Only one of the two undefeated playoff teams entering Saturday's games is still undefeated. The still undefeated team is off to the next round, while the no longer undefeated team appears to be facing its first true test of the playoffs.

Carolina 3, Philadelphia 2, OT (Hurricanes win series 4-0)

The Carolina Hurricanes are still undefeated in the playoffs. Jackson Blake's game winner just over five minutes into overtime sent the Canes to the Eastern Conference Final, where they will wait for a winner between Montreal and Buffalo.

This was Blake's second goal and third point of the game, as his line with Taylor Hall and Logan Stankoven did all of the damage again. Hall finished with three assists, while Stankoven scored the other goal. Blake has established himself as a super sleeper in playoff pools with 11 points in eight games, only one point behind Hall for the team lead. Stankoven leads the Canes with seven goals. Getting more offense from the likes of Sebastian Aho (4 PTS in 8 GP), Nikolaj Ehlers (4 PTS in 7 GP), Seth Jarvis (1 G and 3 A in 8 GP), and Andrei Svechnikov (1 G and 2 A in 8 GP) should become more of a priority in the conference final.

The Canes outshot the Flyers 40-17 in the 65-minute game, which meant that Frederik Andersen didn't qualify for a quality start in allowing two goals. Andersen had quality starts in all of his previous seven playoff games. Andersen has not allowed more than two goals in any of the eight games in the series. The 36-year-old Andersen will benefit from another break of at least one week with the Sabres and Canadiens set to play at least three more games. The Hurricanes have to be considered favorites against either of those teams at this point, although they are a combined 1-8 in two recent trips to the conference final.    

Tyson Foerster and Alex Bump scored the Flyers' goals. Dan Vladar made 37 saves in keeping the Flyers in this game. Vladar also posted a quality start in Game 2, but he had allowed at least three goals in every game of this series. That's not his fault, as the Hurricanes were unquestionably the better team in this series.

Matvei Michkov was a healthy scratch for this game, as he was held without a point over the first three games of the series. Jett Luchanko entered the Flyers' lineup in his place. I've already been through Michkov's situation with Rick Tocchet and the Flyers. Tocchet's emphasis on low-event hockey (just look at the shot total of this game and others in the series) doesn't work well for a more creative player like Michkov. By the way, Michkov led the Flyers in scoring after the Olympic break with 22 points in 26 games.

In terms of the bigger picture, Tocchet deserves compliments for the Flyers' performance this season. On paper, I didn't think this was a team that would make the playoffs, let alone get to the second round. Tocchet got all that he could out of this roster.

Minnesota 5, Colorado 1 (Avalanche lead series 2-1)

This Central Division showdown looks like it will be a series after all. Brock Faber and Kirill Kaprizov each scored a goal along with two assists, while Quinn Hughes also scored with an assist. Ryan Hartman and Matt Boldy scored the Wild's other goals.

Kaprizov's three-point game vaulted him into the playoff scoring lead with 14 points (4 G, 10 A). Hughes is now right behind him, tied for second in scoring with 13 points (4 G, 9 A). Whether the Wild make it out of this series or not, those who have rostered Kaprizov, Hughes, Boldy, and Faber have gotten great mileage out of them. All four of these players are producing at least a point per game while appearing in every playoff game.

After allowing eight goals in Game 1 and being benched in favor of Filip Gustavsson for Game 2, Jesper Wallstedt was back between the pipes for Game 3. Wallstedt rebounded and then some, allowing just one goal on 35 shots. Perhaps a reset was needed to get his game back on track. For more on Wallstedt, see this week's The Journey.

Nathan MacKinnon scored Colorado's only goal, giving him goals in four consecutive games and 10 points over that span. Nate Dogg has also taken at least four shots in each of those four games. He is only behind Kaprizov and Hughes in playoff scoring because he has played two fewer games.

Scott Wedgewood was pulled after allowing three goals on just 12 shots. Wedgewood was replaced by Mackenzie Blackwood, who appeared in the playoffs for the first time. Blackwood allowed one goal on 13 shots. Wedgewood was the superior goalie during the regular season and thus deserved to start the first game of the playoffs, but he has had two really bad starts in this series (Games 1 and 3). That means the Avs have to be seriously considering turning to Blackwood for Game 4 as they hope the series doesn't become a best-of-3 for Game 5.

