With no games on Friday, the focus of today's Ramblings will be on Thursday's later games, so expect the bulk of the coverage to be on Western Conference teams. For Thursday's earlier games, see yesterday's Ramblings.

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In just their second NHL season, the Seattle Kraken will be one of 16 teams competing for the Stanley Cup. Key to their success this season has been their scoring. Yes, their scoring. The Kraken sit fourth in the league with just over 3.5 GF/GP, yet they don't feature a single player that has reached 70 points yet. Conversely, every other team in the top 10 in scoring has at least one player with at least 90 points (or is on the verge of reaching 90 points).

So what gives? Scoring depth. With no one in the top 50 in scoring, the Kraken are truly a four-line team. A total of 13 Seattle players have at least 10 goals. Team leader Jared McCann has 38 goals, but no other player has reached at least 25 goals. If you are looking for a team to stream, the Kraken usually feature plenty of options with all but three players (McCann, Vince Dunn, Adam Larsson for peripherals) being rostered in fewer than 50% of Yahoo leagues. Not your typical high-scoring team, but one that has used the expansion draft and salary cap space to its advantage while providing a multitude of serviceable options in fantasy leagues.

McCann scored three points on Thursday, as did Jordan Eberle. Even though I just explained that the Kraken are a team that spreads out the scoring, Eberle will actually finish with his highest point total in a season since way back in 2014-15, when he was an integral part of what was supposed to be a brighter future in Edmonton. With one more assist, Eberle will also finish with his highest assist total in one season (currently at 42). Not an Erik Karlsson-level bounceback, but still worth mentioning. He's only rostered in 19% of Yahoo leagues and 50% of Fantrax leagues.

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Before I forget, Dobber's Playoff Draft List is now available. You can either project your own bracket or use Dobber's predictions. Get yours at the Dobber Sports store!

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Mikko Rantanen became the fourth member of the 50-goal club this season, thanks to a hat trick on Thursday. Rantanen posted an eye-popping statline on the Sharks on Thursday with the three goals, an assist, plus-5, and six shots. In fact, he's been absolutely dominant recently with 10 points and a plus-10 with 18 shots over his last three games. He's also on the verge of reaching 300 shots for the first time in his career. You shouldn't need us to tell you to start him.

Rantanen is also two points shy of reaching 100 points, a total that Nathan MacKinnon has also reached. MacKinnon also recorded four points in the Avalanche's dominant 6-2 win over San Jose.

As suggested by Andy in this season's finale for Looking Ahead, Samuel Girard is a solid pickup if you need a defenseman. Girard, who assisted twice with a plus-5 on Thursday, is still available in three-quarters of Yahoo leagues. You'll also receive plenty of mileage from him, since Colorado leads all remaining teams (along with Buffalo) with five games remaining. In addition, Colorado plays on two light days, more than any other team. Girard's icetime and power-play time remains largely unchanged with Cale Makar out, but he could still stand to benefit anyway.

If Girard isn't available or you need to add a forward instead, J.T. Compher and Evan Rodrigues are also possibilities. Compher just reached 50 points for the first time in his career while playing on Colorado's first power-play unit, while Rodrigues has been skating on the top line with Rantanen and MacKinnon. If you need to go deeper than that, you could look toward someone like Denis Malgin, although he did a whole lot of nothing when he was on my roster for a few games. At that point, I'd probably look toward more productive options from other teams, even if they play fewer games than the Avalanche. (I just noticed that my opponent in one of my head-to-head finals just added Girard and Rodrigues in the middle of the night last night. Timing is everything, I guess.)

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Jake Livingstone made his NHL debut for Nashville on Thursday, although he wasn't a factor on the scoresheet in 16 minutes of icetime. In the Midseason Guide, I wrote about Livingstone being perhaps the most highly sought-after NCAA free agent because of his size, offense, and right shot, and that was based on input from at least two Dobber Prospects writers.

