Our Expert Picks should be out soon for the Third Round, and since we have a nice gap with no games from last night, and the third round starting tonight, I figured I would preview the third round a little.

First up, the matchup we have known for a little longer, Vegas versus Colorado. Though Minnesota was my pick to come out of the West (and I wonder whether that might have been closer to happening if Joel Eriksson Ek was healthy), no one is surprised that the Avs are here, after they had a dominant regular season. They have depth at every position, that was firmly reinforced at the trade deadline, and most of their players manage to avoid the band-aid-boy list year after year.

Vegas on the other hand has a few stars that are often in and out of the lineup, and some of those health questions cloud the projections for round three. They did get a boost at centre with William Karlsson returning, but with Adin Hill not having been himself this year, Mark Stone out of the lineup again, and multiple defencemen clearly banged up, the uncertainty is palpable with the Golden Knights crew.

My money is on Colorado in a shorter series here, but if Makar's injury is more serious and Vegas has Stone return, then it's a very close matchup.

On the Eastern Conference side, we have another tale of two very different teams, with Carolina barreling through their first two opponents, not losing a game, not allowing more than two goals against in any one game, and now that Nikolaj Ehlers and Alexander Nikishin are back at practice, the team looks to be relatively healthy to boot.

Meanwhile, Montreal needed game seven to dispatch both Tampa Bay and Buffalo, and they were outplayed in both of those final games. They are still very deserving of winning the East though, as their whole lineup is chipping in right now, and their youth just seems to be bringing the team more energy in each successive game. This series could very well come down to which team's hot goaltender can make one or two extra saves. As a result of Montreal's early-season goaltending woes, it does seem like they are being discounted a bit despite the recent run.

I have Carolina winning in five here, but I think this could go either way with a lot of one-goal games. The Canes didn't let the long rest affect them in round two, and odds are they will be able to come out strong in round three as well.

*

In talking about the Avs above, it made me think about a larger oversight I had in team planning in my dynasty league this year centering on the Avalanche. After dealing with a lot of my star players resting the year prior, when I had looked ahead to the playoff schedule, Colorado had one of the best in terms of game volume, off-night schedules, and weaker matchups. In my cap-league dynasty, the top-of-the-lineup players like Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas were untouchable, and hot starts from Brock Nelson and Artturi Lehkonen put them out of my price range in trades. However, my theory was that with the Avs running away with the President's trophy, that they would rest some of those top players in important playoff weeks. As a result, I thought players like Parker Kelly, Gaving Brindley, Zakhar Bardakov, and other depth players would be more relevant (obviously still not star level). I targeted Ross Colton, Jack Drury, and Sam Malinski through the season, but couldn't get those done.

However, what I failed to account for was that the team would slow mid-season, needing a late push to keep the President's Trophy locked away. In addition, there were a number of reinforcements brought in, in the form of Nazem Kadri and Nic Roy, pushing the depth players out of the lineup once the team was fully healthy. If there were some lingering injuries then likely the Avs would have brought in even more reinforcements at the deadline.

Top teams tend to bring in a couple of pieces, and inevitably the bottom line that starts the year with the team is at least partially phased out in favour of better options. Next year my trade deadline targets are going to be more geared towards the middle of the pack teams who maintain something to play for right up until the final week of the season.

*

Good news from the Sabres, prospect Jiri Kulich can begin with his rehab and workouts to ramp up for a return to hockey in the fall. He was out with a blood clot in his ear, which he finally had removed in March. He only played 12 games this past season, putting up five points, so he still qualifies as a prospect in my books (and for most). However, he looked like a full-time player when he was on the ice, and he should be a top-nine option for the Sabres again next season.

One of those players looking to battle with Kulich for only a few remaining lineup spots is Konsta Helenius. Helenius put up a fantastic season at the AHL level with 63 points in as many games, nearly doubling his production from last season. He then put an exclamation mark on his season with his presence in the NHL playoffs, and is now off to the World Championship with Finland, where he could further raise his stock heading into next season. Kulich and Helenius could put up similar scoring seasons next year for the Sabres, but one of them is going to be a lot more difficult to acquire through the summer.  

*

Since there are no NHL games on Tuesday night for the first time in a while, I thought I would look at the couple of AHL boxscores available. The AHL is at the Division Final stage, and there were two games last night. The first was between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (PIT) and Springfield (STL), which saw the Penguins' affiliate take a 2-1 series lead thanks to some scoring from future penguins Bill Zonnon and Rutger McGroarty. Zonnon has only played three games, but has scored in each of them, and could be a bottom-six option for the Pens next year. McGroarty meanwhile had a dominant AHL regular season (34 points in 30 games) mixed in with some real NHL experience. He could also be a full-time option for the Pens in the top-six next year, but it will really depend on some of the moves the team makes in the offseason which could create the space for him or steal it out from under him.

Avery Hayes is another name to note, after he posted 39 points in 42 regular season AHL games this past year. He would be a darkhorse option for a scoring line out of the gate, but would more likely be an injury fill in when some of the top players miss time.

The second game featured Grand Rapids (DET) against Chicago (CAR), which saw two goalies with NHL games in their future go head to head. After regulation, both goalies had allowed three goals, while Michal Postava helped his case with an assist. Postava has put up an incredible run in the second half of the season and the AHL playoffs, pushing himself into the discussion to be John Gibson's backup next year even though Sebastian Cossa is waivers exempt, and would be unlikely to be sent down (a possibility to be traded though). Cayden Primeau ended up allowing the fourth goal, scored by Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, who maintains his point-per-game pace in the playoffs. He should be full-time (or close to it) with Detroit next season.

Two of my favourite AHL tweeners both scored in the game. John Leonard has been on my radar for nearly a decade now, and he has put up short streaks of production at the NHL level, but has never put the consistency together too in order to stick. Same thing for Dominic Fensore, who was always in tough to make a long NHL career at only five-foot-nine. Fensore has put up multiple high-quality offensive seasons in the AHL, but also just hasn't been able to stick. They're worth keeping tabs on, but at age 28 and 25, they're likely at their developmental ceiling already.

*

See you next Wednesday, and if you have any fantasy hockey questions or comments you can find me on BlueSky @alexdmaclean.