Toews hurt, Steen’s hot night, Lucic ready to pop, Girgensons is good and more…

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I hate to do it but we'll start today with some injury news as Jonathan Toews was sent head first into the boards in the second period last night. He did get up and skated on the ensuing power play but he ultimately left the game. I think we are looking at the dreaded 'C' word here, which is never good but considering Toews already has a history this gets bad.

The Blackhawks really had the game in hand up 3-0 and playing well before Toews went down. After that it was all Bruins. It would be wrong to say Toews absence completely derailed the Blackhawks as the Bruins had already started to turn the game before he left but it was all Bruins in the third. Part of that is score effects as well as the Bruins were down for much of the game but I think the Blackhawks could be in for some trouble here. They can afford to lose a lot of guys. I'm not sure Toews is one of them.

Patrick Kane and Kris Versteeg remained hot with a point each. They'll be needed even further if Toews misses an extended stretch. One thing I'd be worried about is opponents focusing more attention on that duo.

Scott Darling made his third straight start and was impressive stopping 32 of 34 for another win. He's now 5-1-0 in six starts. I have to completely disagree with Dobber's take on the Antti Raanta vs. Darling situation. When Corey Crawford is hurt the Blackhawks #1 is Darling. This isn't some random dalliance with the hot hand. The Blackhawks have had a choice with Crawford hurt twice this season and have chosen to go with Darling. Raanta even played well making the emergency start when Crawford first went down and they still followed up with Darling as the top option.

It ultimately comes down to Darling being more talented, at least as far as being so huge that he stops more pucks makes him more talented.

Raanta does have the contract advantage. Darling can go down to the minors without waivers. Raanta doesn't offer that flexibility, which means he hangs onto his backup job when Crawford returns. And apparently Crawford will return soon. He was back on the ice for practice yesterday though he didn't dress for the game.

This could be the last we see of Darling this season. Without another injury he'll remain in the minors, which would technically make Raanta the better own for the rest of this season. But Darling offers more upside because of their willingness to let him run with the starting job.

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Zdeno Chara did indeed return last night. He skated 24:11 so there was no easing back in for the big man. He looked pretty good and certainly didn't seem to be lacking any mobility relative to what mobility he had prior to the injury. I talked about the impact of Chara's return more in depth yesterday so you can check that out.

Milan Lucic was in peak form last night dishing out six hits and generally being a menace. Check out his effort setting up this goal from Torey Krug:

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A day after complaining about Anze Kopitar's struggles he scores a power-play goal. In the period I watched of this game, I was unimpressed. Doesn't look like Kopitar is fully healthy yet. He seems to be lacking some explosiveness in his stride not that that's what his game is built on though.

Drew Doughty and Jake Muzzin went off in this one combining for five assists as a duo. Muzzin is now up to 14 points in 23 games. That's probably an aberration but Muzzin is threatening to be genuinely valuable this season and not just a spot pickup.

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Alexander Steen made his return to the lineup last night and he was flying with two goals, one assist and six SOG. Steen was reunited with David Backes and TJ Oshie at even strength helping Oshie to a three-point night of his own.

Oshie has eight points in his last seven games but it's not what you think. He only scored in three of those games, all of them multi-point efforts. I do think this recent line configuration could mean a hot run for Oshie as long as it lasts, which is always in doubt on a Ken Hitchcock team.

The odd man out here is Paul Stastny who was left to skate with Patrick Berglund and Joakim Lindstrom. He was also stuck on the second power play unit with Oshie and Backes. There's not much to be done though because no one in their right mind would break up Jaden Schwartz, Jori Lehtera and Vladimir Tarasenko. There just happen to be seven really good forwards on the Blues so not everyone can get the ideal deployment. And Stastny did score to extend his point-streak to four, despite skating just 13:30.

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There were some concerns about Jaroslav Halak's health leading up to last night's game but he was indeed able to start. Unfortunately, he got shelled by the Blues for the second time this week. On the plus side, Halak won't face the Blues again unless they make the finals. Halak was probably due for a loss or two having won his previous 11 games before getting dumped twice by the Blues. Let's hope this is just a Blues-related mental block or something and that he gets back on another hot streak.

Kyle Okposo scored his first goal in over a month last night ending a 16-game span of futility. He was still reasonably productive with the assists over that month but he'd fallen off his point-per-game pace. Look for this goal to get him on a hot streak.

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How about some rare secondary scoring for the Winnipeg Jets? Mark Scheifele got in on all three Winnipeg goals to help end a slump in which he had scored just one point in the previous eight games. Scheifele is still working on the whole consistency part of being a top pro. It's year two for him so I won't begrudge the ups and downs.

Michael Frolik has four points in the last two games. He's damn near back on pace to hit 40, which is where he finished last season and probably where he finishes again this season. He is enjoying some bonus minutes with Dustin Byfuglien moving back on defense for the time being so perhaps Frolik warrants a short-term pickup.

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I have been quietly enjoying the production of Zach Redmond this season. He was always intriguing to me as a Jets prospect but they were stacked on defense so he never really got a strong opportunity in the NHL. Moving on to the Avs this summer, I hoped he would get some regular minutes. Unfortunately, he had to go through the trials of Patrick Roy first before earning a regular spot in the lineup. It's no different than what Tyson Barrie went through last year but it did the job of keeping Redmond's profile low.

Redmond is now up to nine points in 18 games. That's a small sample size and I have serious doubts that Colorado can sustain the fantasy relevance of three defensemen but so far they are doing it.

Redmond is not a better option than either Barrie or Erik Johnson. He sits well behind them in usage. But he is a fixture on the second power play unit and there's enough talent here that that can be a productive unit.

I wouldn't be surprised if Redmond fades from relevance finishing shy of 30 points, which is right around his current pace. What makes Redmond really interesting is what happens if one of Barrie or Johnson gets hurt. Then we could see Redmond become a truly valuable commodity.

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It might be time to look into Mike Fisher. He's up to centering the second line with Craig Smith and Matt Cullen, which is kind of "meh" but he's also been skating on the top power play unit. He scored his first goal of the season last night, a power-play marker and recorded two points giving him four in his last four.

If that top unit power play time is going to be a real thing then I'm all in on Fisher. Their power play has been awful this season tied for second worst in efficiency with the Minnesota Wild but they've still got a ton of talent there. I can't ignore it. If Fisher is skating with James Neal, Shea Weber, Roman Josi and Filip Forsberg while the opposition has one less player, I want in. This development does hurt Mike Ribeiro though he has yet to suffer any consequences with eight points in his last six games.

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Alexander Semin's nightmare season continues as he now heads to the IR with a lower-body injury. Also in that report, apparently he has been experiencing soreness in his wrist, which he had off-season surgery on. You can use that as an excuse for his early struggles if you want an alternative to the "HE GOT PAID!" narrative.

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No surprise and little fantasy relevance but Ryan Garbutt got three games for slew-footing Dustin Byfuglien.

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More WJC loan news, the Canadiens have loaned Jacob de la Rose to Sweden. De la Rose has been playing in the AHL all season and doesn't appear to be on the cusp of the NHL so there is minimal impact here.

On the other hand, the Lightning WILL NOT loan Jonathan Drouin to Canada, which I don't necessarily understand. I could see it if Drouin was playing a big role but he is basically a fourth liner except for the odd night when he gets a boost into the 14-minute range. And that's when he isn't a healthy scratch. I guess the Lightning want him working on his professional game though and they can't control his practice habits if he leaves for a month.

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You can follow me @SteveLaidlaw.