Feast or famine for Tommy Novak over the last five games (from earliest): 0 PTS, 4 PTS, 0 PTS, 3 PTS, 0 PTS. Continue to start him anyway.

By the way, if your league goes to the limit in terms of available games, Buffalo/Columbus and Nashville/Colorado wrap up the schedule on Friday. Those players might be in demand for that day, so you may want to get a jump on your opponents by looking up players from those teams. Also, what if that Nashville/Colorado game has playoff implications? It might be a closely watched game for multiple reasons.

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Another player I had mentioned in the same Midseason Guide article was Akito Hirose, recently signed by the Canucks. Hirose has impressed in Vancouver so far, recording two assists on Thursday while even getting a spin on the second-unit power play. I'm not sure whether Hirose makes the Canucks next season, but he has made a strong case heading into next season.

Thatcher Demko's shutout of the Blackhawks on Thursday was his first of the season. The Canucks as a team had not shut out an opponent since Bruce Boudreau's first game coaching the Canucks, which was in December of 2021. That was also a Demko shutout. Demko leads Canucks goalies with 12 wins, which could be the lowest team leader total in that category. Demko could be considered a bust if you look at the entire body of work this season, but he's been able to salvage something for fantasy teams with a strong second half after returning from injury.

Quinn Hughes has played 74 games this season:
First 37: 3+33=36
Past 37: 4+33=37
there is a consistency to the man's game#Canucks

— Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) April 7, 2023

Erik Karlsson is the only defenseman with more points than Quinn Hughes (Dougie Hamilton also has 73 points). With all the volatility surrounding the Canucks this season, Hughes has at least been a constant. If the Canucks were a playoff team, perhaps Hughes would receive more serious Norris Trophy consideration.

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Joonas Korpisalo's really bad start on Thursday (five goals on 15 shots in just over a period) was his first since all the way back to December 7. Since then, he's posted 18 quality starts. Only Linus Ullmark and Logan Thompson have a lower really bad start percentage than Korpisalo (8.1 RBS%) among goalies that have played as many games as Korpisalo (37). What a difference a year makes for Korpisalo. He and Pheonix Copley continue to alternate starts, so it will be interesting to see who starts Game 1 of the playoffs for the Kings. I would think Korpisalo based on the ratios, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's Copley instead based on the fact that his second-half numbers have improved.

In stopping 30 of 32 shots against the Kings on Thursday, Laurent Brossoit has three consecutive wins and quality starts. Since returning from injury, Brossoit has taken over the starting job from recently acquired Jonathan Quick for the Golden Knights, whose goaltending situation has resembled the black knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Anyway, Brossoit is rostered in just 13 percent of Yahoo leagues, so he might help you if you are in a pinch. Just note that the matchups against Dallas and Seattle might be a little tougher than the black knight was.

Popular Frozen Tools search Jack Eichel has an eight-game point streak with 11 points over that span. His time in Vegas hasn't been quite as spectacular as they had hoped when they acquired him, but he is at least near the point-per-game mark (65 PTS in 66 GP).

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Keep an eye on Luke Hughes, who according to Elliotte Friedman is set to join the Devils this weekend. Hughes, who is rostered in 46% of Fantrax leagues, just finished his season in Michigan with 47 points in 38 games. Although I don't think he'll make much of an impact in the remaining games this season, Hughes is someone to find room for in your keeper league because of his high upside as a point-producing defenseman. For more, see his Dobber Prospects page.

With Hughes and Simon Nemec both pushing for a spot on the Devils next season, UFA-to-be Damon Severson seems likely to be playing for a new team next season. 

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Adam Fantilli, who is projected to be picked right behind Connor Bedard at the draft, has won the Hobey Baker Award as the top US college player. As a freshman, Fantilli led the NCAA in scoring with 65 points. He will be a nice consolation prize for a team that just misses out on Bedard.

To find Fantilli's and other 2023 draft-eligible prospects profiles, go to the 2023 NHL Draft page on Dobber Prospects.

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Follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding for more fantasy hockey.