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Yesterday I listed and discussed three players that I drafted in my fantasy leagues this past season. Here are three more. The first number for each player shows what pick was used on the player in my league, while the second number is the player's Yahoo ranking for the year.

Adam Fantilli (174, 98)

When I posted my results from one of my drafts, I received more compliments on X from picking Fantilli than any other player. Were the kudos warranted? I wouldn't say he was the sleeper of the year, but at age 21 and having just finished his third NHL season, Fantilli is making clear progression.

One strong indicator is the fact that his shot volume increased from 2.3 SOG/GP in 2024-25 to 2.6 SOG/GP in 2025-26. His goal total did decrease from 32 goals last season to 24 goals this season, but that was related to a shooting percentage that fell from 16.7% to 11.3%.

Power-play time was the one main concern for Fantilli, which was also brought up as a reply to those who were praising Fantilli. That time increased from the first quarter to the fourth quarter, while Fantilli's power-play production also gradually increased by quarter (1, 3, 4, 5 PPP). Midseason coaching replacement Rick Bowness realized that Sean Monahan wasn't the answer on the top power play, replacing him with Fantilli. Power-play time helped Fantilli average nearly 19 minutes per game, which is a high level for a 21-year-old.

With a career-high 59 points in 2025-26, Fantilli was Columbus' second-highest scoring forward. He was particularly strong after the Olympic break, recording 23 points in 26 games (0.92 PTS/GP). That could put him right on track for a true fourth-year breakout, one that could see him reach the 60-70-point range and into the Top 100 Roto Rankings.

Dylan Holloway (90, 121)

Holloway almost made it onto my "players I regretted drafting" list (coming soon). His first-half production (17 PTS and 3 PPP in 34 GP) did not meet expectations, and he battled injuries on top of that. Fortunately, I did not drop Holloway. After the Olympic break, he turned his entire season around.

Over the last two months of the season, Holloway was one of the best players in all of fantasy hockey. I don't think that's an exaggeration. Over his last 25 games, Holloway piled up 34 points, a plus-26, 83 shots, and 38 hits. Those are averages of over a point per game, a plus-1 per game, over three shots per game, and 1.5 hits per game – numbers that you could use on your fantasy team every game. After the rough start, Holloway finished with 0.86 PTS/GP, which would have amounted to 71 points over a full season. Hypothetical question: If you draft a player that is a bust during your fantasy regular season but delivers big time during your fantasy playoffs, is that player still a bust?

Holloway's surprise breakout in 2024-25 didn't turn out to be a fluke, although it appeared that it might be after a rough first half. Now locked in with a five-year extension, Holloway should remain in a top-6 role with the Blues. He is a multicategory contributor in terms of hits and shots on goal, but varying power-play time is an area to be concerned about. Fortunately, his power-play time leaned over 50 percent down the stretch, which bodes well for next season. Holloway is a deserving Top 100 player in the Roto Rankings.

Jackson LaCombe (100, 80)

LaCombe has established himself as both a strong real-life defender as well as a legitimate fantasy breakout defenseman. The wider audience that doesn't get to watch many late Ducks games has noticed LaCombe's ability to defend Connor McDavid in the playoffs. In terms of points, LaCombe took another leap forward in 2025-26 with 58 points, including 18 power-play points.

Following his trade-deadline acquisition from Washington, John Carlson has taken some of LaCombe's power-play time. Yet LaCombe has remained largely unaffected scoring-wise with 10 points in nine playoff games. On top of that, there's no guarantee that Carlson will re-sign with the Ducks next season. In terms of other challengers, LaCombe has passed Pavel Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger on the Ducks depth chart, both of whom were higher draft picks and assumed to have higher upside. That's a prime example of how we don't always know how things will play out.

There's a lot to like about LaCombe's game. In addition to the scoring, LaCombe averaged nearly two shots per game this season, blocked about 1.5 shots per game, and he logged over 24 minutes per game. He is also surrounded by young up-and-coming scorers such as Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, and Beckett Sennecke. Next season, LaCombe should be a top-30 defenseman in fantasy leagues who should be able to reach at least 45 points – even if he loses power-play time.

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