was a backup plan in place this time around.

For the Penguins it meant Anthony Mantha and Egor Chinakhov were both still on the second line, and Chinakhov made the most of it with another goal on four shots, while Mantha was largely invisible. Sidney Corsby's line picked up a goal as well, giving Crosby five points on a four-game point streak since returning from his Olympic injury.

The Avs got the last laugh though, with their depth at centre running over the Penguins. Nathan MacKinnon had a goal, while Brock Nelson, Nazem Kadri, and Jack Drury each added an assist in the 6-2 win.

After putting up 21 points in 49 games with the Predators prior to the trade deadline move to Colorado, Nick Blankenburg has barely been given a chance with the Avs to this point. However, with their playoff spot locked up we could begin to see the stars rested a little, creating some opportunities for surprise games from players like Blankenburg the rest of the way. Something to keep in your back pocket. In my dynasty league I had to drop him last night to activate a player returning from injury, but I do still see some upside in the right situation.

*

We love to see new rookies get their first NHL points. This one was an assist for Carter Yakemchuk in his first NHL game, courtesy of a beautiful shot from Brady Tkachuk. Less than 15 minutes of game time later, he then pots his first NHL goal.

Now most of the rookies debuting this time of year are like Sasha Boisvert or Drew Fortescue who are done their college seasons and can get a few games of experience with a non-playoff team. In rarer cases, there might be a top-six spot for a top prospect, like there might be for Michael Hage in Montreal, but often the playoff teams will keep the prospects waiting until the fall, like on Long Island where Cole Eiserman signed his ELC, but they deferred it to only kick in at the start of the 2026-27 season (so he is headed to the AHL).

Yakemchuk however, has been in the AHL all season, putting up 35 points in 38 games, adding over two shots per game, a healthy number of PIMs, but also racking up a heavy dose of minuses, with a minus-31 rating. That is cause for some concern, because if he can't keep up on defence in the AHL, he is going to have a tough time in the NHL. The "good" news is that the Belleville AHL team has allowed the second-most goals in the league, and has a losing record, which would account for some of the plus-minus discrepancy.

Dylan Larkin scored for Detroit in the loss after having been deemed a game-time-decision earlier in the day, returning from a two-week absence due to a lower-body-injury. It wasn't enough though, and the win for the Sens propels them into the eighth playoff spot, overtaking the Isles and the Red Wings.

*

The Chicago Blackhawks lit up the Islanders in a game that saw a big spotlight on the youth from both teams. In his debut, Anton Frondell picked up an assist to go with two SOG, one Hit, two Blks, and a minus-one rating in just under 16 minutes of ice time. He played with Connor Bedard on the top line, and was also part of the top power play unit – kicking Teuvo Teravainen to the second unit.

Nick Lardis had a career night, with a goal and two assists… in the first period. He finished with the three points in 14 minutes of ice time, and is making the most of his top-six role at even strength.

Frank Nazar and Alex Vlasic combined for three points and some solid peripherals between the pair. The Blackhawks' future roster is really starting to take shape.

Matthew Schaefer responded for the Isles with an assist of his own, and played over 30 minutes in the game while firing eight shots on net (not tops in the game though, as his teammate Bo Horvat had nine). Cal Ritchie scored his 10^th of the season, but it was too little too late for the Isles who slip out of a playoff spot with the loss.

*

Paul Maurice coached his 2000^th game last night, making him only the second coach in NHL history to hit the mark (Scotty Bowman is the other).

In the game, the Panthers were without a litany of players due to injuries, but still managed to take the win over the Kraken in the shootout. It wasn't a great game for the goalies, with each of Sergei Bobrovsky and Joey Daccord allowing four goals (and three of those against Bob came in the final six minutes of the game).

Bobby McMann scored his fifth goal in six games for Seattle, while the scoring for the Panthers mainly came from their depleted bottom-six.

*

The Predators really do seem to be the only team who wants to lock up the 8^th seed in the West, with the entire Pacific division faltering, and none of the other Central teams close enough to make a push. After selling off at the deadline, the Preds sit four points clear of the 9^th place Kings with less than a dozen games to go.

In the first period they put five goals past Alex Nedeljkovic on nine shots, before Steven Stamkos capped off the scoring for the Preds with his second period marker. Filip Forsberg led the way with a goal and two assists, while Jonathan Marchessault had one of his best games as a Pred, picking up three assists to go with two shots and a plus-three rating.

Will Smith scored two goals later in the game, but it wasn't enough for the Sharks who fall further behind in the playoff race, and were left with a lot of defensive zone questions after the game. They're also hoping Yaroslav Askarov is back to full healthy very soon. Laurent Brossoit was re-assigned to the AHL, but considering they didn't pull Ned, the Sharks may have been forced to leave him in the game in order to proceed more cautiously with Askarov as he returns from a lower body injury.

As the first of three meetings between these two teams in the final three weeks of the season, and with them both fighting for a playoff spot, there is a lot on the line between them. By game three and with the standings maybe sorted out by then, we could see a lot more PIMs flying, for those of you looking for a late boost in that Roto category.

*

One of those other teams in the playoff race for the last spot in the West is the Kings, who are already down Kevin Fiala. On top of that, Adrian Kempe has had a day-to-day designation crop up recently, putting him in jeopardy of missing time. The injury might be slowing him down on the scoresheet, as he only has one point in the four games since his missed game on March 16th.

It was Quinton Byfield that took over last night though, with two goals to give him 17 on the season, and seven points in his last five games. The Flames took the game in the shootout, meaning the Kings have now lost their last four games.

📢 advertisement:

Zayne Parekh scored his first goal of the season last night in the shootout win. A power play marker on one of five shots. His year has been incredibly disappointing, but it has been for the whole team around his as well, and that's a tough atmosphere to grow in as a young defenceman. The upside flashes are still there.

*

The Columbus Blue Jackets continue to rocket up the standings, now sitting second in the Metro and staring at home ice in the playoffs after many had pegged them as sellers at the deadline just a few weeks ago. Mason Marchment looks reinvigorated in Columbus and is hugely upping his stock as a pending free agent. He had another two points last night with a goal and an assist. That was matched by Zach Werenski, who has led the way on offence all season, despite being a defenceman.

The 3-2 win over the Flyers likely puts an end to the slight playoff hopes that the Flyers were still clinging on to. Dan Vladar took the loss, making it the only regulation loss in his last six games. He would be a much more valuable fantasy option in net if he played for a team that would play some defence in front of him.

*

Darren Raddysh picked up another three points for the Bolts, tripling the scoring from Nikita Kucherov last night. Who is the real MVP candidate this year? I'll let you decide.

I'm still bitter that I gave Raddysh away in my dynasty league the day before he started his scoring outburst. No way to see it coming though, and like NHL goalies, you just have to have a short memory sometimes.

For the Wild, Vladimir Tarasenko paced the scoring, despite the return of Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek to the lineup. Tarasenkos is on a tear lately with seven points in his last six games, and his ice time has ticked up over that period, so it could be a bit more of a sustained run.

*

In the only shutout of the night Joel Hofer blanked the Capitals, stopping all 21 shots for his sixth shutout of the year. Jordan Binnington may be good for team Canada, but Hofer is the best goalie on the Blues.

The average age of the seven players that picked up points last night for the Blues was 23.5 years old, with goal-scorer Jordan Kyrou being the oldest and still not having hit his 28^th birthday. The Blues have a lot of young skater talent, and after selling off again this year, they will start to turn a corner back towards contender status very soon.

*

Rick Roos is looking for a few more mailbag questions to be answered in next week’s article. To get your questions to him, private message "rizzeedizzee" via the DobberHockey Forums or email [email protected] with "Roos Mailbag" as the subject line. No one does a deeper dive on your questions than Rick, and now is the time to get those playoff draft questions in before it’s too late – or, maybe you're already looking ahead at some offseason keeper choices, and trying to get ahead of the game there.

*

Mark Scheifele recorded a Gordie Howe hat-trick and Kyle Connor added two points as the Jets flew right by the Golden Knights. Connor Hellebuyck allowed one goal for his second Quality start in the last two weeks. It has been a season to forget for him, but for hhose of his managers that have persevered into the fantasy playoffs, hopefully he can put together a few more performances like that one.

This just about sums up the Vegas side of things:

*

Connor McDavid scored career goals 400 and 401 last night for good measure in the win over Utah, which could even be a first round playoff matchup if the Oilers can play well enough over the course of the rest of the season. Jack Roslovic also potted two, while Evan Bouchard chipped in with three assists.

Maybe most notable was Tristan Jarry making his first start in nearly two weeks, and allowing only two goals on 20 shots for the Win and the Quality Start.

*

The Leafs can't even seem to figure out how to lose properly, beating the Boston Bruins who are in a playoff spot, and who owns their first-round draft pick unless it ends up being a top-five pick this year (in which case Boston would get the 2027 or 2028 pick instead).

Matthew Knies scored his 19^thand 20^th goals of the season (one shorthanded), a second straight 20-goal campaign for the youngster. His shooting percentage and shot rate have both dipped this year, but his assist rate has really picked up, making him an even more dangerous player. As a bigger player his breakout threshold technically isn't until the start of the 2028-29 season, but at this rate a steadier ascent to above a point-per-game player seems more likely.

*

The Devils/Stars game was a shooting gallery, with the teams combining for 10 goals from eight different goal scorers. Jake Allen and the Devils took the 6-4 victory, with Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt and Dougie Hamilton leading the way on offence with two points apiece. All of the Devils' damage was done at even strength, with the team going zero for three on the power play.

Wyatt Johnston had two goals and an assist for the Stars, while Jason Robertson launched 10 shots on net and finished the game with a goal and two assists of his own. The Stars are still plenty scary on offence, but they're missing Mikko Rantanen and Roope Hintz, who should both be back sometime before the playoffs.

*

In typical fashion, the Canes outshot their opponent by a nearly 3:1 ratio, yet still managed to lose the game, and this time it wasn't particularly close. Jakub Dobes stopped 41 of 43 shots, while Juraj Slafkovsky, Cole Caufield, and Ivan Demidov led the way on offence with two goals apiece in the 5-2 win.

If Michael Hage is given a shot in the top-six in Montreal once his season is done, it could be in place of Alex Newhook, who went pointless last night for the third time in the last four games, while his ice time continues to tumble. His linemates Demidov and Oliver Kapanen have both been more productive on offence lately.

*

Owning Mikael Granlund has been an experience full of highs and lows this year, as last night's two-goal game furthers the gap he has between his big games and the rest, as he now has more points (18) in his multi-point games (seven games) than he does in his single-point efforts (14 games) this season. Not to mention a remaining 26 games without any points, a couple of stints on the injured list, and some games down on the fourth line.

I do still own him in one league where his faceoffs from the wing are a huge bonus, but the dropping shot volume, and the non-existent Hits/Blks recently has made him much harder to hold onto. At 34 he is slowly being phased out, and I do wonder about what his role next year is going to be. Especially if Mason McTavish can get back on track and take on the C2 role – he makes one of the best buy-low options right now.

John Carlson had his first big game for the Ducks last night, collecting three assists to go with a plus-two rating, two shots, and 24 minutes of ice time. He has been running the top power play since he arrived, and his power play assist last night was his first point with the man advantage in Anaheim.

*

See you next Wednesday, and if you have any fantasy hockey questions or comments you can find me on BlueSky @alexdmaclean. I’ll have the Cap League Salary Rankings out soon, but they’ll be a little delayed this month.